e-mail: mcford at shaw.ca
(see my probably futile attempt at avoiding spam?)
date: 10 December 2004
version: 1.0
===============================================================================
Table of Contents
===============================================================================
I. Introduction
II. Controls and Game Screens
III. Items
IV. The Walkthrough
0. General Strategies
1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 3
4. Chapter 4
V. Miscellaneous
VI. Version History
VII. Credits and Disclaimers
===============================================================================
I. Introduction
===============================================================================
Rolan's Curse was released by American Sammy Corp. in 1990 (according to the
introductory screen). While a relatively short game, it does possess good
background music and cute graphics. Unfortunately, this is on the old Game
Boy, so it falls very short compared to modern games. However, it does have
one feature that very few RPGs have: multiplayer capability, which I cannot
test without a second copy of the game.
The storyline is a basic one. The evil Barius is laying waste to the peaceful
kingdom of Rolan, and a hero or two is needed to kill him and his minions.
That's you. Because the major goal is to defeat Barius, and no real side quests
are provided, money is not a factor. Neither is slaughtering monsters.
Progress is measured by how many of Barius' chief minions -- the bosses of
each chapter -- you have finished off. Some story text is provided in each
of the towns, and a larger block results when you kill a boss, but it's mainly
a hack-and-slash-fest.
Since this is my first attempt at writing a FAQ, please bear with me, and
don't shout at me TOO much. At the beginning of each chapter, I have included
both the password I had when I reached that chapter and the password I had
when I reached the boss of that chapter. I have also included very simple
maps showing the general progression of your character, so you can find
which screen I'm talking about more easily.
Map key: (Town x) =just that, which town in the chapter
(Boss) =where the boss is
1, 2, 25 =one screen (16x16 region), roughly in the order you see
--, --- =horizontal transition between screens
| =vertical transition between screens
E ="castle gate" showing transition between terrains
===============================================================================
II. Controls and Game Screens
===============================================================================
As is typical of the Game Boy, the controls are simple.
D-pad: Move your soldier around.
Start: Pause the game and view the status screen.
Select: Not used.
B: Use your current weapon.
A: Use whatever item you have.
In towns, however, both the A and B buttons count as "Talk to people". There
are no menus to look at, except for the startup choice of 1 or 2 players and
whether to continue or not.
Once you've started the game, you'll immediately notice a bar at the bottom
of the screen. From left to right are displayed your life power, your
weapon on the B button, and your item on the A button. All are displayed
with some rather nice graphics. Life power is measured by hearts; one
heart is worth two power. You start out with the sword, but you aren't
allowed to swing it inside the town; you don't get an item to start with.
Pressing Start at any time calls up your status screen. This shows the names
of the weapon and item you are currently carrying, your attack power, your
life power, and your current passcode. Two numbers are shown for attack
power; the one in the brackets is permanent power, while the other is
temporary. Life power has three numbers; from left to right, they are
current life, temporary maximum life, and permanent maximum life.
Now, you're probably wondering what all this rigmarole with "temporary" and
"permanent" is, since they're both saved by the passcode. Well, temporary
points are lost at the end of each chapter. Not particularly nice.
===============================================================================
III. Items
===============================================================================
There are two weapons, five usable items, two use-on-pickup items, and five
upgrade items in the game. You can only carry one each of the first two types,
and the others are all immediately used.
Weapons (under the B button)
----------------------------
Sword: You start with this. Your basic sharp pointy steel thing. Can only
hurt enemies right next to you. Note that he stabs, not swings.
Fire Wand: Throws fireballs. These reach out almost three squares. It
seems that this weapon does half the damage the sword does
despite the fact that the attack power number is the same.
Usable Items (under the A button)
---------------------------------
Potion of Life: Looks like a giant jug. One is available in the first town
of each chapter. Refills all your life power... once.
Magic Axe: Looks more like a pickaxe to me. Can be used to destroy some
rocks, trees, etc. that are blocking paths to treasure chests.
