PrinceWatercress plays Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5 - Part 3 of 18

After just three videos, that's the first world finished! Onto the next one!

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Sand Stage 5

Pay attention to the floor, as some parts of the floors are colored differently. If you walk on those specific parts of the floors, you'll fall down a trap door. Also, some of the sarcophagi in the background will open and release a yellow mummy that will chase after you .

This is where you'll find your first mimic chest. From here on out, watch the chests before opening them.

The football helmet gives you temporary invincibility. If you run into anybody while you are flashing red, they will go down as if you hit them with a weapon.

Be ready to use the magic carpets to get where you need to go; they are more dependable than getting around on the ground and using the ladders, as that will only get you so far in this stage.

There are doors you can enter that take you to bonus rooms with a light that spins around and lets you win whatever it lands on. Press A to spin, and press A again to stop the light. If the light stops directly on a line, you win nothing; otherwise, you'll win whatever the light lands on. You can get weapons as well as invincibility, health and even super speed. 

The red "1UP" is an extra life.

Sand Stage 6

Unlike the other games, the last stage in every world has its own boss. The boss will only hurt you when it is flashing red, so keep that in mind if the bosses catch up with you. You can take out the boss briefly with a plunger gun or dynamite, but they will eventually come back. You'll need to stay away from the boss while getting all eight keys to unlock the exit, just like in all the other stages. Thankfully, the boss cannot follow you into item rooms, just like all the other enemies, but they will still be waiting when you come out of them.

You'll need to avoid the boss here, which is a mummy that can fly around and swipe at you with his bandages. If you're close enough to him, he will charge at you instead. The bandage attack is worse, as the hitbox for it goes higher than you would think and has some intense knockback this side of the Castlevania series. Take him out temporarily if you can't avoid him, and double-tap left or right when you have the room to do so, as you want to get through these stages quickly.

When you get all eight stages, get to the locked door and open it. You'll get the Sand Elemental Key for opening the chest behind the locked door in this stage, and for finishing the Sand World, you'll be able to enter the Wind World.

PrinceWatercress plays Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5 - Part 2 of 18

Now that we've covered the basics, let's blast our way through more of the first world of the game.

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Sand Stage 2

The mummy is our first real enemy. They cover a pretty narrow area, and they will chase you if they see you. It won't be able to climb ladders, however.

The cactus will act like a missile that leaps up and drop down, but you can avoid it as it is in the air.

The fairy power in the turns Woody into an explorer/miner. If you press B, you'll shake the ground with your pickaxe, and if any enemies are on-screen, they will be briefly stunned and you can move past them as they are briefly frozen. While you're using your fairy power-up, however, you will not be able to dash or use items. Thankfully, you can switch between normal and fairy form with the Select button as long as you want for as long as you have the fairy power-up.

Sand Stage 3

The roller skates will allow you to move faster for a short amount of time.

Be ready to run in case the enemies see you; it will help you out in the long run.

Being able to stun enemies with the pickaxe in fairy form will help you get around, especially to the exit.

Sand Stage 4

The magic carpets are the moving platforms of the Sand World. You'll need to get on them in order to take them wherever it is that they go.

The dynamite is a timebomb that you can lay down and have an enemy run into to get rid of them. Be careful with the use of weapons, as enemies will re-spawn after some amount of time.

The yellow mummies can go up and down ladders. Keep that in min, and try to use this ability to your advantage and see if you can lose them somehow. Just like the white mummies, they will cover a specific area of the level.

The yellow circle with the shield in it allows you to move past metal blocks when you use it as an item.

The brick floors can only be walked across three times. After the third walk across them, they will break. 

The corn enemy will spit corn seeds at you if he sees you.

PrinceWatercress plays Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5 - Part 1 of 18

It was only a matter of time before I closed the series out with the fifth and final handheld game.

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Two years after the release of the fourth handheld Crazy Castle game, the fifth game in the series came to Game Boy Advance. Instead of using Garfield, the Ghostbusters, Kid Klown, Go! Go! Kid, or even Bugs Bunny - the last of whom they did not have the rights to, they used Woody Woodpecker, as they had gotten the rights to the Universal Studios license for Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure on the GameCube, which is considered one of the worst games ever made.

