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reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may
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I think this is one of the very best lynx games, but it takes some time before
the game grows on you. Like many Lynx games (such as Turbo Sub, Gordo 106, or
Dirty Larry) it has a non-linear difficulty curve. When you first play it
the game seems too hard and frustrating, especially with only a handful of
lives. However, with practice the game can be memorized and beaten. The game
is impressive with its liberal use of parallax scrolling, myriad of catchy
tunes, scaling effects, dark atmosphere,frightening bosses, multitude of
different enemies, and killer gameplay. Even the cover art is killer!
Joypad- Moves character left/right, up ladders, or to duck. The game has nice
animation, so don't get distracted by the slight delay required to completely
turn around!
B- Punches/shoots
A- Jump (the landing of the jump can be slightly altered mid-air)
The game starts in the middle of a forest, which serves the function of being
the main hub (much like Simon's Quest for NES). And also like Simon's Quest,
it is not clear whether you should start your quest by going left or right
first.You want to go left first but not until you dispatch the cannon operator
just to the right of the game's starting point. Wait until the sharp-dressed
monster lights the fuse and punch the cannon to make it turn around. The
enemy will leave a gun behind which will make your journey towards the left
easier. Move left until you see a black bat in the trees and move to the
right immediately and you can outrun the bat as he flies toward you. Now, go
left as soon as it is safe to do so until you see another bat and
rinse/repeat until you see the ground traps (marked by white dots on the path).
This section is actually fairly challenging, and it is okay if you take a hit
or two during it. Jump over each trap as you try to land in the spaces between
the groups of white dots. Enter the tree, and enjoy the cool 3D scaling.
You can almost taste the bark! Feel free to shout 'TIMBER' in the process
like a lumber-jack, but that is purely optional.
Tree Zone part 1:
Inside the tree, you will notice a small ornament at the bottom of the
stair-well. It is not purely for decoration. Admire it from a distance!
As you walk to the right it will spit a solitary shot at you. With
the right timing, you can jump over the bullet. If you do get hit and feel
embarrased, it shouldn't be too much of a problem (just tell your friends you
'fell down the stairs'). Go down the rickety ladder and head left. Go down
the ladder. Many of the enemies in the game have their own pattern and often
don't acknowledge your presence as a form of prey. So accept your role of
predator and learn their patterns. You will see a yellow gargoyle fly around.
Don't get too close. Walk slowly until it is in punching distance and
dispatch it. You will see a moving platform (the game is a platformer, after
all). Carefully time your jump and adjust your landing so you land safely on
the platform. Rinse and repeat for the next few platforms. Remember, if you
fall too far you get hurt. You will see a blue enemy at the bottom, so get
close enough to punch and it should be dispatched. Hopefully you have at
least half of your power-bar remaining by this point. Go left and carefully
jump on the visible platform but watch out for the flying gargoyle. Carefully
punch the gargoyle while you are riding the platform. Jump to the ledge.
Carefully jump on the next platform you see moving to your left. As always,
it might behoove you to pay attention to how each platform moves so you can
time your jumps better. Jump off the platform to the solid ground near the
bottom-right.
The next part takes some timing, skill, and practice. Remember, this is only
a walk-through but nobody is going to hold your hand or carry you through
the whole game. Anyway, walk to the right and when each of the green
swordmen are in punching distance dispatch them. Don't punch too soon
or too late. Work the timing into your muscle memory. You also have to watch
the spikes that come down from the ceiling and time it all accordingly. Go
up the ladder and stop. Do not go up the next ladder you see. Not all ladders
lead to success! It will only bring you to the boss which you are not ready
to fight yet. Don't be a hero! Instead, go right and down the ladder near
the brown pillar. You will see another series of platforms. Analyze their
movements and carefully descend as before. Again, watch for the blue enemy
and dispatch it as soon as possible (and as always, if you are low on
health the gun may be more practical than fists). If you got this far,
it is time to celebrate with a nice energy drink found on the right. Watch
your energy fill up. Wow, it is too bad this stuff doesn't come by the case
like Red Bull. Now don't waste your health reserves any more than you have
to. Go left and you will see stalactites. Move nice and slow until each one
starts to shimmy/shake and quickly turn around and backtrack out of its
way. Carefully dispatch the green swordsmen as before as you try to avoid
the rest of the stalactites. You will reach an impasse.
Do not make a blind jump to the left. Instead, go down the ladder. You
will see Tarzan-inspired swinging vines. Carefully jump on them while
making sure to avoid the falling red goo. Dispatch the golden gargoyle.
