As featured in Retrogaming Times Monthly issue #36, May 2007.

Unique yet simple concepts have been the heart and soul of the video game industry since its birth.  Although things have become increasingly complex in the modern era, the games that continue to be regarded as favorites are those that take an easy to understand concept and put a new twist on it.  Such is the case with Joust, medieval mounted combat with something different.  Instead of traditional riders on horseback, the knights in Joust take to the skies atop giant flying birds in an all out battle to the death.  Player one rides an ostrich while player two rides a stork and the enemy knights come mounted atop buzzards.  Although the mounts may be surreal, the core game play mechanic couldn't be simpler, "highest lance wins."  As long as your lance is higher than that of your foe when you run into him, you will win the joust and he will be tossed off his mount.  Colliding with an enemy at equal elevation will cause both knights and mounts to be turned away in the opposite direction, no one dies, and the joust is a draw.  If an enemy's lance is higher than yours during a collision you will be destroyed and your mount will fly off.  Knocking your foes off their mounts is just the beginning however, as once dismounted they turn into eggs.  Eventually these eggs will hatch if not captured, becoming the next most powerful enemy knight, and a fresh mount will swoop down so that they can return to battle.

Things start off slow but quickly become more hectic as the screen is filled with enemy knights of varying skill.  As waves of enemy knights are defeated the landscape changes, platforms disappear and lava pools rise.  Within the lava pool lurks the deadly Lava Troll, a powerful enemy that reaches up with its burning grip, pulling any knight not swift enough to escape to a fiery death.  Yet the most deadly enemy in the game is the pterodactyl which appears if the player takes too long to clear a wave.  Only a direct joust to the pterodactyl's mouth will kill him, any other contact results in death for the player.  With its unique concept, detailed graphics, simple play control, and frantic pace Joust became a favorite of the arcade patron for many years to come.  As with many games of this level of popularity, it was ported to the home game systems of the era and beyond.

An NES version of this game seems like a simple enough project but things have to be executed properly to pay any respect to the arcade smash it set out to recreate.  Thankfully things go off without a hitch.  Graphically the game is very nicely presented with the level detail recreated pretty much verbatim.  Platforms disappear on the later levels and the bridges slowly burn away to free the Lava Troll just as they did in the arcade.  The player sprites are nicely detailed as are the enemy knights and their mounts and all are animated fluidly and accurately to their original counterparts.  Play control is spot on with the directional pad controlling horizontal movement.  Varying degrees of walking speed are easy to work out which perfectly recreates the movement in the arcade original.  Holding the B button down causes your mount to flap consecutively to gain lift while you get one flap for each press of the A button.  Flight and game physics are nicely recreated and feel fluid and accurate, including the egg physics.  To round out the package an admirable job has been done to incorporate as much of the original sound effects as possible.

It is also worth mentioning that there were actually two similar, although slightly different, versions of this game developed for the NES hardware.  In Japan the Famicom version of Joust featured sprites more closely designed after the arcade originals but over all the graphics came out looking plain.  The NES version featured some slight enhancements such as the knights having feathers atop their helmets and a full rework of the rock design of the platforms.  While this strays from the original presentation just a bit, it gives the game much better contrast on the eight bit hardware.  Additional graphic tweaks such as the buzzard's beaks and the knight's lances having more color are a nice touch that make the NES version an all around better game than the Famicom release.

Joust stands one of the true arcade classics from the golden area of the arcade industry.  While I've never been that great at it I've still played it for years and will continue to do so for one reason - it's fun.  After all, that's the mark of an excellent game, challenging yet extremely entertaining.  Those looking for one of the best home ports of this arcade legend for a bit age console need look no further than the NES.  It's still a ton of fun to throw hours away in two player mode and the NES version has stood the test of time, just as much as the arcade original of which it is based.  Yet another must have title for anyone's NES library.
 

"InsaneDavid" also runs a slowly growing gaming site at http://www.classicplastic.net/dvgi

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