PrinceWatercress plays Drill Dozer - Part 6 of 28

In this entry, we enter the Kuru Ruins. This is where the game starts getting a little more interesting.

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Area 3-1: Kuru Ruins

Marked Map (by TerraEsperZ)

Unmarked Map (by Spannetone)

When you start the level, you'll drill some blocks and see Grutch get spooked before facing some skeletons, which act much like the normal enemies that run at you from earlier.

To get past the spear shooters, just jump from the top of one to the top of another.

The yellow skeletons produce purple gas clouds that can damage you.

The vine wall is a Level 2 self-repairing barrier, and you'll need second gear to break through it. Thankfully, second gear isn't very far.

The metal blocks with the sand on one side can be broken through with the drill if you drill through the sandy side.

The boulders make a rumbling sound when they advance. When the boulders hit flat ground as opposed to a slop, be ready to drill them, as the boulders will slow down enough for you to break through them.

The ghosts split into four fireballs that will float around and eventually hit you when you defeat them. Sliding back and forth is the best way to avoid them.

Remember the blocks that you have to go through third gear to get through. Rev up to third gear, then keep holding the D-Pad towards the next block. As long as you keep holding that direction and the drill button in third gear, you'll get past the bottomless pit.

The first spike trap will require to be fast, but also careful. Pay attention to the blocks with the sandy ends so you can figure out where you need to drill to get through it as quickly as possible. As for the second one, your gear shifting skills will be put to the test. If you get hit by the spikes on the traps, you'll be forced to start the section over at the cost of one hit point. 

From here, the spikes don't kill you on contact. Slide to avoid the spear spitters on the floors and ceilings.

The boss is a statue that gets possessed by a floating blue sphere. For the first phase, stay away from the ball on the vine when it comes down, then drill into it. From there, you need to launch yourself backwards into the blue sphere inside the statue, and you'll need to drill into that to do damage to the boss. Sometimes the vine will move from one side to another, while other times the ball will hit the ground. You'll want to wait for the ball to hit the ground before drilling into it, then get to the blue sphere from there. If you know what you're doing, this battle is pretty quick.

After the boss battle, the Red Dozers question what the floating blue sphere actually was.

PrinceWatercress plays Drill Dozer - Part 5 of 28

Exploring the basement of the art museum to unlock the vault is a bit of an adventure. This stage is a little longer than what we've played so far, and it's a harbinger of what's to come - as far as stage length goes - later in the game.

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Area 2-2: Museum Vault

Marked Map (by TerraEsperZ)

Unmarked Map (by Spannetone)

The level starts at the vault. You'll have to go through the entire basement level of the art museum just to open it.

When you enter the door, go right, as there will be three big self-repairing barriers in your way, forcing you to head in the other direction. As you go, you'll see enemies as well as chips, and you'll also be introduced to pink ghost-like enemies that move forward and chomp at you like some ethereal Pac-Man. You'll need to get away from them before they run into you, but at least they don't automatically kill you on contact. It also helps that they can only turn in a different direction via the drill ducts.

The steam that comes out of the pipes will damage you, so watch out for it.

You'll soon enter a guard station, and if you move to certain things in the room, you can read them. One of them is a card on the wall that tells you to turn the red dial two times to the right and four times to the left. Once you latch onto the machine in the room with the drill, you'll be able to turn the vault.

R will turn the dial right, and L will turn the dial left. Hold down the button you need to press to turn the dial the right way and keep it in first gear to make sure you get one complete revolution in that direction. When you turn a dial in any correct direction the correct number of times, the light will flash a different color (in this case, yellow), reminding you to turn the dial in the other direction. Keep that in mind. If you mess up, you can press Start to restart. When you get it right, you'll get the confirmation jingle, the lock will be released, and the machine to turn the dial will disappear. You can then continue on.

When you reach the fountain, you'll meet Detective Carrie, who will throw EMP bombs in your direction. Head to the right and latch on to the machine to move the jet of water that moves up and down to knock the bombs out of the air and destroy them. The aim is to take out as many EMP bombs as you can before Detective Carrie eventually runs out. L moves the water left, while R moves it right. Make sure to shift up to second gear to give yourself the ability to move the water more in one direction in case you need to take out a ton of bombs. After the detective runs out of bombs, she and her forces will head to the vault. Grutch will tell you that the Red Diamond is in the vault, while Gearmo will tell you to use the jet of water to continue on. Do just that to head to the right.

You'll soon find another office as well as a note saying that the Skullkers are paying the force well to focus exclusively on the Red Dozers, which more or less reveals that the police force here is easily corruptible. You'll also find a poster for a display for five diamonds, and below it is the combination for the machine that is in the room. To release the second lock, you'll need to latch onto the machine and turn the dial five times to the left and three times to the right. While turning the second dial, you'll get a light blue light when you turn the dial five times to the left, reminding you to switch directions. Once you release the second lock, you'll be able to get third gear.

You'll drop back to the fountain. This time, use the fountain to head left. There will be a self-repairing barrier that will block your path when you head up and to the left, forcing you to go right at first, but we have third gear now, so we can break it.