Carefully, and I mean carefully, proceed to the right while timing your
jumps and controlling your landing as you ride more platforms, vines, or
avoid the dangerous slime falling from the ceiling. Be patient. Watch how
the platforms move. And don't worry about staying on a vine a few rotations
until it is safe to jump (you can hang on the vine as long as you want
without falling off). Jump to the safe ground. Descend the ladder and
dispatch the yellow gargoyles. If you hadn't noticed by now, timing is
critical in this game! You are now faced with 3 routes. Aren't dilemmas
and times of indecision wonderful feelings?
Do not touch the red/spiky device on the right (it is a shortcut to the
first boss). Similarly, don't go down the ladder yet either. Instead, head
left and ride the platform to jump to the left. Carefully walk until you
start to see a large statue holding a blue gemstone. He is not a politican,
but he can sure blow hot air. Instead of worrying what political party he
(or she) represents, wait for his fire to cease and walk close to it
and duck. When the fire dies down and his gemstone returns to his hand, punch
the crystal about two times and duck again. Rinse and repeat until you obtain
the crystal. Now, before reminiscing about the blue crystal from Simon's
Quest, backtrack safely till you are in the proximity of that red/spiky device
(dispatch enemies as appropriate). Descend the next 2 ladders, and don't go
down the third (yet). Go left, ride platforms, and dispatch the swordsmen
whilst avoiding the red slime. Dispatch the blue monster and carefully collect
the yellow key. Backtrack to the right and go down the ladder. Run left and
outrun the green snakes that chase you (unless you want to fight them instead).
Either way, work your way left until you see another bottle of that blue
high-caffeine energy drink left by the game designers as a gift to ease your
anxiety! Now, backtrack and go up the ladders till you see the spiky device.
Enter it and you will take a shortcut back to an earlier part of the game as
the screen changes with warping effects. If you don't remember, the ladder
going up leads to the boss. Now that you have the blast wave, you are ready
to fight the green nasty dude. Equip the item and go up the ladder and head
right. A gold statue will trap you inside the boss area (always a nice and
tender moment). The good news is that nobody can call you a coward when
running away is no longer an option!
Like the other bosses in the game, he is pattern based, so listen carefully.
Walk towards the boss until you are almost close enough to touch it's head
(when the boss has moved to the left). Don't try 70's therapy ideas on him
by telling him that "you're okay and I'm okay". I tried. Instead, duck
the spray of shots. If you are hit by them, you may not be far enough to
the right. When it has moved down/right, blast him with 2 or 3 energy
waves as if you were Ryu from Street Fighter 2 with a 'III' triple-shot
item from Castlevania! You know you are hitting it when he flashes with
each hit (kinda like how boxers flash when hit in real-life)! Remember to
jump his low shot that he spits from the right side. Rinse and repeat.
After the boss is defeated, go right until the level ends. It is okay if
you have little to no blast waves or regular bullets left at this point.
If you do have some blast waves left, save them for when you might need
them. Around these parts, Murphy's Law is the law of the land!
Tree zone (part two):
Go right and jump the spikes on the right side of the broken machine. Go
down the ladder. Slowly go left and watch the pattern of the cobras. When
safe, run up to each one and punch it timing it so you don't get hit by their
shots. Duck the red birds that come from the right, as this can throw off
your timing! Get the gear and backtrack to the broken machine. Use your
mechanic's degree and place the gear. Hit the lever and wait for the platform
to descend. Get on the platform and hit the lever and ride upwards. Go right
and get the torch first and then head left and hit the switch to the off
position (You might get teased for carrying a torch in a well-lit area now,
but you will have the last laugh later on when you need the torch in the dark
dungeon). Backtrack to the ladder and go up. If you need health, go right to
the blue potion (whilst carefully dispatching the red fat birds). If you have
full health and still want to get the potion this may be indicative of a
drinking problem. Go left and use the muscle memory you honed from playing
Battletoads on the NES and carefully walk under and between the eyeballs.
Walk slow until you start to see a layer of fire breathed by a chained-up
green dragon. If this is frightening, just be thankful they have leash laws in
this fine community of 'model citizens' or rather 'model denizens'!
Now, immediately when the fire dissipates, run left and walk past him
(he won't hurt you when you touch him, but I still wouldn't try petting it).
It might help to jump at the last moment just to make sure you clear his
next fire breath. Get the silver key. Carefully backtrack and get the blue
potion if you didn't get it the first time. Backtrack to the platform
next to the lever and ride it back down. Backtrack to where the gear was and
dispatch the enemies in the process. Go down. Yay, another fork in the road!
