Joust: A Review.

Graphics: 9
Sound: 7
Gameplay: 9
Arcade-To Home: 8
Overall: 9

The early 1980s was a great time for unusual arcade games, and Joust certainly helped prove this. No longer did we merely expect games that tried to mimic real life; while such games were welcome (consider Turbo and Pole Position), we welcomed games with big-nosed critters hopping on pyramids, Volkswagon Bugs bouncing through weird worlds and clouds...and Joust.
This 1982 game cast you in the role of a hapless- but not helpless- knight astride an ostrich capable of actual flight in a giant cavern filled with floating platforms and a huge tree stump at the bottom surrounded by a pool of lava. Scattered about in the stump and platforms were pads from which would materialize buzzard-riding enemy knights (you didn't think it would be easy, did you?) out to defeat you in aerial combat.
One of the things that made this game unusual even back then was how combat took place: whenever you and an enemy knight collided the winner was the one whom was higher than the other. No guns, lasers, missiles- it was a joust. If at the same altitude it was a draw. You also moved in a most unusual way: pressing the fire button flapped your wings and that was how you flew; the physical laws were fairly realistic in the way gravity affected you, too.
If you won you did not actually destroy your opponent, not yet- his buzzard would fly off and an egg would appear; if you did not grab it or if it did not fall into the lava it would hatch into a new- and more dangerous!- knight, and a buzzard would arrive to pick him up.
For the first two waves a wooden bridge stretched across the bottom of the screen so the lava was no threat, but by wave three the rising lava would burn away the bridge so now on either side of the stump any knight or egg could fall into the lava and perish.
By wave four a new enemy would appear: the Lava Troll. If a knight flew too close to the lava flames would form a hand that could pull bird and rider down into the molten red liquid. This creature was not very discriminating- he would pull you or an enemy down, so quite a few enemies and eggs will be handled for you.
Another enemy, the Evil Otto of that weird world, was the Pteradactyl. This creature would appear if you took too much time finishing a wave, but in certain waves he would appear right from the very start. Unlike the enemy knights the only way to destroy him was by hitting him directly in the mouth, and since the Lava Troll left him alone he might pester you all through the wave unless you could destroy him...which was always risky.
As you played eventually more dangerous knights would appear. Along with the red Bounders in the earliest waves would soon appear the grey Bounders, faster and smarter; all too soon the blue Shadow Lords, far more deadly still, would appear right from the start. Of course, allowing eggs to hatch could cause them to appear even in the very first wave...
As the game progressed floating ledges would disintegrate or reappear, changing the entire playfield; your strategy would of course have to change in these situations.
Another unusual aspect of Joust was the simultaneous two-player option. Another player, astride a stork, could play right along with you, either as an enemy, or an ally. Maybe both. This alone made Joust a real thrill.
The game had numerous special waves: Survival waves that would award you 3000 points for not being killed; Egg waves started out not with enemy knights but unhatched eggs; Pteradactyl waves unleashed that terrible creature on you right from the start; Gladiator waves in the two-player games that tried to encourage players to fight each other, and more.
In higher waves enemies became faster and more intelligent overall, so even Bounders became formidable opponents. And as for the Hunters and Shadow Lords, well...
Joust was also one of the most beautiful games of its time. From the superb title screen and the gorgeous playfield with the bubbling lava and flickering flames, the detailed characters, right to the great cabinet art, Joust was almost magical. Fortunate were those arcade-goers who were around when it first came out. How much did I like it? So much so I bought an Atari 7800 to play it in 1988.

The ColecoVision version of Joust is a game that spanned 31 years. It was supposed to have been released by AtariSoft, along with Moon Patrol, Pac Man, and Dig Dug, in 1983, but never was.
When it reappeared in the early 2000s it was still a prototype with no title screen and no sound, but even so it had something strange in common with Galaxian: it was obviously superior to the 5200 version. Why, I don't know, unless even Atari had lost faith in the 5200. Who knows?
By 2014 Team Pixelboy did something I had hoped for for years: they finished the game. Sound was added, and so was a truly great title screen.
And so...
First of all, it is only fair to say that Atari never failed to deliver a terrific version of this game for any system it was developed for, be it the 2600, 5200, 7800, it didn't matter. Note that the 7800 version was programmed by "old Atari," by the way.
But the ColecoVision version of this game is by far the best for any of the pre-fourth generation consoles. While not quite up to the NES or the 7800 versions, it can certainly stand up to them. The scenery is detailed and set up almost exactly like the arcade version, the only limitation being the ColecoVision's limited 16-color palette. The details are here: the bubbling and slowly-rising lava; the numbers showing the points earned for getting eggs and for catching them in the air; the Lava Troll's hand appearing; even the 1000 when you destroy the Pteradactyl, it's here.
The best part are the characters, though. When standing or running you and the other player are three-colored characters (quite something in those days), while enemy knights are two-colored. Riderless buzzards are single-colored but extremely detailed, the Lava Troll and flames are really terrific, and the animation is excellent. Riderless enemy knights are multi-colored and yes, they even have their lances. There is little doubt CV Joust had the best graphics short of the arcade version in those days.
The Pteradactyl is single-colored and a bit blocky, but is well-animated and stands out clearly from the other characters- maybe that is why he was drawn so.
And it's only fair to again mention the JOUST title screen. It is really beautiful. By the way- the eggs were greenish in the arcade so that's why they are green in the ColecoVision version.

Sound, which was added only decades later, is good, but is weaker than the arcade game, and the sounds of platforms disintegrating and two knights hitting at an equal height are missing. Still, the sound of lava bubbling is there, and it would not have been the same without them. The skidding sounds are the best part, as always. And the thundering sound of destroying a Pteradactyl is very impressive.

Gameplay is very much like the arcade. The enemies behave like their arcade counterparts, especially the Shadow Lords and Pteradactyl, the Lava Troll is as deadly as in the arcade. So far I have only seen up to five enemy knights onscreen at once; any more appear as soon as you destroy another, but the game is very difficult. The two-player option is just like the other versions, too- incredibly enjoyable. Best of all, the little details from the arcade gameplay all appear to be here, too: that trick of bouncing on the middle right platform and slipping through the crack between the ledges works here just as well as ever. The Pteradactyl can bounce away from enemy knights, the eggs bounce the same...it's all here.
Difficulty selection in this version is quite different. Rather than making the enemies more numerous or deadlier, you are affected: wing flaps have more power and gravity becomes lighter, thus making control more difficult- a serious handicap against the Pteradactyl and especially the swift-moving Shadow Lords.
Then there is that "essence" I've mentioned before. With it a home version of an arcade game becomes something special, because it has that something you felt when playing the arcade version, especially from long ago. There was a nice little arcade with Joust not far from where I used to live near the intersection, warm and clean, with a grocery store, bakery, and pizza place right nearby, in that happier time. The 2600 version has it, the 5200 version has it, the 7800 version most of all, and the ColecoVision version nearly as much as the 7800. For a time, it feels a little like being in that place again.
Very highly recommended.



Review posted with a 2006 Sylvania netbook, believe it or not!