To get past the six lasers, move to the left, then slide when you reach the middle of the laser set.

You'll soon need to use both the socket lifts and the drill ducts together to get further up. There is a cracked wall to the right that I (very easily) miss, which leads to a treasure that I could have picked up at this point in the game. We'll pick it up later. To be fair, it is easy to miss that cracked wall.

After making our way back down (and sliding through a narrow corridor along the way), we'll find a painting we have to move to get some blocks out of our way. There will also be a bookcase above where the blocks are, and if you interact with the right half of it with the B button, you'll find out that there is something odd about the diamond that makes whoever holds it covet it. You'll also get the combination to the third lock, which is a bit more complex: six times to the left, one time to the right and twelve times to the left.

The third dial is bigger than the first two, and to ensure that you get one complete revolution, shift up to second gear, then hold down the button until second gear is over. You'll get a green light (which can be a bit difficult to see, but it's there) when you turn the correct direction the correct number of times. Once you release the third lock, you'll open the vault. Go down the nearby drill duct, then head left once you're back outside.

After some more drill duct crawling, you'll fight a mechanical crab inside of a duct, putting your drill duct skills to the test. The eye that flashes indicates which claw it will attack with, and you'll need to attack that claw to damage the boss (or avoid that claw if you're not in position to). If it's the left eye, it will be the left claw; if it's the right eye, it will be the right claw. When the crab lowers its eyes into the duct after you successfully avoid its attack, you'll want to attack the eyes with the drill. 

You'll soon end up back where you started exploring the level, and you can return to the vault. Latch onto the machine and keep drilling with the R button to open up the vault and go inside. When you do, you'll find out that there is gold bars in the vault, but no Red Diamond. You'll then meet Detective Carrie, who produces a yellow diamond instead, which she uncharacteristically covets, much to the surprise of Gearmo. You'll then have to fight Detective Carrie.

For the first phase of the battle, avoid the handcuffs that Carrie throws. She can throw them high or low, and they can also return to her like a boomerang on occasion. If you get caught, you'll have to drill your way out of the handcuffs. The middle of the robot will then open up and flash. You'll want to drill into it and shift up to third gear to do as much damage as possible.

For the second phase, wait for Detective Carrie to dive. The undercarriage will flash, and when she dives and then drops down, you'll want to jump up and drill upwards into the robotic torso. All the while, guards will pop out of the gold bars to make things more difficult. They don't pose much of a threat if you stay focused on Detective Carrie, though.

Once you beat the second phase, Detective Carrie will come to her senses. Strangely, you'll take the Yellow Diamond. Meanwhile, in the trailer, Gearmo will bring up the five diamonds, and mention that there is a blue diamond in the Kuru Ruins. With this as our only clue to go on, we head to the Kuru Ruins to look for the Blue Diamond.

PrinceWatercress plays Drill Dozer - Part 4 of 28

The next part of the story takes us to the art museum, and we'll have to head there to get the Red Diamond back...

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Area 2-1: Art Museum

Marked Map (by TerraEsperZ)

Unmarked Map (by Spanettone)

The police officers fight much like the Skullker enemies that you've fought before. Also, don't worry about the treasure above where you start. You'll be getting it later. For now, just break the glass below you to break into the museum.

When you land in the art museum, you'll need to head to the left first. You'll need to do this to get to second gear and take care of the area on the right. As you go through here, you'll be re-introduced through the drill ducts. Remember to use R to go through the red ones and L to go through the blue ones. If you need to go in reverse, use the opposite button while in the ducts.

Watch out for lasers. They hurt. Also, destroy everything you see, including the security cameras, for chips.

You'll soon find a block hiding a red drill duct. This takes you to the second gear, which will allow you to continue on.

You'll soon find out that you can move a painting with B. Move it to the other end to get that big security wall out of your way.

The red and purple square blocks alternate. When one color disappears, the other reappears. You'll be seeing these in other stages, and they appear and disappear in very straightforward patterns

You'll also need to watch your head while using the socket lifts afterwards due to the walls and ceilings. Along the way, you'll soon find the third gear. The doorway at the top takes you to some treasure - and the start - but again, you'll have to come here later to get it. Drop back down to the museum, and head right. With both gears in your possession, you can easily get through here. Take out the officers and watch the lasers.

The guys with the shields can be taken out if you hit them with the drill from above and then drill them from behind. Some of the officers in the small robot suits don't have shields, and you can easily defeat them.

To take out the robot dogs, watch out for and avoid the jump, then drill the dog from behind. If the dog runs in place, jump after or run away from the charge attack. After enough damage, the armor will be removed, and damaging it again will help take it out for good.

You'll soon see a security robot suit with an exposed bolt. Drill the exposed bolt with R and get to third gear to remove the bolt and make that robotic armor suit fall apart. Also, keep this in mind for later.

In the room with all the statues, one of the statues will be facing the other direction. Move the statue that's directly above you all the way to the right and place it below the one that if facing right, and you'll clear the wall in front of you out of your way.

The battery replaces a lot of health, and you won't see it very often throughout the game.

