Sabertooth

Here are some first thoughts: Yars Rising is a solid metroidvania, and the best of the "Reimagined" titles so far. Controls are on point. The gameplay, music and production values are top-notch. As a Gen-X gamer who grew up on Yars Revenge, I understand the skepticism of some older gamers who just want an update to the original. We have that. It's called Yars Recharged. Yars Rising is a fun, fresh take on the lore that weaves enough Yars/Atari references in for the geezers - in which I count myself.

59,354 on a 2600+ with a CX78+. So close to that extra life that it hurt.

Yes, you can hit them while you can see the red gem going through their bodies for 500 points. Timing has to be right.

Question for everyone: I always hit a wall on the screen where the Ghost first appears on the castle tower. I know that I can get him down the ladder, but I'm rarely able to get him far enough away from the tower once on the ground to get to the last gem. The only time I've ever gotten past this level, I had to sacrifice Bentley. Any pro-tips for this one?

That's interesting! I guess that it makes sense that the stretched aspect ratio would make some difference in how players orient themselves to the game. I tried a few rounds in wide-screen and actually did just slightly better. It felt like I was able to hit more gem eaters while they were in the process of swallowing. (I tend to just miss them and die.) As an aside, the R6 firmware has almost 100 percent 7800 compatibility. I can only think of 2 games that don't fully work: Rikki & Vikki - because it uses a microcontroller for sound - and Double Dragon - you can't go up some ladders. Also some custom multi-carts - like Bob's anniversary collections. All the other stuff, including the XM enabled games work. Well worth the hassle for 7800 players in particular. The 7800+ and newer 2600+ consoles shipping for the holiday will reportedly ship with R7 firmware and latest dumper. Anyway, here's my very slightly better score: 49,869 on a 2600+ with a CX78.

Yeah, and in some cases VCS is likely doing better than Steam. LLB is a good example: As long as the ports to the VCS are relatively low cost/low effort and sales are consistent, I imagine that Atari will continue to support it. For something that takes actual work in AtariOS- like Fatal Run 2089 - we can't expect them to make the investment with sales in the 100s.

49,199 on a 2600+ with a CX-78 gamepad.

What firmware are you on @Justin? IIRC the shipped firmware had the difficulty switches backwards. Edited: Re-read that you have not yet updated. Yes, shipped firmware should be spot on, but the R6 build and newest dumper make it a vastly improved machine. I definitely recommend that you (and anyone else with a plus) update to the latest. https://forums.atariage.com/topic/361600-experimental-2600-firmware-and-dumper/

That's awesome, RickR! The VCS overtook the PC today in the poll with 19 hours remaining. Not a bad showing so far; 23% of 604 votes.

This!

If you're on X/Twitter, let Atari know that you plan to play Yars Rising on the VCS!

Yep. Keep those scores coming @DegasElite! The highest score is the one that counts!

28,311 via Atari50 on a modern VCS. This game is soon much more fun with a thumbstick.

44,530 with a modern. Boy am I rusty!

Congratulations D. JOE! Congratulations to @D.joe! He conquered the skies in or Dragon's Havoc Recharged Squad Challenge! @D.joe navigated the perils of the harpy to reach first place at 10,590. @Mockduck feared neither tooth nor claw, flying to a second place finish of 8,045. @Smell Dawg took a bronze goblet from the dragon's horde, with a third place finish of 6,365. I rounded out the leaderboard with 3,090. Congratulations to all of our dragon lords! As the winner of this round, D.Joe will receive three entries in the Giveaway! Everyone else will receive one entry. I'd like to encourage @D.joe post this high score on the Scoreboard so we can make sure this Challenge continues on! How did you like Dragon's Havoc? If the 7800 had more games of this quality in its retail life, would it have made a difference? Sound off, armchair adventurers! 😉 NOTE: Series Five of the Recharged Squad Challenge continues with Yars: Recharged! Be There!