Sammy Lightfoot(Apple IIe) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.0.0 by
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OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
3. WALKTHROUGH
4. VERSIONS/CREDITS
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1. INTRODUCTION
Sammy Lightfoot was one of the pile of games that a visiting professor and
his family dumped on my family when they went back to Europe. They had a lot
of really cool pirated games, and this had a hack where you could choose
levels 0-6. So I played it a lot, especially since it had a top 10 list--I'd
attack the levels I had trouble with, then run from the beginning--though I
never really mastered it.
SL is a platformer where you control, presumably, a fellow called Sammy
Lightfoot, whose orange bouffant spins around when he dies. That is the
coolest part of the game, slightly beating out his dopey little dance at the
end and the beginning/ending tunes.
Here's what he does in the three levels. He can't climb anything, but he can
jump and trigger platforms. In the first scene, he bounces on a couple
trampolines. Two, he jumps across 4 platforms, back across 6 blocks, and onto
a moving platform that swerves around. The third level has a boggle box of
ping pong balls at the bottom, a bunch of tentacles coming down from the
ceiling above, and a fire pit at the top. The only scoring you get is from a
bonus, which does not kill you if it runs down to zero. Complete everything,
and it gets touger next round.
Sadly there is a good deal of randomization that forces you to wait a while,
and that is when you will make most of your mistakes. Compared to Conan or
Hard Hat Mack, Sammy Lightfoot is a relatively sparse game, but it's worth a
play through especially with save states.
Anyway, I got pissed off at a Boxxle level and needed a sort of punching bag,
so here it is. Maybe you've played this and always vaguely wondered what the
later levels are like, or you just want to remember how things loop, or what
happens after level 6. Whichever. Enjoy. It's nothing to make your hair spin
on your head, but I couldn't think of anything less trivial to do.
2. CONTROLS
You need to use the joystick for this one, but if you are on AppleWin, the
number pad works great. Sammy can only move left and right. Either button
jumps. If you want to grab a rope and swing on it, you need to hold a button,
which is a bit of a pain. You cannot jump left/right by holding and
jumping...you must walk a bit first, or you must just have jumped in that
direction before.
Jump also activates platforms that rise to a fixed height to bring you to
your next challenge.
Knowing where to stand and where to jump are big parts of getting through the
game safely, more than critical reactions(except on the round-2 platform.)
3. WALKTHROUGH
We'll go into detail on level 0, as much of the later levels is just a
variation on the first. Eventually they get to the point where your best
strategy is to save and see what happens next and reload til you find the
right way to advance. I've been to level 10 but I think you'll get sick of
the game long before then. I did. In this regard, Sammy Lightfoot plays like
an old arcade game.
Level 0-1
Jump right onto the trampoline right away and hold down. The cue balls that
appear will either go off to the top right or bounce at you. You should be
able to get ahead of one if it goes below if you jump ASAP. If not, release
the button and hold it down once the ball passes. In general, you can sit
around and just jump over a ball if it is coming at you. Later you'll learn
when you can risk it.
Now you need to jump onto the trampoline to the left. If you walk off the
edge, you don't make it left. If you jump at the very edge, you miss the
trampoline. So jump when you are at the chevron on the left, and you will
make it. With timing, you can jump under an approaching cue ball, but no need
to push things. Then grab the rope to the left. You have room for error here,
but it's best to jump when it is going right at the bottom. You can even
catch it when it is at the right edge. Remember to hold the button, then when
you get to the left, release.
Bounce on the trampoline below. If a ball is in play, hold the button down,
but otherwise wait for one to pass by before jumping to the top. Jump the
gap, unless a ball is behind you, then jump above it first. Go to the right,
touch the white pad, grab the rope and hold it. Release when to the right
when the orange smiley guy(looks like he's from Russki Duck) is not at the
edge.
Level 0-2
* 1 2 3 4 *
The platforms vanish as 1, 2, 3, 4, so keep that in mind. There is a two
second pause between when one appears and the next disappears. You should be
able to get across before the blocks come down. They're slow here, which
isn't always the case. 2 should disappear as you are on 3, and you have more
than enough time to make it across. The big trouble comes if you are trapped
in the middle, with a block coming down and the disappearing guys coming at
you. You can wait for the blocks to go back up before jumping left, if you
want.
