Times of Lore(NES) FAQ/Walkthrough
version 1.5.0 by
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce for profit without my consent. You won't be getting
much profit anyway, but that's not the point. This took time and effort, and
I just wanted to save a memory of an old game and the odd solutions any way I
could. Please send me an email referring to me and this guide by name if
you'd like to post it on your site.
This FAQ refers to the maps I made for GameFAQs.com. Basically, ToL's main
quests and world maps are like the PC, but they are different enough that
separate ones can be warranted.
If you want another walkthrough besides the anonymous one on GameFAQs--or
even this one--I recommend Dave Barber's solution for the Amiga version. If
you can find it. It seems to have disappeared, but it helped me.
================================
OUTLINE
1. INTRODUCTION
2. CONTROLS
3. STRATEGIES
4. WALKTHROUGH
5. CHEATS
6. VERSIONS
7. CREDITS
================================
1. INTRODUCTION
Times of Lore(ToL) was an innovative game made by Origin as a tweener, a
template of the new stuff in Ultima VI that tried to keep the same feel of
U5. The PC version, at least, was not a full success--too many monsters
zipped out from a corner to get you, and there was a lot of randomness in
monsters. You'd face none, then several at once, and you needed a laborious
search of your inventory to use an item you just found. Often you'd die
looking for the right item you just picked up. So unfortunately innovation
didn't mean fun.
The NES version is certainly easier, perhaps a bit too easy--though this is
coming from someone who played the PC version just before. So I remembered
where everything was. Didn't hurt to have easier paths to the important
places, or that the screen contained many more squares to travel on, so that
you didn't have monsters pouring out of the corners. You can mow them down
ahead of time. In addition, save states allow you to pump up your gold and
such pretty easily without tedious resting. Cheating even lets you have big
critical items early. Still, you need to develop some control of the
interface and awareness of the world map. For those who played the PC
version, it is a cakewalk. While you would vaguely hope to avoid combat in
the PC version, you can actively avoid it or make a joke of it in the NES
version.
And basically this FAQ is a Cliff's Notes version of the PC FAQ, plus and
minus important specifics(the dungeons are a bit askew,) with a byte-editing
guide at the end. I haven't nailed down all the points where you can skip
over quests that just provide information, but there are some obvious points
that get rid of long long walks--which aren't dangerous, but they are
tedious.
2. CONTROLS
Move the arrow left/right to choose from the knight, valkyrie or barbarian,
left to right. Push A to get started. I chose the knight, but it doesn't
matter.
The A button strikes in the direction you are facing. This is bad in the
Apple/PC version as you can kill a lot of townsmen. Here, they are a lot
harder to kill than the monsters, but more seriously, it's less of a nuisance
for when you go to talk to the barkeep and push the wrong button and attack
him instead. If you have a missile weapon, that goes first. Then you have the
hand-to-hand weapon. The game alternates between the two, which is a bit
confusing, but you can't drop your hand-to-hand weapon. As a knight, most
enemies take two hits, so throw something at them then time their run--the
game gives a lot of latitude for when your sword hits. After a couple
seconds, if it was time for your hand-to-hand weapon, the missile weapon is
useful. Since enemies don't pop up in front of you, you might as well use the
missile weapon.
It can be tough to tell what direction you are facing, and you don't change
until you 1) run a few steps in that direction, if it is a 180 degree turn or
2) make a 90 degree turn. You don't go more slowly if you're backing up. Some
problems in combat occur when you back up and fire the wrong way, so deal
with enemies from behind quickly.
The B button brings up the dialogue screen. This is similar to the PC
version, only there is no save option, and no game time passes as you make
your selection. A selects the current item in the option menu and B sends you
back. Use the arrows to switch between the choices.
The mouth(talking) opens up a dialogue with other subjects you can ask.
Chitchat or Question is the first choice. Chitchat can give something new to
ask, while a question can expound on topics learned in chitchat or from
solving quests. You can buy special combat items this way.
The eye allows you to look at an item. It's pretty useless overall.
The bag shows your inventory. It has no practical value other than to notify
you if you are low on food. Other inventories can show the items you are
holding.
The closed hand says to take an item. You can take pretty much any item in a
two square radius. You cannot drop an item, but you won't need to.
The grasping hand lets you use an item. Some items, such as weapons, are used
automatically, others are used at the special location where they are
effective(key,) and others, like a note, are not usable. Except for...
