How to play Joust online
- Run or fly left and right: left and right arrow keys. The longer you hold a direction, the faster your bird goes.
- Flap your wings: tap Z repeatedly. Each press is one flap, so tapping fast makes you climb.
- Choose one or two players and the difficulty: F2 (Select) and the arrow keys on the options screen
- Start a new game: F3 (Reset)
- Pause: F4
The game offers four difficulty levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Expert. Both the USA (NTSC) and Europe (PAL) releases are on the site, and you can switch between them above the emulator.
Gameplay
You are a knight on a flying ostrich; a second player rides a stork. Enemy knights on buzzards swoop around a set of floating ledges. When two riders collide, the one whose lance is higher wins. If the lances are level, both bounce apart. A beaten enemy leaves an egg behind. Grab it for points before it hatches, or a new rider climbs out and a fresh buzzard comes to collect him.
There are three kinds of enemy rider: the Bounder, the Hunter and the Shadow Lord, each one worth more points than the last. If you take too long to clear a wave, a pterodactyl appears and hunts you down. A lake of lava fills the bottom of the screen, and the Lava Troll reaches up to grab anyone who flies too low. After the second wave, the troll’s fire burns away the bridges at the bottom, leaving less safe ground. Waves come with names that tell you what to expect, such as Survival, Egg and Pterodactyl waves. Two-player games add Team and Gladiator waves.
| Target | Points |
|---|---|
| Bounder | 500 |
| Hunter | 750 |
| Shadow Lord | 1,500 |
| Pterodactyl | 1,000 |
| Eggs collected in a wave | 250, 500, 750, then 1,000 each |
You start with five lives and earn an extra one every 20,000 points. The game ends when you have lost them all.
Tips
- Height is everything. Most lost lives come from meeting an enemy at the same level or just below. Stay above the buzzards and drop onto them.
- Collect eggs quickly. Each extra egg in a wave is worth more, and an egg left too long turns back into an enemy.
- Use the ledges. Standing on a ledge gives you a moment to watch the riders’ paths before you take off.
- Keep away from the lava. Once the bridges are gone, flying low near the bottom gives the troll a chance to pull you in.
- Don’t dawdle. Slow waves bring the pterodactyl, which is far more dangerous than any buzzard rider.
The story behind Joust
The original Joust was a Williams Electronics arcade game from 1982, led by John Newcomer. Atari, Inc. later released home versions for its earlier consoles. The 7800 version was one of the games that General Computer Corporation prepared for the console’s planned 1984 launch. That launch never happened: in July 1984 Warner sold Atari’s consumer business to Jack Tramiel, and work on the new console stopped. Joust reached stores only after Atari Corporation finally put the 7800 on sale nationwide in 1986.
The wait was worth it for many players. Reviewers have pointed to the 7800 Joust as one of the console’s better arcade conversions, close to the coin-op in look and feel, though some found the standard 7800 joystick awkward for this kind of precise flapping.
