Date: August 23, 2001 Version: Final E-mail:
[email protected]
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"The next step downward to danger."
Complete walkthrough written by Darrell Wong (DKW 001).
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OBLIGATORY BORING DISCLAIMERS -
I wrote this walkthrough as a service to fellow gamers who need help with this
game. I gave this FAQ to GameFAQs and nowhere else, and everything on their
site is free for the viewing. So if anyone tries to sell you this walkthrough,
don't pay a cent. And DEFINITELY never never ever try to claim it as your own
and sell it. That's plagiarism, you can get into serious trouble for it, and
the risk of that is definitely not worth whatever laughably small pittance you
could get for my works.
The Zork trilogy and everything related to it is copyrighted by Infocom. All
rights reserved. You know the drill.
WHERE TO GET THIS GAME -
This game is "abandonware", meaning that it is no longer commercially produced.
You can download it freely from www.gamingdepot.com. (There are other sites,
but I think this one's the most reliable.) You'll also want the instructions,
which are available at Infodoc.plover.net/manuals/index.html.
INTRODUCTION -
I remember briefly playing Zork II in grade school. No instructions, of
cousre, and I had only the faintest inkling of what my tasks were, and I got
lost all the time. So it wasn't the most fun experience. (It's fortunate that
the game was a text adventure, since computer graphics in the mid-80's were
flat-out horrible.) Then, in the spring of 2001, I got the walkthrough and
original instructions, and everything just opened right up.
It's weird, really. Zork II is supposed to be harder than Zork I, yet I found
*both* games so utterly impenetrable that I never noticed the difference. And
now that I've solved the entire trilogy, I *still* don't see any difference.
Zork II has a nearly-unsolvable riddle. Zork I has nearly-unsolvable mazes.
Zork II has a spinning room. Zork I has a largely-inaccessible mine shaft.
Zork II has subtle problems that aren't even recognizable as such at first
glance. So does Zork I. And once I finished both games, I wasn't even able to
see what the big jump was. The main enemy's a greater nuisance in Zork II, but
that's all I could find.
Anyway. Here are the end results of all my efforts. Hope you like 'em.
OBJECTIVE -
With the first part of your adventure completed, you find yourself at the start
of a new, deeper section of the Great Underground Empire. This is the dominion
of the notorious Wizard of Frobozz. Once an honorable servant of the GUE's
royalty, his heart later turned to evil, and his mind has grown twisted with
age. He now lives to annoy and frustrate anyone who ventures into his lands,
zapping them with dangerous spells with sadistic glee. You must put an end to
the Wizard's madness once and for all. And of course, there are also treasures
to be had (ten in all).
As in the previous game, you earn points and ranks by completing tasks.
Getting the maximum 400 points gives you the coveted title of Master
Adventurer.
GENERAL TIPS -
Save your game frequently. As in the previous game, it's very easy to screw
up, and you don't want to start over at the beginning every time this happens.
Also, if the Wizard nails you with a bad spell (see below), you'll want to
restore right away to avoid losing too much time (or worse).
The Wizard of Frobozz is your constant enemy. He pops up at random, like the
thief, and casts a spell at you every time. Unlike the thief, he can show up
anywhere and anytime. Most of the spells are harmless or have no real effect,
and he'll screw up a few outright. Four spells, however, have very nasty
effects: Freeze, which paralyzes you and takes absolutely forever to wear off,
Ferment, which makes you drunk, ruining your sense of direction (i.e. you often
can't go the direction you want to) and also is extremely long-lasting, Filch,
which causes your items to vanish when you try to use or drop them, and Fumble,
which not only prevents you from moving but can actually get you *killed*. If
you get tagged by any of these, restore your game pronto. Take it from me,
playing with a massive handicap is no fun at all. Like the thief, he should be
dealt with as soon as possible, and the walkthrough will show you how.
Darkness is also your enemy; the grues are every bit as aggressive as they were
in the first game. Furthermore, you have no light source other than the
lantern, which makes it extremely imperative that you conserve its power. Be
sure to turn it off *every* time you're not in a dark area.
It's not as easy to get weighed down as it was in Zork I (there are fewer
treasures and no really heavy items), but it's still advisable to drop items
you don't need anymore. Additionally, you may find it helpful to separate
different types of items...treasures in one room, tools you need later in
another room, etc. That way you never have to run around looking for things.
There are no fights in this game, so you'll always be at perfect health.
Unless you get killed, of course, which is why you have those saved games.
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COMPLETE WALKTHROUGH -
[Notes: For convenience, I use abbreviations for all directions, including up
(U) and down (D). I've included location notes so you know where you're
supposed to be. As with most text adventures of the Infocom era, many commands
have to be typed in precisely to work (one of the main raps against the genre).