The open hand, the final item, allows you to give an item to someone who has
sent you on a quest. They will reward you with information or gold, if you
have the right item.
Note that the game can only show six items at a time, so as it goes on, you
may not be able to see everything you have--just scroll down to decide what
to use/give, and you should be okay.
SELECT does nothing.
START pauses the game.
Items are much like the PC version.
--the red scroll kills all monsters
--the blue scroll freezes all monsters
--yes, "the spidery runes release a magic their magic" is a typo.
--no, scrolls don't work on Big Enemies
--the blue potion heals partially
--the green potion heals fully
--the red potion, found later, allows you to run in one direction, invisible,
til you run into something. This is moderately useful but not critical.
You can only hold one each of a scroll and potion at a time, so hold the
green potion til you need it, and use a blue scroll whenever you get one, as
the red is much more useful. Also, if you make an error browsing through the
menu, like trying to pick up something that's not there, you can still scroll
around--you just can't exit the options screen.
You can outrun enemies, but it's probably more expedient just to kill them if
they're in front of you. Plus, you can run into an enemy, and trying to flee
like that is slower than killing them.
If you goof up and attack a townsman with A instead of talking with B, just
go out of the area and return. The NES version is much more forgiving than
the PC, and townsmen take a few hits to die, anyway.
3. STRATEGIES
Because you have so much space ahead, use it. Your dagger/axe cannot fire all
the way to the edge of the screen--it's about 2 icons short. But enemies may
walk perpendicular to you, and you can shoot them with no problem.
It's possible to have both potions, but it seems you're more likely to get a
new item the fewer you have. This could be because the game checks for a
specific item with each enemy killed, but in any case, you can afford to use
items liberally, as they get back to you quickly.
After you get the boots, stock up on food in town when you can. There's
nothing else to buy, and you're more likely to get stuck starving than to
lose to enemies, especially once you get the boots.
Before you get the boots, you can just barely outrun enemies as the knight,
which is great. It's best to avoid undeads, as they don't drop anything, and
they are tougher to beat. Avoid spiders if you can. After you get the boots,
you can swerve and steer away pretty easily.
Release your dagger/axe, then time your sword blow for when the enemy comes
at you. If it hits the enemy from behind, pow! That's it for them.
In combat, just button bash to wipe out one enemy, then turn to knock another
one out. You don't have to do anything fancy, and you can't anyway. Enemies
approaching from the same direction can shoot at each other and save you the
time, so retreating a bit is good. Don't get surrounded from all sides. A
little zigzagging can confuse enemies a lot.
When in doubt traveling, either stick to roads or walk on the edge of a
river/lake. I found critical locations in the middle of nowhere by going UDLR
from a turn in a path. In general, paths are marked, but it is tough to get
to and from Treela if you don't know how. Trees are not so dense as in the PC
version, so you can poke around and something should work soon enough. You
can cut across the desert and avoid roads with my map, but it's risky.
4. WALKTHROUGH
As opposed to the PC version, the NES allows you to solve things more
directly. You are also less restricted in movement, and even the darkness is
not as bad to work through as in the PC version. So you can start with the
first quest immediately. Go down the stairs and visit the prior, who should
be in the SW. If not, he may come up to you anyway. Ask around with everyone
til you see him. You probably want to get used to the in-town controls
anyway. You also should get used to dialogue: you can re-try a cycle, but
usually it starts with chitchat, then asking someone, then asking someone
else.
Tell the Prior yes, then you're done with him for now. Go and talk with the
innkeeper and the old man on the bench to the north. One of them will
probably tell you about Valwyn/the High King, etc. These clues aren't always
critical, but note the tones when you have a new subject of conversation. In
this case, you need High King for later.
Ask the Old Man about the Kingdom, then Valwyn. You should hear a tone after
each question. This will open other questions later.
Leave this building and follow the past east. When it bends north, go that
way. Follow the path into the forest and look for enemies ahead. None should
appear from the sides, since the forest is impenetrable. Go north, then east
when the forest path turns. You'll encounter enemies along the way, and you
can pretty much hit them just before you run into them. Use the hand to pick
up anything they may drop. Try not to let two enemies attack you at once,
though you should have the health to plow through any way you go about
things.
