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Yars' Revenge - Atari - Atari 2600     HTML Manual Box Scan icon  

Yars' Revenge
Yars' Revenge

Atari Game Program Instructions

CX2655

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. TERMINOLOGY            1
2. GAME PLAY              1
3. USING THE CONTROLLERS  3
4. CONSOLE CONTROLS       4
5. GAME VARIATIONS        4
6. SCORING                5
7. HELPFUL HINTS          6
8. MISSION LOG            7

1. TERMINOLOGY

YAR  Fly simulator under direct user control.
ENERGY MISSILE  Missile shot by Yar, removes cells.
QOTILE  Laser-base like object on right side of the screen, behind the shield.
SHIELD  Energy shield protecting the Qotile, composed of cells.
CELLS  Elements of which shield is composed.
DESTROYER MISSILE  Guided missiles put out by Qotile to destroy Yars.
ZORLON CANNON  Pulsing, scintillating fireball, appears on left side of screen
  and traversing the screen horizontally.
SWIRL  Whirling pinwheel fired by the Qotile to destroy Yars.
NEUTRAL ZONE  Colorful and glittering path down the center of the playfield.
  When in the zone, a Yar cannot operate fire commands, and cannot be harmed
  by Destroyer Missiles.  However, the Yar can be destroyed by a Swirl in the
  zone.

2. GAME PLAY

The primary objective of the game is to break a path through the shield, and
destroy the Qotile with a blast from the Zorlon Cannon.  The secondary
objective is to score as many points as possible.  See Figure 1 for an
explanation of the objects on the playfield.

The shield is the red area in front of the Qotile base.  It appears in one
of two shapes, as an arch, or a shifting rectangle.  The shield is made up
of cells.  The Yar scout can destroy these cells by firing at them with energy
missiles, from any location on the playfield, or by devouring them on direct
contact.  (The Zorlon Cannon can also be used to destroy the cells, but this
is a waste of a powerful weapon.)  NOTE:  To learn how to control the Yar and
other aspects of the game play, be sure to read Section 3, USING THE
CONTROLLERS.

Zorlon                     Energy
Cannon                     Missile      Quotile

        --------                      OOOOO
        --------                     OOOOOO
        --------                    OOOOO
        --------      \/           OOOO  /|
OO      --------     |==o(   o      OO  / |
        --------      /\          OOOO |--|
        --------                   OOO  \ |
        --------                   OOOO  \|
        --------                    OOOOO
        --------                     OOOOOO
        --------                      OOOOO

        Neutral       Yar          Shield
        Zone

                 Figure 1

Once a path has been cleared through the shield, the Zorlon Cannon must be used
to destroy the Qotile.  To call up the cannon, the Yar can either eat a cell,
or run over the Qotile.  (See GAME VARIATIONS, Section 5, for more details on
playing ULTIMATE YARS, Games 6 and 7.)

The Zorlon Cannon appears on the left side of the playfield, and moves in a
direct line with the Yar.  This means the Yar is in its line of fire.  It is
important therefore, to aim the cannon at the Qotile, fire it, and fly out of
the way fast!

The Qotile shoots off two weapons:  Destroyer Missiles and Swirls.  The
Destroyer Missiles come in a more or less constant stream, one at a time.
The Yar must do his best to dodge them.  Periodically, the Qotile transforms
into a Swirl.  This Swirl winds up and rushes off after the Yar.  A Swirl can
be destroyed with the Zorlon Cannon by hitting it either at its base location,
or in mid-air.  As a player's score increases, the Swirl becomes increasingly
dangerous.  (See Section 6, SCORING.)

The glittering path down the center of the screen is the Neutral Zone.
This area will protect a Yar from Destroyer Missiles but not from Swirls.
While in the Neutral Zone, a Yar cannot fire any energy missiles of his
own.

When a Yar is hit by a Destroyer Missile, a Swirl, or his own Zorlon
Cannon, he dies.  Each player has four Yars (turns) to play in a game.
Additional Yars can be earned.  See SCORING, Section 6.

3. USING THE CONTROLLERS

Use your Joystick Controllers with this ATARI Game Program cartridge.  Be
sure the Joystick Controller cables are firmly plugged into the CONTROLLER
jacks at the back of your ATARI Video Computer System game.  For one-player
games, use the Joystick Controller plugged into the LEFT CONTROLLER jack.
Hold the joystick with the red button to your upper left, toward the
television screen.  See Section 3 of your Owner's Manual for further details.

CONTROLLING THE YAR

The Yar will move in whatever direction the Joystick is pushed.  The screen
"wraps" from top to bottom, bottom to top.  This means that if you fly the
Yar off the top of the screen, it will appear at the bottom, and vice versa.

