Genre: Fixed-Screen Shooter / Platform Action
Developer: Atari, Inc.
Publisher: Atari, Inc.
Year: 1983
Platform: Atari VCS
Joust is a home console port of an arcade game originally developed by Williams Electronics. The Atari 2600 version was released in 1983 under license. The game transports the core mechanics of the arcade original into the limitations of the VCS hardware.
Players control a knight mounted on a flying creature (an ostrich or stork), navigating floating platforms in a cave-like arena surrounded by lava. Pressing the action button flaps the creature’s wings, enabling the knight to ascend, hover, or descend. Movement is controlled horizontally; the screen wraps when a player moves beyond the screen edges.
The objective is to collide with enemy knights riding buzzards; if the player’s mount is higher at the moment of contact, the enemy is unseated and becomes an egg. Players can collect these eggs for bonus points. If the eggs are left too long, they hatch back into more dangerous enemies. Additional hazards include a pterodactyl and lava pits.
