Bladedlightning/CaptainVulgarity plays Daffy Duck: The Marvin Missions - Part 1 of 11

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"Duck Dodgers in the 24½ Century!"

Where There's Duck, There's Fire

Planet: Magma

Type: Resort

Size: Big

Atmosphere: Quaint

In Level 1, you have to save politicians who have been held hostage by Marvin the Martian, who is causing havoc throughout the Looney Tunes galaxy. Whether this is all loosely based on old Duck Dodgers cartoons or all part of one grand scheme, the game never explains - you're just going after Marvin the Martian for five levels. Fun, I know.

Oh, and you have to do all this in one sitting. There's no passwords or anything. Shame on you, Sunsoft.

Before you begin a level, you'll be able to buy power-ups. You start off with $1500, and you'll be able to gain more along the way.

The first five are the Freeze Gun, the Electricity Gun, the Three-Way Gun, the Bomb Gun and the Anti-Matter Gun, followed by the Continue Gem and the Extra Life. The purple arrow, of course, lets you exit the store and get on with the game. I'll explain the power-ups as we go.

Section 1

The rocks that come out of the lava, as well as the lava itself, cause damage. The first enemy you'll see here is this cactus guy. Shoot him a few times, then hold X to use your cape as a shield to nullify his spike attack before shooting him again. Defeating enemies causes them to drop cash, which you should pick up before it disappears. You'll also find power-ups throughout the game if you know where to look.

The Nutty Bomb destroys everything on-screen, and also packs a punch on bosses. You can carry up to nine at any time.

You have 12 hit points, as indicated by four health units that get smaller until they disappear. Drinking a glass of Orange Juice will replenish it fully.

You also have a jetpack that activates when you press and hold B. You'll be able to fly as long as you have fuel...

The little yellow men come out through cracks in the rock walls. Block their rocks when they burst out, then shoot and block their attacks.

When you shoot, you get knocked back into a sitting-down position. There's no rapid fire, and this sitting position also helps you get through certain spots in the game when you keep shooting (if it doesn't cramp your trigger finger first).

This guy will drop a Three-Way Gun when you destroy  him. This gun shoots three shots - two diagonal, one straight. It's most useful when you shoot up (which doesn't knock you back when you do so), or when you're right in front of an enemy.

Jump on the platform after shooting the next cactus, then jump left and use the jetpack. Avoid the mini-volcano that spews rocks, and leap through the wall. Kill the cactus, then you'll be able to fly to an extra life (self-explanatory) and a Continue Gem (Five of these equal one continue, and you start out with one at the beginning of the game. Better save your money for some or remember where they all are, as they're few and far between if you don't buy them prior to the next level).

Going down will give you a glass of Orange Juice if you go left. Also, the lava waterfalls don't damage you. They're just part of the foreground.

The purple arrows are continue points. Touch them, and you'll start at the last one you touched if you die.

If Duck Dodgers says "Hoo-hoo!" when he gets hit, it's one HP of damage. If he says "Mother!" it's three HP of damage - a whole unit! Be careful and know when to block!

When you reach the right-most part of the stage, you'll get the Freeze Gun. This freeze enemies with one shot, but it doesn't damage them. It does, however, give you extra time to either switch to another gun and shoot them down or run away from them entirely if the situation calls for it, as some enemies can be really annoying at times.

When you make it further up, you'll find a Bomb Gun, which shoots a small steel ball that bounces for a few seconds in the direction you shoot it before it either explodes or hits an enemy, It's more powerful than the blaster and can come in handy at times.

When you make it to the resort, Marvin the Martian will water of his own Martian soldiers. Concentrate on one, grab its money when it dies, and shoot the other one as you block its shots. Once the other one's gone, grab the money it drops. The politician here will be freed from the ropes that have tied him up. It's on to the second section (every level has four sections).

Section 2

There are more Martians here. Some walk around, some don't. They take less damage before dying, unlike the ones you just fought at the end of Section 1.

Pausing the game brings up the map. The blinking dot is your current locations. Small map sure is small.

If you shoot the ones that walk around in the back, block immediately, as they will shoot at you in response just after they turn around. The ones that stand around can be fought like the helmeted Martians. They fire more often (and it also hurts), so shoot, shoot, block, repeat until they're dead. Get used to the Martians, you'll see them throughout the game.

As you traverse the resort, you'll find an Electricity Gun. It fires a beam of electricity that covers more of the screen. No two shots are alike in appearance! It's slightly stronger, but it makes up for that with its speed.

To the right is the pool. This is what Lava Lakes Pleasure Resort has for a pool? I am disappoint. After that is the other half of the resort, as well as more Martians. Take a look around here thoroughly; you'll get two Three-Way Guns, a glass of Orange Juice and a can of Jetpack Fuel for your efforts.

Before you take the lift down, go right, and leap through the walls to get money and a Continue Gem. Above the lift is another Freeze Gun and another glass of Orange Juice. Going right before you hit the bottom gives you another much-needed Extra Life. Also, watch out for the drops of lava that come down from the ceiling.

Once again, you fight those helmeted Martians at the end of the section. Same strategies apply. If you have the Bomb Gun from the Weapon Shop, it definitely helps.

The soundtrack of Summer Carnival '92: Recca

Here you go: a medley of all the tunes from the soundtrack as well as a few unused tunes that were also in the soundtrack's official release.

Also, the intro where the Sega logo shows up, explodes and is replaced with the Nintendo logo is in the game, but it was disabled prior to the game's release. It can be shown in-game with the help of a Game Genie code, which can be found here.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 14 of 14

Enjoy the ending, which you get after beating either quest. Nope, it doesn't change after the second one.

After "To Be Continued..." appears, reset the game to get the second quest.

Stinks there was never a sequel. Sadly, the battle at the end was not to be...

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 13 of 14

After all this, it's over. It's finally over.