Chameleon's Ring: A ring with a jewel on top. Push the A button to turn
into an obstacle appropriate to the terrain type. Push
again to change back. Enemies that pay attention to
terrain will bounce off you (watch their patterns change!)
as though you were a piece of terrain. Note that enemies
and fireballs that ignore terrain will still hurt you and
return you to normal, and you cannot attack in this form.
Shield of Valor: A... shield. Hold the A button to put it in front of you.
Will block fireballs but not contact damage. Note that
you can spin in place but not walk while using it.
Power Crystal: An orb. When you hold down the A button, it charges up, and
when it reaches full power (the little spinny thing moves
further out and a tone sounds), releasing the A button fires
a powerful fireball across the entire screen. Note that you
can spin in place but not walk while charging.
Use-On-Pickup Items
-------------------
Small Potion: Looks like a vial. Refills four life power (two hearts).
Merlin's Cape: Looks like a cape (sort of). Renders you invincible for a
short time, shown by different music and a flashing guy.
Upgrade Items
-------------
Life Heart: Looks like a heart. Adds two permanent points of life to your
maximum.
Chain Mail: Looks like a suit of armor. Adds one temporary point of life
to your maximum.
Strength Glove: Looks like a glove. Adds one permanent point to your
attack power.
Sword: A... sword. Or maybe a dagger. Something sharp and pointy with a
handle to hold it with. Adds one temporary point to your attack
power, and changes your weapon to a sword.
Fire Wand: Rod with a jewel on the end, maybe? Adds one temporary point
to your attack power, and changes your weapon to a fire wand.
===============================================================================
IV. The Walkthrough
===============================================================================
0. General Strategies
----------------------
First off, you should know that our hero moves on a half-square basis. It
should be easy to see in the first town -- all the trees, people, etc. are
full squares at the minimum, and he moves half a tree at a time. However,
he can't turn on the spot -- something that will become very important very
quickly. Since he can't, you can't just walk up beside something, turn, and
stick it with your sword. Two of the items you can get do allow you to turn
on the spot while you're using them.
I also recommend that you stick with the Fire Wand as your primary weapon.
Being able to shoot things from a distance is very important in this game.
Another general strategy to look out for is that there is no enemy AI. All
the enemies, even the bosses, move and shoot in patterns. This makes the
game much easier, but to compensate the designers made late-game enemies take
off lots of damage.
There are three types of maps: town, field, and boss. Town maps have no
enemies on them, you cannot use your weapon or item, they have civilians to
talk to, and they usually have a single Potion of Life somewhere. Field maps
have small enemies spawning at various points, obstacles to be gotten around
or through, and treasure chests. Boss maps have just that, the boss of the
chapter. Transitions between different maps are visible by the "castle gate"
you have to go through. In general, you always advance upwards.
Always check treasure chests. Walk on to them once to see what's inside, then
walk off and back on to pick it up. If you don't want it, don't walk over it
the second time.
1. Chapter 1
-------------
"The city of Roland need your help in getting rid of the vicious creatures
that King Barius has released in the city. Your mission is to capture
Barius and send him back to his magic castle as a prisoner. Good Luck!"
-- from Games Trader instruction sheet, spelling mistakes and all
Start Passcode: KMCS BLBB
Boss Passcode: QPDN SPND
Map:
(Boss)
E
29--28--27 24--22
| | |
25--26 23--21
E E
(Town 2)
E
20--19--18
|
13--14--15
| |
12 17--16
E
9---8
| |
10--7
| |
11 6
E
5
|
4---3
|
2
|
1
E
(Town 1)
You start out inside the first town. No enemies are present, and you can go
and talk to everyone there. Unlike most RPGs, however, their homes remain
inviolate. Since you don't have an item yet, grab the Potion of Life in the
upper-left corner before setting out. All done? The exit is the "castle
gate" in the upper edge. Keep in mind what this looks like; it signals a
transition between town, field, and boss maps. So, after going through it,
you end up in the field.
1: Meet slimes. Stab slimes. Kill slimes. Pick up small potions. Easy.
2: Meet runners. These move straight down from a "cave", until they reach
another "cave" and vanish, or they bounce off a piece of terrain and
head back upwards. These will become your major source of health, since
they respawn so quickly.
