|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| |¯| \¯¯| /¯¯¯¯¯\ |¯¯\ \¯¯| |¯¯¯¯¯¯¯|
| |¯¯¯\_| | |___) | ¯| |¯ | \ ) | | |¯¯¯| |
| | _ | ___ | | | | (\ \) | | ¯¯¯ |
| |___/ | | ( | | _| |_ | ( \ | | (¯¯¯) |
|_______| |__\ |_| /_____\ |__\ \__| |__\ /__|
T H E F O R B I D D E N C I T Y
FAQ/Walkthrough by Shotgunnova (P. Summers)
I. CONTROLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CNTR
II. WALKTHROUGH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WLKT
III. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAQZ
IV. UPDATES & CONTRIBUTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UPDT
V. LEGALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LGLT
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I. CONTROLS [CNTR]
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The controls are pretty basic in the point-and-click game. Circle toggles
the inventory menu; X-button is the "accept" button for puzzles, menus and
inventory navigation. Controls cannot be changed, though one can toggle the
speed of camera movement (via Omni3D technolog option) in the field.
Of more interest are changes to the main cursor, which reflects opportunities
for players. The main ones are:
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| Arrow | Default icon for changing camera POVs |
| Diamond | Designated location can be used in conjunction w/ a second item |
| Eye | Item can be seen in more detail when inspected |
| Finger | Player can proceed in the given direction |
| Hand | Designated item/object can be taken or operated |
| Mouth | Designated NPC can be spoken to |
|_________|_________________________________________________________________|
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II. WALKTHROUGH [WLKT]
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The entire game takes place within the Forbidden City. The inventory screen's
compass icon displays the "world map," although it's very cluttered and many
places are never visited or unimportant. The ASCII map below should simplify
progress a bit. Certain locations can be fast-travelled to once visited -- a
godsend compared to some of Cryo Interactive's other point-and-click games.
_____ _____
| C | | G |
_____________________________|_ _| |_ _|
| | | | | |K| | |_____| |_
| |_ _| | J | |_ _| _________|
| _ _ |_ _| _ _ |
| |_________|_________|_________| |
| | _____ | |
| | ___ | | ___ | |
| |_____| | |_| | | |_| | |_____| |
| _____ I | | _____ |
| | _| _| | | |_ | | |
___ _ ___| | | | | _| | | |_ | | | |
|B _|_|A|___| _ | |E |___| _____ |___| | | |
|_____________| | | |_|_______| _ |___ _| | |
| | |H| |D | | |
___ | | | | ¯¯¯ | |
|F _|_| |_____________| |_____________| |
________ |_____________________ _______________|
| LEGEND \ _______| |_______
|¯¯¯|¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯| | _____ |
| A | Starting Point | |_ _| |_ _|
| B | Wang's Office | |_ _| |_ _|
| C | Imperial Gardens | | |_____| |
| D | Prince's Upper Study | |___ _____ ___| N
| E | Internal Petitions | | | | | |
| F | Imperial House | | |_____| | W --+-- E
| G | Concubine Area | ___|_ _|___ |
| H | G. of Celestl. Purity | | _________ | S
| I | Tiger Cave | | _| L |_ |
| J | H. of Great Fertility | | _|__ __|_ |
| K | Eunuchs' Lodgings | |___ ___|
| L | Supreme Harmony Room | |_________|
|___|_______________________|
The game begins with Anjing (the protagonist) being asked by the emperor to
investigate the death of Wang, a chief eunuch. The search for the culprit'll
span the entire game, so it's best to break the guide down into digestible
morsels. The walkthrough will be as spoiler-free as possible. A few notes
before beginning:
• Forget what to do? Talk to nearby guards or NPCs to see if they have any
pertinent info to give. (To talk, move arrow icon to their face until it
becomes a mouth icon.) The plot's progress is also recorded in the "notes"
icon of the inventory, above the compass.
• A big part of the game is showing items to people. To do this, select the
item in the inventory, move the cursor above the inventory (that part of
the screen will disappear) and select the person to show. This may seem
extremely basic, but unlike similar games, there is NO icon change to
reflect they can interact with it. Button-mashing over their head or body
usually works.
• Some puzzles draw upon current items or info listed in the main menu's
documentation section. Remember to check the latter if need be.
[1.1] THE FIRST CONFESSION
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Superintendent Anjing begins at point "A" on the above map. Players can walk
around at leisure to add areas as fast travel points, though some places are
currently off-limits. Starting inventory: Imperial Mandate 1.
• Enter Wang's Office
• Question Chief Ma (sitting)
• Question Chou (standing by doorway)
• Visit the Office of Internal Petitions (point "E" on map)
• Speak to Director Li (at desk) to get the "Imperial Mandate 2"
The Imperial Gardens can now be accessed.