When you reach the stage, watch where the enemies are standing so you don't take contact damage, then take them out like you usually have.

You'll soon face a guard in the armor suit from earlier. Block the punches with your drill, and when you see one of the fists turn red, jump. The giant screw will soon be exposed, and you'll want to jump up, drill it and shift up to third gear to do as much damage as possible. Once the armored guard is beaten, you'll soon find a vault. From here, the Red Dozers regroup and the level ends. You'll then find out that the vault has three locks, and you'll have to stake the place out further to find out how to open them.

PrinceWatercress plays Drill Dozer - Part 3 of 28

Now that we've been exposed to things we'll see later in the game, let's head back to the main game and try to get the Red Diamond back.

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Area 1-2: Skullker Factory

Marked Map (by TerraEsperZ)

Unmarked Map (by Spanettone)

At the beginning of every level, you will always be at one gear, and you'll have to find your second and third 

Watch for cracks in the ceilings when you enter the factory; you'll find chips that way.

The yellow rubber blocks make their debut here. As mentioned before, drill into them with one shoulder button, then press the other while still drilling to launch yourself backwards. The higher the gear you're in, the more you'll be launched back, and you can also change direction mid-flight to latch onto something else, if need be.

You'll need to get second gear and launch off the left end of a rubber block to get your first treasure chest, which contains the Round Stone. There are 31 treasures that you can collect for the treasure room, and all of them are needed for 100% completion.

For the mini-boss, take out the enemies, then drill up into the mini-boss to damage it when it extends itself downwards. Don't forget to shift up to second gear to do more damage.

To power up the socket lift after the mini-boss, you'll have to enter the door to the left.

Hold B and move around with the D-Pad to look around. Doing it at the crack in the wall reveals the room below. Go down there, go up to the lever, press B when the game tells you, and you'll pull the lever and get the socket lift moving.

The flying enemies with the drills will drop down on you when you are near them. When they drop, be ready to back away and then hit them with the drill.

There is a set of socket lifts in the outside area, but until we can break the metal block, we can't go any further with it.

Back inside, you'll be drilling through a lot of desks and office equipment. Before the second mini-boss, there is a desk you can drill through for energy. You'll then fight two of the missile tanks from Area 1-1. Wait for one to shoot a missile, then drill into it. When the other one shoots a missile, you'll need to launch off yourself the first missile tank like you did with the rubber locks, then switch direction and drill into the other one. You'll have to keep switching between the two tanks as they shoot missiles to take them out as quickly as possible without taking damage and make quick work of them. 

The spring enemies after the mini-boss produce electricity, and if you attack them as they do this, you'll take damage.

Hold Down and press A to slide across narrow passages. If you don't get through the passage, just slide again.

As always, pay attention to walls to find out where you can destroy them. For the wrench box you're forced to slide to, there is a part of the wall with a bandage on it, signaling that you can destroy it to open that part up.

You'll eventually face Croog, the mastermind of the Skullkers, with the Red Diamond. After he refuses to give the Red Diamond back and flies away, you'll have to face him. The spark plug you'll find on the way to Croog gives more health than the green stone.

To beat the Scorpion Drill, wait for the drill to hit the ground, then drill into it and get to third gear as you do. When Croog sends bombs at you, watch the bombs' movement and jump over them when they get close.

After you destroy the drill, Croog's tank will grow spider legs. When the mouth opens, drill into the mouth and get to third gear to do a bunch of damage. If it takes a while, Gearmo will give you a hint telling you to drill the mouth. You'll still have to watch for the bombs, so be careful. Also, don't hold Right while drilling into the mouth, or else you'll drop into the tank when you get knocked back.

After you beat Croog, Croog will fly away...for now. You'll find out that Croog is taking the Red Diamond to the Art Museum, and you'll find out that some strange guy is now running a shop at the trailer where you can buy things such as energy tanks that act as reserve tanks and give you more health with the chips that you've been picking up throughout the game.

PrinceWatercress plays Drill Dozer - Part 2 of 28

Before heading back to the Skullkers' lair, we check out the Red Dozers' training course.

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At the main menu, you can see the equipment that is equipped on your Drill Dozer, you can see the treasures that you have collected, and you'll also be able to save and load games. You'll also be able to go to the map and play and re-play levels.

While we could go to Area 1-2 right now, we're going to the training course to see what the future of the game holds.

Red Dozers' Training Course

Marked Map (by TerraEsperZ)

Unmarked Map (by Spanettone)

The chalkboards will contain notes on the things you have just interacted with, and you can read them with B.

The boxes with the hourglasses on are time blocks. They will re-appear after being destroyed. There will be a series of beeps, and after the third set of beeps, the block re-appears. If you're inside where the block is, the block will not re-appear until you move out of the way. The darker blocks take more abuse before getting destroyed than the lighter ones.

If you hold forward on the D-Pad while drilling through multiple blocks at third gear, you'll keep moving forward from block to block as long as you are holding forward and the button you are drilling with.

The drill ducts allow you to move forward with the drill. Hold R to go through the red ones, and L to go through the blue ones. If you shift to third gear, you can fly through gaps in the ducts.