Area 7

(continued)

 

The grey tadpole ships are a bit weird. When you destroy them, the tails remain. Yes, they will still damage you and stop your shots.

Be out of the way when they drop down after the screen goes black, indicating the final boss from the first quest, which you'll have to fight for the second and last time. Stay on the move, watch its pattern, avoid its firepower and fire the beam shields whenever necessary. You'll need them to get rid of the homing missiles, which can cause a lot of lost lives.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 12 of 14

It's time for the final battle!

Area 7

Just like Stage 2 from the first quest, you'll be going to the end while fighting a whole lot of ships, then slowly moving backwards while dealing wihth a smorgasbord of turrets that fire at you. You'll have to deal with the snakes again after some time.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 11 of 14

The boss rush continues as we face the remainder of the regular bosses!

Area 6

(continued)

The seventh boss is the pink one with the turrets. Use the beam shield to take out all of the turrets as you aim for the center.

The eighth boss is the white one with the huge green lasers. Keep out of the path of the lasers, and hit the center directly with beam shield shots.

The ninth boss just fires a seven-way shot and a straight laser, as well as larger blue fireballs. Just stay to the side and hit the center with beam shield shots as soon as you can get nearby.

The tenth boss is the one with the four extendable turret arms. Avoid the lasers as you hit the center of the boss with beam shield shots.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 10 of 14

We're getting close to the end, and what better thing to do than to see all the normal bosses again?

Area 6

You'll meet the first boss fairly quickly. It's the second boss from Stage 1. Just stay near the center so you don't have to deal with all the lasers and destroy the center with beam shield shots.

The second boss is the pink one that opens up and fires a whole bunch of lasers. Again. Just be careful as you shoot at it with beam shield shots.

The third boss is the mid-boss from Stage 1. Avoid the arms and their firepower as you hit the center with three beam shields.

The end boss from Area 4 is back. Again. You should know what to do here.

The fifth boss is the pink boss with the lasers. Stay out of the scope of the lasers as you avoid any and all other attacks, then move in for the kill and fire the beam shield at the center when the lasers stop firing.

The sixth boss is the teleporting boss. Again, you know what to do here.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 9 of 14

Another area, another boss. Guess what? It's the teleporting boss.

Area 5

The first boss is the Stage 3 mid-boss. Just use the beam shield to protect yourself from the boss's firepower, then let loose when it shows its face.

After you beat the first boss, the swirly cloud in the background gently switches from one color on the color spectrum to the next.

The second boss is the teleporting boss from the boss rush. Avoid the fireballs it shoots as it teleports it, then let loose with a beam shield when it's finally solid. Be quick about it before it teleports back out again.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 8 of 14

This is where the second quest gets really nasty.

Area 4

It should be noted that you're going to be flying into a savage, unrelenting and unforgiving flurry of missiles.

The boss here is the Stage 2 boss from the first quest. Just stay near the bottom to avoid the lasers and hit the center with three beam shield shots.

Advertisements for Summer Carnival '92: Recca for 3DS

Here they are: ads for the downloadable 3DS version of the game.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 7 of 14

This is the exact same as Stage 3 from the first quest, so...copy and paste time!

Area 3

For the first boss, charge up the beam shield and block all the boss's shots with it. When it stops firing, let it loose.

Three hits later, you'll fight another boss. Use the beam shield to take out all the turrets, then go straight for the center.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 6 of 14

We continue on to Area 2, where the background and the music combined make this part of the game seem pretty trippy.

Area 2

Remember the boss from the boss rush at the end of the first quest that opens up before fighting all those lasers? Well, it appears again. You'll want to time it right so that you can fire the beam shield just as it opens up, so you can hit the center of it and avoid the lasers it fires off. Once you get the timing down, it won't take much to get the three shots off that you need.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 5 of 14

You thought the game was hard enough with four levels? Wait until you see the game after you reset it.

Area 1

Wait, I thought we had "stages." Not in the second quest, you don't! You get seven "areas" instead to distinguish this from the first quest.

To get the second quest, just reset the game after the ending sequence when it says "To Be Continued..." When you return to the title screen, the logo will be silver instead of bronzish-orange. This indicates you've activated the second quest.

This area is quite longer than any of the four parts of the first quest...and it does not let up at all. You will be switching weapons on the fly to meet the situation when necessary as well as finding a lot of power-ups. You'll be getting a lot of points here if you manage to survive and destroy most of the enemies here, so whatever high score you may have from the first quest will be eclipsed within two areas. If you're looking for proof that this game takes the technology of the NES/Famicom to the limit, here it is. Not surprisingly, this is one shooter that really holds up and has stayed challenging after all these years.

The boss here is the pink ship that shoots four lasers, which was seen earlier in the boss rush. Aim beam shields at the center, and stay away from the boss until the lasers stop firing.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 4 of 14

A boss rush mode? After four stages?!?

Stage 4

This is a boss rush stage, and it contains the bosses you've seen before as well as all the bosses you'll see in the second quest. Yes, there's a second quest.

The first boss is the end boss from Stage 1. Same strategies apply.

For the second boss, stay across from the very center, so the lasers will all miss you when it opens up. From there, fire away.

The third boss is the mid-level boss from Stage 1. Same strategies apply.

The fourth boss is the end boss from Stage 2. Same strategies apply.

Stay away from the fifth boss as it fires the four lasers, and hit the center with beam shield shots.

Hit the eye of the sixth boss before it teleports away, and avoid all the fireballs!

The seventh boss is the end boss from Stage 3. Same strategies apply.

Hit the center of the eighth boss with beam shield shots, and watch which parts of the boss fire lasers. If you need to, you can stand between lasers without getting destroyed.

The main thing to watch out for with the ninth boss besides the firepower is the blue fireballs that stay in place for a few seconds. You don't want to touch those. Just block the red bullets with the beam shield and fire away at the center.

