Grizzards — a turn-based rôle-playing game for the Atari 2600

The land of Syrex is a dangerous place. Fierce monsters roam the countryside. But luckily for you, you're a Grizzard handler!

Train your Grizzard to use a variety of Moves to take on the monsters. Discover new kinds of Grizzards with new capabilities. Can you conquer all the monsters of Syrex?

In the Grizzards videogame, you'll roam the land looking for monsters. Monsters may surprise you as you travel, or you may see them coming. When faced with terrifying beasts, you'll direct your Grizzard to use its Moves to defend you and attack the monsters.

Features

Choose Dirtex, Aquax, or Airex as your Grizzard companion
Explore over 200 screens in the world of Syrex
Save your adventure's progress with the unique save to cartridge technology
Meet more than 30 distinct characters, each with their own story to tell
Catch 30 unique Grizzards, each with their own ability scores and Moves
Train your Grizzard moves by observing monsters in Combat
Metamorphose your Grizzards into more powerful forms
Defeat over 80 kinds of monsters in combat
Discover the secret of who is behind the invasion of monsters
Enjoy unique musical themes as you explore Syrex
Hear full narration of all combat, as well as all in-game dialogue with an optional AtariVox device

Awards / Reception

Grizzards was nominated for the 5th Annual Atari Homebrew Awards (covering 2022 releases), in the categories Best Homebrew (Original) for Atari 2600, Best Graphics (Original) for the Atari 2600, and Best Music & Sound (Original) for the Atari 2600. While we did not win, it was an honor to be nominated.

Reviews and Mentions

So far, all our reviews seem to be on YouTube :)

A very brief review by Captain Jack
A review by H. Fraenkel, in German
A longer review by Zero Page Homebrew (one of several)

Game

Grizzards is available from the online store. Packages include a professional box, 64k ROM cartridge with 2k EEPROM to record up to 8 players' progress, a 20-page full-color manual, and a printed map card with quick reference graphic on the back.

Download for Atari 2600

If you have a Harmony Encore cartridge, UnoCart, or PlusCart, you can download the Grizzards files here. Place the a26 file on your SD card (for Harmony Encore or UnoCart) or in your PlusStore network folder (for PlusCart) to play.

Play on PC

If you don't have an Atari 2600, download the Stella emulator here and the Grizzards files here. Place both the a26 and pro files in the same folder and open the a26 file with Stella to play on Linux, macOS, or Windows.

Play on Android

If you have an Android device, you can download RetroArch here and the Grizzards files here. Ensure that both the a26 and pro files are in the same folder and open the a26 file with RetroArch. Currently, you must use the RetroArch Save State feature or your save game file will be erased when you quit playing.

AtariVox

With an AtariVox, Grizzards has full combat and dialogue narration. Enjoy the retro vibes of the AtariVox's speech synthesizer with Grizzards and other Atari games. You can purchase an AtariVox+ from the online store now.

Joy2b⁺

Grizzards supports Joy2b⁺ controllers, which give retro games three buttons for controls. You can buy (or build) Joy2b⁺ controllers from a variety of places, including this option from RetroGameBoyz.

Merch

The Grizzards merchandise store is being relocated.

License

Grizzards by Bruce-Robert Pocock is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Need Help?

Contact support@star-hope.org if you need assistance with the game.

For questions about purchasing Grizzards, please contact directly. Note that, as with any hand-crafted high-technology, order fulfillment may take a little time.

A Turn-Based Rôle-Playing Game for the Atari 2600