3: A small lake here. You might meet spiders here, if you stay and kill
slimes.
4: Spiders here. These take two hits, rather than the one that the slimes
and runners took earlier. Also, two treasure chests to be found: a Life
Heart on the left, and a Magic Axe on the right.
5: Meet a wolf. He's fast, but not very smart. If you have the Axe from
earlier, cut your way in through the weird-looking tree, dodge or kill the
wolf, and get a Chain Mail out of the treasure chest. Then exit upwards.
6: Ah, the first castle. Watch out for spiders here.
7: Meet bats, which circle and are very weak. Dodge or kill them, your
choice. On the left, you'll see a treasure chest, a broken-looking
boulder, and a zombie. These can only be reached via screen 10, so don't
waste time looking for a secret passage.
8: More bats. Also a guy with a scythe drifting around and flinging fireballs
every so often. Heading up in the center will lead you to a chest with
your first Fire Wand. Save it until after you've visited screen 9...
9: ...because a chest with a Sword is here. Watch out for the runners, they
start moving faster as of now. In the upper-left corner is the exit from
the castle, but don't go yet, you're not done here.
10: You'll need your Axe immediately. Heading right and back to screen 7 will
net you a Life Heart, if you get past the zombie. Be wary: he hits harder
and takes more damage than any opponent you've faced yet. Heading down
from screen 10 leads you to...
11: ...screen 11. A chest with a Strength Glove is in the center of the area.
However, to get there requires you to pass a zombie either on the left or
the right side. Neither one is in a good location; the one on the right
is probably easier to pass. Fortunately, they don't respawn.
12: Having grabbed all the treasure, you move on to a mountainous region. You
get to meet warriors here. These are fast, strong, and (relatively) smart.
Stay clear, unless you need the Chain Mail they drop.
13: A big island in the center. Despite appearances, you don't need an Axe to
get to the chest on the island. It holds a Strength Glove, so grab it.
14: Double runners, now. Not particularly worrisome.
15: More double runners. The set on the left is conventional, but there's a
set on the right that bounces rather than vanishes. Watch out.
16: This map is set up in a double-reverse-"L" fashion. Entering the outer L
leads to a Fire Wand behind a tree you can cut down. The inner L only
holds a single warrior, but leads to...
17: ...a Life Heart in the center. You can reach it from 16's outer L, but
it's a longer walk.
18: Back on track, meet the flying eyeballs. These start out drifting in a
small diamond pattern, but after a bit, suddenly start zipping left and
right very fast. Also in this screen is a chest with a sword.
19: You'll need an Axe to enter this screen through the upper gap. More
eyeballs, but that's all.
20: At last, the exit. The wolves here often drop rarer items like Crystals
and Rings, if you want.
And now you reach the second town. Yay! You should know that if you record
your password here, and then later use it to continue your game, you will
start from the first town. I suggest finishing the chapter if possible.
This town also has TWO exits at the top, rather than one. This is because
the exit on the right leads to an optional dungeon! There's good stuff
in there, so I suggest you explore it, and am writing as if you are.
21: Bats and runners. Nothing much.
22: Heading towards the center will show you your first sorcerer. Unlike
the scythers before (no, not the Pokemon), this dude circles a spot and
fires massive amounts of fireballs. Here's where reading the patterns
kicks in: there's usually a safe spot where you can stand and blast him
from. Do so. He drops weapons, and you can't grab the Strength Glove
in the chest without killing him. He respawns, so be quick.
23: Scythers with different patterns, now. These like to drop Axes and
Rings, if you can nail them.
24: Meet skulls. These don't have a momentary "phasing in" period like
everything else, and they hurt A LOT, so be careful. A Life Heart is
in the upper left corner.
25: Yay, done with the optional castle. This screen includes lots of
eyeballs and a somewhat confusing maze. Don't bother trying your Axe,
it doesn't work on these rocks.
26: Warriors and slimes. Don't charge the former, you will hurt.
27: Left gets you nowhere, so go right and meet your first golem. He takes
lots of hits, but he's as slow as a slime, so he's no problem. Drops a
Potion of Life when he dies.
