Bard's Tale(NES) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.1.1 by
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Please do not reproduce this FAQ for profit without my prior consent. If you
write a polite e-mail to me referring to me(and this FAQ) by name, then I
will probably say OK. But if I ignore you that means no--and I am bad about
answering e-mail. Sorry.
This guide is intended to work with my maps at GameFAQs. I've proofread them,
and they seem solid.
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
3. CHARTS AND METRICS
3-1. LEVELS AND EXPERIENCE
3-2. MONSTERS
4. WALKTHROUGH
4-1. STARTING OUT
4-2. TO LEVEL 4
4-3. SCARLET BARD(LEVEL 8)
4-4. CATACOMBS(LEVEL 14)
4-4. THE CASTLE
4-5. KYLEARAN'S
4-6. MANGAR'S
5. CHEATS
6. VERSIONS/CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
The Bard's Tale was a popular series for various home computers, and so it
was only natural to try to port the game to the NES. It's much the same game,
with all the same locations and most of the same character classes(fewer
wizards,) but with smaller maps and with some spells cut out. You control a
party of 6 characters as they walk around Skara Brae and gain experience and
solve puzzles in dungeons. Those who played the PC version will recognize the
location names. The most memorable difference is that beer is root beer, and
wine is grape juice, so you need to go into a cellar for grape juice.
Bard's Tale on the NES is a very reasonable and balanced game that allows a
lot of opportunities to level up without taking too long, but it has enough
of a challenge to be worth a look. While it avoids the riddles of the PC
version, it manages to lose some of the costlier and more annoying battles
and leveling-up.
2. CONTROLS
L/R arrows turn your party, and down flips them 180. Up moves you forward, as
does A.
B leads to a context menu which allows you to inspect characters and your
party.
>use item (does what you'd expect)
>cast (noncombat spells)
>sing (for bard only, Seeker's Ballad, Wayland's Watch or Traveller's Tune)
>new order (can reorder party or open up 3 to 5 slots for hand combat)
>p-combat (to get rid of a doppelganger, not very useful)
>status (leads to inventory)
>other members = new guy
>equip -- there's no # to say an item doesn't work, which is annoying, but
you don't have to unequip one helm to equip another.
>trade -- if a character's inventory is full, you can't trade to them, and
the game kicks you back here if you fill up another character's inventory(8
items)
>drop -- self explanatory. For this and trade, items cannot be equipped.
>pool gold: you get all the gold. There's no way to share gold except to
go back to the adventurers' guild, which can be a nuisance.
One thing you do want to watch out for is if your characters are possessed,
you need to dispossess them, or they may wind up attacking other part members
and you don't know it. If you "heal all" then the "NUTS" goes away, but your
characters are still affected, and the enemies will be doing mysterious
damage.
3. CHARTS AND METRICS
3-1. LEVELS AND EXPERIENCE
As far as I can see, there's no set formula for the experience differential
per level. It just generally increases. I've written in hex values if you
want to get to level X.
LVL| EXP | -LAST| HEX
---+--------+------+-----
2| 20| 20| 14
3| 210| 190| d2
4| 570| 360| 23a
5| 1470| 900| 5be
6| 3300| 1830| ce4
7| 6900| 3600| 1af4
8| 11100| 4200| 2b5c
9| 17100| 6000| 42cc
10| 23100| 6000| 5a3c
11| 30600| 7500| 7788
12| 39000| 8400| 9858
13| 48000| 9000| bb80
14| 57600| 9600| e100
15| 67200| 9600|10680
16| 77700| 10500|12f84
17| 88200| 10500|15888
18| 100800| 12600|189c0
19| 113700| 12900|1bc24
20| 127200| 13500|1f0e0
21| 142200| 15000|22b78
22| 157800| 15600|26868
23| 178800| 21000|2ba70
24| 200400| 21600|30ed0
25| 224400| 24000|36c90
26| 249000| 24600|3cca8
27| 274500| 25500|43044
28| 300600| 26100|49638
29| 327600| 27000|4ffb0
30| 356100| 28500|56f04
31| 386100| 30000|5e434
32| 422100| 36000|670d4
33| 467100| 45000|7209c
34| 521100| 54000|7f38c
35| 587100| 66000|8f55c
36| 677100| 90000|a54ec (highest)
3-2. MONSTERS
This is not a complete list, but I think it does pretty well. The data wasn't
straightforwardly readable for a few entries of enemies I didn't run across
anyway.