This is especially true for enter/exit commands and using items. My
walkthrough is designed to take the wizard out of play as quickly as possible.
Like my Zork I walkthrough, this isn't the only way, but it's certainly the
best. I'll assume that you're saving often to minimize the danger of the
wizard's worst spells. As with most walkthroughs, I only cover the essentials;
feel free to explore on your own. There are all kinds of things to look at,
read, and learn in the Great Underground Empire that you might find
interesting.]
You begin at the barrow with a couple of familiar tools right at your feet.
GET ALL. S. S. S. SW. S. You're in a dark area, so go SE to the garden.
Remember, if you move to a lit area *immediately*, the grues won't get you. A
unicorn often wanders around this area, but you can't do anything with it and
it won't let you take the key, so ignore it. ENTER GAZEBO. Wow, lots of stuff
here, and you're going to need it all. GET ALL. EXIT. N (dark area). NE.
GET WATER. This fills the teapot with water from the ford. S. SE. S. S
(Topiary). W. TURN ON LANTERN. This is the Carousel Room, the "central hub"
of Zork II, with exits in every direction leading to every area of the game.
Unfortunately, it's spinning like crazy, so you never know exactly where you'll
end up when you leave. Your first order of business is to stop the spinning.
First off, DROP ALL EXCEPT LANTERN AND TEAPOT. Save your game, because you
have to get to the Riddle Room from here, and chances are very good it won't
happen on the first try. Go in any direction. (The room's actually to the SE,
but that direction, like any other, only has a 1-in-8 chance of actually
working.) If you're not in the Riddle Room, R&R...that's restore and retry for
you greenhorns. When you finally get there, save. Hmm, not the most
intelligent riddle, if you ask me. Anyway, SAY "A WELL". What do you know, of
all the dozens of possible answers, that was the correct one. E. Leave the
necklace for now. E. A "Circular Room" with a bucket, huh? ENTER BUCKET.
POUR WATER IN BUCKET. Yep, it's a magic well...and you had to say "a well" to
get here! There's some deep symbolic meaning in this, I'm sure of it. GET
OUT. E (Tea Room). Zork "lady or tiger" problem #2, and this one's
particularly tricky. GET ALL EXCEPT ORANGE. EAT GREEN. You're now small
enough to fit through the hole to the E. (You'll also notice that the room is
now called the "Posts Room". Heh. Funny.) E. Ignore the flask; it does
nothing but kill you. THROW RED IN POOL. Wow. Good thing you didn't eat that
one, huh? GET CANDY. W. You're too small to cross the gaps to the W or NW,
so EAT BLUE to return to normal. Eating any cake out of order or doing
*anything* with the orange frosting cake will lead to disaster. Now to take
care of the Carousel Room. NW (Low Room). There a robot here, which you'll
put to good use right away. ROBOT, GO E. E (Machine Room). Another lady or
tiger quandary...that wizard must really have a thing for them. ROBOT, PUSH
TRIANGULAR. The Carousel Room is now still. Don't try to push any of the
buttons yourself; that High Voltage sign isn't just for show. ROBOT, GO S. S.
You need that sphere, so ignore the warning and GET SPHERE. A trap! Which is
easily surmounted. ROBOT, LIFT CAGE. GET SPHERE. Your work here is done;
time to go back to the Carousel Room. N. W (Low Room). What the...in
stopping the Carousel Room, you've gotten *this* room spinning! Just keep
returning here and trying SE until you get to the Tea Room. From there, W.
