Arcade / Arcade - Pac-Man · 1982

Jawbreaker II

Published by Sierra On-Line · Developed by [n/a]

atarimania.com — atari-400-800-xl-xe-games-jawbreaker-ii-2652

Information

Genre: Arcade - Pac-Man
Language: Machine Language
Controls: Joystick, Keyboard
Players: 1, Demo
Programmer(s): Bueche, Chuck
Cover Artist(s): [unknown]
Year: 1982
Publisher: Sierra On-Line
Developer: [n/a]
Country: USA
License: Commercial
Medium: Tape, Disk, Cartridge
Rarity: 8 (Tape), 7 (Disk), 8 (Cartridge)
Serial: JBD-201 / SRL-212

Votes / Statistics

Rating: 5.6/10 · Votes: 16 · Downloads: 3,413 · Hits: 20,437

Additional Comments

Despite what the title screen says, this is Jawbreaker II released in 1982.

Missing original tape and disk images!

Thanks to Jon Bowers for the scans.

Screenshots (3)

Cover Art (7)

Ads (1)

Cartridges for Atari Home Computers · 1983

Book / Magazine Reviews (1)

Electronic Games · October, 1983

When Tigervision picked up the rights to On-Line's thoroughly enchanting, maze-chase-in-a-candy-store, Jawbreaker, it was faced with a knotty problem. In the first place, the sophisticated visuals would have been virtually impossible to duplicate in 2600 form. Then, too, there was the very possibility that Atari's legal division would come down on Tigervision with both feet to protect Pac-Man's territory.

Ken Williams, founder of On-Line, faced a similar dilemma on the computer end. Atari was about to introduce a computer version of a game featuring the gadabout gobbler and it was no longer in the mood to brook such titles as Arcade Plus' Ghost Hunter and Jawbreaker.

Williams solved both Tigervision's and On-Line's problems with a single masterstroke, re-inventing the maze-chase concept in the process. He replaced the usual, twisty maze with a series of horizontally scrolling bars. Gaps in the bars permit the on-screen character - a set of chomping teeth - to switch from lane to lane as the moment demands. The teeth stay in motion constantly, unless the action button - or should that be "inaction button" - is pressed, pursued as always by the four bullies.

The new version turned out so well that Sierra On-Line has now decreed it the standard configuration for all systems. The Atari 400-800-1200 and Apple II versions are essentially reworkings of the Tigervision 2600 cartridge with one major deviation: static Jawbreakers located in each of the playfield's four corners have replaced the randomly appearing Jawbreaker of the videogame.

This difference makes a marked impact on play. By comparison with the original, this "four corners" edition of Jawbreaker qualifies as a milk run. Even tyro arcaders can run amok over this Jawbreaker-festooned playfield. Anyone who can't roll this baby over after a week should turn in their joystick.

The centrally-reappearing Jawbreaker made the entire concept much more challenging. As bullies zipped wildly from left to right, it proved necessary to make periodic "suicide runs" back to the playfield center and gobble a bonus hard candy. In this version, the overweight bullies roll from one side to the other in a predictable manner, making clearing out anything but the center of the field child's play.

It is possible to get Jawbreaker II going at a respectable clip, but it shouldn't take so long! Please, put the Jawbreaker back in the middle where it belongs!

Even computer games can be too easy, you know.

Comments (6)

RAWRPEANUTS — 1 May 2019
@Intv Prime -- Turkish March by Mozart
Intv Prime — 17 Apr 2017
What are the names of the songs that are used in the game? The music is great. Thanks.
rave.N — 28 Mar 2016
forget (erase) my previous comment, recorded twice even. I start over... This 16K cartridge for download is really an 8K cart, you can chop its data file down to (the correct) 8192 bytes and everything still works the same. I call this the "mini.rom" and it's missing the two music tracks and four enemy animations that the "full" version has. The full Disk version calls itself "Jawbreaker IV" (4) and always has, since the 1980s. Maybe because JB1 has 3 significant variations, JB4 isn't a bad name? CHEAT MODE unlimited lives, works the same on both the 8K cartridge and the larger files. Find the 4-byte sequence $"C6 B8 30 03" and change all 4 to become $EAEAEAEA. Cheating doesn't offer anything new, but since I developed this info, I didn't want it to go to waste. Full size "Jawbreaker IV"s I've seen were oversize dumps some of which had loaders that were OS/B only. The big game runs as a single segment from addresses $0840 thru $39FF, the program begins with a display list $"70 70 70 C4 80 ..." and ends with the chr $20. The run address is $1400 and the Reset button can be trapped at $1400 also, by including a $C-$D segment ahead of the run segment. It's slightly bigger than 12KB.
rave.N — 15 Jun 2015
This is like a cross between Pacman and Turmoil, how strange is that? There exists an update to this called Jawbreaker IV (4) which I prefer to name "Jawbreaker 2 2" ... 2nd version of jb2 get it? The update has two music tracks, for normal play and for power up play, and the four Nasties duplicate those animations in the first jawbreaker not all four of the same face. Jb2-2 fits in a 16k cartridge. This here "Jb 2" is supposed to fit in a 8KB cart but this download is 16k wassup?
rave.N — 15 Jun 2015
This is like a cross between Pacman and Turmoil, how strange is that? There exists an update to this called Jawbreaker IV (4) which I prefer to name "Jawbreaker 2 2" ... 2nd version of jb2 get it? The update has two music tracks, for normal play and for power up play, and the four Nasties duplicate those animations in the first jawbreaker not all four of the same face. Jb2-2 fits in a 16k cartridge. This here "Jb 2" is supposed to fit in a 8KB cart but this download is 16k wassup?
Callipygous — 22 Apr 2005
Charles "Chuckles" Bueche is "Craniac Entertainment" today. His Atari history can be seen at http://www.craniac.com/projects.html