Go right first and hit the lever. Now go left. There should be a silver beam
to allow safe passage left until you can hit another lever. Go right and go
down the ladder when approprate. Go left first, and carefully jump on the
moving beams as you work your way left. Touch the blue fist icon (which
hopefully by now should not be enrobed with an energy seal). Backtrack to the
right and dispatch enemies till you can descend the ladder. Go left and
carefully avoid the balls dropped by the robotic-bee (well what would YOU call
it?). Time your movement so that the balls avoid you and time your jumps
accordingly if you choose to jump over some of them. Go down the
ladder and avoid the spikes as you time your jumps over them (it is a far jump
to make without falling in the spikes). Go right and duck the red fireballs
as appropriate that come from the wall. Go down the ladder. I like to use
any remaining energy waves left from the first boss fight against the ceiling
enemies. Similarly, I like to use regular bullets against the ghosts as I
proceed left to the ladder. Go down. Walk very carefully past the blue fire
blasts (anticipating when they fire) and jump spikes where appropriate.
Proceed right until you start to see the red dragon's nose. It is boss
time.
Now, watch his pattern from a safe distance. Equip the golden fist powerup,
but don't get too excited. It has more in common with a pair of cheap brass
knuckles than a grenade launcher. At the right time, jump the spike and hit
him about 2-3 times with your fists. Now, jump back over the spike before the
boss breathes his fire. It is a fairly simple pattern, but you gotta time
it right. Rinse and repeat until the boss goes down. Go to the locked door
and use the yellow key to get through. Ascend the well and you will be back
near the starting point of the game. For fun, you might want to go back in
the well so you can see that cool scaling effect again. You can almost taste
the well-water!
Main outside hub (part 2):
Now it is finally time to take the right path from the starting point
of the game.Walk right until a group of purple winged birds come at you.
As per usual, time your punches just right so you can dispatch them
with no harm. Walk right and punch the insane blue bear-like creatures
that come at you. Trust me, you don't want to mess with monsters that
fail their anger-management coursework three times. Break the pillars
to find health and a silver ball, probably just left by a member of
a werewolf bowling league. Carefully push the silver ball to the right
while being careful to avoid the spikes that come from the ground.
Carefully and slowly push the ball into the hole in the ground to stop
the enemies from flying out. Walk carefully to avoid the spikes and
proceed to the right. Time your punches to quickly dispatch the
flying eyeballs that come at you (i.e. keep your eyes open for eyes).
Keep walking past the enemies facing away from you in the trees until
each one falls. Quickly turn around and dispatch each one in turn.
You will see the same enemies in the trees but now facing you (it
might behoove these gentlemen to invest in some camoflauge clothing).
Walk slowly until they drop and time your punches to take them out
as before. Go right and you will note a rather ominous gargoyle statue.
Punch it several times. Unlike a happy-meal or a box of Cracker-Jacks,
there is no pleasant surprise inside! When the monster breaks loose,
punch him three times.
The next bit is a bit tricky. To defeat the spiders, punch them once to drop
them and then jump over them. Be weary of the spikes which come at the same
time. It is time to overcome your arachnophobia and that pesky fear of "large
spikes protruding from the ground". I forgot the official name for that one!
Thankfully, there is some health ahead in the stone pillars. You will soon
see a myriad of scaling eyes ahead. Analyze their placement and judge your
distances accordingly as you carefully look for safe spots to go to. You may
have to walk and follow a line of them as they disappear to allow safe passage
(the little guys seem to be doing a "wave" as in a sporting event). Keep
walking and duck the greenish gargoyle that flies past you. Carefully punch
the green gargoyle that looms quickly ahead. Walk to the right until you
can see a large red dragon drop a bomb. It is important to remember that
the dragon always drops the bomb in the SAME SPOT. Walk near where the bomb
lands and duck/punch it. It will fly to the right and hit enemies. Do it
again to finish off the red dragon. Be careful not to touch the blast radius
if the bomb goes off.
Keep walking and you will notice a worn-down sign. You will also see a series
of spikes that descend whilst moving right-ward. Follow closely behind them so
that you are safe as you walk. Carefully punch the red enemies that come at
you as you retain your position behind the moving spikes. After this you will
soon see a green alien track-star coming at you who is convinced he is running
a monster marathon towards you (he is the only enemy of his kind in the entire
game btw). Punch him as per usual. Go towards the right to the castle. Dodge
the falling boulders and be weary of the arrows also. It might be
comforting to remind yourself that sticks and stones can break your bones,
but at least words can never hurt you!! If you don't know what doors are for,
the game will politely show an arrow so you know where to go. Go through the
door and once again enjoy the cool scaling of the castle door. You can
almost taste the stone!