Monster | HP |SPD| EXP |SPL|$$$
---------------+----+---+-----+---+---
Kobold | 8| 06| 3|000| 2
Goblin | 12| 07| 5|000| 2
Hobgoblin | 20| 09| 10|000| 5
Orc | 10| 07| 4|000| 3
Orc Leader | 18| 08| 8|000| 3
Troll |
Spider | 18| 16| 12|000| 3
Black Widow | 200| 18| 500|000| 16
Tarantula | 60| 16| 90|000| 16
Thief | 10| 09| 5|000| 10
DarkFighter | 80| 13| 120|000| 27
Dark Hunter | 64| 17| 150|000| 27
Berserker | 84| 13| 204|000| 30
LivingArmor | 120| 12| 140|000| 34
MangarGuard | 300| 14| 160|000| 45
Dark Knight | 400| 16| 1460|ccc|100
Ninja | 180| 18| 4860|000| 15
Conjurer | 8| 09| 7|211| 4
Sorcerer | 14| 10| 12|31e| 6
Wizard | 44| 12| 80|477| 15
H Sorcerer | 110| 14| 150|5ad| 36
High Wizard | 200| 15| 1260|68a| 30
Arcmage | 510| 17| 5860|9bd| 60
Dark Sword | 30| 18| 0|000| 0
Wind Wolf | 20| 16| 0|000| 0
Warrior | 30| 16| 0|000| 0
Wind Ogre | 80| 16| 0|000| 0
Wind Giant | 200| 16| 0|000| 0
Dragon | 500| 17| 0|000| 0
Skeleton | 30| 06| 20|000| 5
Zombie | 53| 09| 22|000| 10
Ghoul | 56| 09| 100|000| 15
Vampire | 360| 14| 1520|000| 75
VampireLord | 420| 16| 2560|000|250
Lich |
Mad Dog | 6| 11| 4|000| 1
Giant Rat | 16| 12| 7|000| 1
Wolf | 40| 14| 30|000| 5
Werewolf | 60| 14| 300|000| 25
Jackalwere | 160| 15| 240|000| 25
Hound | 136| 16| 460|000| 35
Ogre | 100| 10| 133|000| 32
Stone Giant | 320| 06| 200|000| 35
Ogre Mage | 80| 12| 520|8dd| 37
Ice Giant | 400| 13| 1650|000|150
Ogre Lord | 160| 14| 985|000| 45
War Giant | 380| 16| 2130|000|300
Golem | 160| 08| 880|000| 75
Cloud Giant | 520| 16| 2630|000|300
Fire Giant | 160| 10| 1100|000| 50
Doppler | 30| 17| 100|000| 25
Mimic | 160| 18| 850|000|115
BrassDragon | 160| 16| 150|eee| 30
Grey Dragon | 350| 16| 2850|000| 75
WhiteDragon | 600| 18| 8460|bbb|250
Red Dragon | 520| 17| 5230|000|100
BlackDragon |1000| 18| 8030|000|900
Seeker | 100| 10| 200|fff| 25
Eye Spy | 120| 11| 160|555| 41
Evil Eye | 230| 12| 320|555| 45
Spirit Sucker | 350| 13| 608|444| 50
Beholder | 600| 16| 5120|9bb| 50
Xorn |
LesserDemon | 80| 13| 150|eee| 35
Demon | 100| 12| 800|ccc| 40
Great Demon | 650| 14| 6100|999| 50
Demon Lord | 850| 18|21680|9cd| 0
Wight | 120| 12| 90|000| 12
Phantom | 20| 10| 20|000| 7
Ghost | 60| 12| 100|000| 15
Slime |
Old Man | 500| 10| 980|000| 0
Mongo | 600| 16| 1980|000|400
Aildrek | 500| 16| 5000|000|105
Mad Spirit | 800| 17|18360|8cd| 5
Crystal Golem | 400| 10| 800|000| 5
Mangar |3154| 24| 0|dbb|20609
1=arcfire
2=instant wolf
3=wind warrior
4=instant ogre
5=wind giant
6=wind giant
7=starflare
8=arc blizzart
9=dragon breath
a=flesh anew
b=restoration
c=arcyne's magestar
d=image of hate
e=armor collapse
f=wind warrior
4. WALKTHROUGH
In general character improvement can be worked out as follows: each new
dungeon means you need a new spell level. Experience for each level gets a
lot higher, but your abilities increase accordingly.