You should get to the woodsman's hut pretty quickly as you see a field to the
north. Enter the hut, and you can take the dagger. The dagger is great in the
NES version, because you don't have to fetch it if you miss, so it works a
lot like the axe in the PC version--no need for reloads. You don't have to
talk to the woodsman, since you have this walkthrough, but if you chat, he
should tell you about orcs. Ask about orcs and learn about the camp.
Now I would recommend piling up, if you haven't already, on the blue and
green potion and the red and blue scrolls. You don't have to be at 100%
health, but it is a good idea to be over half. If you haven't played the PC
version, retreat into town and save the game. Of course, you can use save
states if you are emulating. Basically this means going into the forest a few
times, resting, and returning.
The camp, where you need to go next, is to the north of a pool, the same clue
as the PC version. But it is less of a walk to get there. You just need to go
straight north from the east side woodsman's hut and then hook around the
west side of the pool and keep going north. The path through the woods is
handily marked, so just go N W S W N W S W S to the clearing.
This bit is not so tough, since you freeze enemies while using an item. Head
SE to the center. Kill all non-important looking enemies and then when the
blue one is in sight, use the red scroll on him. If you still have problems,
you have two potions to help you heal. Now you need to get out as you came.
You can run past pretty much all monsters and even go to the side when one
comes at you, if your health is that low. Offer the urn to the prior in the
inn where you started, and you will get to talk to the Regent. Also, talk to
the old man to get information about the great medallion. Also, stock up on
food. You should have more than enough gold now.
The Regent is in the center of the town, inside a building guards would not
let you in before. You may wish to save the game first. If you wish to look
around at the Regent's, his living quarters are upstairs and the jail is
downstairs.
The Regent will ask you if you can trust him. Funny thing here is that you
can tell the regent "No" and your quest is over--you die. But you get to go
behind that locked door you saw if you wandered around! It's rather amusing,
so why not try it, especially with save states. You are sent on a quest to
the southeast to Ganestor--exit south of town and follow the path east once
across the bridge.
Now for a detour. After the path hooks back north, go north when the lake
falls away. Tilt back a bit west to avoid the mountains and go north until
you hit a building. This is Treela. The inn(NW) has a serf sitting at the bar
who will sell you boots for $77. You may have to chitchat and then ask him
about the boots and a bunch of other stuff, but after that, they are very
worth it and will save many times their cost in food before the end--they're
even an advantage in fights. Basically, they help you go faster.
Go south from the east edge of Treela and get back on the road. Head east,
and it will wind south. Follow the path til you get to Ganestor. Ganestor is
not bad even if it is obscure in the southeast of the game.
There are some conversations here which aren't strictly necessary, but they
tell you why you can just go find the secret passage. Chitchat the serf in
the house in the west. Ask about secret way, then Barton tells you about
Smitty if you ask him, then go down the stairs. Push the lever in the room
down the stairs behind the bartender.
This next bit can be tricky, even with the boots helping you. You may wish to
use them to make sure they're working. You need to get a guard to run at you,
then sneak to the side and up to go past him. They are bad at turning, so if
you go by them, they can't catch you. I found it's good to go S E N on the
first level, then run left and right(with 2 90 degree turns) til the enemy
comes down and run up and around him once he comes down. Then go into the
room with the tablet, get the tablet, and get out.
You can go directly west to Lankwell and the Assassin from the south of
Ganestor, just below the inn. All you technically have to do is go in and ask
the Assassin about the High King, and he gives you a confessional scroll.
However, you probably want to get the axe, too, if you haven't yet. It's 95
gold, which you can get on the way from Ganestor to Lankwell. To get to
Lankwell from the Assassin's hut, follow the path, go norh across the bridge,
then go north a bit once the path ends, then west.
To officially find out about the Assassin, ask the thug in the inn (NE
Lankwell) about the Assassin. Then go south, west through the buildings and
north with the path when it reconnects. Enter the building and ask about the
Black Asp. The building to the east has a guy who'll sell you an axe. The axe
is a bit better than the dagger, as it goes and returns more quickly. You can
fire it continuously.
Go back to the Black Asp's, east to Ganestor. Go to the Warden. He is up the
stairs behind where you got the tablet. Offer the Warden the scroll--if you
just talk, he says you have no business here, but give him the scroll, and he
mentions that there's a spy around. Watch out here--it may seem as though you
don't have it, so you need to scroll down in the inventory for the scroll
(heh.) You now have something new to ask about: spying. Barton will tell you
someone has been sneaking around, and you don't technically even need to have
talked to him about that.