28: Slimes first. Then we see golems and new lizardmen taking the place of
runners. Both cause lots of pain, but if you get past both sets, you get
a Life Heart as a reward. How? If you kill the golem and he drops an
item, the overly-quick lizardman doesn't appear until the item vanishes.
29: If you don't have an Axe, you can neither get the Strength Glove in the
middle nor take the shortcut in the upper-right. But slimes and skulls
aren't all that hard. The exit leads to the chapter boss.
Congratulations, you've reached the chapter boss. This guy is a cinch once
you know how. First off, he moves over a figure-eight course at the top of
the room. Whenever he's closest to the bottom, he drops a zig-zagging ball
shot, and when he pauses in the middle, he drops a straight shot down the
center. Note that both edges of the area remain uncovered. Stand on either
edge and snipe with impunity. Eventually, he'll give a cry and die, while
you raise your sword in triumph.
2. Chapter 2
-------------
"The black clouds which hung over Rolan have faded away.
But the battle to free the land was far from over."
-- intermission between first and second chapter
Start Passcode: QKBN JPDC
Boss Passcode: QKKN SRGP
Map:
(Boss)
E
43--42 41
| |
38--37--36--40
| |
39 35
E
(Town 3)
E
34--32--33
| |
31--28--27
| |
30--29 26
E
25
|
22--21 24
| |
16--15 20--19--23
| | |
17 14 18
E E
(Town 2)
E
13
|
12--11
E
3---4 10
| | |
2---5---9
| | |
1 6---7---8
E
(Town 1)
Welcome to the second chapter. Remember that you've lost any "temporary"
stat increases you might have had at the end of the first chapter. You'll
start in the first town, where the townspeople are willing to chat and someone
has left a Potion of Life sitting in the upper-left corner. Too bad they won't
invite you in for tea or anything. Well, if you're ready to go on, then exit
to the north.
1: The first region is a mountainous one. Runners and spiders will try to
fight you, but you should have no problems with them... until you realize
that they're doing double the damage they did before. They also have more
hit points...that's probably doubled, as well.
2: The floating eyeballs have also changed. Instead of moving in a small
circle before racing left and right rapidly, they alternate between a
large curve and rapid diagonal motion. They also hurt you more when they
hit. A treasure chest in the center holds a Chameleon Ring.
3: The large island has a Strength Glove on it in the upper-right corner. If
you have a Magic Axe, you can cut the tree on the bottom down, and avoid
the warriors racing around the edge of the screen. The slimes that are
also present are not only no threat, but drop Chain Mails, Small Potions,
and Merlin's Capes, making this a good place to power-up.
4: More floating eyeballs. Nothing else of note.
5: Slimes and a pair of bouncing runners. A good place to recharge.
6: Quadruple runners on this screen protect a long bridge to a small island
with a Magic Axe on it. The runners sometimes drop Merlin's Cape, so kill
them until they do to make it easier to get to.
7: Floating eyeballs circle around the lake in the center of this screen. The
limited number of sprites they made for this game is readily apparent as a
bridge at the bottom, presumably covering a river, instead looks as though
it connects the center lake to the bottom ocean.
8: A small square in the center is utterly inaccessible, but slimes still show
up in it. A small passage on the right, covered by a tree, holds a Life
Heart for the attentive and possessors of Magic Axes.
9: Two sets of two runners. Nothing else important.
10: Spiders, but by now they're not a threat. Behind a tree is a Sword, if you
want. The exit into the next region is also here.
Ah, the ocean. You might remember that one of the townsfolk mentioned it?
Well, new enemies and more maze-like paths await. Enjoy the new music too.
11: The new crab enemies are scuttling around in this first screen. These dart
back and forth, but are not a great threat because they hold still often. A
treasure chest with Chain Mail inside is easy to get to.
12: Meet squids. While slow, they ignore terrain and shoot horizontally, so be
careful. Also meet the sea terrain's removable obstacle: sand dunes.
