Walkthrough for King Arthur's Quest by Five Ways/Hill McGibbon Written by Richard Bos This is an odd one. I'm not sure it should count as IF at all. It's not really a text adventure. It's not really an "arcade adventure" either (a term I've always disliked anyway). It could be described as point-and-click adventure meets Lords of Midnight (or more to the point, Sorderon's Shadow), except that you don't point and click, but use single keypresses. It's an interesting idea and it could have made for a pretty good game, if it weren't for the at times disappointing execution. But let's start with the good points first. The font is large (one and a half normal Spectrum characters high), attractive and legible. Unfortunately its size means that not enough text fits on the screen, but what there is, is decently written, if often cliched - but then, that, too, is not inappropriate for the genre. The puzzles are not hard, but given that this game was marketed towards younger children, that's not a bad thing. They are, in any case, still enjoyable. There are hints throughout, and a few puzzles even have more than one solution. The spell system is nice. It functions (though not very effectively) as copy protection, but also makes a puzzle of its own. The game came with a grid of letters. When you're told a spell, you're not given the spell word itself, but a set of coordinates and a direction. You then have to find that spot in the grid and read a spell word in that direction. It makes a difference from a simple "You have to cast the spell called HOCUS POCUS". If you wish, you can find the manual containing the grid on-line; and I recommend you do so. However, in the full walkthrough below I have given the resulting spell words, for those of you who can't be bothered to. As for the bad, well... the main problem is that moving around is far too slow. Compare King Arthur with the two Beyond games mentioned above, and you'll find that it's twice as slow to move. Actions such as taking and using objects are equally sluggish. The second big problem is that you don't see what Arthur would see; rather, you are standing one square back and looking through his invisible ghost. When it looks as if there is one square ahead of you, you are in fact in that square. It takes a while before you stop moving into walls and objects that, in any other game, would still be one step away from you. This is awkward - and, of course, as slow as any other move. The action is, of necessity given the game system, simplistic. You can move about (and why this doesn't use the normal cursor keys is beyond me), take or drop objects, use them, cast a spell, or consume something. This last option isn't even ever necessary. Even "use this object with that other object" is not catered for. That the authors managed to create a reasonable game with such a small set of actions is an achievement in itself, but still, there was scope for more. The graphics are, I suppose, a matter of taste. The main screen is attractive enough - for a Spectrum game, anyway - and the icons are large and mostly clear. The view window is another matter. Its graphics are often crude, and colour clash is common, though not as intrusive as it could be. The resident monsters are all the same size - a tower is as large as a set of shelves - and, unfortunately, are not masked, so they blot out whatever is around them. Whether this is an effect of the one-step-ahead view or the reason for it I'm not sure, but either way it doesn't look professional. All in all, then, I think it can be concluded that this game could have been a definite winner, but isn't - but that doesn't quite make it a dud, either. Right. Walkthrough. But first a few remarks. The manual recommends that you make a map, and so do I. It makes it easier to find your way back when you get lost, without wandering into some kind of trap. If you don't want to make your own, you should be able to find a PDF of one where you got this document. It's crude, but sufficient. For those of you who do not want a full-blown spoiler walkthrough, here is a list of all significant features and portable objects, sorted by area. I've omitted everything (trees, pillars, shelves) which is merely an obstacle; generally speaking, if it isn't in the list, it's just there to get in the way. I've also not listed anything in the Wilderness, which is more or less a bonus area - if you want to solve that, you shouldn't need my help. You also won't find the spell words in this list. It tells you where to find them, and you can then look them up in the grid. The walkthrough itself, which is more of a full spoiler, does tell all, but in this list I'm assuming you just want a hint towards solving the game yourself. But just in case, I have provided a list of spells as well. You'll find that at the very end of this document. Object | | Use ----------------+--+----------------------------------------------------------- dead mouse |MT| Feed to owl for hint compass |MT| Find your way sword |MT| Open Secret Room mirror |MT| Stone the gorgon herb |EF| Unstone maiden bow, arrow |EF| Shoot griffin maiden |EF| Deliver to old man; gives spell to open door to part 2 silver dagger |EF| Scare