The screw gates will open paths to areas and can also help you get to others. Experiment with the screw gates to figure out which button you need to screw them. By moving one screw in, another screw moves out. The screws will move back to their original positions after a few seconds.

Sometimes you can interact with things on the wall with B. By placing the jigsaw puzzle piece on the wall by walking up to it with B and placing it where you need to - which is the puzzle below - you can open up a wall. You'll be doing this to open up paths throughout the game.

The yellow square blocks are rubber blocks. If you drill into them with one shoulder button, then press the other shoulder button, you can launch yourself backwards. The higher the gear you're in, the further you'll launch yourself back. You can switch directions while launching yourself, allowing you to perform multiple rebounding jumps with multiple rubber blocks, and while this takes practice, it can be done and it will get your places.

There are socket lifts that can carry you from either side. Remember that they can only carry you for as long as your drill is spinning, and if you hit a ceiling or a wall, you will automatically let go of the socket lift. Thankfully, you can switch the side of the socket lift that you are on with the D-Pad.

You'll find a treasure chest with 150 chips at the end.

PrinceWatercress plays Drill Dozer - Part 1 of 28

A shame this came out shortly after the DS did. I never hear much about this game, but what I hear about it is good...even if there are things about it that frustrate me later on.

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Area 1-1: Skullker Hideout

Marked Map (by TerraEsperZ)

Unmarked Map (by Spanettone)

The game begins with The Red Dozers - Jill, Grutch and Gearmo - heading off to the Skullkers' hideout to retrieve the Red Diamond, which was left to Jill after her mother passed away. Jill heads off in the Drill Dozer into the Skullkers' hideout, but she soon falls through a trap door and gets knocked for a loop upon landing. From here, getting back out is priority number one.

Left and Right move left and right, A jumps, B in conjunction with the D-Pad lets Jill look around while the B button is held down, Down and A slides. L and R will be your drill buttons, with L drilling in one direction and R drilling in the other. You'll be using R more often than not, but there will be times where you have to use L, and that will be mentioned in detail later. When you drill, you'll see a gauge on the screen that fills up and goes back down. You'll be able to get more out of your drill later in the level.

Jill soon gets back in the Drill Dozer. By drilling through the wall with L or R, you can destroy the wall, but the drill will not run for long. The walls you destroy will have health meters, and when they go all the way down, the walls will be destroyed. You can also hold Left and Right to move forward and back while drilling. If you see cracks in a wall, floor or ceiling, you can use the D-Pad in conjunction with the drill to drill through them and find things.

In the next room, you can destroy the blocks with the drill. The blocks reveal some posters with information, such as the pause menu where you can save your game and exit the level as well as the equipment menu and help file that you can access with Select. If you get the prompt above your head to press the B button, press it. Sometimes it will be Grutch or Gearmo contacting you, and other times, you'll be able to read the thing your standing in front of or interact with what is in front of you.

The small black rectangles you'll pick up are chips. Chips are used to purchase things in the shop, which won't be mentioned until a bit later on. The bigger the chip, the more it is worth.

As you go through the game, you'll get hints from Grutch and Gearmo, usually Gearmo, about what you need to do next.

Self-repairing barriers require extra gears to get through. The small ones require two gears, while the bigger ones require three. If you see a big red box with a drill on it, drill through it to open it. You'll find second gear. To shift gears, hold down either of the shoulder buttons, and when the drill gauge gives you the "SHIFT UP!" instruction, briefly let go of the shoulder button you were holding and press and hold it again to run the drill in a higher gear. You'll go into second gear, and while the drill will still go up and down, that brief instance will be more powerful than when your drills are in first gear. With that in mind, time it right, and you'll be able to destroy the barriers in one shot without them regaining health. Shifting up will take some practice and timing, but once you get used to it, you'll be able to do some cool stuff in this game.

Along the way, you'll have to use your drill to fight enemies. Enemies have health meters much like cracked walls, and you'll need to defeat them to progress and get chips. Some robotic enemies will shoot bullets at you, but if you drill the bullets, you can block the bullets. The drill won't block all projectiles, such as missiles or bombs, however.

The boxes with the wrench on them will give you health (such as the green stone that replenishes three units of health) or chips for the shop. 

The blocks that are made out of metal won't be able to be destroyed yet. You'll need parts from the shop to break them, and you won't get them until later.

The electrical barriers in the broken parts of the floors will hurt you, so jump or slide over them.

To go through doors in the background wall, go up to them and press B to enter them.

You'll eventually go through the Skullkers' quarters and destroy everything before you get to third gear. The socket lifts will carry your Drill Dozer from one point to another if you drill into it and keep running the drill. If you let go of the button you're drilling into the lift with, you'll let go of the lift.

You'll eventually get your third gear later in the later. Getting to third gear from second gear is just like going from second to first, except you're shifting up from second gear. Once you're in third gear, however, the drill will keep running until you let go of the shoulder button you've been using to run the drill. Also, the music changes to something much more triumphant once you have third gear. With third gear, you can go through the thicker self-repairing barriers and tear through scores of enemies and blocks.