The controls are the same as ever, and you can get used to them in the tutorial. Left and Right let you move left and right, and Up and Down allows you to climb up and down ladders. However, you have some new moves. Double-tapping left or right lets you run in that direction, and double-tapping Down on the D-Pad allows you to slide down ladders. Up-Left and Up-Right lets you walk up slopes. Pressing A allows you to peck at blocks to break them (unless they are made of metal) and get them out of your way.

If you bounce off a cloud while falling onto it, you can change your direction in mid-air and get to other places, which is pretty nice.

The mission in each level is the same as ever, too: open all the doors you can find and get the eight keys needed to unlock the exit door with the padlock on it and move on to the next level. Press Up to enter a door, then walk into the treasure chest to open it. If a treasure chest is moving on its own accord, don't open it. It's a Mimic, and it will damage you. If there are two chests, you can only open one of them.

When you get all eight keys, the music will change, and Woody will remind you what the exit looks like. Get to the exit and open it to get to the next level.

The cane openings, which sometimes have stairs, will let you go higher and lower in the area.

You have an inventory now. Cycle through items such as dart guns with R, and press B to use it.

To look around, hold A while crouching, then use the D-Pad to look around. If you want to look at the whole level, you'll have to pause the game and select Map to scan the whole level with the D-Pad. You'll need to un-pause to get out of the map. You can also get in and out of map mode with the L button.

You have three hearts in the upper-left corner and you have six hit points altogether. A small heart replenishes one heart, while a big heart replenishes all of them.

Unlike the other games, enemies re-spawn! Enemies come back, and this can be a hassle, especially when there are limited attack items in each stage. Also, watch out for hazards such as steam. If you get caught by enemies like spiders, wiggle free by rocking the D-Pad left and right.

The jar with the fairy in it gives you a special power when used. The special power is different depending on which world you are in.

When you start the game, Woody will be asleep at his house when Mother Nature wakes him up. She tells Woody that monsters have appeared in her world and have captured the legendary Crazy Castle. She asks Woody to help take care of the monsters, and in exchange, he will get the legendary treasure of Crazy Castle. Woody agrees upon hearing about the treasure. Mother Nature teleports Woody to her world, then Woody's niece and nephew appear, wonder where Woody went, and never factor in the story in any way.

There are five elemental worlds representing the five elements of nature: wind, wood, water, fire and sand. You'll start out in Sand World and go through all of the elemental worlds to get to Crazy Castle.

Sand Stage 1

Here, you'll get used to moving around. The white jars with the red lines can be broken with the peck attack, and the white awnings with the red and yellow stripes can be used as trampolines. Remember that you can hold Left or Right on the D-Pad to change direction in mid-air to get more control as to where you can go.

Enemies will not be showing up...yet. Use this stage to get used to moving around and learning how to do what you need to do.

PrinceWatercress plays Winter Olympics - The Longplay

...and now, the whole game, minus commentary! Enjoy!

Let's Play

Winter Olympics is a multi-event sports game much like Winter Games by Epyx for the BBC Micro. You play through six events in order to get the highest score that you can.

There are six events, and you can practice them all before playing them for real to get points. I'll explain how to play them, as well as my experiences with them.

Event 1: Speed Skating

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys in order to get to the finish line as quickly as possible. This is the easiest event of the six to play through, and I had no problem beating the Olympic record more than once to get 1,000 points for each time I did it.

Event 2: Ski Jump

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys to build up speed, then press the Space Bar near the end of the slope for a successful jump. You'll need to time the jump just right, or else the jump will either be too short or end with the worst landing ever. Since I can't get the timing of this down, I usually end up doing the latter.

Event 3: Ski Slalom

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. If you fail to get between gates, you'll get a ten second penalty, and if you hit a tree, the run ends. You'd think this would be easy, but unfortunately, the responsiveness of the controls is even worse than Robo Swamp, and that's saying a lot. You have to hold the buttons down to actually move, and you never start or stop at the exact moment that you hold down or let go of Z or X. Because of this, I constantly miss gates and run into trees. It gets to the point that I sometimes don't hit a tree when I know I will, and always hit the tree when I don't want to. I rarely, if ever, make it to the finish, and if I do, I incur a bunch of penalties on the way there. This could have been better.