Castle:
Go left slowly until the green hoppers jump at you. Carefully punch them
from a distance one at a time until you can hit the switch to the 'off'
position. Backtrack to the ladder and ascend, but stop before your head clears
the ladder.Wait until after the white barrel comes and goes, and quickly ascend
the ladder the rest of the way and move left until you can safely punch the
brown barrel. Rinse and repeat, but watch so that the barrels don't touch you
as they move below you.This section is hard, and requires some practice. Don't
forget to hit the switch on the left wall to the "off" position near the end
of the section. You will thank me later! Ascend the ladder and proceed,
being careful to defeat the same green hoppers as before. There is some
health in the first few chests, but remember to punch the last chest as
there is a marksman in it! Go right until you see a series of axes come
at you and punch them one at a time. Go right and watch out for the
winged goblins that come at you. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck
it might be a 'quack' pretending to be a duck! Anyway, touch the wrench!
Backtrack until you can go down the first ladder you see. Watch out for hot
wax dripping from the candles as you proceed right. Also watch for the
sly-guyz who shoot at you from under the floorboards and jump the projectiles
safely. Keep walking and watch the ceiling. Position yourself so that you
are between the two gaps in the ceiling and right below the small area
in between. Keep walking slowly and carefully punch the large mouths
that come at you.Carefully jump the wide chasm to hit the small switch
a few times to lower the candle-holder. Jump on it as it goes down to
safely bring yourself to the ground.Walk carefully under the large brown
spider. Walk and stand right in the middle of the two castle pillars to
avoid the barrage of axes like before. Proceed left and remember to punch
the brown spiders until they start to go up and down so you can pass under
them safely. Go down the ladders and proceed right. DO NOT go back outside
when you see the "OUT" arrow! I don't know for sure, but I can only
assume you have to do the whole castle again!! Excercise great caution.
You will now see a series of red blobs. Analyze their pattern and be
patient. With timing and skill, you can punch them one at a time whilst
maintaining a safe distance from each of them. Go down the ladder and go left.
Time your punches of the green vultures that fly quickly at you. Again, there
are a great variety of enemies in this game! Keep walking and the steel doors
should be open and allow you passage. Go down the ladder and ignore the green
large-mouths to the left. Go right to find some lovely health in the chest! Go
left until you can't and go up the ladder. Watch out for the barrels overhead
and when it is safe hide in the little cubby so that the barrels bounce over
you. It may help to even duck for this. Go down the ladder and touch the extra
ammo icon. These are necessary to beat the three-headed dragon. Go down the
ladder and you will note an arrow machine with a switch behind. Walk right
until enemies start to come and then go back to the switch and hit it! The
arrows should nail the group of enemies. Go right as you jump the barrage of
axes and avoid the enemy's projectile from the floor-boards. Go past the
spider as before and use the wrench on the white control system to the left of
the energy laser. Ascend the ladder and go left to hit the switch to the 'off'
position. Equip the gun (with ammo if necessary). Go right and down the right
ladder. You guessed it. It is boss time.
They say two heads are better than one. They also say 'three is a crowd'.
Either way, the dragon has three heads and will use them. Watch his pattern
carefully as you make sure to jump the one bullet that comes low. He will
shoot 3 shots 'top-middle-bottom' in rapid succession and then pause,leaving
you enough time to approach and fire 1-2 bullets into his red weak spot on
the right side of his person........er, I mean, dragon. Rinse and repeat
until defeated. Have a nice dragon steak if you haven't eaten in a long
time. Use the blue key to exit the castle. Note that if you hadn't found
the torch earlier, the entire castle would have been dark.
Main outside hub (part 3):
The red sky is your cue that the adventure is nearing an end. Legolas
from Lord of the Rings might even acknowledge that "It's a red
dawn....blood has been spilled this night" right about now. Go right and
watch for the ghosts that quickly come from the left. Also watch the
birds from the right! Punch the gravestone to find health. Dispatch the white
swordsmen like the green ones, and watch for green hoppers. All the
gravestones have health except the second-to-last one in the series, which
contains a ghost. Let the group of bats come at you from the left and punch
each of them in turn. Walk right and do the same with the other group of bats
which come from the right.As usual, watch your timing. Jump over and/or walk
safely around the falling balls from the bone-dragon in a similar fashion as
you did with the robot-bee earlier. Now it is time to fight the last guy. And
like Daniel in Karate Kid with his crane-kick, you finally have an excuse to
use your jump kick for a dramatic finish!! His pattern is relatively simple.
He alternates between breathing two streams of fire and then one. After he
breathes two streams, now is your chance to squeeze yourself into the safe
spot. Use your jump kick and hit him 2-3 times. Walk away before he
breathes two blasts of fire. Rinse and repeat!
Congratulations, you have freed Necropolis!!!!!!!!!!!
You have just beat a truly incredible game. It will always be a classic. To put
it another way, and to use another Lord of the Rings reference, the game is
"worthy of isengard."