With third gear, you'll finally be able to make it to the elevator behind the big barrier you couldn't get through before. If you go to the left, you'll go back to where the trap door was. The battery will refill even more health than the green stone, and you won't find it often.

Going to the right leads to a fight with a tank. Jump over the missiles, then drill into the hole in the tank and shift up to third gear. If you know what you're doing, you'll be able to take care of the tank in two attack cycles.

Afterwards, you'll be able to put your drill in a machine to open the door. R will open the door, while L will close it. When you're done, press B to detach your drill from the machine. You'll need to break a wall on the other end to reveal the machine on the other end to close the door, which in turn lowers a wall blocking the exit. Once that wall is lowered, you'll be able to exit.

Jill - who is a silent protagonist - talks with Grutch and Gearmo. When you leave a level, you'll automatically go back down to first gear and lose the other two gears, but you'll be able to regain those gears in every level you go to. You'll also find out that Jill's father, Doug, was beaten up by the Skullkers, and Jill is taking over as the boss in his stead until he recovers. From here, the hunt for the Red Diamond continues on.

PrinceWatercress plays Ossie - The Longplay

I can't believe I almost made it to the sixth screen with the minimum eight-second limit. I made this game look easier than it is here.

Let's Play

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 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 8 of 11

After some more cave exploration, we finally make it to Tir Asleen...

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World 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

World Map (by KingKuros)

Cave 5 (with Cave 6) (by FastaKilla)

Caves 5-7 Map (by KingKuros)

Refer back to the map with Cave 5, because it also contains the equally short Cave 6. The upper-right corner of the cave houses Adik of the Eagle Clan, who is an original character made for the game. He gives you the Wing Sword and asks you to return it to his brother Abang if you see him. You can equip it, but it's the weakest sword in the game, so why bother?

The path south of Adik will run in a circle. You'll find a cave here with an old woman. The old woman will tell you that the bridge to Tir Asleen is cursed, and that nobody can go near the town. Unfortunately, that's all this old woman can do for you. To the south is the other exit out of the cave. You'll have to take it in order to find an alternate path into Tir Asleen.

Head back to Cave 5 and talk to the old man there. He'll give you the witch's shoes, which allow you to cross the bridge to Tir Asleen.

When you reach Tir Asleen, you'll find out that nobody is in the town. If you go all the way to the left after entering the town, there will be a house with a woman in it. The woman will tell you that she knows nothing and that if Bavmorda knew someone was living here, she would attack again. She also asks you to go to the rocky mountain east of the castle and find the old woman there. She will tell you that the old woman was taken from Tir Asleen by Bavmorda, but was saved by Airk, a warrior of this country.

The house in the upper corner gives you an opportunity to rest and recover your HP and MP. Your next mission is to go to the castle north of the town, but you'll still have to get some stuff done before you can get inside. The path to the right of the castle forks into two directions, and if you go left, you'll see the last cave in the game. You won't be able to do anything there, however, as a chest that contains nothing will block your path.

Instead, take the path to the right and go all the way to the north. You'll meet an old woman who tells you that she has been waiting for the warrior of the prophecy to appear. From here, you can head back to the castle, and the door will finally open.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 7 of 11

We go from one cave to another on the way to Tir Asleen.

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World 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

Map (by KingKuros)

To Tir Asleen

As you go east, be careful as the rocks can hurt you. (At least they won't kill you in one hit like they did shortly after the beginning.) Interestingly, they will move from one side of the screen to the other, and if you pay attention to where the rocks are going, you can find a safe spot or two. You'll also see red palette swaps of the fly enemies, gray wasps and dirt-brown versions of the floating skulls.

When you reach the first intersection, go south then keep going east. You'll eventually be able to go north and get the Monster's Bone. By wearing it on your head and uttering Spectre's magic word, you can transform into a monster and disguise yourself as the enemy.

Return to the intersection before the Monster's Bone and go south two screens, then follow the path and keep going east at the first intersection you see. (For those of you not using a map, hugging the left wall even as it U-turns at the dead end and becomes the right wall - in a way - works very well. And if you are using that strategy, don't go up the stairs.) You'll see large, projectile-spitting faces show up in the rock walls. Just carry on.

If an enemy drops a bubble, pick it up. It will refill some of your HP.

The house you'll see on the way will have an old man who will tell you he's never heard of Nockmaar Castle (even though he lives near it). He also teaches you the Thunder spell, which is the most powerful magic in the game. You can also heal here, too. Go north from the house and you'll find a chest that contains the Heal Ball. This costs 30 MP to use, but it heals even more than the Healmace does, effectively making the Healmace obsolete.

Go back to the house, then go east. When you reach the four-way intersection, go north until you reach another four-way intersection. Go east to get the Tail Shield. Equip it when you get it. You can talk alternate paths to get to the Tail Shield chest. If the rock faces give you a hard time, you can kill them off with the Thunder spell, but be warned that it uses a lot of MP. At least the face enemies give you 200 experience points each.

The brown enemies that spit fireballs can be easily killed with Thunder, and they also drop balls of MP that will both refill the cost of a Thunder casting.