The warden will now let you leave out the front. Do so and then wait south of
the guards for night--green turning to orange then grey. Another guard will
come out. Talk to him about spying. He'll get mad and attack--actually, you
can attack him unprovoked, but just in case you want to follow the story line
and all that, there it is. Plus if you are facing another guard, you'll have
a choice to talk two: one of two indistinguishable guards. Nail him--a few
hits with the axe--and get the note he dropped. Go back to the Warden, and
give him the note. He will tell you to go to Hampton, which is north of
Ganestor.
You actually don't have to. In Hampton, you just learn that the prince is
held in Shadowpeak. Just follow the mountain range north and when it cuts
back, go NE to Shadowpeak. This is pretty easy. Don't even bother to use the
red scroll on the first floor to dispatch the three guards, as they don't
really attack you. Get the green scroll--it allows you three teleports. Go up
the stairs. The red scroll isn't necessary to kill the guard to the east, but
it's quicker. He'll drop a key. Get the key and release the prince. He'll
tell you of the need to visit Irial.
You don't need to bother yet, technically, as he just gives you a quest
you're going to do anyway. You do, however, need holy water from Rhyder. It
costs 25 gold. Rhyder's a bit away, but first you'll need to go west on the
path, then not turning when it goes down. You will get to the Lost Hope Inn.
Talk to the old man at the table below. Chitchat, temple, lyche, then holy
water. He tells you to ask Friar Kaine of Rhyder--without this chat, you
would not have been able to.
The green scroll is useful here. It lets you teleport to Rhyder. However, if
you want to walk back, go west til you hit the path, north through Eralan,
and north through the forest path to the town on the other side. That is
Rhyder. Buy the holy water from the man in the northwest house. He is Friar
Kaine. You only need one. It seems to say "Buy" then "Holy Water" in the
menu, because there's no space for a big phrase like "Holy water." Eh well.
Now go to Irial's. From Rhyder, it is east around the river. You may wish to
go to the extreme east and fight a giant to get a ring. It lets you walk
around invisible for a bit, and in fact you can even attack monsters while
invisible, so it can make one dungeon easy until it wears off.
South and west and south and west, following the bank, then across a bit of a
forest and up. Talk to Irial so that you can enter the Ruins. Now go to the
Lost Hope Inn, where you chatted with the old man. You can just cross the
bridge and go west, but south when you hit a river. At the end you'll need to
go back east to a bridge, then south to the path which will go east.
Go south to the ruins. The door to below is in the SE of the whole mess. It's
easily identifiable as a sort of blackened area among grey ruins--it's a door
in perspective, actually. The map through is very similar to what is in the
PC, but there are a few differences. You should be able to use the boots to
blaze through. You can zigzag around most enemies and thus not need to fight
them.
My map has buttons to push and the order to do so, but here is something more
verbally descriptive. Basically, you push button to open doors and create
bridges, but a few buttons are traps.
Touch the button to the south, opening a door to the west. Go west. Go south
and touch button #2. Retreat and go east, south and west. Touch the button
above. South, east, north and west through the second open door. Step on that
button and walk south past the bridge that is created.
The next button is a teleport. Go east and enter the second passage to the
south. There's a button in the southwest that opens a door in the northeast
of this area. That leads back west to another teleport. From there, go north
and a bit east. Step on all three buttons at the top. Go south down the east
side, over three bridges. Go west and step on the east button--this opens the
throne room door. Recross the bridges.
Go west, but south when you hit walls. Step on the button. Enter the two
doors to the north. Walk up to the Lyche and use the Holy Water on it. Note
that if you attack the lyche, it will gaze at you if you try to use an item,
so be sure not to do so by mistake. You can teleport to near the exit by
going south and touching the right knob in the anteroom. Or you can just use
the green scroll to teleport to a town from the dungeon. Do this only if
you're really near death, and go to Rhyder.
Having killed the Lyche, go visit Irial. If you teleported, go east from
Rhyder and around the lake to get to Irial(back west) or, from the Last Hope
Inn, go north and west along the river until you find a bridge. Cross it and
follow the water to the west as it goes north. There's another bridge to the
north. Enter and see Irial. He will give you a key to the Blasted Spot.