Inside this treasure chest is a Power Crystal; experiment if you wish, but
remember that you'll have to go back for the Magic Axe in the previous
region if you plan to get many of the "secrets".
13: Lots of bridges here. Head left from the start to get a Chain Mail behind
a dune, but head right in order to proceed.
And welcome to the second town. A Potion of Life is immediately available if
you please, and the all-women townsfolk are quite happy to chat for a while.
One tells you to go get a tan in old-speak, another talks about the power of
the Power Crystal, and a third warns you of monsters in the castle. Well, you
can choose to either go left, and into an optional area, or right, and continue
with the quest. I'll go left first.
14: Eek. Scythers. These don't move very far, and don't shoot very often, but
don't let your guard down. A Chain Mail awaits in the center.
15: Bats. Small, wimpy, slow, bats. Some monsters these are turning out to
be. On the right, near the top, is a chest with a Fire Wand. I suggest
exiting through the upper passage when you continue leftwards.
16: Meet axemen. Now these are tough. Remember that I said upper passage? As
you get close to each of the axemen, you'll be in a good place to kill each
of them. Since they often drop Chain Mail, that's a good thing. You'll
also come up behind the one axeman that respawns, and easily get at the
Life Heart he guards. Continue on south.
17: A pair of sorcerors will spawn. These, however, will hold still and throw
a storm of fireballs straight up. If they were somewhere else, this might
be a problem, but since you're circling around behind them, it's not.
Staying on the outermost edge the whole way will get you to a Strength
Glove, with only a couple of bats to deter you. If you have a Magic Axe,
break down the cracked-looking segment of wall and exit in the upper right
- that way you will avoid all the axemen. Time to leave.
18: And back to the seashore we go. Crabs and squids will cut your tanning
session short, if you let them.
19: You have your choice of directions to go in this screen. Up and right are
easily accessed, but heading left requires you circle the screen and carry
a Magic Axe. Left we will go first.
20: A chest with a Fire Wand is immediately visible. Continuing leftwards also
reveals a fishman behind a dune (a bit redundant, yes?). Killing this dude
might give you a Magic Axe (even more redundant!). There being no exits to
this screen other than the one we came in through, we will return to the
previous screen and go upwards.
21: More axemen. Like the ones in the optional castle, these might drop Chain
Mail, so it's worth it to kill them. Squids are also present, and these
will give you the Small Potions that will fill your newfound health.
22: And now the reward. Heading down nets you a Chain Mail, while heading
straight left gets you a Strength Glove, with only squids trying to stop
you. Having obtained these riches, return to screen 19, and head right.
23: Yet more axemen. By now, however, you should have reached your highest
possible maximum health of 32, so don't worry too much about killing them.
One guards a chest; in my notes, it says that this is a Chain Mail, but
when I tried to get it, it revealed a Sword. This change might be due to
the fact that I had gotten enough Chain Mail to raise my maximum health to
32 at that point. Anyways, continue north.
24: Behind a sand dune lies a Chain Mail in a chest and a fishman who might
drop a Potion of Life. Your choice if you want it. Squids are the only
other things here.
25: A lone axeman tries to intercept you as you move upwards. His compatriots
consist solely of crabs. None of this is a worry. Exit the beach.
26: Welcome back to the mountains. Wolves occupy this first scene, and they
might drop both Magic Axes and Power Crystals. Continue north.
27: A pair of runners is on the right, but the "caves" on the left do not hold
runners; instead, they hold warriors. A lone slime is on the extreme left.
28: Eyeballs and runners, both moving faster than before.
29: Entering this screen on the right lets you get at a Shield of Valor behind
a tree. Entering on the left simply gets you a shorter route to...
30: ...the Life Heart on the island in this screen. Only the right edge
connects the two entrances to this screen; be wary of spiders.
31: The monsters are eyeballs, and the chest is a Strength Glove. This screen
is otherwise the same as screen 30.
32: Lots of slimes. Nothing else, really.
33: The eyeballs of this screen try to protect a Fire Wand in a chest. Ensure
their failure, if you like.
34: Slimes, a wolf, and a warrior to make the final screen here difficult. Grab
a Magic Axe from the wolf if you need one.