You'll eventually head back to the four-way intersection that you saw shortly after going east from the house where you learned Thunder. If you hit that area (and you probably will if you returned differently than when you went in), go north, then east. The next part of the path goes in a circle, so go west and you'll eventually find a new path...and trees.

You'll want to use the Monster's Bone here. The holes in the ground are actually mouths that try to eat at you, but if you've transformed into a monster, they won't even bother you. It won't last forever, so you'd better step it up to the other side.

Cave 5 (with Cave 6) (by FastaKilla)

Caves 5-7 Map (by KingKuros)

This one is pretty easy. The first opening you see is the house of an old man, who will tell you about Tir Asleen. Tir Asleen is the future castle of the future Queen, Elora Danan.

Go east until you see a four-way intersection, then go south and follow the path to the east. You're done here.

Follow the path (which has a lot of falling rocks) and you'll eventually come across an intersection. Both paths lead to the cave, but you'll want to go east as this leads to Tir Asleen. Unfortunately, when you try to cross the bridge, you won't be able to move past the cave. You'll have no choose but to go into the cave.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 6 of 11

It's time to head to the two towers. By going through them, we'll be able to get the Crest of the Spirits and stop Queen Bavmorda.

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World 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

Map (by KingKuros)

The Two Towers

The path north leads to the two towers that you heard about earlier. When you first reach this area, go to the first doorway that you see, which is in between the two towers. Inside is a woman caring for Elora Danan, the sacred future queen that will overthrow Bavmorda. She wants you to call the Spirit of Earth down to the Sacred Tower, as the two spirits - the Spirit of Sky and the Spirit of Earth - are waiting for you at the top of the towers. When you summon them, change shall come.

To the right of Elora's caretaker is the first tower.

Towers Maps (by FastaKilla)

The path here is relatively straightforward, and the torches light up as you go. The fact that they also light up in the floor below you (which you can also see) is a pretty nice touch.

It may seem to take forever, but you'll eventually reach the top, where you'll meet the Spirit of the Sky. He has taken Bavmorda has made his voice inaudible, and has inhabited an old man's body to tell you what's going on. He then puts his power and essence into a blue crystal, which he gives you, before telling you to scale the west tower.

Since you've completed the east tower, you can now use the Fleet magic to get back to the bottom and enter the west tower. Be careful, as you will see monsters on the way up this time around, despite this being a palette-swapped mirror image of the tower you just left. You'll also need to keep the Devil Eye ready, as there are monsters here that require it.

Remember the bubble monsters that can only be killed with the Devil Eye sword? Well, you'll find them in the third floor. When you have four on the screen, you can keep killing two so that they can continue to split into four. Just make sure there's no more than four, or you're going to be pushed back while taking a lot of damage. Since you get 180 experience points - 90 per bubble monster - every time they split, and they don't really attack you, this is one of the best ways to grind for experience points if you really need them.

Just like last time, you'll reach the top, and you'll meet the Spirit of Earth. Talk to him. After takling about how Queen Bavmorda has confined the power of Fin Raziel, whom he has placed on the earth, he'll put his power and essence into the Red Crystal, which he gives to you. He then tells you to meet Elora Danan in the center tower. Go there and you will obtain the Crest of the Spirits. The Crest must not fall into evil hands, especially Bavmorda's, or else the power of the spirits will disappear and Bavmorda will live forever. You must head to Nockmaar, Bavmorda's castle, and destroy the evil once and for all!

It takes a while to go up a few more levels (tens of thousands of experience points' worth of fighting) but it makes a difference. For starters, you'll be able to better swing the Devil Eye when you're standing still.

Now that you've done everything you can do at the towers, there's only one place left to go: back to where Sorsha was north of the entrance to the fourth cave. The easiest way to get there is to equip the Ocarina spell, call Po and fly to the Bar (which is the Tavern of the Traveller). When you get there, Sorsha and the soldier accompanying her are gone. You can now pass.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 5 of 11

On our quest, we come across the cave with the demon that guards the treasure...

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The Cave and The Ghost

Cave 4 Map (by FastaKilla)

Cave 4 Map (by KingKuros)

You'll definitely want to have the Devil Eye ready, as some of these enemies (such as the flying grey wizard robe of a ghost as well as the faces we fought in the last video) require it.

There are enemies that look like floating bubbles. When they split into two, they'll take 10 MP away from you. You can kill the two bubbles created to get that back and more. You'd better be quick, or else they'll continue to split into two. If there's too many onscreen, they'll knock you back a screen. Oh, and those zombies that turn you into a pig? They're back, but the Devil Eye kills them in two hits at this point in the game. 

Soon after you progress from the entrance to this cave, you'll find a chest. Open it, because it contains the Fleet spell, which lets you instantly exit the cave when you cast it. No longer will you have to walk all the way back to the entrance when you're done!