You should split forays into either level building or game solving: when
solving games, use bard song Wayland's Watch to avoid fights. Before a big
fight or while looking for encounters(fixed or random,) use the Seeker's
Ballad. It's better to use too many spells and cut an experience looting
session short than to not do so and have it cut short for you.
You have a nice safety precaution here--if you can run from a fight, you can
have your bard sing Traveller's[sic] Tune to send you to the guild. But what
if he's lost his voice? Well, you can buy a Drop for 14 gold from Garth's to
make sure that doesn't happen.
4-1. STARTING OUT
Party: Add Member
There are 2 ways to play the game.
1. hyper magic:
sorceror, 2 wizards, warrior, hunter and bard
Set the # of attackable slots at 3(use party order option). For places where
spells are best, this is handy, as you don't have to cast as many spells
before retreating. It may help you get through the game a bit quicker. But if
one guy gets killed, you're in a lot more trouble. Sorcerors are on balance
less handy in battle than Wizards. You can afford to attack aggressively to
get levels in this game because even if you are almost dead, you may be able
to go back to the adventurer's guild(Travellers' Tune) and advance a level.
This heals all your maladies.
2. balanced: (probably better)
sorceror, wizard, warrior, hunter, bard and warrior
Set the # of attackable slots at 4.
While proper item allotment isn't strictly necessary to get the game going
right, it can help a lot. Now obviously you can bleed a few characters you
never use for 300 gold each, and you can start with a much better-equipped
party than otherwise. But fact is, items aren't as important as levels, and
levels are easy enough to come by.
Make sure everyone has the best vitality they can(including mages--they get
hit by breathing late in the game, and low hit points mean trouble especially
since levels are capped at 36,) and make sure mages have the best IQ(17). Hit
points and spell points are at a premium for later fights, and (HP/SP gain) =
(Vitality/Intelligence)
Now, assuming you get 1800 gold to start(everyone gets 300 but you may top-
load with characters you intend to loot and delete,) buy:
--4 leather gloves
--4 robes
--4 round shields
--2 helms
--1 flute(for your bard)
leaving you with 20 gold extra. This is most cost effective and should reduce
armor classes to:
6,6,7,7,10,10 (4,4,5,5,8,8 with bard song)
You should also buy a drop for emergency purposes--if not now, soon. You
don't need weapons right out of the gate as one hit should kill any enemy.
4-2. TO LEVEL 4
Have the bard song playing for your first few fights. It's worth recharging
him with a drink, even just for one song, to make sure you win easily. You
won't need many to get to level 2(20 experience) and all fights are very
winnable. Use Arc Fire whenever you can. You probably won't need Battle
Skill, but it is a fun spell to try. When you advance your first level, you
can go to the advancement center for free healing. Healing in this game means
recovering spell points. Once you do that, pay 100 gold to advance each
spellcaster to level 2. The sorcerer gets mind darts, which makes a lot of
fights with many enemies a lot quicker. The wizard can and should cast
ArcFire whenever he pleases, though once you get to level 3, it's probably
quicker just to fight a set enemy group and guard the rest of the way.
There's no advantage going too far afield, unless you want to get comfortable
mapping the game, so you can just wander around NW of the entry. Of course
with Traveller's Tune you can't really get lost easily.
Other stuff to save for as you improve:
--helms for bard and hunter
--Chain mail for your 2 warriors
(hand down the robes to your mages)
(leather is not worth it. 1 AC point costs 400...)
(3 AC for chain costs 640.)
--Plate mail for your 2 warriors after that
(hand down the chain to the bard and the hunter)
--weapons aren't necessary. Hands are good enough.
You can be wasteful with spells as 1 spell point costs only 1 gold to heal.
Take your time as you also get the money for 1 mithril axe. This is the big
one. Give it to warrior #1 and now if you want you can move ahead to the
Scarlet Bard part of the walkthrough.
If you have a choice between the mithril axe and level 3 spells, buy the
level 3 spells. It will improve your spellcasters more quickly. Starflare is
a great spell because it can wipe out a group of enemies, which helps win
some fights a lot quicker. Again, with most fights there's no question you'll
win. The question is, will it drag on?
When you've either got the mithril axe or level 4, you can visit the wizard
statues in southeast Skara Brae. If you follow the path north from the
adventurers' guild, go west and follow the path south, you hit the first
wizard statue.
