PrinceWatercress plays Ossie

It's been a while since I played an arcade-style BBC Micro, so here we are...with Ossie!

Longplay

Ossie the Osprey has five chicks in the nest. These chicks must be kept alive by feeding them with fish. At random intervals, a poacher climbs the tree to steal a chick.

Z moves left, X moves right, : moves up, / moves down and Return allows you to dive (if you don't have a fish) or drop a fish (if you do) on the BBC Micro keyboard. When the game is over, press Spacebar to start a new game. Press Break at any time to end the game.

The numbers at the top of the screen, from left to right, are your current score, the amount of lives/chicks you have left, the amount of time you have left before you lose a life/chick and your highest score for the play session.

You lose a life by failing to drop a fish in the nest in time, or from the poacher reaching the nest.

The poacher can be killed by flying into him from any direction. He will come back, however.

The height of Ossie above the water before diving determines which row of fish is accessible.

When a fish is caught, fly Ossie to a point above the nest and drop the fish. Ossie will not dive from above the tree.

There are twenty (20) seconds on the first sheet (screeN0 to catch a fish and drop it in the nest. If you exceed the time limit, you lose a life.

If you drop a fish in the nest within the time, the timer restarts. On subsequent sheets, the time reduces by two (2) seconds per sheet to a minimum of eight (8) seconds (which happens on the sixth sheet and thereafter).

After the third, fourth and fifth sheets, an extra life is given. (The game says it happens after the second, but you have to beat three sheets to even get one, so you'll have to play well.)

You'll score ten (10) points for catching a fish, five (5) points for dropping a fish in the nest and twenty (20) points for killing a poacher.

When you start the game, press Spacebar to start flying around and diving for fish.

To get a fish on the top row, you'll need to dive down from just above the bottom of the nest. With all of the rows, if you are at just the right distance from the fish when you drop down, you'll be right above it when you reach the row.

To get a fish on the row second from the top, you'll need to dive down from just above nest level. You'll need just a little bit of sky below you between the left and center mountains in the background.

To get a fish on the row second from the bottom, you'll need to line yourself up with the peak of the center mountain in the background. 

To get a fish from the bottom row, you'll need to position yourself just below the center of the cloud in the upper-left corner. Be sure you're fairly ahead of the fish so it is below you when you reach the bottom of the screen.

You will need to be exact with the elevations you drop from to get a fish from a certain row. Diving from higher elevations will not get you any fish from the higher rows, so you'll be forced to know where to dive from in order to get all the fish. Not surprisingly, this is the hardest part about the game, but once you get it figured out, it's easier and more fun to play.

This is one of the more original ideas I've seen for arcade-style games on the BBC Micro so far, and while figuring out where to dive from was a bit of a task, getting it figured out makes this game easier to play and more fun to enjoy, and it also allows you to make the game look easier than it is. It can be a little hard to tell where Ossie is at times because of the white on the mountain peaks and the clouds, but at least the graphics are easy to identify and the gameplay is responsive. If you need an arcade-style game for BBC Micro, this is definitely one to recommend.

PrinceWatercress plays Megamania - Game 1 Longplay

It's now time to tie everything up with a silent Game 1 longplay. Enjoy.

First | Previous

You may think that this is just a slightly different Space Invaders clone at first glance. But Activision knew better than that, and instead of taking on aliens, you're taking on...hamburgers, cheese and tires...as the Starship Enterprise. Huh?

Actually, according to Wikipedia, the game is a near-clone of Sega's Astro Blaster, and plays the exact same way: stuff moves towards you, you shoot them before they shoot you while trying to avoid them all, the energy bar works as a timer, and the enemies reappear at the top if they move past the bottom. Also, the ship is actually a cross between the U.S.S. Enterprise and the Klingon battlecruiser. Whenever you clear a round, you get bonus points based on how much energy you have left.

Gameplay is pretty simple. Left and Right on the joystick move you left and right, while the fire button fires the lasers, which the game calls missiles. Keep in mind that when you're shooting lasers, the lasers move with your ship. Just be careful not to spend so much time directing your shots at the enemy that you direct yourself into the enemy shots!

The enemies that you face off against are as follows, in this order: hamburgers, cookies, bugs, radial tires, diamonds, steam irons, bow ties and space dice. Once you defeat the space dice, you'll start the second loop, and when you do, the enemies will have new colors and much different patterns.

Game 1 allows you to fire with guided missiles that move with your ship, while Game 3 allows you to fire missiles that go straight no matter what. Games 2 and 4 are the same as Games 1 and 3, but are the two-player variants. In the two-player modes, both players take turns and switch off when someone loses a life to see who can get the better score. Also, the difficulty switches control the speed of the missiles. B/Novice will give you fast missiles, while A/Expert will give you slower missiles.

The pace in this game is pretty good. The patterns will keep you on your toes when you're trying to learn them, and the game can get pretty hard pretty quickly. The later levels can still be a blast, such as avoiding the red tires in the tenth level. Another game I consider worth picking up.