When you go west and then north to the next part of the cave, you'll be able to take on the boss immediately. Don't even dare, because you won't be able to win just yet. Instead, go east of the first intersection and enter the first cave you see. You'll then be able to go to another cave, where you can find three things: the Demon's Feather, the Metal Shield, and the Book of Magic. The Book of Magic casts the Renew spell, which changes magic-based enemies into weaker ones. The Metal Shield brings your defense up a further 15 points compared to the Dragon Shield, and the Demon's Feather casts the magic of Terstorm, which creates a gust of wind. Be sure you have all of these things before you leave through the opening at the southeast corner, and be sure to equip the Metal Shield.

When you head east from here, you'll meet Zhena, the ghost of the woman who was waiting for her lover. She asks you to find her lover, and gives you her Cross Flute. Enter the cave nearby, and you'll be able to take a shortcut to the intersections that takes you to the boss. Go west, then go north two screens. You'll finally fight the boss, and he's dead easy. Walk up to him, stab him, then stand there as the the needles it shoots out bounce off your shield. Rinse and repeat until it's dead. The demon will turn into Muzh, Zhena's lover. Bavmorda turned him into a demon and commanded him to guard the door forever. The battle has left him half dead, but the Cross Flute plays and summons Zhena, who disappears with Muzh. Muzh leaves a note saying that Bavmorda fears the power of the spirits as well as just people. You'll also learn the Bombard spell from this note. From there, you can leave the cave from the door near the boss room.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 4 of 11

As we explore new frontiers, we meet Madmartigan for the first time as well as some of Bavmorda's forces.

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The Journey North

World 2 Map (by FastaKilla)

Map (by KingKuros)

Now that you're able to explore this new world, go north. Take the left route when you reach the fork in the road. Keep going and you'll find a chest. Open it to get the Devil Eye. It's a powerful sword, but it only works on certain enemies. Keep it unequipped for now.

North of here is Madmartigan, a warrior of the Daikini clan. He's sitting on the ground with his hands cuffed behind his back, and he'll tell you that the key is hidden somewhere in the forest. It's actually hidden in the maze to the right. You'll need to move to the left-most part of this area to find the key. As you do this, you'll have to take on more of those blue-outlined skeletons.

You'll come across some spinning face monsters that shoot out a shield of fireballs and also shoot unblockable fireballs at you. It turns out you can actually defeat them. Here's the thing...the Devil Eye you found earlier is a sword, and a very powerful one. The only drawback to it is that it can only hit the monsters the other swords won't. (In other words, switch back to the Dragon Sword when fighting the skeletons here as well as any other normal enemies, or else your attacks will have no effect.) It's still better than nothing, and if you stab them repeatedly, you'll take them out and find a flashing circle where they once stood. Picking these flashing circles up will replenish 20 MP. Don't swing while standing still with this sword as you use it, though, as your swing speed with this weapon will be slow for quite a while.

When you free Madmartigan, he'll give you his necklace. Go north and keep going. Enter the house you see. This is the Tavern of the Traveler. As you heal, you'll learn about a nearby cave where a ghost guards treasure and kills anyone who gets near it, and that the ghost was that of a woman whose lover went on a dangerous journey. When her lover made it back, he found that she has mysteriously disappeared.

You'll then find out that the guy talking about the cave isn't talking to you, but instead to Madmartigan! Apparently he's happy that he's free, then he thanks you for freeing him after someone named Sorsha took him prisoner. He tells you that you'll need a Wakka Seed in order to cross the lake. The only people who could possibly have one are the Nail clan. (They happen to be rabbit-like creatures with antlers. Ah, so that's what I was looking at.) Guess what? You'll have to backtrack to get that, as you won't be able to progress further without one. Just head back towards the cave leading into where you entered this section from, and you'll find K'Chil along the way. You'll get the Wakka Seed.

To the east of the Tavern of the Traveler, you'll meet another old man. He'll tell you about two red towers standing side by side at the other side of the lake. Unfortunately, Bavmorda has closed off the road to them.

On the way to the staircase leading into the lake, you'll be attacked by what look like Koopa shells spinning endlessly. There are enemies under the shells that you can beat up, but at this point you can go without fighting them if you want to. If you must, however, block the bubbles with your shield, and make sure you're not standing still when they are spinning so that they will not fly into where you are currently standing.

If you enter the Tavern of the Traveler again, you'll find out Madmartigan mumbled something about defeating Bavmorda before he left.

Now that you have the Wakka Seed, you can return to the staircase that takes you into the lake and walk to the other side without incident. At the other side is a cave. Enter the cave and you'll meet Fin Raziel. You'll use the Magic Cane to try to restore Fin Raziel back into human form, only to change her into a bird. Well, at least that's an improvement. (If you don't at this point, you're going to lose your HP as long as you're in the water and you're going to die before you can reach the other side.) You won't be able to change her back until you are Level 13.

World 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

Map (by KingKuros)

You're now in another part of the land. If you go any further north, you'll see another cave. Further north still is Sorsha, daughter of Queen Bavmorda. She'll ask if you've seen Madmartigan, totally unaware that you've helped him escape. You won't be able to go past her, so don't even try.

With that, there's nothing else to do but enter the cave north of Fin Raziel.

