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Yars' Revenge

aka: A Vingança dos Yars, Time Freeze, Yars' Revenge: the Qotile Ultimatum
Moby ID: 9396
Atari 2600 Specs
Buy on Game Boy Color
$14.85 used, $62.74 new on eBay
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Description official descriptions

In Yars' Revenge, your goal is to destroy the Qotile laser-base which is located on the right side of the screen behind a shield. You control the fly-like Yar, which can destroy the shield piece by piece by either shooting it or running into it. Once the shield is down, you will need to use the Zorlon cannon to destroy the Qotile. The Zorlon cannon is located on the left side of the screen, and when fired can destroy the Qotile with a direct hit. The Qotile isn't completely unarmed against your attacks, however. Wandering around the screen is a destroyer missile, which will constantly be homing in on your Yar. This missile cannot be destroyed, however, you can temporarily hide from it in a shield that runs vertically in the center of the screen. The Yar will be unable to fire when hiding in the shield so you can't stay there indefinitely! The Qotiles' second weapon is a swirl which it will randomly fire at you and should be dodged. When you finally destroy the Qotile you can move on to the next, faster round of gameplay. Several game variations are included which control the difficulty and speed of the game.

Spellings

  • ヤーの復讐 - Japanese Atari 2800 release spelling

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Credits (Atari 2600 version)

6 People

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 16 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 57 ratings with 2 reviews)

Holds Up Just As Well Today.

The Good
As far as shooters go, there are a few original titles made for the home system that were almost Zen. This is one of them. The concept is simple: Break down the wall, avoid the missiles, destroy the cannon in the center. But with any good classic game, it gets faster and faster, and the action more hectic on screen.

Whether Yar eats the blocks or breaks them, there will just be another cannon to destroy after that. Fortunately, you can avoid the deadly cursor that relentlessly follows you. The gameplay is solid. As is the control.

The Bad
In retrospect, it IS a very simple game. The walls don't change too much (moving or non-moving), and you feel like such an idiot when you end up shooting yourself with your own cannon. But truthfully, the game still holds up so well in the gameplay department, it's hard to find any major faults.

The Bottom Line
From the droning hum, to the "peck peck peck" sound effects as Yar eats through the wall, Yar's Revenge is one of those titles old-school gamers instantly recognize and appreciate. Playing it on the PS2 "Atari Anthology" only served as a reminder of what a fun game this remains, because it retains the most fundamental aspects of any video game: Gameplay and replayability.

Whether you play this for the first time, or the 500th time, the experience is never the same twice.

A true classic.

Atari 2600 · by Guy Chapman (1747) · 2004

Yars' Revenge is a fun twist on the Kill the Fortress-type games

The Good
Yars' Revenge was not just another shooter. You had to be quick to get in close to the base to nibble away at the barrier surrounding it without getting hit by the missile. Once you got a hole in the base, lining up the shot was quite challenging since it fired from behind you and not from you directly. If you weren't careful, it was possible to hit your fly with your shot instead of the base. The fireballs shot from the base didn't make the game any easier. It was extremely satisfying to watch the watch the big explosion as the enemy base blow up.

The Bad
The only thing I didn't like about Yar's Revenge is that your score was only displayed between levels and at the end of the game.

The Bottom Line
Yars' Revenge is an odd twist on the Star Castle-type games where you have to kill an enemy fortress. Instead of piloting a direct-fire spaceship, you pilot an indirect-firing fly creature that has to eat through the walls of the fortress before shooting the vulnerable base inside.

Atari 2600 · by Droog (460) · 2003

Trivia

Development

Yars' Revenge started life as Atari 2600 conversion of Star Castle. However, after Scott Warshaw saw that the hardware was too limited, he started to change the game elements to create this game.

Extras

The Atari 2600 version came with a small comic book that explained the origin of the sentient flies like Yar and about the approaching Qotile enemy.

Freeze

After you fire the cannon and successfully hit the Qotile fly along the vertical line that appears along the side of the explosion field, scrolling from the top to bottom of the screen. If you do this correctly a strange five digit code will appear in the middle of the screen and the game will freeze.

References to the game

Sound effects from Yars' Revenge make an appearance in the movie Airplane II: The Sequel. In a scene near the beginning of the movie, a landing shuttle has auto pilot engaged; a kid then comes by and begins fiddling with the controls at mission control causing the shuttle to lose control, all the while the game sounds are heard in the background.

Title

Yar is named after an Atari executive named Ray Kassar. Yar is Ray backwards.

Awards

  • FLUX
    • Issue #4 - #90 on the "Top 100 Video Games of All-Time" list
  • Retro Gamer
    • Issue #46 - #5 in the “Top 25 Atari 2600 Games" poll

Information also contributed by Big John WV, LepricahnsGold, PCGamer77; ru pauk and Servo

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Related Sites +

  • Matt Chat 70
    Video interview with Howard Scott Warshaw about the development of Yars' Revenge and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 9396
  • [ Please login / register to view all identifiers ]

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Servo.

Browser added by CrankyStorming. Game Boy Color added by Guy Chapman. Xbox 360, Windows added by Alaka. Antstream added by lights out party.

Additional contributors: RKL, chirinea, Foxhack, Pseudo_Intellectual, Patrick Bregger, firefang9212.

Game added June 12, 2003. Last modified July 17, 2024.