Beat him up. Here is how. Cast Corrosion, then Battle Strength on your guy
with the Mithril Axe and heal him if he gets to ~30 hit points. Also, group
heal if you get hit with a Starflare spell. Cst disbelieve if the wizard
summons a wind ogre. Arc Fire is a good spell to hit him with too. Heal at
the end of each battle when you can, but Word of Healing works in a pinch.
With levels a bit tougher to come by, but on the other hand you can fight
this tough monster repeatedly. First, there is another wizard 2 south of the
first, and second, you can recharge these guys pretty easily. Just take the
street to the east and go south. Enter the Scarlet Bard and ask for grape
juice(root beer too if your bard needs it--keep the armor class down) and
enter and exit and return. The statues will have reappeared.
Each fight gives 80 experience to everyone and 90 gold all around, and they
are quick and fixed. You can also use the bard song Traveller's Tune to go
back to the adventurers' guild and restart. You can also make a fighter
invincible if he is at great risk of dying, once your sorcerer is at level
4/spell level 3. $300 isn't a huge punishment for losing a fight. But you
will want to avoid this as much as possible by keeping your characters
healed. Sometimes the wizard gets to strike first, and he likes to cast
spells.
So after 14 fights you get the plate you need/want, after 16 fights you get a
mithril axe, and after 12 more, a halberd. You should be able to negotiate
the dungeon by the Scarlet Bard that is next. Be sure to have a drop on hand
for safety's sake(1 last bard song.)
4-3. SCARLET BARD(LEVEL 8)
For this, you just want to get through. You don't need to worry about style
points or beating up too many monsters. If anyone in your party has <60 HP,
avoid chests--unless you want to use a save state cheat. Trap Zap doesn't
always work, and you may only get a lousy item for it. However, if you do get
a gold ring(5 gold) be sure not to drop it--it's worth selling to free up an
inventory spot.
You should run after each round of a fight unless you know the monsters are
easy. On level 1 they should be, but on level 2 tarantulas can be nasty. In
general you want to save hit points and spell points for the big fight with
the widow spider.
You should use Mage Flame and the bard song to get through this dungeon. Go
forward, then south at the first intersection. The automap should help you
out a lot here. Go east to the corner, then north, then west into the shadowy
bits. Crawl along the outside and take the second door. Follow it to level 2.
Follow the path--there will be a T with an obvious dead end, then one that
leads to a 3x3 room. Go west from there, turn 2N, 3W, and 2S into the dark.
Cast mage flame if need be. Take the passage 2E N 3E 2S W 2S 3E 2N. Now heal
everyone up for the big fight with the widow spider. If you can't heal up to
75%, then go back to the guild and build up to the next level and try again.
I was able to get through this with level 6 characters.
Have the sorcerer cast Corrosion, then Battle Strength on warrior #1. The
wizard can cast Arc Fire, then he can heal whoever needs it. If someone other
than your bard dies here, it's no big deal as long as the party wins. You
will get what you want. It is behind the widow spider: 2E 2S W. Get the
heretic proof and sing the Traveller's Tune.
4-4. CATACOMBS(LEVEL 14)
Now you should get to level 8 before exploring the Catacombs seriously. There
are 2 ways to do this--wizard statue fights are the best. They may get a bit
tiresome. The alternative is to go into the catacombs and find the 27-zombie
fights below and hit them with Starflare and Mind Darts one group at a time.
A few of these fights and you will pile up a lot of gold, but your players
will take a lot of hits and your spellcasters will be drained.
But once you get level 8, you can get spell level 4. This is critical because
your sorcerer can cast Magic Water. This turns one group of undead monsters,
if they are not too powerful.
2E 2N W N W N and E into the unmappable part. 2E to the wall, 4N E N 2E 2S
leads to a crypt. Now there are 5 squares in the 3x3 square that feature
fights with 3 groups of 9 zombies. This looks tough, but only a few can
attack at a time, and the battle plan is really pretty simple.
round 1
fighters: attack group 1
wizard: starflare on group 1
sorcerer: magic water on group 2
round 2
fighters: attack group 1
sorcerer: magic water on group 2
You should have 120+ spell points for the sorcerer, which means you can go
through this twice. Each fight gives each player 594 exp + 270 gp. So you can
see gold will not be a problem in the future.
Run from all other fights as they are not nearly as lucrative. If you must
fight, only use hand to hand combat, or use a bard song such as Falkentyne's
Fury if there are a lot of monsters. A combat song can be placed on top of a
non-combat one.