The tenth boss is another spaceship with arms. Avoid the arms and the lasers, and block the rest of the firepower with the beam shields you're sending to...you guessed it...the center.

The eleventh and final boss, on the other hand, is nothing like the previous ten and is very, very speedy. Stay on the move, watch its pattern, avoid its firepower and fire the beam shields whenever necessary. You'll need them to get rid of the homing missiles, which can cause a lot of lost lives.

When you beat the first quest, you'll get the ending...but we won't see it yet. Next time: the second quest!

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 3 of 14

Well, that was quick.

Stage 3

For the first boss, charge up the beam shield and block all the boss's shots with it. When it stops firing, let it loose.

Three hits later, you'll fight another boss. Use the beam shield to take out all the turrets, then go straight for the center.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 2 of 14

In this stage. we move back and forth...and back again.

Stage 2

This one is a strange ride both forwards and backwards. Once you reach the red worm, just keep firing at the head with beam shields and keep away from the worm as it quickly moves around. Once you defeat the red worm, you'll be moving backwards very quickly. You'll meet the blue worm when you return all the way to the start, and you can kill it off just like you did the red worm.

To defeat the boss, stay at the bottom of the screen to avoid the lasers, and hit the center of it with three beam shield shots.

Warblefly41 plays Summer Carnival '92: Recca - Part 1 of 14

This Famicom-only shooter made its way to the Nintendo eShop recently, so why not?

Released back in 1992, this competition shooter took the technology of the Nintendo Famicom to its very limits in terms of graphics, music, challenge, gameplay and the number of on-screen sprites! The screen can get crowded pretty quickly.

Not a lot of copies of the game were sold, and the copies that do exist cost quite a pretty penny. As a result, the game is really hard to find. Thankfully, the game has been preserved by emulation and has been made more available by legal means on the Nintendo eShop.

It's kinda hard to write a walkthrough for this game, since this game relies a lot on reaction time. You have an in-game timer, and if you can't beat the game before the timer reaches 60 minutes, the game is over.

In the spirit of the PrinceWatercress Blog, where games are primarily shown off with a FAQ of stuff you need to know thrown in for good measure, we're still going to check this game out. This is one of the most challenging games on the system as well as a handful of games that shows what the system is capable of quite well.

Stage 1

As soon as you start the game, hold down the B button to charge up the Beam Shield. This can not only be used as a shield that protects you against frontal attacks, but it can also be let loose on waves of enemies and even bosses, creating a large explosion that destroys whatever flies into it! It's very useful.

Whatever you do, just keep on firing. NEVER. STOP. FIRING.

The jewels will increase the strength of your weapons. This will make the shots faster and larger, as well as more powerful.

The blue power-ups will change your primary weapon.

B: This shoots multiple shots forwards. It's a decent weapon when powered up, but you may end up finding the other primary weapons more versatile.

F: This shoots a three way shot that covers a lot of ground. It's still possible to miss some enemies with it though. If you power it up, you can also shoot at enemies that are directly behind you.

H: This is a homing shot. It works well, but the smaller enemies take priorities over the larger ones. This is bad news on the second quest, as there are more big enemies in that one.

L: This is a laser. When powered up, they can track, but only very minimally.

V: This is a spread shot. It's pretty good, and while powering it up doesn't make it look much more incredible, they help.

If you switch from one primary weapon to another, you won't have to worry about powering it back up. Your weapon power will stay the same, so if you accidentally pick up a different weapon, you won't be put in a position of helplessness.

The red power-ups will give you cannons that fire secondary weapons. You can get up to two cannons.

B: This will make the cannons fire diagonally backwards. If you've got a good forward-firing weapon, this helps.

C: The cannons will point opposite the direction you're moving. It's okay, but that means you may have to position yourself rather awkwardly to get rid of enemies with it sometimes if you absolutely have to.

F: The cannons will move forward diagonally. The power of this will probably be dwarfed by your primary weapon, though.
 

R: The cannons will rotate around the ship. If you can get two cannons for this, this is a good weapon.
 

S: The cannons will go directly for the enemies. If you have a weak primary weapon or if you like to shoot charged a lot, this can be useful.

It's kinda hard to mention the enemies in this game, since the game is very fast paced even at the beginning. Therefore, I'm focusing more on bosses for this one unless it's absolutely necessary to mention a specific normal enemy.

The first boss is a gold plane with four moving arms. Let loose with the charge shots, and avoid both the arms and any bullets that they shoot. After three charged shots to the body of the boss, you've beaten it.

When fighting bosses, always charge up the primary weapon. Always. You're fighting against the clock as well, and you'll want to save time wherever necessary to beat the game in less than sixty minutes.

Also, if somebody tried to make something on the NES/Famicom that sounded like Streets of Rage 2, the music in the game would be the end result.

For the second boss, you'll want to stay near the center of it and fire three charged shots at it. You'll want to be quick about it.

Ways to Die in King's Quest 1

Show 'em how it's done, MrWhitman.

Okay, one more.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 12 of 12

We're done! Now it's time to head to the throne room and become the new king!

Map (by Will Mallia)

Leprechaun Cave Map (by Will Mallia)

Now that you're done here, go west and eat the mushroom when you're near the hole in the wall. You'll be able to climb out of here and return to the outside world.

When you go back to the castle, you'll notice the guards are gone. Open the door. You'll notice the courtyard is empty. You're done. Enjoy the ending, with 157 out of 158 points earned. (It should be 158, but he didn't guess the gnome's name right on the first try.)

For those of you confused with that last sentence, if you do everything you're supposed to according to the guide and get the gnome's name right on the first try, you'll get all 158 points. There, now I won't have to edit this blog.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 11 of 12

This video does not contain Hornswoggle.

 Leprechaun Cave Map (by Will Mallia)

Alright, now we can go down there.