Event 4: Ski Downhill

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. Same controls, except you have nothing but trees to avoid. Since this is the exact same game as Event 3 except without the gates, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I'd rather play Mogul Maniac for Atari 2600. That game did it right. 

Event 5: Cresta Run

Anybody else find it interesting that when the skiing games are done, the game starts being playable again?

Anyway, this is basically the bobsled event. The Space Bar will start your run, and you'll need to use Z and X to turn left and right respectively. This is true when you're taking turns and your bobsled goes off center. While being at the edges will give you a faster speed, being on the edges for too long will cause you to fall off the course and end your run. You'll need to mix both speed and safety in order to get the most points and even beat the Olympic Record for an extra 1,000 points. Playable, but there's a bit of a strategy and a secret to playing this event that I find alluring, which makes it my second-favorite event below Speed Skating.

Event 6: Curling

Z and X moves your player left and right respectively, while Return throws the curling stone. Your goal is to throw your five curling stones as close as you can to the center pin, which is indicated by the black circle. If you can get it directly there, you'll get six points, and you'll get fewer points the further and further away your stones get to the center pin when they stop. You have three ends - or periods - in which to outscore your opponent, and whoever has more points after three ends is the winner. You can also gain or lose points from your opponent's stones - or your own - knocking your stones away, and the same can happen to your opponent. Holding down the Return button dictates how powerful your throw will be when you let go, and it's a bit tricky to get the throwing strength that you want. Because of that, I usually end up losing to the computer opponent by one point, and it always ends up being pretty close. Still a fun game, though.

All in all, Winter Olympics is still a fun game for the BBC Micro. It's not Winter Games, but it doesn't need to be. The graphics are bright, colorful and identifiable, and the sound is there exactly when it needs to be. My only real gripe is that I wish the skiing games were easier to play, and that Ski Slalom and Ski Downhill didn't have the wretched unresponsiveness that they do. Nevertheless, the other three games are a blast to play. There are better games, but you can do worse than this one.

PrinceWatercress plays Winter Olympics

It may not be from Epyx, but it still has its bright spots. Too bad the skiing games are a big downer.

Longplay

Winter Olympics is a multi-event sports game much like Winter Games by Epyx for the BBC Micro. You play through six events in order to get the highest score that you can.

There are six events, and you can practice them all before playing them for real to get points. I'll explain how to play them, as well as my experiences with them.

Event 1: Speed Skating

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys in order to get to the finish line as quickly as possible. This is the easiest event of the six to play through, and I had no problem beating the Olympic record more than once to get 1,000 points for each time I did it.

Event 2: Ski Jump

In this game, you'll need to quickly alternate between the Z and X keys to build up speed, then press the Space Bar near the end of the slope for a successful jump. You'll need to time the jump just right, or else the jump will either be too short or end with the worst landing ever. Since I can't get the timing of this down, I usually end up doing the latter.

Event 3: Ski Slalom

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. If you fail to get between gates, you'll get a ten second penalty, and if you hit a tree, the run ends. You'd think this would be easy, but unfortunately, the responsiveness of the controls is even worse than Robo Swamp, and that's saying a lot. You have to hold the buttons down to actually move, and you never start or stop at the exact moment that you hold down or let go of Z or X. Because of this, I constantly miss gates and run into trees. It gets to the point that I sometimes don't hit a tree when I know I will, and always hit the tree when I don't want to. I rarely, if ever, make it to the finish, and if I do, I incur a bunch of penalties on the way there. This could have been better.

Event 4: Ski Downhill

Z moves left, while X moves right. Space Bar is supposed to start the run, but the run starts automatically. Same controls, except you have nothing but trees to avoid. Since this is the exact same game as Event 3 except without the gates, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you that I'd rather play Mogul Maniac for Atari 2600. That game did it right. 

Event 5: Cresta Run

Anybody else find it interesting that when the skiing games are done, the game starts being playable again?

Anyway, this is basically the bobsled event. The Space Bar will start your run, and you'll need to use Z and X to turn left and right respectively. This is true when you're taking turns and your bobsled goes off center. While being at the edges will give you a faster speed, being on the edges for too long will cause you to fall off the course and end your run. You'll need to mix both speed and safety in order to get the most points and even beat the Olympic Record for an extra 1,000 points. Playable, but there's a bit of a strategy and a secret to playing this event that I find alluring, which makes it my second-favorite event below Speed Skating.

