(5.0 / 5.0), 1
This is an incredible port of Lady Bug from the Arcade. Being an upgrade at 32k CDFJ mode compare to the old version only at 16k back in 2006 is a big leap and shows how much Champ Games improved over the years with each Atari 2600 homebrew release. The board is at the original arcade size, bugs are more animated, new additional mazes not from arcade, this version of Lady Bug has it all.
Lady Bug Arcade has a nice variety of options in the menu screen where you can challenge yourself to get a nice high score each play session. You have the three difficulties Novice, Standard and Advanced you can save with the Atarivox or Savekey. Challenge mode where the door flips randomly and one enemy is out of the box already to chase down the Lady Bug. Biggest threat in challenge mode is the spider where it moves slower than other enemy bugs, but can flip doors like Lady Bug.
The player that controls Lady Bug would develop a strategy to move around the board eating flowers and bonus letters that is special in red where it takes you in the bonus round. Extra in yellow where it grants you an extra life. Heart that is blue would multiply the score so the player can get through the maze with the highest score possible in each round. There is a fruit in the middle of the board where all the enemy bugs come out based on the timer line that goes around the board. There is some skulls where if the Lady Bug touches it you lose a life, an enemy bug touches the skull it is sent back to the center waiting the timer to run down to come back out.
As you can see there is a lot going on in this fantastic homebrew where the player makes the best strategy to get the best high score possible. Adding a lot of replay value.
Multiplayer mode you have alternating mode where two players take turns controlling Lady Bug, VS mode where one controls Lady Bug and another controls the enemy bug. Both modes are fun especially where you try to read your opponent's mind of what he/she will do next in VS mode, adding in QuadTari accessory with Atarivox for both players to save a high score.
The sound is great, control is excellent, graphics is arcade quality. Only thing is if your using it on the Atari 7800 the difficulty switches as explained in the manual showing 2600 switches are the opposite so bear in mind to 7800 owners. Sometimes the option to have doors each side flip with left difficulty switch to B like in the old version of Lady Bug sometimes works, other times only one door where the Lady Bug pushes through. The right difficulty switch options to have smooth frames of the board with some flicker and the other with one line per frame of board with no flicker works as intended. Other than that Lady Bug Arcade is well worth the investment and good arcade quality time to the Atari 2600 collection and come back for a better high score each play session.
It’s dinnertime and Lady Bug is ready to eat! Navigate through the garden, nibbling on the rows of delicious flowers while collecting the various bonus prizes. Be careful though, as there are many dangerous enemies that would just love to make Lady Bug their dinner! Block their attack by swinging the gates closed and be sure to avoid the deadly poison. Collect enough prizes to earn the help of other ladybugs and a special invite to the Veggie Bounty Harvest!
GOOD LUCK!
About
Lady Bug Arcade is a follow up to Champ Games’ Lady Bug, released for the Atari 2600 back in 2006. During those fifteen years, new technology has been developed that allows even more complicated and arcade-accurate games to be created. We decided it was time to revisit an old friend and give her the face lift she deserves, and thus was born “Lady Bug Arcade”. We hope you enjoy the results!
Gameplay
Your objective in Lady Bug Arcade is to guide your ladybug around the garden maze and eat all the flowers (dashes) and collect all the bonus items to advance to the next stage while avoiding the enemies and poison.
Use the joystick to maneuver your ladybug around the maze to eat the flowers and collect the bonus items. Push against the green garden gates to flip them up or down to block the movement of the enemies. Enemies cannot open the gates (except the spider who is present only in the CHALLENGE skill level). Scattered throughout the maze are hearts and letters. The colors of these items change as the game progresses. They should be collected when they are a certain color to either spell out the words EXTRA and SPECIAL, or to increase the Score Multiplier. Watch for the bonus veggie that appears after all four enemies enter the maze, but be sure not to run into a poison skull or you'll lose a ladybug!
When all the flowers have been eaten and all bonus items have been collected, the current level ends. The next level starts with a faster enemy timer and different, more dangerous enemies. Also, the new level will feature a different veggie that’s worth 500 points more than the previous one, up to 9500 points! If you complete level 99, the game ends and a special message is displayed.