PrinceWatercress plays Megamania - Part 2 of 2

Welp, time to make the game tougher, I guess.

First | End

This time around, I set the left difficulty switch to A/Expert as I play through Game Mode 3. Game Mode 3 has the missiles that fire straight no matter what and is tough enough as it is, but slowing down the missiles definitely makes it tougher.

PrinceWatercress plays Megamania - Part 1 of 2

I've been wanting to play this one for a while, and now I finally have that chance.

Next | End

You may think that this is just a slightly different Space Invaders clone at first glance. But Activision knew better than that, and instead of taking on aliens, you're taking on...hamburgers, cheese and tires...as the Starship Enterprise. Huh?

Actually, according to Wikipedia, the game is a near-clone of Sega's Astro Blaster, and plays the exact same way: stuff moves towards you, you shoot them before they shoot you while trying to avoid them all, the energy bar works as a timer, and the enemies reappear at the top if they move past the bottom. Also, the ship is actually a cross between the U.S.S. Enterprise and the Klingon battlecruiser. Whenever you clear a round, you get bonus points based on how much energy you have left.

Gameplay is pretty simple. Left and Right on the joystick move you left and right, while the fire button fires the lasers, which the game calls missiles. Keep in mind that when you're shooting lasers, the lasers move with your ship. Just be careful not to spend so much time directing your shots at the enemy that you direct yourself into the enemy shots!

The enemies that you face off against are as follows, in this order: hamburgers, cookies, bugs, radial tires, diamonds, steam irons, bow ties and space dice. Once you defeat the space dice, you'll start the second loop, and when you do, the enemies will have new colors and much different patterns.

Game 1 allows you to fire with guided missiles that move with your ship, while Game 3 allows you to fire missiles that go straight no matter what. Games 2 and 4 are the same as Games 1 and 3, but are the two-player variants. In the two-player modes, both players take turns and switch off when someone loses a life to see who can get the better score. Also, the difficulty switches control the speed of the missiles. B/Novice will give you fast missiles, while A/Expert will give you slower missiles.

The pace in this game is pretty good. The patterns will keep you on your toes when you're trying to learn them, and the game can get pretty hard pretty quickly. The later levels can still be a blast, such as avoiding the red tires in the tenth level. Another game I consider worth picking up.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 11 of 11

It took some doing, but I finally beat this game. Capcom did a swell job with this one.

First | Previous

Castle 2 Map (by FastaKilla)

Nockmaar Castle Map (by KingKuros)

The door that Abang was standing in front of is a dead end. Instead, go north and east of that door and you'll be able to find the doorway that continues into the castle.

At the next floor, go north, then east when you can't go north anymore. Go through the door and enter the next floor. When you go north and east again, you'll meet Sorsha and Madmartigan. Sorsha won't let you escape, but Willow throws the Powder of Unrequited Love/Dust of Broken Hearts at her. Sorsha dodges it, and just like in the movie, Madmartigan falls in love with Sorsha. Sorsha then has a change of heart and tells you that the Crest of the Spirits is in a treasure chest in a cave below the castle.

Go through the door that Sorsha and Madmartigan were standing in front of and continue. You'll meet General Kael (a reference to well-known movie critic Pauline Kael), and he's given the Crest of the Spirits to Bavmorda. He's really easy if you know what to do. Stay down and to the right of him, and stand still and swing the sword at him. Since his attacks do a lot of damage, be sure you're healed up. If you do it right, you'll be able to corner him and take him out very easily. If you're all the way to the side, General Kael will go berserk and you'll get absolutely destroyed.

Enter the door to the north, cross the bridge, and then enter the door in the lower-left room. The rest of the path is fairly straightforward.

You'll then be in a square room with no visible exits. You'll finally meet Queen Bavmorda. She'll run around the room and leave flames behind. Equip the Magic Cane and fire it at her whenever she's close enough to you, so that you leave no margin of error between you and her when it comes to your shots. This cane obviously requires MP to use, and if you mess up here, you're done for.

When you beat her, you'll get the Crest of the Spirits back. You'll then fight Bavmorda again. If you were expecting this to be even more difficult, you're sadly mistaken. This time, she'll use the exact same tactics, but you can hit her with the sword. Just stand still and swing the sword repeatedly as soon as she comes towards you. Problem solved.

After the battle, Queen Bavmorda is struck by lightning and defeated, and your quest is over. Enjoy your ending!

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 10 of 11

In this entry, we find the entry to Nockmaar Castle, but we need a key. Once we get it, however, the end of the game is finally in sight.

First | Previous | End

Cave 7 map (by FastaKilla)

Caves 5-7 Map (by KingKuros)

Had you come in here earlier, there would have been a chest shortly after you came in that had nothing in it and was there solely to block your path. At this point in the game, the chest with nothing in it won't be blocking your path anymore.

Follow the path normally, and after the first two doorways, enter the first one you see immediately after. This leads to the Fury Shield. Be sure to equip it.

