This is one of my favorite games for the Atari 2600, it was one of the very first and still one of the best in my book. The game is still fondly remembered as it of course was hugely referenced in the book and movie "Ready Player One". It also predates a lot of the fantasy action RPGs like "Gauntlet", "Zelda" series, "Diablo" series, and many more which just shows the timelessness of this game.
It's such a simple concept and execution but that's what makes the game all the better as it's once again another example of how less can be more. There's no story just a simple objective where you're a dot that has to simply find keys to open up doors to find the key to open up the Castle door and retrieve the holy grail and you win.
Though it's not that simple as you have to explore and traverse mazes, fight off bats and dragons as long as your armed with a sword which looks like a simple arrow, and just simply survive long enough to complete your objective.
Yeah, that's the game in a nutshell, for the gamers of today this game would seem rather primitive. But you have to understand back then the video game console was a novelty, and the Atari 2600 was one of the stepping stones.
Graphical presentation for consoles was limited at the time but they had to work with what they had. However, the console's primary focus was on one thing which was simply on good gameplay and this game has it.
The game seems simple but at the same time there is a slight complexity. For one thing you can only carry one item at a time, this in a way taught you to keep inventory because sometimes in some places of the game you needed something else so you made sure to put what you were carrying in a place you can easily remember so you can use it for latter.
But also, about limitations as each item you used can not just be used in certain places of the game but also only once. One of my favorite items is the bride which are two purple parallel bars, you can place it anywhere on the maze which allows you to go through the walls, it's very useful as it allows you access to place you can't access without it.
And of course, there is that first easter egg in the game, which is another highlight of the game. Once again you must understand this game was from a past time, video games never had easter eggs nor was its common place at the time. So, you can easily imagine how people back then that discovered this must have been blown away by this. Finding this easter egg isn't that big of a secret anymore, you can figure out how by watching the movie "Ready Player One" or any video game documentary on "YouTube".
Despite the simplistic graphical presentation, it's also part of its charm because it allows you to use your imagination. You can imagine yourself in the typical fantasy tropes as a knight going though a maze fighting dragons.
Though with me sometimes I imagine this is a game loosely based on two of the "Hellraiser" movies (one and two to be exact) and the dot represents either of the two protagonists Kristy or Tiffany and their going thought Hell's Labyrinth, the dragons are demon dragons to fight, and the grail is the puzzle box for them to get out. I know wild imagining but as I said that's part of the charm of the game, because the game only has a basic title and no specific story except a simple objective, so the game allows you to make your own story.
For the rookie gamer this is a piece of video game history worth checking out but for the experienced gamer that is nostalgic or is a vintage video game collector this game is a legend that still lives on.
Rating: 3 and a half stars.