No sooner do you explore the caves that you'll come face-to-face with a man-eating rat! He looks far more menacing here than he does in the original 1984 version. If you get too close, he'll reach out and get you, putting an end to your adventure. Instead, wait for him to tell you to come closer, then give him the cheese. He'll disappear, letting you open the door.

When you open the door, you'll meet two leprechaun guards with spears. If they catch you, you'll be spending the rest of your days peeling potatoes for the Leprechaun King...unless you've picked up the four-leaf clover earlier in your travels. For that, they'll leave you alone. But you don't get any points for that. Instead, play the fiddle. They'll dance themselves out of the room and you'll earn three points for your efforts.

The next room will be full of leprechauns. Thanks to your fiddle playing, they'll be dancing around. When they're gone, get the magic shield and the scepter.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 10 of 12

Now that we've taken care of the giant, what trials and tribulations await us further into the Land of the Clouds?

Sky Land Map (by Will Mallia) 

 

Good news! The chest here is the chest we've been looking for all along! Now let's slip away and go east.

We've already noticed it before, but there's a cave here. Let's go inside.

Sky Cave Map (by Will Mallia)

In the original version, there were stairs that you had to walk up, and they were a bit difficult. In the VGA remake, you have it made (kinda). Here, you have catwalks which give you a little bit more room to manuever. Just be careful not to fall off.

Unfortunately, you may encounter the dwarf again here. If you do, restore your game and start over, since he can steal one of the magic treasures and make the game unwinnable. If you still have enough juice in the ring, put in on and rub it again, then take it back off once you go through the tunnel on the first cavern screen.

From there, keep following the catwalks and you'll come across a door. When you touch it, it vanishes. Go through it and you'll end up at the cave with the door on it. The door will then lock from behind you.
 

Map (by Will Mallia)

Go to the screen north of the right side of the goat pen. You'll find a large bird flying around. If you jump at the right spot at the right time, you'll be able to grab onto the bird and be taken to the other side of the raging river.

When you land, you'll be near a large hole. Don't go down there yet. Instead, go west. You'll finally be able to get the Magic Mushroom. Congratulations.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 9 of 12

Just when you thought this was all there was to the game...

Map (by Will Mallia)

Sky Land Map (by Will Mallia)

Go back to either the wildflower field or the place where you found the bowl and plant the magic beans. A beanstalk will crawl out of the ground. Climb the beanstalk, and be careful not to fall off! Keep your hands on the stalk at all times and save often. You'll be doing this for two screens, but it's the hardest two screens you'll probably be dealing with in the entire game.

When you make it to the top, you'll climb off of the beanstalk automatically. You can still fall off the north end of this cloud, so be sure to save once you get here.

Three screens to the east and you'll meet a giant. If you take too long, the giant will jump on you and squish you into the ground. You can either kill him or put him to sleep. Put him to sleep, since it gives you more points.

If you go south of the second screen east after the beanstalk, go south, then go two screens further east, you'll find a tree with a hole in it. Look in the hole and you'll find a slingshot. Take the slingshot.

You could go one screen north and one screen back west to deal with the giant using the slingshot, but that obviously doesn't give you the most points. Instead, you'll have to come in from the west and hide behind the tree on the east side of the screen with the giant, and make it so that he falls asleep before he catches you. If you need help with that, put the ring on and rub it. You'll turn invisible. Since you're invisible, the giant won't be able to see you, and you'll be able to stand there long enough to have the poor guy wear himself out. When he does that, he'll get in front of a tree and lie on it. Regardless of how you deal with him, he'll drop a treasure chest when he goes down. Go up to it and take it.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 8 of 12

Remember that note from the witch's house?

 Map (by Will Mallia)

Finally, we go further east since we stop by the rock near the castle on the way there.

There's a mushroom on the other side of the raging river, but you won't be able to get it quite yet.

Anyway, let's get back to the goat pen. Get near the goat and show him the carrot. He'll start to follow you. Now go back to the troll with the goat at your side and the goat will knock him away. The goat then walks off. You're free to cross the bridge.

When you do, you'll meet a gnome that is spinning hay into gold. Get close to him and he'll ask you what his name is. If you don't guess it right, you'll get the golden key that fits into that cave door. If you do get it right, you'll get some magic beans. You're better off getting it right the first time, as you'll get the most points for doing so. The gnome's name is "Ifnkovhgroghprm" (which is how you had to do it in the original) but in the VGA version you can use the much simple "Nikstlitslepmur" (Rumpelstiltskin spelled backwards). The original clue is not just spelling it backwards, but using a backwards alphabet:

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

ZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA

How you're supposed to know that the note in the witch's house applies to this, I have no idea.

Also, if you make a wrong guess on the first try, you lose a point. So guess it right the first time!

Now that we have the beans, remember that eating the beans makes you lose both the beans and points and makes the game unwinnable, as you cannot get the beans back.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 7 of 12

We meet some new monsters and save a woodcutter and his wife from ruin. Just another day in Daventry.

Map (by Will Mallia)

Going west takes to you to a natural rock bridge. Unfortunately, when you try to cross it, you'll meet up with that blasted troll again.

trollface.jpg

Let's go north and look at that man-made bridge. Looks rather nice. Since you can't go west here, let's go east. You'll see a lake where the raging river starts. Going east again takes you to an old cabin. Finally, signs of life.

Go in and you'll meet a woodcutter and his wife. His wife is gravely ill, and her sad husband is afraid that she may die soon.

Unlike the original version, where you could fall into the hole in the floor that keeps you from getting the violin, there's no way to die in here in the VGA remake. Anyway, do not give him any treasures or the carrot. You will lose points and the item. Instead, say fill to fill up the ceramic bowl, then give the bowl to the woodcutter. He'll let you take the fiddle as thanks.