ENTER BUCKET. GET WATER. DROP TEAPOT. GET OUT. W. GET NECKLACE. W. NW
(Carousel Room). Not only did you stop it, you dislodged a metal box from the
ceiling (that was the thump you heard in the Machine Room). OPEN BOX. GET
VIOLIN. SW. DROP ALL TREASURES. You eventually have to take the all the
treasures (and the candy) to a room that lies in this branch, so it's a good
idea to put them here. Leave the string for now. NE. GET SWORD AND MAT AND
LETTER OPENER. N. N. N. U (Ledge in Ravine). Something you need is in this
room, but it's very secure and you don't have the key. Not yet, anyway. PUT
MAT UNDER DOOR. OPEN LID. PUT LETTER OPENER IN KEYHOLE. PULL MAT. For the
truly resourceful, nothing is beyond reach. GET KEY AND LETTER OPENER. UNLOCK
DOOR WITH KEY. DROP KEY AND LETTER OPENER. OPEN DOOR. N. GET SPHERE. You
may have noticed that both spheres were well-protected (although not well
enough, of course). You don't suppose the wizard wanted to keep them out of
your hands for some reason, do you? Your next task is to get the key from the
unicorn. You can't take it, but there is someone who can. S. D. W (End of
Ledge). N. A massive dragon resides here, and although he won't attack you,
he also won't allow you to enter the tunnel. Which happens to be where you
need to go next. You have to kill him with the sword...but not the way you'd
expect. ATTACK DRAGON WITH SWORD. S. The beast will follow you. ATTACK
DRAGON WITH SWORD. S. ATTACK DRAGON WITH SWORD. W. The dragon sees his
reflection in the glacier and...well, see for yourself. Not only is the dragon
dead, but the melting of the glacier has opened up a passage westward. Leave
it for now; right now you're going to find what's behind that tunnel. DROP
SWORD. E. N. N. N (Dragon's Lair). What would any dragon worth his salt be
without a kidnapped princess? OPEN CHEST. If it doesn't open, try again and
it will. GET STATUETTE. By now the princess will have left the room; follow
her. S. E. E (Ledge in Ravine). S. S (Marble Hall). The princess will
open a secret passage to the E; follow it. E (Formal Garden). TURN OFF
LANTERN. N. ENTER GAZEBO. If you lose her, just go to the Gazebo and she'll
be there. Wait until the unicorn shows up. The princess, as a show of
gratitude, gives you the unicorn's key before riding off (as well as a rose;
drop it right away because you'll never need it). EXIT. S. S. W. TURN ON
LANTERN. S. S. D (Stairway). Save before going D. You're in the
Oddly-Angled Room, a strange little puzzle that's very easy to lose your way in
if you're not careful. The first thing to do here is find the club. It
usually, but not always, lies to the E or W; if you don't see it, try other
directions until you do. As with the mazes in Zork I, many of the passages
loop into each other, so more than one direction may work. Once you find the
club, you'll also notice a diamond shape on the ground that's "flickering
dimly". GET CLUB. SE. NE. NW. SW. The diamonds become brighter as you
move; once you finish "running the bases", you are done with this room. (And
yes, I *know* the club is actually a baseball bat, so don't send me an angry
e-mail calling me stupid, okay?) Wander around again until you return to the
ladder; it's usually to the N or W of "home plate". You've opened a passage
downward, which you'll return to later. U. N. N (Carousel Room). Make sure
that you have the club, red sphere, blue sphere, and gold key. SW. GET ALL
TREASURES. Now you're going to teach that rotten wizard a lesson. SW. GIVE
CANDY TO LIZARD. UNLOCK DOOR WITH KEY. OPEN DOOR. S (Wizard's Workshop). W.
TURN OFF LANTERN. The only things of note here are the stands. Hmm, you
think their being made of gemstones might have some significance? PUT RED ON
RUBY STAND. PUT BLUE ON SAPPHIRE STAND. One sphere missing, where could it
be? W. THROW CLUB AT AQUARIUM. There's the well-hidden clear sphere (so well
hidden, in fact, that you can't see it until you destroy the aquarium). Be
sure to throw the club, too, to avoid the sea serpent's wrath. GET SPHERE. E.
PUT CLEAR ON DIAMOND STAND. A new sphere appears...a much different one than
the three which created it. GET SPHERE. S (Pentagram Room). PUT SPHERE IN
CIRCLE. This frees the demon trapped in the sphere! Fortunately, he's not
hostile; in fact, he thanks you for freeing him, going so far as to call you
his "new master". The wizard will usually burst into the room by now; if not,
wait until he does. The wizard frantically tries to cast a bunch of spells,
but the demon informs him that he's now free, and since he was the one who
powered the wand, the wizard's spellcasting days are over. The wizard is now
permanently out of the picture! Now you can concentrate on your *other* major
objective, namely, getting the demon to do a favor for you. You have to give
him all of the treasures in the game to do this. You should be carrying four
right now (the golden key being one of them). GIVE ALL TREASURES TO DEMON and
leave to the N. Both the wizard and demon will stay in the Pentagram Room
until you bring the remaining treasures. E. TURN ON LANTERN. N. N (Cobwebby
Corridor). GET STRING. NE. GET MATCHES AND NEWSPAPER. N. GET BRICK. S.
NW (Cool Room). W. W. Leave the ruby for now. S. Looks like a balloon trip
is in order. This is one of the more hazardous parts of the game, so
definitely save. ENTER BASKET. OPEN RECEPTACLE. PUT NEWSPAPER IN RECEPTACLE.
LIGHT MATCH. BURN NEWSPAPER. TURN OFF LANTERN. The fire in the receptacle
provides light as long as you're in or near the balloon. Wait until the small
ledge appears, then LAND. TIE WIRE TO HOOK. GET OUT. GET ZORKMID. S. TURN
ON LANTERN. OPEN PURPLE. GET STAMP. You don't need the books, so leave them.