Go back to the Last Hope Inn and save. Go west along the main road, then
south when you see an inn above. It's just before the second bend north. You
will hit the Blasted Spot's entrance. You may have to walk around a bit to
hit the direct center and then a bit north, but you don't ever have to use
the key through the menu. The game does this automatically.
This is another dungeon similar to the PC. I will refer you to the NES
version of the map. Again, have the boots ready. You can get through in one
try with some potions and maybe a red scroll, though you shouldn't need to
fake out too many monsters.
Go east hooking south around a wall, then north when you can. Touch the near
lever, then go a few squares south, then east, then north through the door.
Touch lever 2. Leave through the door and go south. Hook east around the room
and enter the door to the west. Step on 3. Retreat, go west, and at the next
door, go up and touch lever #4. That teleports you.
Now touch 5, which opens a door east, then 6a and 6b. These two, in order,
open a bridge west of the stairs. Exit the door, go south, bending east, and
go west. Go north at the second passage.
Go northeast and touch the top of the two buttons, but not the bottom. Exit
and go west and south. Touch the button in the room to the east. Retreat
west, north and east and go north when you see the button below. Walk in and
grab the chime. Exit south and go east and up to the room with two buttons.
Step on the bottom one to be teleported near the entrance. Get out.
Now go to Treela--teleporting is okay, but east along the path and north at
Hampton is quick, too--and exit to the north. Follow the passage along the
lake til you see a big building. Go east along the bottom. The chimes will
let you in the temple automatically.
The temple is not tough and may only take one whole candle of life units,
which is not a problem, as you can always bump around to get a green potion
beforehand.
Plow through the bottom level, up and left. Don't worry if skeletons are
created. You can run past them with your boots, after all--you can even bull
through them and hack at them, if you want. Save the red scroll for the grey
mage on the second floor.
You don't have to interpolate this next part, since it means you'll take a
lot of damage, but it rounds out the story. Go back down to the first level
and to the SW corner, where you see the lever in the small room to the north.
Pull the lever. Go down the stairs that appear. The cell you want is in the
center along the bottom. Talk to the prisoner and say yes. He'll tell you to
look at the bed. Go back upstairs.
Enter the center bedroom and stay by the bed. Use "look" and notice there is
a sphere at the very end of the inventory, if you want. You can now take the
sphere and go to the first floor. Go to the priest in the NE. You can zigzag
around the pillars. Face him and use the sphere. That kills him. Note--if he
gazes at you, retreat to an inn, rest, and return. That will dispell
everything. Then don't hit him the next time.
Then get the medallion and watch the final bit. You get a point score and
everything. Woohoo!
5. CHEATS
0x084 = # of food
0x089 = # of uses of green scroll (?)
0x4d2 = gold(low byte)
0x4d3 = gold(high byte)
0x52e = health(maximum 0xc0)
Use these two in conjunction to tack on items:
(I take no responsibility for weird stuff happening with a wacky # of items)
0x085 = # of items
0x5f3 = start of inventory
0xff=no item
0x00=white key
0x01=note
0x02=tablet
0x03=ring
0x04=urn
0x05=key
0x06=boots
0x07=chime
0x08=medallion
0x09=holy water
0x0a=sphere
0x0b=scroll
0x0c=green key
0x0d=green potion
0x0e=blue potion
0x0f=blue scroll
0x10=red scroll
0x11/0x12=bag of gold(not used in inventory)
0x13=food(not used in inventory)
0x14=dagger
0x15=axe
0x16=green scroll
0x17=red potion
0x18++=[DON'T USE THIS VALUE--BAD THINGS WILL PROBABLY HAPPEN]
(this can short circuit a lot of the rest of the game, so be warned.)
End of FAQ Proper
================================
6. VERSIONS
1.0.0: sent to GameFAQs 1/29/2008, complete with cheat codes and everything
but a sprig of tasty parsley on top.
1.5.0: sent to GameFAQs 9/19/2009, with extra maps added. I walked through
the game to pin down exactly whom to talk to where, and I also found some
shortcuts on the NES version not available with the PC version.
7. CREDITS
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 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 folks for keeping it going.
Special thanks to odino for notifying me about this game and listening to
stuff. I think AdamL did too. Thanks to falsehead for the chat which helped
push me to do the PC version and this.
Thanks to Paul Senzee for the cool maps.
Thanks to Dave Barber for his FAQ which seems to have gone missing.
Thanks to FCEUXD for making it so easy to edit hex stuff.