away werebear silver key |K | Unlock tunnel to Merlin's Tower dragon's eye |K | Free Lancelot; give to dragon goblet of wine |Ch| Give to monk bottle |Ch| Glows: see inscription on font; holy water: defeat bat shield |Ch| Kill skeletons; give to troll golden shears |Cr| Cut through webs bone |Cr| Unstone maiden forked stick |Ca| Keep down serpent pearl |Ca| Shows half the spell for Merlin; give to gargoyle torch |Ca| Burn slime bottles |SR| Unstone maiden Feature | | Use/solution ----------------+--+----------------------------------------------------------- Book on birds |MT| Spell to move to Forest Owl |MT| Feed mouse for hint Earth |MT| Exit of tunnel from keep Flashes |MT| None, AFAICT. Pavilion |EF| Change day to night/v.v. Griffin |EF| Shoot with bow & arrow Fog |EF| Freezes compass - just avoid it Woodsman |EF| Changes to werebear at night Werebear |EF| Show silver dagger (or visit during day) Old Man |EF| Deliver maiden, Lancelot Monk |EF| Hint about Lancelot/dragon's eye Jester's Gear |K | Nothing; just scenery? Dog/Wheel |K | Visit wheel to pull in dog's chain Lancelot |K | Use dragon's eye; return to Old Man Apparition |Ch| Steals dragon's eye Skeleton |Ch| Use shield Font |Ch| Half of spell for Merlin Monk |Ch| Hint about shield Web |Cr| Cut with golden shears Spider |Cr| Avoid; go through web to the south instead Page |Cr| Hint for Secret Room? Bat |Cr| Use holy water Dragon |Cr| Give eye Maiden |Ca| Unstone with bone, herb, bottles; password to Secret Room Troll |Ca| Give shield, get torch Slime |Ca| Burn with torch Gorgon |Ca| Show mirror Star |SR| Show position of Secret Room Tingle |SR| Entrance to Secret Room (spell given by unstoned maiden) Serpent |SR| Keep down with forked stick Gargoyle |SR| Give pearl, get recipe for unstoning Jester |SR| Gives password but steals sword: trap Merlin/Dragon |SR| Spell on pearl and font And now, the walkthrough itself. We start in... PART 1 MERLIN'S TOWER - To start off, go ahead three times and pick up the compass. Now we can use compass directions instead of "left", "right" and "ahead", which are easier to miscount. - Go back east four times until you reach the shelves, then south seven times to the sword. Take this. (I am not sure what the flash of colour means. There are more of these, both here and in Morgana's Spell Room. The same effect occurs when you cast a spell, but here it doesn't seem to actually do anything; it's probably just scene building, to add to the idea of a magical environment.) - Go east three times and north once. Take the mirror. (Ignore the door to the Wilderness - for which, see below - and the owl, who can give a rather superfluous hint.) - Now go west once, then north six times to a book about birds. It gives the code for a spell. If you read the manual and follow the "code breaker", you'll find that its full name is PELLINOR; cast it. WILDERNESS We skip the entire Wilderness. There are some creatures there who provide some foreshadowing (and a vague hint or two) for the rest of the game. There is also another way into the Enchanted Forest which doesn't use magic but requires you to solve a puzzle. You can take this alternative route if you like; it makes no difference to the rest of the solution. I won't give any hints for it - after all, a walkthrough must leave some secrets intact! Instead, we let our raptor friend deposit us past the other side of the Wilderness, in the: ENCHANTED FOREST - Go north, west and north five times. Be careful not to move north once more, because that would take you into a patch of freezing fog which breaks the compass temporarily. (This route skirts around the pavilion. Entering this changes day to night and vice versa, which can be useful (see below) but for now is just annoying. If you've spent more time than necessary up to now, e.g. by going through the Wilderness, it may now be night; if so, do visit the pavilion to get some daylight.) - Go west three times, then north. There is a woodsman here, who you can ignore, but if it's now night you will find a werebear instead. You can get rid of it by using the silver dagger you find in the southwestern corner of the Forest - or by visiting the pavilion to turn night back to day. - Go north again. Take the magic arrow, go south three times and take the bow. - Go back north once, then east four times. Use the bow and drop it. Go east twice into Morgana's Keep. KEEP - Go around all the pillars: east three times, north twice, east four times, south three times, and east twice to the wheel, which you activate automatically. - Go west twice, and north four times to the dog, whom you could not have passed without visiting the wheel. - Go east twice and south; take the dragon's eye. Take care not to fall into the holes. - Go north, west twice, south five times, west twice and south three times. - Use the dragon's eye on the knight, who turns out to be Lancelot, and bring him along. Don't drop the eye, because we'll need it again. - Go all the way back north three times, east two, north four times, west four, south two, and west four into the Forest. ENCHANTED FOREST and KEEP again - Go west six times and south three. Bring along the maiden, Lancelot's sister. - Go west, north