The red "fire" button has two separate firing functions:  it will fire an
energy missile in the direction the Yar is pointed, or operate the Zorlon
Cannon when it is on the screen.  (NOTE:  Information about operating the
Cannon is covered in Section 2 - GAME PLAY.)

The red button is also used to restart turns and games.  Press it after each
turn to start a new "life", or continue a successful one.  Press it at the
end of the game if you want to play that same game version again.

4. CONSOLE CONTROLS

GAME SELECT SWITCH

Use the Game Select switch to select the game number you wish to play.  (See
GAME VARIATIONS, Section 5, for game numbers and descriptions.)  The game
number appears in the center of the screen.

GAME RESET SWITCH

Once you have selected the game number you wish to play, press the Game Reset
switch to start the game.  To start the same game over again, you may either
press Game Reset, or the red button on your joystick.  Game Reset can also be
used to start a new game at any time.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES

YARS' REVENGE has two difficulty levels - A and B.  The B level is for normal
game play.  Level A is for the skilled player.  When the difficulty switch is
moved to A, the Swirl will be propelled faster, making it harder for the Yar
to dodge it.  Also, if the Zorlon Cannon and the Destroyer Missile touch,
they will destroy each other.

In a one-player game, use the Left Difficulty switch.  For two-player games,
the left player uses the Left Difficulty switch, the right player uses the
Right Difficulty switch.

TV TYPE SWITCH

Set this switch to COLOR if you have a color television set.  Set it to B-W
to play the game in black and white.

5. GAME VARIATIONS

GAME 0

This is the simplest version, a good choice for young children to play.  It
features a slow Destroyer Missile.

GAME 1

This is the two-player version of Game 0.

GAME 2

This is the "normal" game, with two alternating Shield configurations, plus a
Destroyer Missile, and a Swirl travelling at normal speed.

GAME 3

This is the two-player version of Game 2.

GAME 4

This game features a Zorlon Cannon that bounces off the shield.  (Watch out!
It can destroy you on its return flight.)  There are two alternating Shield
configurations, plus a Destroyer Missile and a Swirl travelling at normal
speeds.

GAME 5

This is the two-player version of Game 4.

ULTIMATE YARS:
Games 6 and 7

Ultimate Yars features a bouncing Zorlon Cannon, plus some unusual twists
that distinguish it from the other Yar games.

First, you must bounce the Yar against the left side of the screen to make
the Zorlon Cannon appear.  Also, to make the cannon appear, you need five
TRONS.  TRONS are units of energy which you can collect at the following
rate:

1. Eat a cell from the shield:  1 TRON
2. Touch the Qotile:  2 TRONS
3. Catch a Zorlon Cannon shot after it bounces off the shield:  4 TRONS

If a Yar bounces of the left side with less than five TRONS, it will not get
a shot, but it won't lose the TRONS it has, either.  (Each time a Yar is
destroyed, it loses its TRONS).  Each Yar has a capacity of 255 TRONS.  If a
Yar tries to take on more than that, it will short out and the Yar will lose
all its TRONS.  The count of TRONS is not displayed on the screen.  Yar
scouts understand the count instinctively.

Game 6 is the one-player version of ULTIMATE YARS.

Game 7 is the two-player version.

6. SCORING

                       SCORE CHART:

ACTIVITY                     POINTS      BONUS
Cell, hit by Missile           69
Cell, devoured by Yar          69       100 points
Qotile, destroyed            1000
Swirl, destroyed in place    2000
Swirl, destroyed in mid-air  6000       additional life

      HIGH SCORE GAME FEATURES:

POINTS       ACTIVITY
70,000       Swirl triples in frequency and sometimes fires instantly.
             Shield turns blue.
150,000      Swirl returns to normal frequency but will remain in mid-air
             to hit you.  Shield turns grey.
230,000      Swirl again triples in frequency and sometimes fires instantly.
             Shield turns pink.

7. HELPFUL HINTS

When you destroy the Qotile, or a Swirl, there will be an explosion, during
which the Yar stays on the screen.  Use this opportunity to make up your own
victory dance.  And watch out for the Ghost of Yars!  You'll see his mean
streak, so stay off it!

The Qotile continually changes colors.  The color sequence is your cue to the
appearance of a Swirl, and gives you warning to plan your attack and defense.

If you fly over the Qotile as it changes to a Swirl, it will destroy you, so
be careful.

When you think you are a tough avenger, switch the difficulty to A, and then
try Ultimate Yars!

8. MISSION LOG

     NAME:           DATE:             SCORE:
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________
________________  __________   _______________________

C016943-55 REV. 1   MANUAL, PROGRAM & AUDIOVISUAL (c) 1982 ATARI, INC.

-------------------Atari 2600 Instructions Archive-------------------

This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage, �1997-1998 by Greg Chance