• Try entering the gardens' front entrance
• Speak to the guard manually
• Show "Imperial Mandate 2" to the guard
• Enter the gardens
• Approach and speak to the Dowager Empress, Douarière
She will give some of the dead eunuch's belongings: Posthumous Letter from
Wang and Wang's Key.
• Return to Wang's Office, either by walking or fast-travelling
• Talk to Chief Ma until Anjing mentions the Bodhisattva statue
• Turn and look at the red-colored cabinet
• Unlock its front clasp
• Take the Hammer from within the top drawer
• Take the Chisel and Screwdriver from within the middle drawer
• Use Wang's Key to unlock the bottom drawer
• Inspect the Bodhisattva
To solve the puzzle, press the two blue buttons on the statuette's front,
then the three red ones. (Only those five can be pressed, so there's no way
to mess it up. Exit the screen to reset the puzzle.) The solution to this is
alluded to in the posthumous letter.
• Take the "First Confession of Wang" inside
• Take the "Clue for the Second Confession" inside
[1.2] THE SECOND CONFESSION
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Asking Chief Ma about the clue deduces that it refers to Wei, the Imperial
tutor to Prince Sixteen. He takes lessons in the upper study, i.e. point "D"
on the ASCII map.
• Enter the upper study
• Talk to Wei
• Present the "Clue for the Second Confession" when he asks
• Move toward the study's blue seats (near entrance)
• Inspect the go board
To solve the puzzle, one must replicate the Chinese character shown on the
"Clue for the Second Confession" parchment, in the upper-right hand corner.
This can be done in any order. Solution:
http://i.imgur.com/Zn3aShP.png
• Take "Second Confession of Wang" from within go board
• Take "Clue for the Third Confessoin" from within go board
[1.3] THE THIRD CONFESSION
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• Return to Office of Internal Petitions
• Show "Second Confession of Wang" to Director Li
Players learn they need to verify Wang's findings, but aren't told where to
go explicitly. Returning to previous NPCs for updated info is a common tactic
in this game, as seen below.
• Show the second confession to Chief Ma
• Show the second confession to Master Wei
• Visit the Imperial House
• Enter left-hand office
• Inspect wall shelf by desk
• Select any row of books, then the ledgers (obtain List of Imperial Gifts)
• Revisit Office of Internal Petitions
• Present "List of Imperial Gifts" to Director Li (obtain Imperial Mandate 3)
Access to the Palace of Profound Purity -- where the concubines are -- is now
available. It's right near the Imperial Gardens' entrance on the east side.
• Talk to the eunuch guard at the palace gate
• Show him the "Imperial Mandate 3"
• Pass into the palace courtyard
• Speak to the guard in front of the biggest building
• Present "List of Imperial Gifts" when asked
The three gifts will be brought out.
• Inspect the leftmost box
• Open box
• Use Screwdriver on box's bottom
• Take the stolen Originals from within
• Show new item to Director Li at the Internal Petitions office
• Speak to Master Wei (upper study)
• Present Originals to Master Wei
As hinted in the "Clue for the Third Confession," it's time to pass a wet
brush over the jacket.
• Take a Brush from the glass
• Dab Brush in the sake cup of water
• Inspect recovered Originals
• Inspect rightmost Original with the brush
The hidden text suggests going to the Gate of Celestial Purity. On the ASCII
map, this is point "H". Approach it from the outer street, not the interior
courtyard. (This is a fast travel point, by the way.)
• Approach and inspect the gate
• Inspect the left-hand door's bottom half further
• Use Chisel on this gold icon: bottom row, third from left
• Use Hammer on placed Chisel
• Inspect object underneath the gold icon
• Flip all cylinders to "Affix his seal," opening a hidden compartment
• Take the "Third Confession" from within
• Take the "Clue for the Fourth Confession" from within
[1.4] THE FOURTH CONFESSION
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• Show third confession to Director Li at the Internal Petitions office
• Show third confession to Master Wei at the upper study
• Revisit Wang's Office
• Speak to Chou
Ma's whereabouts are currently unknown. The only thing to do is canvas the
neighborhood. Make sure to do the next series of steps as written -- doing
them out of order won't work.
• Speak to 1st set of guards in front of Room of Spiritual Nourishment
• Exit area into the next (eastern) street
• Turn around and speak to 2nd set of guards
• Advance north once
• Speak to the 3rd sentry pair guarding the Court of Celestial Purity
• Exit east into said Court
• Turn around and question the 4th set of gate guards
• Advance east once into the lower courtyard
• Approach the two golden braziers to find the Tiger Cave ("I" on map)
If done correctly, an FMV plays in the Tiger Cave and the "Stamps of the
Imperial Seals" are obtained. Trying to get into the cave, or skipping steps
related to the guards, isn't doable. Anjing automatically returns to the
Internal Petitions office afterward.