Screenshots
Features
- Four Skill Levels: Novice, Standard, Advanced, and Challenge!
- Left Difficulty: Controls whether or not matching gates both rotate when one is opened.
- Right Difficulty: Controls the maze color blending display.
- Four Play Modes: 1 Player, 2 Player, 2 Player Vs., and 2 Player vs. Alt.
- Simultaneous two-player mode where one player can control the enemy bugs!
- QuadTari support for simultaneous two player action when using an AtariVox or SaveKey.
- Maze Selection: Arcade, One of three Custom Mazes, Rotate, or Random.
- Pause: Use the Color/BW Switch (or Pause on the 7800) to pause the game.
- AtariVox/SaveKey Support: Save up to five high scores for each skill level!
Improvements over the original Lady Bug
Several improvements have been made in Lady Bug Arcade relative to its younger sibling that was developed and released fifteen years earlier. These improvements bring Lady Bug Arcade considerably more on part with the original arcade game, a remarkable achievement on the Atari 2600! Here's a list of the improvements:
- Game binary is twice as large (32K vs 16K).
- Arcade-authentic maze (11x11), including 20 independent doors (original was 11x9, 8 symmetrical doors).
- Up to six poison skulls per level (like the arcade) vs. two in the original.
- Enhanced graphics and sounds, including arcade-like status display.
- Three additional mazes and MAZE SELECT screen to play with one or all mazes (random or in order).
- AtariVox/SaveKey compatible for high scores and settings.
- Two-player modes, including alternating turns and vs. modes where one player controls the bugs.
- New Challenge mode with additional enemies and gameplay elements.
- QuadTari support for two player games with SaveKey/AtariVox.
- Animated instruction screen, credits screen, and AtariAge splash screen.
Lady Bug Arcade Poster
We're including a free 10" x 14" poster in the box, featuring Nathan Strum's original Lady Bug Arcade artwork that adorns the box, manual and label.
QuadTari Support
Lady Bug Arcade has built-in support for the QuadTari, which is a device that allows you to plug up to four controllers into your Atari 2600 or 2600-compatible system. In the case of Lady Bug Arcade, you can connect two joysticks and an AtariVox or SaveKey into your console at the same time. This allows two players to enjoy the game while being able to save your high scores and other data to the AtariVox. You can see all the games in the AtariAge Store with QuadTari support here.
AtariVox Support
If you have an AtariVox or SaveKey plugged into joystick port 2, up to five high scores are saved for each skill level. The current skill level, game mode, and number of players are also saved. To reset all scores on the AtariVox/Savekey for Lady Bug Arcade, press and hold RESET while powering on the game.
Get a Lady Bug Arcade Box!
If you'd like a boxed copy of Lady Bug Arcade, please select "Box Upgrade: Yes" at the top of the page before adding Lady Bug Arcade to your cart. Our boxes are professionally printed and include a box insert to hold your Lady Bug Arcade cartridge in place. We want you to play our games, so we have not sealed or shrinkwrapped the boxes in any way, allowing you easy access to the game cartridge and manual.
These boxes are the same size as boxes Atari produced for their games "back in the day". They look great sitting on a shelf with your other boxed homebrew games, or alongside games from the classic Atari 2600 library. We only have a limited number of boxes for each game, and there is no guarantee they will become available again once our supplies are exhausted.
Additional Information
Lady Bug Arcade is a Melody-enhanced game that takes full advantage of the CDFJ+ mode using our advanced Melody circuit board. Included with Lady Bug Arcade is the game cartridge, full-color 16-page manual, and 10" x 14" poster. You can optionally purchase a professionally printed box (see above). Lady Bug Arcade is available in NTSC and PAL60 television formats. Please specify above when ordering or you will receive an NTSC cartridge by default.
| Number of Players | 1 - 2 |
| Controller | Joystick Controllers |
| Cartridge Size | 32K Melody |
| Code and Design | John W. Champeau |
| Art and Graphics | Nathan Strum |
| Music and Sound Effects | Bob DeCrescenzo |
| Game Testing | Nathan “McCallister” Withee |
| Packaging Illustration and Design | Nathan Strum |
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