Leaving the house and going east takes you to the back of the house, where there isn't really much of anything. A further screen to the east takes you to a gloomy forest clearing. If you move around while in this gloomy forest, you may attract an ogre! If you do, get away! He'll kill you if he grabs you! Also, you may attract an evil sorcerer who will try to cast a spell on you if he gets a hold of you. A dwarf may also show up as well and steal one of your items, usually one of the three magic treasures. You lose something to the dwarf and you lose it forever.

Go south and go west. You'll come across a rock with a hole in the base. There's a feint greenish glow if you look into it, but there's not much else here.

"What in the world is the PCjr?"

Yeah, I know you're probably wondering what it was, besides the fact that it's an old computer and King's Quest was a tech demo for it.
 

Guess what? It's not that great, especially when it was overhyped and was exactly the opposite of what everyone expected when it came out. The fact that it was not even close to being directly compatible with PCs of that time really didn't help matters that much. So, yeah, click here and check out even more.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 6 of 12

"It turns out real trolls are almost as annoying as Internet trolls."

No shit.

...

trollface.jpg

Map (by Will Mallia)

Let's head back to the witch's gingerbread house and go west.

Here, you'll see a tree with a bird's nest on it, complete with mother and baby birds. Nothing important here. One screen west is the raging river. If you jump into it, you will die. If you go west again, you'll see a bridge. If you try to cross it, you'll meet a troll.

trollface.jpg

DO NOT GIVE HIM ANY OF THE TREASURES, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS AND QUITE POSSIBLY MAKE THE GAME UNWINNABLE. ALSO, DO NOT THROW THE DAGGER AT THE TROLL, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS AND THE DAGGER. ALSO, EQUIPPING AND RUBBING THE RING TO MAKE YOURSELF INVISIBLE DOES NOT HELP.

Now that this disclaimer is out of the way, let's avoid him and go west. Nothing important here. Go west another screen and look at the ground. You'll notice a bowl. Pick it up. For some reason, when you look at it in the inventory (which gives you an easy-to-miss point), it says "fill" just under the rim. If you type in the command "say fill," the bowl magically fills up with some sort of stew. Save the stew for later.

INFINITE FOOD

Problems?

trollface.jpg

Go west again, and you'll come across a walnut tree. Take one of the walnuts that are on the ground. Open it up, and you'll find a small nugget of pure gold. If you're near the walnut tree, you'll see squirrels run back and forth onscreen. Nice.

Going west takes you to a spooky looking part of the forest. There's nothing here, and going west again takes you back to the gingerbread house. Let's go north.

Going north takes you to some weeping willows and a lake. There is also a snake on top of one of the trees, but it doesn't seem to do anything other than move it's head around when you move left and right.

There is another meadow west of here. There's nothing to do here, though.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 5 of 12

A gingerbread house. Where have I seen this before.

 Map (by Will Mallia)

If you eat the gingerbread house, you get two points. Really easy to miss, there.

If you knock on the door, she'll hear you. Don't go in. Instead, go south, then go back north to the house and open the door. Odds are 50-50 that she'll either still be in there...or...she won't be inside. If she is, walk into the bedroom on the right side of the screen. You'll hear her coming, so stay in the bedroom! When she stands near her cauldron, come out of the bedroom and push her. Ding dong. The witch is truly dead.

Open the cabinet. If you look inside, you'll find a piece of cheese. Get the cheese. DO NOT EAT THE CHEESE, YOU WILL LOSE POINTS. Go back to the table and grab the note on the table next to the bed. If you go to your inventory and read it, it'll have a message saying "Sometimes it is wise to think backwards." Hmmmm...

Exit the house, go south then go west. You're back at the cave we just came out of. Let's go south.

Going south takes you to the goat pen. This will be of use later. Love the frames of animation on the goat. Anyway, the trough in the goat pen is empty. It'll get food soon enough, though. Go west to see more of the goat pen, then go west again to meet the Fairy Godmother.

She'll cast a magic spell that lasts for a limited time, which protects you from death by any of the hazards in the game.

Going west from here takes you to a garden. It's a carrot garden. Grab a carrot, then go two screens west and you'll be back at the golden egg tree. (If you eat the carrot, you lose points, but if you get another one you can get those points back.) Going west past the well will take you back to the goat pen. Next entry...fun time!

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 4 of 12

If the magic mirror shows you as King of Daventry when you look at it, how come you can still die in the game with the magic mirror in hand? /philosoraptor

Well Map (by Will Mallia)

 

Go west here, and you'll come across a screen full of stalagmites. Go up and to the right when you're at the northwest corner of this screen, then go up and left when you can't go any further to the right, and you'll be able to make your way towards the exit. Where's the dragon, anyway? Did he just fly away and flee Daventry?
 

Map (by Will Mallia)

You'll now be in a sparse meadow area with a cave. Go one screen west and you'll be at another lake. Going west here takes you to another meadow with a clover patch in it. One of the clovers is flashing. Pick it up and you'll notice it has four leaves.

Going west another screen from here takes you to a lake at the edge of a cliff. Jumping off of it will kill you. Go west from here (be sure to stay as south of the lake as you can) and you'll see another screen. You'll find an elf here. If you go up to the elf and talk to him, he'll give you a ring. He'll tell you that it will make you invisible for a short time if you put it on. Better save that for something important, shall we?

Going west another screen from here takes you to a cave with a door on it. This door has a large keyhole in it. You'll need the key to open it. If you pick the lock in the VGA remake, you'll get a reference to the first Hero's Quest game.

Going west brings you to another lake. One more screen to the west is what looks like a dark forest. If you move further to the left on this screen, the witch will come and try to grab you. If she catches you, she'll turn you into a gingerbread man. If you press F4, you can duck under her when she comes near. Press it again to stand. (Pressing F6 lets you jump.)

