Scramble is another faithful arcade port brought to the Atari 7800 by Robert DeCrescenzo!
Each round consists of five stages and a 'base', or final, stage. Destroy any targets on the ground, or in the air. You can (and should) destroy Rockets, UFOs, Fuel tanks (to give you more fuel), Bonus Items, and the Base itself at the very end. You cannot, however, destroy Meteors and should avoid them at all costs.
Each stage within a round challenges the player with a new type of enemy or terrain to maneuver:
- STAGE 1: Launching rockets
- STAGE 2: Ufos and caves
- STAGE 3: Meteors
- STAGE 4: Lauching rockets from tall structures
- STAGE 5: Winding maze of buildings
- BASE: The base itself that you must destroy
Skill Levels
As you pass each round of five stages and destroy the base, the game play starts over, and the difficulty increases. Your ship burns fuel at a faster rate, and the rockets, UFOs and Meteors become more aggressive.
- Easy: No Rockets launch and your ship burns fuel at a very slow rate.
- Normal: Only two launching rockets can be on the screen at a time, and your ship burns fuel at a normal rate. This variation is equivalent to the "Konami" version of the arcade game.
- Hard: Four launching rockets can be on the screen at a time, and your ship burns fuel at a very fast rate. This variation is equivalent to the "Stern" version of the arcade game.
Additional Information
Includes cartridge and full-color, four-page manual. Available in NTSC and PAL television formats, please select above.
Get a Scramble Box!
If you'd like a boxed copy of Scramble, please select "Box Upgrade: Yes" at the top of the page before adding Scramble to your cart. Our boxes are professionally printed and include a box insert to hold your Scramble cartridge in place. We want you to play our games, so we have not sealed or shrinkwrapped the boxes in any way, allowing you easy access to the game cartridge and manual.
These boxes are the same size as boxes Atari produced for their games "back in the day". They look great sitting on a shelf with your other boxed homebrew games, or alongside games from the classic Atari 2600 library. We only have a limited number of boxes for each game, and there is no guarantee they will become available again once our supplies are exhausted. Click on the images to the right to see larger photos of the box.
Number of Players |
1 - 2 |
Controller |
Joystick |
Cartridge Size |
48K |
Programming |
Robert DeCrescenzo |
Joel Ressler on 10/28/2017 08:44pm
I really wanted to love this game. It looks great and I love side scrolling shooters. This game has a very different design than most of it's peers however. So much focus is destroying what's below you rather than what's ahead of your ship. For a shooter, it moves rather slow. But it stays challenging as you have to aim at enemies shielded by hills and fly through tight spaces in some areas. I find the terrain a much bigger threat than the enemies. It stands out as being unique among the old shooters I've played, but not in a way I particularly enjoy.
tkarner on 10/16/2017 09:44pm
This is what the 7800 is best at, golden-age arcade games, and Scramble is a perfect example.
VectorGamer on 08/17/2017 11:03am
An absolute superb translation of the arcade game. Great speed, great shooter. I only wish there was a continue feature to allow you to complete the game.
Funkmaster V on 07/17/2017 07:49pm
As a kid, I always thought this game was intense and kinda freaked me out. It intimidated me. Now, as a man. I can look it in the eyes, save my quarters and rock this game ALLLL NIGHT LOOOONG. Probably one of Bob's best games. This is a great addition to the system's library.
David White on 11/12/2016 07:02pm
Cool game!! hard but so was the arcade game. If you guys keep making games like this and Star Castle!!! Atariage is going to get a lot of my money! thanks.
Inky on 05/11/2016 08:22am
Yet another home run from PacManPlus! Everything you remember about the arcade classic is here. If there is one complaint, its that it seems a bit easier than the arcade game. Of course, maybe I've gotten better? A recent trip to Galloping Ghost shows no, I haven't. Honestly, that's just a minor quibble, as it's still quite challenging. Highly recommended.
BenjaminR on 03/20/2014 12:23pm
This is an excellent conversion of Scramble from the arcade. The graphics are as close to the arcade as the 7800 is going to get, and it looks marvelous. Controls are extremely responsive and the challenge of the arcade was not lost in the translation (believe me, this is every bit as difficult as the original). When this first arrived, I played game after game while trying desperately to just pass the 1st level! It really is that challenging, addicting, and just as fun as you use to have when you got home from school as a kid in the 80’s! If you are a fan of Cosmic Avenger for the Colecovision, Super Cobra for the 5200, or Vanguard for the Atari 2600, you really need to pick this game up. Best $30 you could spend on the Atari 7800!
James Smith on 10/24/2013 11:59am
What a first-rate and exciting conversion!
Mark Mervine on 12/24/2012 09:42am
Bob 'Pacmanplus' DeCrescenzo is at it again...this time with Scramble! Bob referenced the actual arcade ROM's to produce as accurate port as possible. Other than the screen orientation mentioned in a previous review, this game looks and plays like the arcade. Given that the arcade unit had three CPU's and the 7800 only has one, Bob did an amazing job (once again)! Scramble is an awesome addition to the 7800 library of games and belongs in every collection!!!
Clayton on 12/03/2012 08:40pm
This game is hard! Always was. I've been playing this on my nintendo ds. it's so much better playing on a bigger screen. This game is awesome so much like the original. Couldn't do anything with it when i was young getting better now. Thanks Atariage well be buying more games!
grips03 on 11/18/2012 11:12pm
Great game. The arcade game uses a vertical monitor, so this 7800 port won't fill the TV screen, but the music and game are a lot of fun. Due to game not filling the screen you can see re-painting lines. Would buy this game again.