Note that each excursion can get you ~6000 experience, and you will want to
get to 57600 for level 14. That means 8 such trips--assuming you're already
level 8. It's a bit tedious but better than banging around a lot of places.
Once you get to level 14, the next bit is a snap. You should have the gold to
buy level 5 spells, and you can barrel through the catacombs. Flesh Anew is a
good spell for your wizard. Arc Blizzard is also good, attacking one group.
In addition to Emit Flare(1 enemy) these make your wizard a formidable foe.
He also has armor collapse, so the combat spells are balanced heavily in his
favor. The sorcerer can dispossess(NUTS) and rejuvenate(OLD) but he can't do
much besides Magic Water or, before combat, Wind Giant--the wind giant is
great for soaking up hits from melee enemies, and he does not get
disbelieved.
You may wish to play Wayland's Watch here to help avoid monsters attacking
you--run if they do. Then, before the big fight, switch to the Seeker's
Ballad to lower your AC.
So now for the actual plan on level 1. 2E 2M W M W 2M W 2M E M E amd emter
the door N. 2W 5N 2E N E* S E N(1 way door) 3E 2S 3E 3S.
Level 2: S* W* N* 6W 6S and, at the center of the room, 2E 2N E N E S E 2S 2W
S 2E 3S.
Level 3: there are a lot of teleports here. Most lead to a room in the NW but
one leads to the combat you need to tackle. 3S W* N* 2W N 4W 4N E N E
S(through a door) 4E 2D E 3S 2E N W 2N E S 2E 5S W S E, bam! Teleport. 3E,
Seeker's Ballad, heal up, and 2E.
Okay, you are up against your big enemy now, Aildrek.
The sorcerer should now continuously cast battle skill on player #1, while
the wizard should cast Armor Collapse first. He may have to cast Flesh Anew
instead of Emit Flare, but just hit him with everything. The bard can sing
Falkentyne's Fury. Alidrek drops a crystal eye. There's an exit just behind
him. Take it to arrive at the entrance to the Catacombs.
You can sell your Hereticproof now, as there are better ways to gain
experience, and items also are more important this late in the game. You
probably got no new ones in the Catacombs. That will change in the castle.
==OUTSIDE==
Thief 5 10
Ghoul 100 15
Skeleton ?? 5
Seeker 200 25
==CASTLE==
Ghost 100 15
Ogre 133 32
Dark Hunter 150/27
Dark Fighter 120/27
Berzerker 204/30
==L2
Grey Dragon 2850/75
Eye Spy 160/41
Lesser Demon 150/35
Brass Dragon 150/30
==L3
Living Armor 140/34
Tarjan 18360/5
==KYLEARAN
Mangar Guard 160/45
Hound 460/35
Doppler 420/45
==L2
Red Dragon 5230/100
Golem 880/75
==MANGAR
==L4
Archmage 5860/60
Beholder 5120/50
Demon Lord 21680/0
4-4. THE CASTLE
This will be a tough place at first--use whatever spells necessary to win.
You should probably have a Wind Giant in your party at all times--if you want
to be very stingy with spell points, summon him before advancing a level or
getting healed. But your sorcerer will have little else to do.
The castle is in the northwest of town, and you need the Crystal Eye of
Aildrek to go in. Start with Wayland's Watch. From the start, 2E 3N 2E 2N E
2S E 2N E, then play Seeker's Ballad. 1E for a big fight. You should heal up,
play Falkentyne's Fury and cast Arc Blizzart on each group once unless you
need to cast Flesh Anew again. You get a whitemantle, which allows you to the
back part of level 1.
You can muck around here a bit. You'll probably find a few ArcShields that
the front line can use(AC -2 better than round shields) and get some nice
experience. Mithril Plate(Warrior,) Adamant Chain(Bard and Hunter,) and Elf
Cloaks(Warrior, Bard) help lower your armor class as well. You may get
Bracers4 for your sorcerer and wizard, which are nice but hardly critical.
Other items include Mithril Helm and Mithril Gloves, one for each of your
frontline, potentially. But don't get too worried if you can't find anything.
It's probably best to progress through this as quickly as possible.
Go north in the throne room and sit on the throne. The whitemantle allows you
to go north. 3N 2E 2N 3E 3S leads you to level 2.