If you go north from this screen, you'll see the witch's house. (Why she carries you so far to the east in the death sequence from earlier is beyond me.)

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 3 of 12

Jesus Christ, that screen with the golden egg in the nest totally breaks all laws of perspective.

If that thing is far away, how come it's smaller than I am when I get near it? Seriously.

Map (by Will Mallia)

Anyway, let's go west one screen. Sometimes you'll be torn apart by a wolf that comes from the west, which will not end very well. Be sure to save when you enter this screen, because the wolf doesn't always show up. If you hear a wolf howl on the screen, you know it's here.

One screen west from here is the well. Lower the bucket, then raise it. You'll find out the well is empty. Gee, since the well is useless, you can remove the bucket by cutting the rope it's secured to with the dagger. Score! Also, you can lower and raise the rope, too. Lower the rope, then climb down. When you're at the bottom of the rope, jump off, then dive.

Well Map (by Will Mallia)

You'll swim to the bottom of the well, where there is a chest. Unfortunately, it's not the chest you're looking for. Continue to the left and go up to surface. Don't take too long, or you'll drown. Fill the bucket with water, then climb out and go left.

Oh, crap. There's a dragon on the next screen, and it's protecting the Magic Mirror. But guess what? You've filled the bucket with water! When you get close, it'll wake up. I'm pretty sure getting too close at this point will burn you to ashes, so throw the water at the dragon to keep it from attacking. You can also kill it by throwing the dagger at the dragon, as well, but you're better off using the water bucket as it gives you more points than throwing the dagger (five points versus three). Now go get the Magic Mirror.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 2 of 12

We has a dagger.

Map (by Will Mallia)

From here, go one screen west and you'll be at a lake. Those black plus signs on the sand near the lake are pebbles. Pick them up, they'll be useful later.

The screen west of here has nothing in particular. Go west another screen. There's a few trees, one of them buried in the ground and a sad looking, rotted stump near the lake. Go to the rotted stump and grab the small leather pouch that is inside. If you open it, you'll find some diamonds. Yeah, that'll come in handy later in the game.

Keep going west and you'll be back in the castle again. Go back to the rock where you found the dagger, then go north one screen. More stuff to look at, yay!

Before you do that, though, climb the giant tree that you see. When you reach the top, you'll find a giant golden egg. Be careful on your way to the egg (you don't want to fall) and get the egg.

Dilandau3000 plays King's Quest 1: Quest For The Crown - Part 1 of 12

(Note: this is the SCI remake from 1990. Even though stuff looks much better compared to the original 1984 version, the game is basically almost the same.)

Before you do anything, watch this. It explains the game's story in detail (this is the expanded version, by the way), because the game ain't gonna do it!

You done yet? Now go ahead and watch this.

Map (by Will Mallia)

Unlike the original version, in which you had to go into the castle yourself and talk to the king on your own (if you're playing the original version, be sure to "bow to the king." No, seriously, type that in. It helps.) you start out at the castle here...and you can't come back.

Also, enjoy the differences between a few of the numerous releases of the first King's Quest game. Even though the game is identical in terms of place and item locations, the graphical differences are quite noticeable.

Anyway, we finally start our journey ten minutes into the video. (Be sure to see the death that happens before that point, it's got that good King's Quest-style sense of humor.) Yes, you'll still have to type in commands.

Move west of the castle and you'll come across the rock. Push the rock. Be careful not to be in the rock's way, or the rock will crush you. Pushing it from the north is the safest bet. Reach inside the hole to get the dagger.

When you get a new item, be sure to make a habit out of examining it in the inventory. You may get points for it!

Thee Historye of King's Quest

Ah, King's Quest. When you think King's Quest, you think of fairy tales, puzzles that take both time and brainpower to solve, and also the entire graphic adventure genre.

King's Quest started out as a seemingly impossible quest for three magical items that would bring prosperity back to a far-away land, but evolved into what would become the many mythical adventures of a royal dynasty that would rise in the wake of the first game.

The Cauldron Brews

The game was originally created as a tech demo for the ill-fated IBM PCjr. The PCjr wasn't very impressive, as it was more expensive than it should have been, had a cheaper chiclet keyboard and lacked PC compatibility.

Throughout 1983 and 1984, the game was developed by Roberta Williams (the founder of the franchise) and six full-time programmers who worked for 18 months to complete the game at a cost of $700,000 - a lot of money for a computer game at the time.

Unlike other games where there were no graphics and there were only static 'rooms' with in-depth descriptions and a text parser for game interaction, there was real backgrounds as well as a character that could be moved around on the screen. Described backgrounds and static pictures gave way to enhanced focus on the main character, which made for improved storytelling as well as easier immersion into the game world.

Along with animations that showed the game's protagonist King Graham performing actions such as walking, opening doors, picking up items, and climbing, depth perspective was simulated as well. Thanks to then-revolutionary programming ideas of the time, King Graham could not only get in front of objects and obscure them, he could go behind objects and actually hide from view (which would be used for puzzles in later entries in the series).

A Long, Hard Quest

Due to the failure of IBM's PCjr, King's Quest didn't do very well...until. Until the game was re-released for the Tandy 1000 and IBM-compatibles, the game would not reach the high sales that it would be known for.

The game would not only see a release on standard PCs, but also on the Sega Master System (albeit redesigned from scratch and with a completely different user interface), the Apple PCs, and even see a remake in 1990.

Retry, Abort, Fail?

With the success of future entries in the series (as well as the introduction of the new SCI (Sierra's Creative Interpreter) engine, Sierra remade the game as King's Quest I: Quest For The Crown.

Unlike in the original, in which you moved the character with the arrow keys and typed all the commands in, you had a point-and-click interface that was used not only to move the character but also switch between basic commands such as movement, touching, observing, using items and speaking.