PrinceWatercress plays Willow for NES - Part 3 of 11

Our quest leads us to unlocking fast travel and receiving magic that will allow us to restore Fin Raziel back to normal.

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Map (by FastaKilla)

Map (by KingKuros)

To The Lake!

With healing in town out of the way, we can now exit the village from the west side.

The trolls will leap at you and also try to surround you. If you've levelled up a little bit since completing the first cave, you should be able to take them out in no time with the Battle Sword.

Remember the skeletons from earlier? This is where they start showing up for me. Get close so they come at you, then be ready to turn around and stab when they stab without getting stabbed yourself.

One of the best ways to level up is with the floating skulls with the blue outlines in the path just to the south of the western entrance to Dew. They give you 20 experience apiece, and 100 in all. You should be able to go up a few more levels and get to maximum swinging speed with the Battle Sword.

There is a fork in the road where you have four paths to choose from. There are two paths to the west. Take the lower one, as the rest just lead to nothing except more battles. You'll reach a bridge and meet Kchil of the Nail Clan. A spell has been cast by Bogarda on his village, making it impossible for them to get out. I'm guessing he's some sort of white dragon, even though he looks like a silver hedgehog in-game. Since you've made some progress here, Kchil's clan can now return home and you can now cross the bridge and head further west. You'll still have to fight some bees, but at least the spell that Bogarda cast on the bridge no longer works.

You'll meet Franjean and Rool of the Brownies. The Brownies stole baby Elora in the movie, but here they're just a slight nuisance. They'll tell you to go north into the Death Forest. There will be a cave where the dragon Matanda lives. You'll have to beat Matanda and give Franjean and Rool the Crystal Ball of Life.

Some of the bare trees will come alive and shoot projectiles at you. If you're just going through the maze normally and not taking time to double back, they won't be a problem. You can also block the projectiles with the Small Shield, so make sure you equipped it before you entered this area!

You'll soon come across a cave that acts as a home for an old man. You'll regain your HP and MP here, and find out that the old man's pet, Po, has gone missing. He asks you to bring him back. He'll give you Medicinal Herbs in case Po is hurt.

From the old man's home, go east and go east again at the fork in the road. Otherwise, you'll just be going in circles. Go east at the next fork in the road. Go north immediately afterward, and keep going in that direction. From there, making it to Cave 3 is a snap.

You'll be facing palette swaps of the gray flying enemies from earlier along the way.

When you take on the red guy with two heads, avoid the two sets of fireballs he shoots, as you won't be able to block them. Then rush in and stab the guy until he dies. You'll get 50 experience points every time you face him, so beating him is strongly advised.

Cave 3 Map (by FastaKilla)

Cave 3 Map (by KingKuros)

At the intersection after the start, go south and west. You'll enter another cave that gives you the Gold Shield. Amazing how we have another shield so soon! This shield has a name on it, but the shield is too old to read the name on it.

Go back to the intersection you passed and keep going east. You'll find the Flame Sword here. If you're at Level 7, congratulations. You'll be able to swing the sword quickly while standing still.

The bats you'll meet on the way to the Flame Sword are a little more powerful, but they fight just like the bats in the first cave. Also, you may see the zombie from the first cave again. If you see him, go back and then return. He may or may not disappear. If he does, great.

Going all the way south from this intersection will take you to yet another chest. This chest contains the Dragon Scale, which you'll need to bring back to Dew.

Go back to where you found the Flame Sword, then head north and east. On the intersection to the north, you'll fight some skeletons, but thankfully you only have to fight the one that is blocking your path to the east (unless, of course, you want to fight the other ones). For best results, keep them away with the sword, and when they stop to strike, be ready to stab them immediately afterwards. It's better if you can stab them from a bit of an angle, though. Keep heading east until you find another cave. Enter and you'll find Po. Some of them will have blue outlines, but there are others will red outlines that will do even more damage...so be careful.

Since you've found shields other than the Wood Shield, you can now block the fireballs from the lizardman you'll have to face before you can rescue Po. His wings have been damaged by Matanda as a result of playing with Matanda's crystal ball, but since you have the Medicinal Herbs, he'll be alright. Po will give you the Magic Ocarina. Use it to call Po if you need him. He'll take you to a few places that you've already been.

Go back west to the intersection and then keep going south from there. You may have to take on some skeletons with red outlines, but you should know how to fight the skeletons by now. The cave at the end will take you to Matanda, who refuses to give you the Crystal Ball of Life. He will, however, give you a bracelet that a thief left behind if you leave him be, as Matanda needs the Crystal and can't fight.

When you make it back to the entrance, the wall near the point where you first entered from will open up. If you head through the new area, you'll end up in a new area. You'll be in Lake Cheef. You won't be able to move here. After some really awesome music, you'll meet the fairy Cherlindrea. She'll give you a Magic Cane, and tells you to use it to its utmost to put an end to wicked beings. She then tells you to go north and find Fin Raziel, who has been turned into an opossum by Bavmorda.

If you head back to Dew and give the Dragon Scale to the old blacksmith, you'll get the Dragon Sword. You'll need to level up a little bit before you can swing it quickly.