And on to the third town. Remember how the last town was all women? Well,
this town is all men. One comments on the Power Crystal; I guess we know who
he's married to. If you need it, a Potion of Life is available on the right.
Only one exit is available here, so continue north.
35: And now into a cave region. Instead of the spiders of the first chapter,
scythers are wandering around and laying down lots of cover fire. Be
careful - move slowly - and if you want a Shield of Valor, kill them.
36: Lots of individual runners here. Because of the pattern of the rocks, it
is quite tricky to pass them without being hit. Time your movements with
care. This screen is also a crossroads... I will head left first. If you
have a Magic Axe, you will be able to avoid some of the runners when
heading right.
37: Watch out for the two sets of runners here. One is right in your face as
you enter this screen. That said, the only other oddities are the THREE
exits on the left and the way the bats move.
38: Entering from 37 on the bottom just gets you an opportunity to face a
scyther. Entering on the top gets you a Fire Wand, after passing some
ordinary bats. Hence, enter in the middle.
39: Some very fast scythers are zipping around in here. They don't shoot very
often, so getting around is not hard. Be sure to nab the Life Heart in the
center before you go.
40: Heading right from screen 36 gets you here. Watch out for the formation-
flying bats.
41: More singleton runners with strategically-placed obstacles. A chest with a
Potion of Life is guarded by a zombie at the top. Heading left, and
avoiding the runners, gets you there, but heading right, and going through
them, puts you in a better position to kill the zombie.
42: Spiders. Heading upwards gets you to a chest with a Sword, eventually.
43: If you don't have a Magic Axe with you, you won't be able to kill the
circling sorceror (who drops Swords), you won't be able to get the chest
with the Strength Glove, and you won't be able to use the shortcut to the
exit - you'll have to make your way past the two zombies and the sorceror's
fireballs. So, carry a Magic Axe. Be forewarned that this exit leads to
THE BOSS.
This boss is mildly harder than the last. Again, once you know the thing's
pattern, he's a cinch. He starts in the center near the upper edge. He then
moves right-left-right-left-right, moving downwards a bit between each segment,
ending in the center of the bottom edge. Now he opens his eye, and moves in a
diamond pattern converging on the center of the screen and then returning to
his starting position, at which point he closes his eye in preparation for
starting over. What makes him tricky is he can only be damaged while moving.
This is why I say the Fire Wand is so much better - because it reaches out a
fair distance. If you have it, stay in the upper left corner and shoot him
whenever opportunity presents itself. If you don't, then you have to pick a
spot where you can stab him during his right-left pattern. Anyways, he dies
and you cheer.
3. Chapter 3
------------
"The soldier sat quietly in exhaustion before the beast.
As he stood to continue, the ocean breeze caressed his
cheeks and rejuvenated his spirit."
-- intermission between second and third chapter
Start Passcode: QKJP NRQN
Boss Passcode: GKRT SSJP
Map:
(Boss)
E
50 49
| |
47--48
|
46
E
45--44
|
39--40 43
| | |
38--41--42
|
37
E
(Town 3)
E
36 31--30
| |
35--32--29 22
| | |
34--33 28 21
E |
25 27 17--18--19
| | | |
24--26 16 20
| E
23 15--11--12--13
E E |
(Town 2) 14
E 10
| |
9---4---3
| | |
6---5---2
| | |
7---8 1
E
(Town 1)
Third chapter now; you're most of the way there. Unfortunately, all the
chain mail you built up in the previous chapter is now gone, and all the
enemies hit even harder. The two married couples in this town give you words
of encouragement, a Life Potion awaits in the upper-left corner, and the exit
awaits to the north. A Magic Axe is HIGHLY recommended for the first area.
1: You start this chapter with a cave. Circling sorcerors give you your first
items, as they occasionally drop weapons.
2: Zombies in this room sometimes drop Chain Mail, making this and the room
before good places to power up. The chest on the left contains a Strength
Glove and can only be reached via room 5.
3: A couple Zombies and some scythers. Continue left.
