Sword of Saros (1983) is a fantasy-themed action-adventure dungeon crawler that fully utilizes the Starpath Supercharger’s expanded memory to deliver a multi-level maze experience far more sophisticated than typical Atari 2600 titles. Programmed by Jon Leupp and Stephen Landrum, it was one of Starpath’s final releases and distributed exclusively via mail order, making it especially rare today. The player enters a series of dungeons in search of the legendary Sword of Saros. Each level contains winding corridors, monster-filled rooms, magical items, and locked doors. A persistent threat looms in the form of the evil wizard and his hunter bat, who can detect the player’s location and dispatch skeletons for a deadly ambush. The tension builds with each level: early mazes are fully visible, but later levels obscure most of the map, requiring lamps and scrolls to reveal the layout and enemy positions. A variety of collectible magical items enhance strategy—rings grant invisibility, potions restore life, crosses repel enemies, and keys open locked doors. The player must also collect gold and gems to barter for critical upgrades or bribe monsters in the final dungeon. Each dungeon contains a piece of the sword; only by collecting them all can the player escape. With its escalating challenge, layered mechanics, and sprawling mazes, Sword of Saros stands as a technically ambitious title that pushed the Atari 2600 well beyond its base limitations—thanks to the Starpath Supercharger.

There’s a nice video review that includes some background on the Supercharger as well as the Stella Gets a New Brain collection of the Starpath games.  This was a really incredible game with some of the best animation of a person running and moving that we’ve ever seen on an Atari 2600.  It’s a very thoughtful game that really was ahead of its time.  This is worthy of a revival, either individually or as part of the Starpath collection.