• Show Director Li the new stamps (obtain Imperial Mandate 4)
• Try entering the northern Court of Great Fertility (either gate)
• Show "Imperial Mandate 4" to gate guard
• Enter the northern Court of Great Fertility
• Enter the central building
• Speak to Chief Wen
• Present the "Stamps of the Imperial Seals" to the eunuch with Wen
This next part is a small matching game. Examine the seals, observe their
pattern, dip them in red ink, and match the symbols. (This is easy and the
game won't let one stamp the incorrect square anyway.) When finished, "Wax
Found on the Seals" is obtained.
• Present the wax to Yang (at Li's desk) in the Imperial Petitions office
• Revisit to the Hall of Great Fertility's central room
• Speak to the eunuch
• Enter the eastern eunuch lodgings (point "K" on map)
• Inspect floor trunk twice
• Use Chisel on floor tile underneath
• Inspect items within the hidden compartment
• Exit lodging for an FMV
• Return to Yang at the Imperial Petitions office.
Like before, the next series should be done as written with no detours. Start
by leaving the Imperial Petitions office to the interior courtyard.
• Question a gate guard (any, on either side) about Li
• Leave courtyard through eastern gate
• Turn around and question either of the exterior gate guards about Li
• Head north up the street
• Question the eunuch guarding the Imperial Gardens
• Enter said Gardens
• Enter the back cave for another FMV
The "List of Director Li" will be obtained automatically and the cave can be
explored further.
• Inspect the window grille nearby
• Use the Screwdriver on the grille's top, left, right, and bottom parts
The grille will be removed. Note that it's hard to see what's happening in
the PS1 version, so instead listen for a distinctive 'ting' that denotes a
success.
Inspecting the weird box reveals another puzzle. The solution is actually
hinted at in the game's documentation (main menu option) that speaks about
cosmology, as well as the fourth confession clue.
To solve the puzzle, rotate the three rings so the northernmost icons are
Tortoise, Black, and North. (As the cosmology article mentions, each cardinal
direction is associated with a color and animal.) If done right, the puzzle
board's face will briefly sink in, letting the colors be pressed like buttons.
The fourth confession clue hints at the right sequence: yellow, grey, purple,
blue.
• Take the "Fourth Confession" and "Fourth Clue" from within the puzzle box
• [Optional] exit cave for automatic conversation with a guard
• [Optional] Speak to Lady Fu in the Gardens
[1.5] UNRAVELING THE PLOT
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• Speak to Yang at the Imperial Petitions office
• Return to the Palace of the Concubines (near Imperial Gardens, remember)
• Speak to the gate-guarding eunuch
• Enter the courtyard
• Speak to eunuch guarding the easternmost house
• Visit the Imperial House (point "F" on map; fast-travellable)
• Enter inside for an FMV
Anjing will automatically visit the Imperial Petitions office afterward.
• Revisit the Palace of the Concubines
• Speak to the gate-guarding eunuch about Hua Bao
• Enter the courtyard
• Speak to the eunuch guarding the easternmost house
• Enter the easternmost house's reception room
• Speak to Hua Bao (Blank Letter obtained)
• Use the Blank Letter on the reception room's candle (becomes "Rebus Clue")
The pictures revealed show a fire jar and a tree planter.
• Reenter the courtyard
• Approach westernmost house
• By the tree planter, inspect the fire jug (brazier)
• Inspect the rectangular piece at the jug's base
• Use Chisel on the piece
• Take item inside ("Key Found in a Jar")
• Approah easternmost house again
• Inspect tree planter by its steps
• Inspect false decorative plate on planter base
• Use "Key Found in a Jar" to unlock drawer behind it
• Take the Seals within ("Wax Found on the Seals" obtained as well)
As before, do the stamping "game" to verify the seals' authenticity.
• Present the Seals to Yang at the Imperial Petitions office
• Return to Palace of the Concubines' courtyard yet again
• Speak to the eunuch guarding Shouxiu's eastern house
• Enter the reception room, then Shouxiu's personal chambers
• Speak to Shouxiu
• Inspect bamboo planter near window
This puzzle involves fake bamboo with twistable symbols. The solution is to
make the front side show only real animals of the Chinese Zodiac. (This info
is made plain in the game's documentation section via the main menu, if it's
not already known.) Going from left to right, the correct symbology is:
1st: Serpent, Cockerel
2nd: Tiger, Dog, Horse, Wild Boar
3rd: Hare, Ox, Monkey
4th: Rat, Dragon, Goat
When done right, the bamboo's base opens a secret compartment.