Again beef up the party--3S 4E 5N and, before the corner, heal up. Play
Falkentyne's Fury and wipe out the grey dragon. 3E of it you have a crystal
figurine. Get that too. You can pump the grey dragon for experience and
items, by going down the stairs and back up. It is a pretty easy maze--south,
east and north from the stairs to the dragon. Occasionally the dragon will
drop a treasure chest. You shouldn't need cash above what you get from
fights. The gold should be rolling in. But if you want it, you can load up on
crystal figurines, which sell for 15000 each. The treasure appears whether or
not you already have, or got, a figurine. You will need 51200 gold to cover
level 6 spells, which should be coming soon. Then you will need 204800 later,
so if you still need just gold, you can come back here.
Now, looking ahead to level 3, you can beat Tarjan with a level 18 party(I
have) but the main problem is avoiding monsters long enough as you get there.
It's useful to have the sound on for this to make sure Wayland's Watch is as
effective as possible. Mind storm and Greater Revelation are the spells you
get at spell level 6, and they are not terribly useful. It's more about the
hit points.
As with previous dungeons, keep trying to move forward til you can get to
Tarjan with ~100 spell points for each party member and your party healed.
But unlike previous dungeons, bring along a gold ring if you have one. Give
it to your sorcerer. Gold rings double experience you win for a fight. Since
Tarjan gives 18360 experience, it's worth using a gold ring during his fight.
You'll use the warrior the least.
Level 2 is a weird grid with a lot of teleports to a prison, but if you know
how to avoid them, it is easy to get through. Here's what to do: 3S 4E S* E S
W 2S(past a magic mouth) 3E.
Level 3 is a big walk around, and I encourage you to use Falkentyne's Fury if
a combat looks tough. But be sure to leave 2-3 songs for the final combat.
Your bard should have a lot of songs by now. If fighting just a few monsters,
take damage and cast Flesh Anew later.
E* S* W* 8N 3E and you should have gone through a door here. Go south and
follow that passage S* W* 3S E* N(to before the door) 3W 2S 2E 4S 4W N 2W N W
2N E S and now switch to Seeker's Ballad and rush at Tarjan.
You can use the same formula to off him as you do for other fights.
First round: Armor Collapse, Falkentyne's Fury, and use the gold ring
Next rounds: Flesh Anew if necessary, Battle Skill on #1. Re-summon a Wind
Giant if necessary.
For winning this fight, you get a Crystal Key which allows you in Kylearan's.
The fight alone should get you a level.
4-5. KYLEARAN'S
Again a quick run through is best to get the item you need. You can, if you
want, come back to beat monsters up to get to level 26 later. There are some
nice items here. But you are better off beating the grey dragon for extra
experence. You will want the level 7 spells for Mangar's. As before, run
through all fights and, in fact, run in the middle of one. Sing Wayland's
Watch. If you must fight, Mind Storm is a very nasty spell.
N* E* 3N 2E 1N E* S 2E N W N E N E N* W N W N W* S 2W N W S W 2S E and you
fight a crystal golem. Use the crystal figurine during the fight so he does
not regenerate. It is an easy fight, so don't even bother to use spells.
2S 2W 3S leads to the stairs.
On level 2 circle around the outside til you reach the end of the passage. 1E
through the door, then 3N E 2N 3E 2N E S 2E 4S W 2S 2W S 2W N W 2N E 2N 2E S
W 2S leads to Kylearan. There is no fight.
I was able to get a couple levels running through pretty aggressively. You
probably can too. Just use mind storm on everything except Giants, Ogre Mages
and Ogre Lords. I got some cool items too. AdmtSword and DmndHelm are very
nice for your warrior(s). Dopplers are easy enemies to fight if you have a
full party. Keep a wind giant handy, too.
4-6. MANGAR'S
To get to Mangar's you must journey through the wine cellar, 2nd level, and
go west at the center room as before, then directly south. You then arise in
the SW of town. E S to the tower.
The same caveats apply as before. You just want to get through this thing,
but the problem is, in order to get through it, it's probably best to have
characters maxed out at level 36. For this, Kylearan's is the best place, at
least til level 32. Some fights give 5000+ experience there, especially on
level 2, and they are a lot less risky. You will also fill out most of the
items you need.
You may get a few spare items winning some fights in Mangar's Tower, but
don't make that a priority. You can use a few dry runs before the big one. I
didn't get anything better than an adamant sword in Kylearan's. And I think
you need all the boosts you can get, because Mangar at the end will be tough.