Now push a button when you get to the left. Jump right. Now you can pretty
much keep jumping right when the next block is level/below. You can jump over
blocks 2 and 5 if you are careful, but it does not save time, since 3 and 4
have to wait to be aligned. Push the button when you make it right.
Step on the platform with the lines on bottom. Go to the left edge, then push
a button. It will go down half the screen, and when it turns left, hold left.
It will turn back up. When it does, don't hold left. It will come to a stop
by the upper left, which is the end of the level. It gets more complex in
later levels, where I should note it can even reverse and not turn. Note that
also, if you are using save states and you are walking on the very back end
of it, you will fall off no matter which way it turns next. So don't save the
state then. For these later levels I played at 50% speed when on the
platform.
Level 0-3
Run right. Jump over the ball as it comes back--you can duck under it too if
you want--and jump onto the platform. Push a button. Jump left from the 2nd-
left X and wait for the lines to align. They are slightly asynchronous, so
you may need to wait a bit. Be prepared to run left once one is 2/3 up.
Sammy's hair can touch the lines, but don't get too cute.
Jump right onto the rope. The flames won't hurt you unless you drop into
them. The left one moves back and forth a bit quicker than the right. You can
jump right when they are both together, but it's best to wait so you have
more room for error. You're not synchronized with the enemy, so like in level
1 you can wait to jump. Because the rope goes up at the end, it allows you to
wait a bit relative to the orange smiley guy. The timing here is pretty
simple--if he's left and you're right, jump and he'll leave before you get
there.
You should get there so that you can jump from one rope to another, but if
the left is behind the rope, don't bother to jump on. You'll just have to
hold a button that much longer. Jump onto the rope just after the two touch
in the center, then jump over.
Level 1-1
Now you may have to avoid balls coming from the right. You can stand just
right of the orange trampoline if one ball drops on the left, and if one
drops in the center, you may have to run-jump left over it if another one
dropped from the top. You may have to jump right off the orange trampoline if
you cannot avoid a ball running from the right.
Level 1-2
If you are very quick, you can time your first jump so Sammy's hair touches
the right block coming down, and you can beat the blocks flashing across(4-3-
2-1), but I'd recommend waiting. The set of jumps back is not so bad.
The platform is not too tricky here.
D L D L U R U L.
A general rule of thumb here is to jump when the next block is just about to
hit the bottom. This applies for all levels.
Level 1-3
3 balls together--2 are synchronized and you need to jump between them, and
you can walk under the other one. Now you need to jump on the very left edge
and work left. Remember if you are near the edge to jump so you land with the
ball just behind you. You may have to wait a bit here, but the ropes do not
get appreciably harder in this or future levels.
Level 2-1
The smiley balls wobble around a bit, and you need to stand on either the
edge of the center platform or in the center to avoid them. On this level,
the smileys only appear off to the left, and you may be able to escape when
one goes DR. You should always pay attention to what will appear after each
jump and be prepared to release a jump button quickly. You may also need to
grab the bottom rope quickly and jump over.
Level 2-2
Pattern: 1-4-2-3
Again startin immediately pays big dividends, but if it doesn't work, stay on
block 4 and try to jump over to 3 and 2 quickly. Your big block here is #2 as
you must jump from 4 to 3 to avoid 4 disappearing, then you need to have the
timing right between when 2 and 3 are gone.
D R D L U L D L U R U L U.
Level 2-3
You will need to pause for the balls that bounce sharply up, and you can walk
under or jump over the other one. Here you may be able to stand briefly
between the last two oranges as they go up/down so you can make a break to
the left. You may have to be patient with the moving stalactites, but the end
ropes are easy to time. You can just wait for the enemy to be going right
when you make your final jump.
Level 3-1
You may have to stand in the center of the right to avoid the smiley balls,
as they come pretty quickly. You will need to stand in place to jump over a
regular ball and avoid the smiley, and you need to be in the right place,
too--in this case, the right of the center. You need to grab the rope when
it's open with a quick run left and jump. The game's pretty generous with you
being able to grab the rope.
Level 3-2
3-2-4-1
Jump to 4. Wait for 3 to disappear. Then you can jump quickly 3(time to jump
just before it reappears)-2-1 or wait after 2. Go back, and here is the
platform pattern.