This was not just a mere update of graphics and play control. Some puzzles were made easier, some locations were revamped, some item locations were changed, and the story and character roles were expanded. Critics and fans slammed the remake, calling it "the destruction of a classic," even going so far as to compare it to colorizing classic black and white movies. The remake was a critical failure, and prevented the release of further remakes in the series (including a re-make of King's Quest II: Romancing The Throne, which was officially scrapped upon the remake's failure).

Dynasty

The King's Quest series was responsible for the creation of the entire graphic adventure boom from the the mid-1980s until the mid-1990s. Since the original, there have been seven other games in the series, and there have been other graphic adventure series such as Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry, Quest For Glory, Police Quest, the Laura Bow games, and Gabriel Knight. This, in turn, led to other interesting graphic adventures by other companies, including Maniac Mansion, Myst, Sam and Max, the Monkey Island series, Deja Vu, Shadowgate, and the under-rated Grim Fandango, among many others.

Eversion Music - Part 2

World -5
(They're Coming...)

World -6
(A Score? Who Needs A Score?)

World -7 
(Ready! To Die)

World -8
(You Can't Escape)

DeceasedCrab plays Eversion - Part 6 of 6

Just when you thought the game was sapped of its surprises...

Turns out, there was an eversion point at the start all along.

Go back to World 7-7 (or restart the game), and then go back to the start. There's an eversion point under the gem total. Use it.

Welcome...to Hell itself.

Now that you have all the gems, make your way to the end. There's now a castle at the flag's location. Get over there.

World 8

The game still has an ace up its sleeve.

The castle keeps everting between dimensions as you're in the castle. Shortly after the beginning, get to the platform with the trees on it that is above the clouds. Wait for it to reach one of the more hellish dimensions where the trees don't exist, then stand there until you reach one that does. Congrats. You're officially above those narrow corridors with the monsters.

Watch out when you reach the narrow corridors above the pools of water. If you're at the wrong place at the wrong time, the hands will get you immediately and you'll have no chance.

Be careful with the bricks. You'll have to stand on them in the later dimensions and reach an earlier one in order to get past that part.

You'll be playing the waiting game as you make your way through the maze. Some of the walls and floors are either clouds or plants. You'll have to wait until the right moment to make your move.

Once you're out of the maze, don't continue until you're forcefully everted into one of the earliest dimensions. Otherwise, a hand will grab you. From there, touch the flag and you'll see the real ending. You thought the fake one was freaky? Check this out!

The Dimensions

X-1: This is the dimension you start in. Everything's all bright and bubbly, but that'll change when you everse. The face blocks containing the gems are smiling here. The gems here are blue.

X-2: The background is a little darker, and the enemies aren't really as happy. You can walk on the clouds now, since they're solid at this point. The blocks here are still happy, but they have normal smiles now. The gems here are pink.

X-3: Same as X-2, except the sky is now darker, enemies are now darker and move more slowly. They have no mouths, and their eyes look like they're fusing into one. Also, plants are dead, so anything blocked off by trees in the first two dimensions are now available to you as you can now pass through the now-dead plant life. The face blocks have a neutral expression to them. The gems here are red.

X-4: Oh, boy. Now the music is sinister. Clouds are nonexistent. The gems here are orange. Not only do enemies have even darker skin, they have just one eye and all they do is sit there, sometimes blocking your way through your level unless you evert back and forth again accordingly. Bricks are now weakened due to the decay of the world around here, and can also be broken in this world a la Super Mario Bros, which affects the other dimensions. The blocks have a very neutral expression to them, like they're brainwashed or something. The gems here are orange.

X-5: You thought X-4 was bad? Guess what? There's even more decay here. Plants are dead, as is the entire earth. The enemies are the same as they are in X-4, but they move around this time. Pools of water are now harbingers of death, as large hellish hands reach out to drag you in and destroy you! The face blocks are sad, and they don't give you anything if you hit them from below, either. The gems here are yellow.

X-6: It gets worse from here. Your score is a bunch of random numbers that keep changing like the symbols on a slot machine. Bricks now break apart like a pile of ashes when you stand on top of them. The enemies here are faster and more menacing looking - they actually have teeth! - and when you jump on them here, a lot of blood comes out. Also, the plants are now deadly brambles that instantly kill you when you touch them. The face blocks have faces of torture. The gems here are white.

X-7: The same as X-6, except the sky is a dark red. There is no music, only a heart beating that goes on forever. The water is now lava. The bad guys move even faster now! The face blocks show spirals for faces. The gems are skulls.

X-8: Welcome to Hell. The bricks now have a "molten lava rock" pattern, everything is black, the sky is purple, the red lava is completely flat-looking. The monsters are pretty fast.

DeceasedCrab plays Eversion - Part 5 of 6

As you can see, if you die, you'll be doing a lot of backtracking, and it's a pain in the butt.

We finally get all the gems, but in order to get the true ending, we have to do one last thing...

DeceasedCrab plays Eversion - Part 4 of 6

Finally, all seven dimensions in one level? Can you stand the anticipation?

World 7

The gem counter is at the start...and if you have all the gems from the first six levels, you'll be able to play this part.

Look around for eversion points. That's all I can really tell you. It makes getting around and finding all the gems a lot easier.

In case an enemy is transparent and flashing, it means that they don't exist in the current dimension. Don't worry if the transparent ones touch you, they can't do anything.

When you make your way to World 7-5, go back to the four gems at the beginning. You know, the ones surrounded by those bricks that would have disappeared if you stood on them in the later dimensions. Get these four gems and go to the end. Finally, you're at World 7-4.

When you finally reach 7-1, you'll be able to collect everything.

Eversion Music - Part 1

World -1

(All Is Well)

World -2

(All Is...Well?)

World -3

(Ohh Dear)

World -4

(No One Move)

DeceasedCrab plays Eversion - Part 3 of 6

Ready!