five times and west to the old man, who is Lancelot and the maiden's father. After speeches from all (ignoring the one about the silver dagger, which we don't need), pick up the maiden again. - Go east, south twice, east seven times to just in front of the door. - Go north and pick up the herb, then south and east into the keep. - Inside, return to the other door, where Lancelot was: east thrice, north twice, east four times, south four times, west twice, south four times. - The maiden tells you about the spell for the door. This works out as GAWAIN. Cast this spell. You will lose the maiden (but don't worry, you'll find her again later), after which you need to insert the other side of the tape (or second TZX file, if you're playing under emulation) to proceed to part 2, which starts in the Chapel. PART 2 CHAPEL - Having arrived in the Chapel in part 2, go south once and east three times. Take the bottle, go north, and make a mental note of what you see. - Go west four times, south thrice and east. Take the shield. - Go east once more and use the shield to get rid of the skeleton. (There's someone on this level who can provide a hint for this. There's also an eye-stealing ghostly apparition, so beware.) - Go east once more, south twice and use the shield again. Don't drop it yet. - East, south three times, and east twice through a secret passage into the Crypt. Note that it is apparently a somewhat twisty passage, and you enter at the opposite end of the Crypt to the expected one, with your face to the wall. CRYPT - Go north eight times to the bats; then use the small bottle, which contains holy water - remember the inscription on the shield. - Go north once more and take the shears, then south seven times and west five times, north and west. - Use the shears, go west twice more and south. Use the shears again and drop them here. Go south and pick up the bone. - Go north three times and drop the eye for the dragon. Then go north once more and west twice, into the Cavern. CAVERN - Go north, west and north. Ah, there's the maiden! We'll snap her out of her predicament later. Drop the bone and the herb here - the explanation for this also comes later, but for now it just makes room in our inventory. - Go south, then west two, south six times and east once. Drop the shield for the troll and take the torch in return. - Go west thrice and north thrice - note the effect of the torch - and take the pearl. Note also how the engraving on the pearl fits with that we saw on the font. Together they indicate another spell, which we'll use later. - Go west three times and take the stick. Go north twice. Use the mirror on the gorgon. Go north, then west twice into the Morgana's Spell Room. SPELL ROOM - Go west four times to a silver star. These do nothing; their function is to indicate the location of the Secret Room, later on. For now it's just a convenient marker. - From here, go north three times to an "ugly creature". Give it what it asks for: drop the pearl. It tells you how to "destone" the maiden. The bone is the dragon's meal (or what's left of it); the herb is the flower (thyme changes with time, har har). As for the two solutions, we'll find them on this level. - Go south four times, then west five times. There is the first solution; pick it up. - Now go east eight times and south four times. Use the forked stick on the serpent. - Go south and east, take the second solution, west and north, and use the stick again. - Go north five times and east twice back to the Cavern. CAVERN and SPELL ROOM again - Go south twice, east six times, north three times and east twice to where we found the maiden. - Drop both bottles. The maiden revives and tells you how to reach Morgana. The spell she mentions works out as YWAIN. - Return to the Spell Room: west twice, south three times, west six, north three times, and west. - Now go west four more times to the star, and south thrice. You should sense a tingling. If you map this section (or refer to the PDF map), you'll see that this is the centre of the pentagon. Cast the YWAIN spell here. SECRET ROOM - You are now in the Secret Room. You have one object you haven't used - your sword - but if you use it now, you lose the game. (In fact, even if it wasn't mentioned, it was necessary for the YWAIN spell to work.) You also know one spell which you haven't used yet. Both the font and the pearl showed a picture of a chained dragon, and we have a dragon right here, so let's try it. Cast that spell: SANGRAIL. And that does it. After a not very convincing bit of animation, the game is solved, and the land is free. There are still a few things I can't quite figure out - for example, why did the jester leave his stuff lying about the Keep, and what can you do with that thing the spider is guarding - but I don't think there are answers to those questions. In any case, you've defeated Morgana, and that is the main thing. (And finally the spells: Spell | | Use ----------------+--+----------------------------------------------------------- PELLINOR |MT| Fly from Merlin's Tower to Enchanted Forest GAWAIN |K | Open door from Keep to Chapel (part 1 to 2) YWAIN |Ca| Open Secret Room SANGRAIL | | Restore Merlin to normal)