N. TURN OFF LANTERN. ENTER BASKET. UNTIE WIRE. Wait until you reach the
second ledge, then LAND. TIE WIRE TO HOOK. GET OUT. S. One of the treasures
lies beyond the wall, so you need a little force to get to it. PUT BRICK IN
HOLE and PUT STRING IN BRICK in either order. Now do all of the following in
succession: LIGHT MATCH, BURN STRING, N (the brick explodes; you want to be
elsewhere when that happens), S, GET CROWN AND CARD ("get all" doesn't work for
some reason), N, ENTER BASKET, UNTIE WIRE, Z, CLOSE RECEPTACLE, TURN ON
LANTERN. The explosion weakens the ledge, which is why you need to get out of
there posthaste. Remember to wait a turn after untying the wire! And
definitely don't fly out of the volcano, either (I know it's tempting, but
don't). Okay, the balloon is descending now; go ahead and L AT CARD while the
balloon descends. Sheesh, *now* they tell us. DROP CARD AND MATCHES. Wait
until the balloon reaches the bottom, then GET OUT. N. GET RUBY. Just two to
go! E. E. N. N (Dragon Room) W. W. Now, getting the final treasures out
of the bank requires a precise series of moves. You can't just walk out with
them because of the security system, and there are a lot of those infamous
loops, so be sure to follow these instructions exactly. From the entrance, NE.
E. S. GET PAINTING. N. ENTER SHIMMERING LIGHT. ENTER SOUTH WALL. ENTER
SHIMMERING LIGHT. Voila, the final treasure! Now to find a way out. GET
BILLS. ENTER NORTH WALL. DROP BILLS AND PORTRAIT. E. E. GET BILLS AND
PORTRAIT. ENTER SHIMMERING LIGHT. S. Great, you're back at the bank entrance
with the loot. You're done treasure hunting...time to make that wizard pay for
all the chaos he's caused. E. E. S. S. SE (Carousel Room). SW. SW. S.
W. Leave the lantern on; as long as it isn't nearly drained, you should have
enough juice for the rest of the way. S. GIVE ALL TREASURES TO DEMON. The
demon is finally satisfied and agrees to do you a favor. Of course, being a
demon, he won't do just any old favor; in fact, he has something very specific
in mind. DEMON, GIVE ME WAND or DEMON, KILL WIZARD. Either one works,
although I prefer the latter. ;-) GET WAND. The wizard's power is finally
yours (since you're now the demon's master, the wand will work for you).
You're very close to the end. N. E. N. N. NE (Carousel Room...for the last
time!). S. There's an "F" on one of the menhirs, and you may have noticed
that all the wizard's spells began with F. That should be all the hint you
need. POINT WAND AT MENHIR. SAY "FLOAT". SW. GET COLLAR. NE. S. D
(Oddly-angled Room). This time go straight D. Whoa, that's one mean dog, and
attacking him is about as effective as kicking a diamond wall. So don't; PUT
COLLAR ON DOG. In this case, the collar is mightier than the sword. Pen.
Whatever. E. OPEN DOOR. S. The final room. Or is it? TURN OFF LANTERN.
Assume nothing in the GUE! OPEN SECRET DOOR. By the way, don't do anything to
the heads...it'd be a shame to get killed this close to the end. Save your
game if you want (this is your last chance), keep a firm grip on that wand, and
go S.
Way to go, Master Adventurer! You've destroyed the fallen wizard and rid the
GUE of his sadistic madness. You have also travelled far and learned secrets
that no adventurer has ever known before. But your journey is not yet over.
In your third and final challenge, you will be pitted against your greatest
adversary of all...the Dungeon Master himself!
For now, rest up and pat yourself on the back for making it this far. When
you're ready, Zork III awaits.
=============================================================================
END NOTES -
I would like to thank GameFAQs for being so kind as to put up my walkthroughs.
I know text adventures aren't exactly en vogue right now, but I *also* know
that there are plenty of gamers out there who grew up on them and were sad to
see them leave the mainstream. At GameFAQs, there is no such thing as dead,
obsolete, or out of date; without them, I would not have even considered
writing walkthroughs in the first place.
Zork is a, well-written, well-programmed, thoroughly entertaining trilogy, and
it's unfortunate that I'm only now able to appreciate it for what it is. I
have Gaming Depot to thank for having the chance to play these classics again
and the Infocom Documentation Project for reprinting the original instructions.
Abandonware is a wonderful development in computer gaming, one which I
wholeheartedly endorse.
My website is home.hawaii.rr.com/dkwff.