Event 6: Curling

Z and X moves your player left and right respectively, while Return throws the curling stone. Your goal is to throw your five curling stones as close as you can to the center pin, which is indicated by the black circle. If you can get it directly there, you'll get six points, and you'll get fewer points the further and further away your stones get to the center pin when they stop. You have three ends - or periods - in which to outscore your opponent, and whoever has more points after three ends is the winner. You can also gain or lose points from your opponent's stones - or your own - knocking your stones away, and the same can happen to your opponent. Holding down the Return button dictates how powerful your throw will be when you let go, and it's a bit tricky to get the throwing strength that you want. Because of that, I usually end up losing to the computer opponent by one point, and it always ends up being pretty close. Still a fun game, though.

All in all, Winter Olympics is still a fun game for the BBC Micro. It's not Winter Games, but it doesn't need to be. The graphics are bright, colorful and identifiable, and the sound is there exactly when it needs to be. My only real gripe is that I wish the skiing games were easier to play, and that Ski Slalom and Ski Downhill didn't have the wretched unresponsiveness that they do. Nevertheless, the other three games are a blast to play. There are better games, but you can do worse than this one.

PrinceWatercress plays American Gladiators (GEN/MD) - The Longplay

...and now, the entire game in one shot, minus commentary! Enjoy!

First | Previous

Assault

D-Pad moves. B mans the weapons station. Use the D-Pad to get to the weapon, and press C to use the weapon while aiming with the crosshairs in the upper-right corner. One point is scored for every weapon fired, five for hitting the red part of the target, and ten for hitting the white part of the target. If you don't fire all the weapons, you lose this game. If you get hit by the Gladiator, your turn is over, and that's dead easy to have happen since the computer is absolutely bloodthirsty.

Joust

D-Pad moves. If you're holding B, you'll be in offensive mode. If you're not holding B, you'll be in defensive mode, which allows you to block hits. While holding B, different directions on the D-Pad will allow for different kinds of strikes. Ten points are scored if you beat the Gladiator. Five points are awarded for lasting the full 60 seconds. If you lose or get knocked off the platform, you get no points. 

If I get half of my right foot off the platform, then hold B and Up-Right at the same time, the other guy goes down in seconds every single time. Easy ten points!

The Wall

Keep pressing B while moving with the D-Pad to climb the wall without getting grabbed by the Gladiator. If you get caught, you get no points. First place gets ten points, while second place gets five.

Be sure to roll your thumb when you reach the end of a row so you can easily climb upwards.

Atlasphere

D-Pad moves. If you can land cleanly on a landing pad, you'll score one point. Be sure to move around in a circle to maximize your scoring opportunities and get credit for landing on the pads cleanly. If you see the steam come off a pad, you've scored a point. The more points you score, the more points you get at the end of the event.

Sometimes, you'll have to be knocked off a pad by a Gladiator in either of the gray spheres in order to get off a pad, as the bump gives you enough momentum to get off the pad in the first place. Also, the game can be rather picky as to whether you score or not at times.

Powerball

Grab a ball with the D-Pad and the B button. You'll need to hold the D-Pad towards the bins where the balls are before pressing B to get one. You'll then need to do the same thing to put a ball in one of the bins in the playfield. If you can get it in the center bin, you'll get two points; the others just give you one. The more you score, the more points you get for your grand total at the end of this mini-game. If you get hit, you will lose your ball and you will have to get another one, so you'll have to be quick on the draw with this game. You'll have to alternate between both ends of the playfield in order to keep getting balls.

Eliminator

Keep mashing A and C alternately to run. This will allow you to get up the ramp. When you get on the handbike, stop pressing buttons, then start mashing A and C alternately again to get the handbike going.

At the platform with the blue bags that move back and forth, keep mashing A and C alternately, and make sure you don't run into the blue bags. If you get knocked down to the floor, keep mashing A and C so you can run to the end and climb up the wall.

Climb up the wall with A and C. When you get on the zip line, stop mashing buttons, and wait until you reach the red part of the line to press B and drop down. 

To jump over the hurdles, you'll need to press B. (I forget to mention this in the video, so I'm mentioning it here.) You'll need to be at the right distance so you can jump over them and not knock them down.