From there, you can just follow the path all the way to the end and take the exit there.

You're now at the other side of where the Healball chest was. If you hadn't already noticed, it blocked your path too. Just go north and follow the path. You'll be able to reach Nockmaar.

If you go back to the house where you learned Thunder from (which is the screen south of here), you'll find out Sorsha has the Crest of the Spirits.

World 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

World Map (by KingKuros)

Well, we've done just about everything in the game. Next up, we head towards Nockmaar.

There will be a guard near the entrance. He won't let you in, but if you use the Monster's Bone and turn into a monster, you'll be able to scare the guard away and enter Nockmaar.

Castle 2 Map (by FastaKilla)

Nockmaar Castle Map (by KingKuros)

The red zombies are nasty. You'll have to wait for them to shoot 16 bubbles before you can change back from the pig form.

The room in the lower-left corner of the entry area houses Abang. Since Adik has given you Abang's sword and asked you to return it, he'll be able to put his strength behind his sword. You'll need a key to get further into the castle, and that the old woman Adik rescued has it. Turns out, the old woman was on the cliff near Nockmaar castle, and you can talk to her to get the key...except she's not there anymore and you'll need to look for her elsewhere.

Check out the Wing Sword. Instead of being the weakest sword in the game, it is now the strongest. Equip it before you do anything else.

World 2 Map (by FastaKilla)

Map (by KingKuros)

Before you head out, be sure to use the Ocarina to call Po, and teleport to Tir Asleen if you need to heal up.

Go back to Tir Asleen, and go back to the house on the path left of the castle entrance. This house is usually locked, and if you go to where you first met her, she's gone. Turns out, this is where you're supposed to meet her...and the game doesn't tell you to go over here at all. She'll give you the key to Nockmaar Castle.

All the loose ends are tied up, so you can now go to Nockmaar without having to do anything else.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 9 of 11

In this video, we enter the castle in Tir Asleen...and things get worse.

First | Previous | Next | End

World 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

World Map (by KingKuros)

Castle 1 Map (by FastaKilla)

Tir Asleen Castle Map (by KingKuros)

Go back to Fin Raziel. If you're Level 13, you should be able to transform her back into her normal form. She'll channel her energy into the magic cane, allowing it to not only damage enemies, but also Queen Bavmorda. From here, head to the castle north of Tir Asleen, since you'll have nothing else to do at this point.

The armored men with the swords have no shields to defend themselves with, and they fight just like the skeletons. That's a recipe for disaster for them, since you can just chug away repeatedly at them.

Go east two rooms and south two rooms. Enter the door. Go up the stairs and into the next doorway. Go south and east until you reach the chest with the Battle Shield in it, and equip the Battle Shield when you get it.

From there, go north and then keep going west until you stop seeing three-way intersections. From there, go west again. You'll reach a three-way intersection on the next screen. Go south here, and explore this set of hallways. You'll find the Wonder Sword in the lower-left corner.

Go back to the northern hallway and go west. When you see a three-way intersection again, go south and enter the doorway. At this point, you'll be seeing the red-outline skeletons again. Go down the stairs, and you'll be back on the lower floor and in the lower-left portion of that area when you enter the doorway.

When you reach the room in the lower-left corner, you'll meet Airk of Tir Asleen. He'll tell you about Eborsisk in the next room. He's too weak to fight Eborsisk, and he gives you his sword, the Kaiser Sword.

First of all, why did we just get another sword? We just went all the way to the upper floor and got the Wonder Sword, which is more powerful than the Dragon Sword. Now we get the Kaiser Sword...and guess what? It's weaker than the Wonder Sword. What was the point?!?

Eborsisk is dead easy at this point in the game if you're Level 15. You have to be Level 14 to swing the Wonder Sword quickly, which seems to answer my question...but at this point in the game, you've probably just leveled all the way up to the penultimate level, which makes it rather moot to have the Kaiser Sword if you are. Anyway, just stand near the Eborsisk's face and just swing the sword repeatedly until it dies. That's it.

Oh, and Eborsisk is named after Siskel and Ebert. Nice one, George Lucas.

When you go through the door, you'll be in a cell. Kael, General of Nockmaar, taunts you as you're locked in. You've also lost the Crest of the Spirits, as Kael has taken it and given it to Bavmorda to be destroyed.

You'll also meet Madmartigan again. Talk to him and he'll tell you he's met Airk, and that he's told him of a secret cave connecting Tir Asleen to Nockmaar Castle.

You'll need to move onto a specific tile at the south end of the jail cell for an opening will appear in the upper-right corner of the cell. Franjean and Rool have made an opening in the wall. They'll tell you to head out and find this secret cave. They'll give you the Powder of Unrequited Love (known in the movie as the Dust of Broken Hearts) for use as a magic item. It will give any being it touches a heart of justice. You'll then be able to leave the cell.

After a short corridor that leads back to the upper floor, you can just keep going north and exit the castle.

Head back to the entrance to Cave 7. You'll meet Franjean and Rool again.