SMURF RESCUE IN GARGAMEL'S CASTLE(Atari 2600)
FAQ version 1.0 by Andrew Schultz
[email protected]
Please do not reproduce this for profit without my consent; however, a
mail addressing me by name should be enough if you want to post this
document on your website.
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..and the "sister page" games.htm for more general old games.
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OUTLINE
INTRODUCTION
POINTS
SCENES(FIRST LEVEL)
HIGHER LEVELS
VERSIONS/CREDITS
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INTRODUCTION
You are controlling some random and certifiably generic Smurf who
must run past various obstacles into Gargamel's castle and rescue
Smurfette. Your reward is that you get to do something harder again
later, usually more repetition of a scene, up to four times.
Persistence is smurfy!
Controls are pretty simple. You could never use a "fire" button in
a Smurf game, so there's only moving(nice Leisure Suit Larry walk there,
smurfo--say, you're wearing Larry's colors, too!) left and right and
jumping(move the joystick up.) Now if you are moving left or right,
your smurf jumps in that direction. If you are standing in place, he
jumps in the air. If you tap the joystick up twice, his second jump
will be greater than the first. If your smurf was standing in place, he
will jump in the direction he was facing.
This game isn't too bad as it requires some reflexes on the higher
levels(you can start on levels 1-4) and yet is still cute on the easiest
level.
I use some terminology you should be aware of throughout the faq.
To "one-jump" means to jump once, and to "two-jump" means to make two
quick jumps in a row, the second being longer. A "running two-jump"
means that you will be moving in a certain direction before you jump. A
"standing two-jump" means you are standing still and when not specified
this is what "two-jump" means.
POINTS
You get 300 for a one-jump over an obstacle and 400 for a two-jump--
though the animals(snake, bird, spider) don't give you any points when
you go past them. In many cases, you can't make a one-jump over an
obstacle, so you can only get 400. Rescuing Smurfette gets you 1000
points, and you don't seem to get any more extra lives after the one at
10000. You also can't hog points on the same screen, even if you go
back to a previous screen for a moment.
SCENES(FIRST LEVEL)
1. The scene where your smurf leaves the house. Not much to do
here except walk to the right.
2. The fence scene. To jump over the fence, get a few steps to the
left, and do a two-jump. You will get 400 for clearing the fence.
3. The river scene. Get just to the left of the river and do a
two-jump. You will get 400 points.
4. The stair scene. Do a two-jump, move a bit forward, and do
another two-jump. 800 points.
5. The spider scene. Go a bit forward, do a two-jump, wait unti
the spider has just passed above you, and go forward. Before the edge
of the pit, do another two-jump. 800 points.
6. The river scene, repeated. Get just to the left of the river
and do a two-jump. You will get 400 points.
7. Gargamel's Castle. A quick two-jump(a one-jump will work too)
followed by moving backwards to the edge of the first purple platform
and another two-jump, followed by another two-jump onto the top of the
chair and a final two-jump(from the edge if you want to be sure) to get
to Smurfette. 1600+1000=2600 points.
Total=400+400+800+800+400+2600=2800+2600=5400 for the first level,
assuming you never one-jump, which is the safer way to complete levels.
HIGHER LEVELS
The scenes are still in the same order, but there are more of them.
On level X, you will have to repeat scenes 2-6 (X or 4, whichever is
less) times before you get to the next scene. If you die, you lose
credit for the number of times you've passed a scene.
The monsters, which appear for the first time on the second level,
also tend to go faster as you increase levels.
The bird is not too annoying in scene 2. Be aware that the fence
disappears and the bird appears when you cross the halfway point. A
quick two-jump will see him off, but to make sure of things, keep
jumping until you're off the edge. Jumping is faster than running, and
the bird may turn around or leave stage left and re-appear on the right.
The snake on scenes 3 and 6 can be a random nuisance. There's no
assurance you can get past it, but you'll want to get to the edge of the
river and two-jump. By level four you'll want to do so before the snake
is in the river. Again, keep jumping after your two-jump, as you'll go
faster and avoid the snake running the other way.
The bird in scene 4 can be a nuisance. Again, wait for it to come
to you(maybe nudge yourself forward so that you can bounce all the way
through after your two-jump. Bouncing from your starting point will get
you killed by the second step.) Don't be shy about backing out of the
scene and returning if the bird comes in too quickly and catches you by
surprise. That's an easy way to start over. You shouldn't get killed
by the snake on the previous scene(which would be a nuisance.) Be
advised that you'll have to do some walking or a one-jump besides the
consecutive two-jumps.
The spider is not a problem in scene 5, as you have many chances to
time your run correctly.
So points for finishing level 2 without losing a life =
2800*2+2600=8200
Points for finishing level 3 without losing a life =
2800*3+2600=11000
Points for finishing level 4+ without losing a life =
2800*4+2600=13800
GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
Time is on your side for the first four levels. Maybe after that
the game gets really sadistic, but I don't know. If you want to find
out, don't blame me if you find yourself in a smurfy white straitjacket
singing "La, la, la, la, la, la..." repeated playing of this game
cannot be healthy. I feel playing this game is a lot like listening to
"Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" or that masterpiece by Napoleon
XIV.
There are several ways to die. Basically if you run into anything,
you're toast. You just sit down and pout, and there's not much less
smurfy than THAT.
Scene 2: fence, bird.
Scene 3, 6: snake, river(drown rather cutely, with air bubbles)
Scene 4: walk or jump into stair, or touch bird
Scene 5: touch the spider or jump into sloped pit walls
Scene 7: touch the bird, run into a platform, or miss a jump. Note
that the cloud on the left is an illusory platform--you'll take a big
fall if you try to jump on it. Same for everything to the right of the
chair. You can also die by jumping over the first platform.
Long ago, in the '80s newsgroup, someone pointed out that the Smurf
theme song and the J. Geils Band's "Centerfold" have eerie similarities.
Smurfette doesn't seem to be wearing a top in this game. Hmm.
The top of your cap disappears if you double-jump while at the
highest platform in any scene except the river scene.
VERSIONS/CREDITS
1.0.0: submitted to GameFAQs 7/16/2001 as I had nothing better to do
and needed to write something to get motivated.
Greg Chance's History of Home Video Games page for getting me
interested in this.