Plus, even as you make your way to him, some enemies can kill L25 characters
with one hit. Hope you maxed out your vitality.
There are a lot of mapping puzzles here that go more quickly once you know
how to get through them--or if you have this guide. I still recommend running
from all fights. There are only two you have to win, both on level 5.
Level 1 is a sequence of teleports, and if you know which one to activate, it
goes pretty quickly. Have Wayland's Watch running throughout the tower.
2N E N 4E 4S 2W N. This hits a teleport. S W 3S 2E(secret door) and S through
3 doors, then E 3N 4E 4N W S 3W 5N. That teleport takes you to level 2.
Level 2 looks a lot like level 1 at first. So it probably confuses a lot of
people. 5S 3E N E 3S 2E 3S 4W S W 3S 2W N 2W 5N 4W N 2W 3N E 3N W 2N 5E 3S 2E
3S. That gets you to level 3.
Level 3 is a snap if you just want to get through it. You can walk around
searching for clues, which can get your party killed quickly, or you can just
go 2S W 2S W S 3E S. Then choose dragon, fire, crystal, sword and go 2N to
the stairs. Actually, if you are patient you can just poke each of the 24
combos until one works. You don't lose hit points or get teleported anywhere.
Finding a clue of course can make it even simpler--just 6 choice, either the
"A after B" or "A/B first" kind.
Level 4 seems intimidating, as doors and walls flip midway through, but it is
not bad either. N E N E* 2S. Now 1W and the doors and walls flip. N 2W 5N 2E
3S 2E S 3W 3N gets you to level 5.
Level 5 has one branch at the start. Take the north path. Then follow it all
the way til another door. A fight with a Demon Lord is up ahead. After that,
Mangar. Be healed and bring everything--Falkentyne's Fury, constant Battle
Skills, Flesh Anews, etc. Spells like Invincible and Armor Collapse don't
work here. Keep bringing the Wind Dragon back if Mangar can kill him. It's a
bit unfair Mangar has a heal spell too, but then again, it IS the last fight
in the game. You may need some luck to win it, but with characters maxed out,
you should be able to.
5. CHEATS
I recommend fceu's hex editor to manipulate these cheats.
007c = x coordinate from lower left
007d = y coordinate from lower left
(note: a scry site tacks on 1 to each of these numbers)
6f69/6f6a=low/high byte of 1st enemy fighting you(very useful against
Mangar!)
Characters are contained in blocks of 43(=0x2b) bytes starting at 6a9b. There
are other places parts of this data are copied, but this is the source.
6a9b through 6aa4 = name(not quite ASCII)
6aa5 = armor class (ff = -1, etc.)
6aa6/6aa7 = current HP(lo byte/hi byte)
6aa8/6aa9 = current MP(lo byte/hi byte)
6aaa = class
0=warrior, 1=rogue, 2=hunter, 3=bard, 4=sorcerer, 5=wizard
6aab and 6aac are for status. 00 = healthy
ab & 01 = poisoned(lose 1 turn per move)
ab & 02 = possessed
ab & 04 = stone
ab & 08 = dead
ab & 10 = old
ab & 20 = still possessed(?)
ab & e0 = unknown
ac & 01 = NUTS
ac & 02 = paralyzed
ac & 04/08 = invincible(either one)
ac & f0 = unknown
6aad=str
6aae=int
6aaf=dex
6ab0=vit
6ab1=luc
6ab2/6ab3 = max HP(lo byte/hi byte)
6ab4/6ab5 = max MP(lo byte/hi byte)
6ab6/6ab7/6ab8 = experience(lo to hi byte)
6ab9 = level
6aba = # of bard songs left
6abb/6abc/6abd = gold(lo to hi byte)
6abe-6ac5 = items(hi byte = equipped)
[see the items faq for which items do what]
6ac6 = player # 2
End of FAQ proper
================================
6. VERSIONS/CREDITS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 10/29/2008, walkthrough complete
1.1.0: sent to GameFAQs 10/30/2008, added monster info and details. Cheats
still to go.
1.1.1: sent to GameFAQs 10/31/2008, added hex-cheat info
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 the NES completion project and the Bard's Tale fans who wrote me
about my BT2 and BT3 guides.
Thanks to all the Bard's Tale fans who put their love for the series on the
internet.
Thanks to Vic Stephenson, TheChameleon, and unity303 for their documents that
came before me. I felt I could add some detail to their already substantial
work, and plus I'd written for Bard's Tale II and III so why not I?
