Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles — frequently asked questions
- Is Crystal Castles on Steam?
- No. Crystal Castles is not distributed on Steam, so there is no Steam Charts or SteamDB player count for it. Its live popularity is tracked here via Twitch viewership instead.
- What platforms is Crystal Castles on?
- Crystal Castles is available on Arcade, BBC Microcomputer System, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, PC (Microsoft Windows), Acorn Electron, Apple II, Xbox 360, Amstrad CPC, Atari 2600, Commodore 64.
- When did Crystal Castles release?
- Crystal Castles was first released on July 8, 1983.
About Crystal Castles
Crystal Castles is an arcade game released by Atari, Inc. in 1983. The player controls a cartoon bear by the name of Bentley Bear, who has to collect gems located throughout trimetric-projected rendered castles while avoiding enemies out to get him as well as the gems. Crystal Castles is notable for being one of the first arcade action games with an actual ending, whereas most games of the time either continued indefinitely, ended in what was termed a "kill screen" or simply just restarted from the first level, and to contain advance warp zones.
Summary via IGDB.
Crystal Castles on Wikipedia
Crystal Castles is a 1983 maze video game developed and published by Atari, Inc. for arcades. The player controls Bentley Bear, who must collect gems located throughout trimetric-projected rendered castles while avoiding enemies, some of whom are after the gems as well.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Game details
- Platforms
- Arcade, BBC Microcomputer System, Atari 8-bit, Commodore C64/128/MAX, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST/STE, PC (Microsoft Windows), Acorn Electron, Apple II, Xbox 360, Amstrad CPC, Atari 2600, Commodore 64
- Developer
- Atari
- Publisher
- U.S. Gold
- Game modes
- Single player, Multiplayer
- Themes
- Action, Fantasy
Details via IGDB.
Reception
Every version compared
Prices, contemporary reception and the studio credited for each release
| Platform | Year | Loose | Complete | Sealed | Period reviews | Built by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atari 2600 | 1984 | $8 | $18 | $30 | 3 reviews | Atari (designed by Peter C. Niday) |
Also released on: Arcade · BBC Microcomputer System · Atari 8-bit · Commodore C64/128/MAX · ZX Spectrum · Atari ST/STE · PC (Microsoft Windows) · Acorn Electron · Apple II · Xbox 360 · Amstrad CPC · Commodore 64. We haven’t priced or authenticated those versions yet.
Collector value & authenticity
Atari 2600 · PriceCharting sold data · Verified 2026-10-06
Release record
| Territory | Label | Catalog # | Rarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America Atari | Silver | CX26110 | Common+ |
| Europe Atari | Red | CX26110 | Rare |
Source: Catalog numbers, label types, rarity, controllers and player counts: AtariAge 2600 software database
- Region
- NA+EU
- Released
- 1984
- Controller
- Atari Joystick
- Players
- 1
- Authenticity
- Low
A fair 2600 take on Atari's gem-collecting arcade maze game, cheap and on Atari 50.
Atari's 1983 arcade Crystal Castles stars Bentley Bear, who collects gems in castles drawn in trimetric projection while avoiding enemies. Franz Lanzinger programmed the arcade game. It had warp zones and an ending, which were unusual for an arcade game in 1983.
Atari released the 2600 version in 1984, with Peter C. Niday credited as designer. It drew reasonable reviews: AllGame gave it 3.5/5 and Computer and Video Games 80%. It is on Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration.
How it was made
Designed by Peter C. Niday and released by Atari in April 1984, with a PAL release the same year.
What the press said at the time
| AllGame | 3.5/5 | |
| Computer and Video Games | 80% | |
| Computer Entertainer Vol. 3 No. 2 | May 1984 | Graphics ★★½ · Play-Action ★★½ |
“It's no better, no worse than average for the system, but nothing to get excited about.”
Computer Entertainer rated graphics first and play action second, from four symbols (excellent) to one (poor) — stars in most years, diamonds in 1986–87 — comparing each game only with other games for the same system.
Cartridge & preservation record
Program size 16 KB, measured from the preserved dump.
Catalogue number as recorded for the physical release.
How the Atari 2600 version differs
The 2600 manual changes the story: Bentley Bear wakes from a nap trapped in a giant castle by Berthilda the Witch and must collect gems to escape.
Also on other platforms
Arcade · Commodore 64
| Atari 2600 | Atari (designed by Peter C. Niday) |
| Atari ST | Andromeda Software |
- Commodore 64. Computer and Video Games found the BBC Micro and Commodore 64 versions fast and faithful to the arcade game, while Zzap!'s reviewers disagreed about the Commodore 64 release.
How the other versions reviewed
| Arcade | AllGame | 4.5/5 |
| Arcade | Game Informer | 8.5/10 |
| Arcade | The Video Games Guide | 2/5 |
| Commodore 64 | ACE | 5/5 |
These are the other versions’ scores, not this one’s. Ports of this era were frequently built by different studios, so they do not transfer.
Before you buy
Low risk; this is a common Atari cart. Loose, boxed and sealed copies are all inexpensive. Check that the end label matches the front label and that the listing is the 2600 version.
Crystal Castles screenshots
Watch on YouTube
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