TO DIE

World 6

As soon as you go right, you'll instantly enter World 6-7! Run away from the evil red stuff that's coming after you, and grab the skulls...they're really gems. Watch out for the hands that come out of that...whatever that red stuff is.

You'll have to be really quick to get the last five gems, but once you get them, it'll be worth it. You may have to die several times before you can get the pattern down.

If you die in this world, you'll get messages such as "Ready! To Die," "Give up," "Stop," and "Behind You." Gruesome.

DeceasedCrab plays Eversion - Part 2 of 6

The game finally stops being cute.

 

World 4

 

You start out in World 4-1. When you go right, your path will be blocked by a tree. When you go back to hit the block, you'll instantly be everted to World 4-5.

As you continue, watch out when you're near the pools of water. When you get close enough, large hands reach out from under to drag you in and destroy you. Thankfully, you can jump through the arms. Just don't touch the hand and you'll be fine against these things. Along the way, you'll find a brick. Don't hit it from below, otherwise you won't be able to get the rest of the gems. When you're close to the end, use the enemies to get over the wall and away from those demonic hands.

Make your way to the end, grabbing gems as you go. But don't go for the flag just yet. There's an eversion point that takes you to World 4-4. Use that to hit the boxes you couldn't get anything out of before. Now you can get the rest of the gems.

World 5

You start out in World 5-5. Get below the blocks to evert to World 5-4 and get the gems here. Then, evert back to World 5-5 and get on top of the second set of face blocks. Welcome to World 5-6, which is even more hellish than the last dimension.

Make your way to the spot with a bunch of brambles below the bricks. You're near the end. Take care not to take down too many of those bricks in that area where you have to enter a little cranny to get three gems. Use the eversion spot near the end to enter World 5-5 again, and if you've taken down enough of the bricks above those plants, go down there and use the eversion point you find to go to World 5-4 and get the remainder of the gems. Done!

DeceasedCrab plays Eversion - Part 1 of 6

Another indie game played by DeceasedCrab? Sign me up!

Note: I am fully aware that this playthrough covers an earlier, non-HD version of the game. So does DeceasedCrab. If this somehow captures your interest, go get the newest version. You won't be disappointed.

Another freeware game off the Internet. Shouldn't be too hard to find.

Anyway, there's just two buttons - one for jumping and one for eversion, which lets you jump from one "dimension" to another.

Whenever you hear two musical tracks at the same time (the background also gets a little darker as well), press the Everse button at that point in the level to jump dimensions.

World 1

This one's easy as anything. Just grab all the gems before you touch the flag. Don't worry about accidentally dying, you have infinite lives in this game.

The face blocks contain gems. Hit them from below to get the prize.

World 2

Just a nice little excursion over a set of lakes. Evert at the top of the stage shortly after the beginning, then evert near the end to get to World 2-3, which lets you get a few more gems.

World 3

When you're in the bottom part of the level at the start, go right to evert forward and go left to evert back. Everting to World 3-4 allows you to get the gems at the top: just return to that brick at the beginning and hit it with your head. Don't worry, it's weakened now, so you can destroy that brick a la Super Mario Bros.

When you ever to World 3-4 and make your way to the end, you'll see what looks like some dark, black cloud of decay come after you. The screen automatically scrolls at this point, but this part isn't really that hard, as you can jump over the wall at the top. The gems near the end are also easy to get.

The Themes from WWF European Rampage Tour

Hulk Hogan

Ultimate Warrior

Bret Hart

"Macho Man" Randy Savage

 The Nasty Boys

Ted DiBiase/Money Inc.

Earthquake/Natural Disasters

Legion of Doom/Road Warriors

Hipoonios plays (and beats) WWF European Rampage Tour for Amiga

I saved the best for last.

Here's the manual, by the way.

Also, RIP Randy Savage, Hawk and Earthquake.

 

Even though this is a much older WWE game, it hasn't aged well compared to future games. It doesn't really seem exciting, even though there are a couple of awesome moves you can do such as evasive rolls to avoid attacks. At least the entrance music for the wrestlers, while looping samples that start over after a couple seconds, are really accurate. The biggest flaw is that the game feels monotonous, since most of time time, you're doing as much damage as you can before you have to tag your partner in. More often than not, this involves doing enough damage before the same happens to you, and then knocking your opponent down and running to your partner to tag them.

 

There are also some interesting things worth noting about this game. This is probably the only WWE game where you can pin wrestlers while they're lying on their stomach, and both characters have separate 10-counts in case both are out of the ring. You could have been outside the ring for eight seconds while the opponent would have only been there for five. Since there isn't one count for both players, this can prove frustrating if you're on the receiving end of the in-ring punishment. There also isn't much in the way of AI for the computer players, so you can win by pinfall very quickly simply because the opponent's partner refuses to budge from the apron. The game even goes so far as getting Brian Knobbs and Jerry Saggs confused. The blonde one is Knobbs and the brunette Sags, but the game mixes them up somehow.

 

Anyway, you pick two of four playable characters - Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Bret "The Hit Man" Hart - to make up your tag team. Then it's on to face your first team. You have to face three tag teams:

"The Nasty Boys" - Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs

"Money Inc." - "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster aka IRS

"The Natural Disasters" - Typhoon and Earthquake

You'll have to do this three times in three different locations, neither of which look any different from one another: the Britannic Arena in London, England; the Deutsche National Arena in Munich, Germany; and the Palaise Omnisports in Paris, France.

It's pretty easy to beat everybody up. Just beat them down until their energy is low, then pin them. Simple enough. Just be prepared to do this until you're bored out of your skull.

When you beat the first nine fights, you'll finally take on the Legion of Doom, Animal and Hawk, at Madison Square Garden. Beat them, and you'll get the WWF World Tag Team Titles and an underwhelming ending involving Jimmy Hart. How wonderful.