You'll soon see a number on the upper-left corner of your half of the split-screen. A and C cycles from 1 through 4, and press B to confirm. Three lanes are empty, while the fourth contains a Gladiator. If you run into the Gladiator, keep mashing A and C to push past him and reach the finish line.

The first person to reach the finish gets more points than the other person, so make sure you win with as much time left as possible. Make sure you do things correctly, as you will be docked points if you mess things up such as the red balance bar, the zipline or the hurdles.

Whoever has more points after the Eliminator event is the winner, and in the case of the Tournament mode, goes to the next round.

PrinceWatercress plays American Gladiators (GEN/MD) - Part 3 of 3

Yeah, that's a pretty lackluster ending.

First | Previous | End

Assault

D-Pad moves. B mans the weapons station. Use the D-Pad to get to the weapon, and press C to use the weapon while aiming with the crosshairs in the upper-right corner. One point is scored for every weapon fired, five for hitting the red part of the target, and ten for hitting the white part of the target. If you don't fire all the weapons, you lose this game. If you get hit by the Gladiator, your turn is over, and that's dead easy to have happen since the computer is absolutely bloodthirsty.

Joust

D-Pad moves. If you're holding B, you'll be in offensive mode. If you're not holding B, you'll be in defensive mode, which allows you to block hits. While holding B, different directions on the D-Pad will allow for different kinds of strikes. Ten points are scored if you beat the Gladiator. Five points are awarded for lasting the full 60 seconds. If you lose or get knocked off the platform, you get no points. 

If I get half of my right foot off the platform, then hold B and Up-Right at the same time, the other guy goes down in seconds every single time. Easy ten points!

The Wall

Keep pressing B while moving with the D-Pad to climb the wall without getting grabbed by the Gladiator. If you get caught, you get no points. First place gets ten points, while second place gets five.

Be sure to roll your thumb when you reach the end of a row so you can easily climb upwards.

Atlasphere

D-Pad moves. If you can land cleanly on a landing pad, you'll score one point. Be sure to move around in a circle to maximize your scoring opportunities and get credit for landing on the pads cleanly. If you see the steam come off a pad, you've scored a point. The more points you score, the more points you get at the end of the event.

Sometimes, you'll have to be knocked off a pad by a Gladiator in either of the gray spheres in order to get off a pad, as the bump gives you enough momentum to get off the pad in the first place. Also, the game can be rather picky as to whether you score or not at times.

Powerball

Grab a ball with the D-Pad and the B button. You'll need to hold the D-Pad towards the bins where the balls are before pressing B to get one. You'll then need to do the same thing to put a ball in one of the bins in the playfield. If you can get it in the center bin, you'll get two points; the others just give you one. The more you score, the more points you get for your grand total at the end of this mini-game. If you get hit, you will lose your ball and you will have to get another one, so you'll have to be quick on the draw with this game. You'll have to alternate between both ends of the playfield in order to keep getting balls.

Eliminator

Keep mashing A and C alternately to run. This will allow you to get up the ramp. When you get on the handbike, stop pressing buttons, then start mashing A and C alternately again to get the handbike going.

At the platform with the blue bags that move back and forth, keep mashing A and C alternately, and make sure you don't run into the blue bags. If you get knocked down to the floor, keep mashing A and C so you can run to the end and climb up the wall.

Climb up the wall with A and C. When you get on the zip line, stop mashing buttons, and wait until you reach the red part of the line to press B and drop down. 

To jump over the hurdles, you'll need to press B. (I forget to mention this in the video, so I'm mentioning it here.) You'll need to be at the right distance so you can jump over them and not knock them down.

You'll soon see a number on the upper-left corner of your half of the split-screen. A and C cycles from 1 through 4, and press B to confirm. Three lanes are empty, while the fourth contains a Gladiator. If you run into the Gladiator, keep mashing A and C to push past him and reach the finish line.

The first person to reach the finish gets more points than the other person, so make sure you win with as much time left as possible. Make sure you do things correctly, as you will be docked points if you mess things up such as the red balance bar, the zipline or the hurdles.

Whoever has more points after the Eliminator event is the winner, and in the case of the Tournament mode, goes to the next round.