• Take "False Proclamation of Succession"
• Speak to Shouxiu (automatic)
• Speak to Yang at the Internal Petitions office (automatic)
• Revisit the Imperial House
• Enter the right-hand office
• Use the Hammer on the attacker
• Inspect the ornate clock
To solve this puzzle, all three clock faces must be aligned correctly. The
top one's big and small hands go to 5 and 8 positions, respectively. The
bottom two, from left to right, go to 3 and 9, respectively. (For reference,
these numbers correspond to the blue paperweight on the nearby desk.)
• Take "Plan of an Infernal Mechanism" from within the clock's compartment
• Take "False Edict of Regency" from within the clock's compartment
Players can immediately go to the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the far south of
the map, or show Yang (Internal Petitions office) the mechanism plans first.
The hall is a fast travel point by this time, so there's no need to walk all
the way there.
• Enter the Hall
• Approach the throne
• Inspect throne
• Remove wooden plank with hole in it
• Remove the four metal crossbars around the needle
• Inspect lower contraption area
• Turn the two small crank cogs
• Disconnect red tube (×3) using the Screwdriver
• Use Screwdriver to remove protective bracket from poison vial
• Take vial out of mechanism
• Repeat the last two steps on the 2nd vial
• Inspect anywhere after it's disarmed
That's the end! Enjoy the ending FMV and post-mission character summary.
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V. FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS [FAQZ]
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[Q] - Is this game worth getting?
[A] - It's actually pretty fun, yeah, and the Forbidden City (and Chinese
culture in general) is always ripe for a good historical take. It's
certainly better than, say, Atlantis: The Lost Tales.
[Q] - Is this game region-locked?
[A] - Yes. As a PAL-only game, NTSC players will need a PAL console, a NTSC
console modded to play PAL games, or a "Swap Magic"-style disc to fool
NTSC consoles into playing PAL games.
[Q] - Is this game better on PC?
[A] - From what I can see, yeah -- the loading times are far quicker and the
graphics are a bit less artifact-ridden. However, the PS1 version still
fares pretty well and may be a bit easier to work with nowadays. (This
game isn't available on Steam, as of April 2017, anyway.)
[Q] - Do I need to bother researching the culture (via info nodes) or...?
[A] - No, those "nodes" just give extra background on China and the Forbidden
City itself, and aren't integral to gameplay. Cryo Interactive games
often have an aspect like this, playing up the edutainment angle.
[Q] - Does picking an emblem at the game's beginning do anything important?
[A] - Not that I've noticed. Might just be for extra flavor.
[Q] - I can't unlock the bottom drawer in Wang's Office!
[A] - For some reason, it's inaccessible until Ma is asked about Wang's
Bodhisattva statue. This can occur regardless of whether the posthumous
letter is read, but may require an extra conversation to play.
[Q] - I can't inspect the shelf in the Imperial House!
[A] - Make sure you show the second confession to both Wei and Ma. For some
reason, learning about the ledgers from just one isn't good enough to
do the inspection.
[Q] - Chou won't help me find the missing eunuch!
[A] - Show the third confession to both Director Li and Master Wei. Both will
direct Anjing to the correct location, but the speech option with Chou
won't appear until both are informed.
[Q] - I can't speak to the concubine's guard about Hua Bao!
[A] - He won't have a speech option until one learns Hua Bao is Shouxiu's
lady-in-waiting. The easiest way to do this is talking to the eunuch
who guards the Palace of the Concubines' gate.
[Q] - I can't inspect the planter in the palace courtyard!
[A] - Only the easternmost can be checked; the western one does nothing and
has nothing.
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VI. UPDATES & CONTRIBUTORS [UPDT]
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4-23-17 -----------------------+ Started walkthrough
4-24-17 -----------------------+ Finished walkthrough
THANKS TO...
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• Sailor/Ceej, for hostin' my crap
• Cryo Interactive, for not including annoying woodwind music this outing!
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VII. LEGALITY [LGLT]
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This document is intended for private home use ONLY, and may not be reproduced
through electronic or commercial means without the expressed consent of the
author (P. Summers). It cannot be hosted, edited, or distributed for profit,
and may not be given away as an add-in/gift to bought items. All rights are
reserved to respective parties, even those not explicitly stated herein. Those
who find this document on sites not listed below should e-mail the author (me).
Thanks for reading this, and thanks for respectin' FAQ authors.
Allowed Sites: Disallowed Sites:
• Gametalk.com • cheatcc.com
• GameFAQs.com • gamershell.com
• MyCheats.com
• Neoseeker.com
• Gamesradar.com
• Supercheats.com
• Cheathappens.com
• Honestgamers.com
• Chaptercheats.com E-mail me for permissions ~
• Cavesofnarshe.com shotgunnova (a+) gmail (d0t) com.
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MY THUMB'S Document © Shotgunnova, 1997-2016 (and countin'!)
ON A TETRIS Forbidden City namesake © respective owners
KEYRING E N D O F D O C U M E N T
