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Krull
Name:
|
Krull |
|
Company: |
Atari |
Model #:
|
CX-2682 |
Programmers:
|
Dave Staugas
(Program) &
Jerome Domurat (Graphics) |
Year: |
1983 |
Released?
|
Yes
|
Notes:
|
Originally planned
as an Atari 5200 game. |
As you might expect, Krull is based off the 1983 movie of the
same name. If it seems odd to you that Atari would try and
take a movie as complex as Krull and make it into a 2600 game,
you're not alone. Krull was originally planned as an Atari
5200 game that would have been similar to the Gottlieb
coin-op. When it finally came time to make the game the
5200 wasn't doing as well as Atari had hoped, so a 2600 game was
made instead. The arcade game was also a bit of flop, so
Atari decided to make an original game based on the movie.

Each level in Krull follows one of the main parts of the
movie. You start the game at Colwyn and Lyssa's wedding,
where you must fend off the Slayers in a valiant attempt to save
your love. But no matter how many Slayers you kill, they
will eventually kidnap Lyssa and take her to the Black Fortress.
The next level takes place in the lair of the Widow of the
Web; here you must attempt to learn the location of the fortress.
To learn of its location you must avoid the giant spider and
constantly jump the moving strands of the web while making your
way to the Widow at the top of the screen. After the Widow
has told you the next location of the fortress you must quickly
exit the web and ride to the fortress before sunrise.

Once you make it into the Black Fortress you must
attempt to break through the barrier that imprisons Lyssa with
your Glaive. As your attempting to free Lyssa the Beast will
move back and forth blocking your shots and throwing
fireballs. If you fail to catch your Glaive after it hits
the wall or it hits the Beast you'll lose it. If you've lost
all your Glaives you must go back to the web and learn the next
location of the fortress, picking up extra Glaives in the Iron
Desert along the way. Once you successfully free Lyssa she
will turn into a fireball for you to throw at the Beast. If
you hit him with this fireball you start the game over at a harder
difficulty.

On the surface it may seem that Krull is rather
complex and difficult, but for a game based on a movie it really
works well. The three different stages on their own aren't
amazing, but together they deliver enough variety to keep the
player from getting bored (especially the last stage). It's
a shame that Krull seemed to have such a small print run (making
it somewhat rare today) as is is a unique game in the 2600 library
and well worth a second look.
Version |
Cart Text |
Description |
5/27/83 |
Krull 5-27-83 |
Almost complete |
6/15/83 |
Krull 6-15-83 |
Final Version |
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to 2600 Software
|