L D R U R D L D L U R U L D L U R U L
Level 3-3
Run right and jump up if a ball behind gets close. The different speeds make
this bad but you need to be able to jump over/walk under two balls that are
close in a row. It's worth it to wait. The 4 stalactites at the end are
tricky, but you can stay under #2 or #3 if the timing is right. The ones that
go up quickly aren't particularly tough to judge--it's the 3 in a row that
are tricky.
Level 4-1
Nothing special here but watch for smileys trapping you from each side. When
in doubt, jump straight up at the top. You don't have to wait for a ball to
appear in the UL before going into the right, but be prepared to run a lot.
Level 4-2
1-3-2-4
Here you can make a quick jump and hang on the edge of 3 and jump just before
you get hit by the block from above. You'll intersect the block to the left,
but it won't matter. Around here working at half speed is really important as
you just can't remember everything and can't stay in the center long enough
to anticipate moves. The platform jerks too quickly.
D L R D U R L U L D R L D R D L D L U L D L U R U L U R U L U D L R D L D L U
(tease) R D L U
Level 4-3
Tricky here and you may wind up racing a ball to the edge with it going
faster than you. There are a lot of stalactites here, but none is quick to
appear, so this should not be a problem.
Level 5-1
There's nothing extra tricky about this--the new balls don't do anything
spcial, and you just need to catch the rope when you can and use the split
second before you land on the trampoine t see where the next ball is from.
Take your time evading balls that fall from above. The new ones may bounce
twice, so position yourself at the third or first dot from the left. You may
have to duck into the right and be alert for a ball coming from there in
order to activate the rope.
Level 5-2
4-2-3-1
Wait 1 cycle before attacking and then after 4 disappears a second time,
jump. You may have a small trick to deal with where boxes descend at the same
rate, next to each other. Jump a half-second before you hit bottom. The
moving platform is easier than last level.
D R D L U R D L U R D R U L D R U L D R U L U L D R U L.
Level 5-3
The 2 fast balls can be timed to jump over or run under them, since they are
lumped together. For the stalactites, jump straight up under the slow blues.
Level 6-1
Nothing new here except you have a torrent of cue balls pouring from the UL,
so you need to time your bounces until one appears from the right. You may
also be able to just avoid getting your head bashed on the second bounce. You
may need to time a jump after getting to the white platform as well to avoid
the orange ball and a cue ball. Proceed with cautio everywhere and stuff,
especially over the gap, but be prepared to make two quick jumps to get to
the small rope.
Level 6-2
1-2-3-4
Jump left right away so you get to #3. Then jump left again quickly. You can
make it left. Then jump right when each block in the next column reaches the
bottom.
D R D L D R L D L U L R U L U L D L D L D L D R U R U L U D L U R U D R U R L
U L.
Level 6-3
Follow the slow ball back right for best results--you only have 2 balls to
worry about that way. The stalactites present nothing tricky except for if
you are near the edge. You may need to stand under the middle of 3
stalactites that comes down slowly, too.
The rest of this is just more vigilance than before, so I'll skip it, except
where patterns are viable.
Level 7-2
4-3-2-1. You need a quick jump from 2 to 3.
L R D L D R U L U R L U L D L D R U L R U
Level 8-2
1-2-3-4
D R D L R L U R U R L D L D R L D R U L U (L U)
Wait once and jump onto 3 when the block is coming down.
Level 9-2
4-3-2-1
Again, bring up the rear. But you have to be quick.
D L U L R D L U D R D U L D L R U D R U D L U R L D L U L U D L U R L U R U
End of FAQ Proper
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4. VERSIONS/CREDITS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 4/16/2008, complete.
Thanks to GameFAQs for being, well, THERE.
Thanks to the usual GameFAQs gang, current and emeritus. They know who they
are, and you should, too, because they get/got some SERIOUS writing done.
Good people too--bloomer, falsehead, Sashanan, Masters, Retro, Snow
Dragon/Brui5ed Ego, ZoopSoul, War Doc, Brian Sulpher, AdamL, odino, JDog,
Lagoona, Da Hui and others I forgot. OK, even Hydrophant in his current not-
yet-banned message board incarnation. I am not part of his gang, but I want
him to be part of mine.
Thanks to ftp.apple.asimov.net and its various mirrors.