4: Runners. Having a Magic Axe will allow you to bypass the two sets on the
right; some drop Small Potions, others drop Merlin's Capes. Access to
room 10 is difficult from this angle; head south to room 5 first.
Entering from room 9 leads you past a single runner; good timing will
allow you to pass without taking a hit.
5: Bats and scythers alternate. A rock will prevent crossing from the north
entrance to the south and west entrances; head east to grab the chest in
room 2, then westwards. South leads you to a dead end in room 8.
6: Spiders, which drop lots of Small Potions - heal up. Head west across the
bridge, then south.
7: Lots of bats. A chest with a Life Heart is in the center. East takes you
to room 8.
8: Entering from the north leads to a dead end with a Zombie. Entering from
the west shows you triple runners; get past them and the rock to reach a
chest with a Power Crystal.
9: Individual runners here. A chest with a Chain Mail is easily obtained.
Circle back to room 4, in order to get to room 10, before you exit the
area.
10: Spiders and a wandering sorceror. Grab the Fire Wand in the chest before
you leave.
And welcome to the second town! People chat you up, a chest with a Life Potion
lies tucked inside the fencing, and two exits are visible. The left one leads
you onwards, the right one is optional. Hence, I will cover the righthand
entrance first.
11: Skulls. Killing them will start spawning lizardmen and more skulls. Be
cautious, and head east first.
12: Stop as soon as you enter the room; a runner-type arrangement, but
spawning lizardmen, is covering the entrance. Killing any given lizard,
and then not picking up the item it drops (if any), will prevent that
lizard from spawning again. Advance with caution.
13: Eyeballs. There's a skull sitting in the upper-right corner; leave it
alone - when killed a lizardman spawns in that spot, charging up and down,
which is very hard to dodge.
14: Slimes and flying skulls. Making your way through this maze gets you a
Life Heart at the center. Time to backtrack...
15: A rock blocks access to a Shield of Valor and a shortcut. The golems on
the other route are not difficult to pass, however, and sometimes drop
stuff.
16: A castle area, now. Skulls pose the greatest threat, although an axeman
can show up. A Chameleon's Ring in a chest in the center is available.
17: Bats. A piece of broken wall precludes access upwards, but can be passed
via room 18. We will head right first.
18: More bats. The chest in the center gives you a Fire Wand.
19: Meet axemen, kill axemen, get Chain Mail. A Life Potion awaits in the
upper-right corner.
20: More axemen, and a sorceror. A piece of broken wall attempts to block you
from a Strength Glove in a chest on the right; however, it can be bypassed
by using the other exit in room 19. Backtrack to room 17 and head north.
21: Lots of scythers. A broken wall protects a chest with Chain Mail.
22: A quartet of skulls continually spawns in the area in the center, making
this a good room to recharge in. Don't miss the Life Heart at the top.
23: Finally back on track, you return to the seashore. A new enemy, which I am
calling a bubblefish, greets you.
24: A second new enemy, which looks similar to the Like Likes of Zelda fame,
but is probably supposed to be an anemone of some kind, shows up here.
These drop lots of Small Potions. Go north first, and east later.
25: Looping all the way around, past anemones, squid, and crabs, gets you a
Strength Glove in a chest.
26: Unlike their predecessors, the anemones here sit still and shoot. Grab a
Magic Axe from the chest in the lower right, and continue north.
27: Watch out for fast-moving crabs in this screen, before you exit the area.
28: And back to the mountains you go. Warriors are running around here. Kill
or ignore them, but continue north.
29: A small but pretty lake, and a lot of slimes. Head north first.
30: Spiders, and not much else. Go west, young knight, go west.
31: A Power Crystal awaits on the island in the center. Slimes, warriors, and
eyeballs will try to block your path. Your choice, and afterwards, back up
to screen 29 and go west.
32: Eyeballs. Go through the south exit on the east side.
33: This double-L-shaped map contains slimes, a Chameleon's Ring hidden behind
a tree, and not much else. Continue westwards.
34: A wolf here may give you a Life Potion. And the Strength Glove in the
center isn't bad, either. Back up to screen 32 and go west.
35: Warriors, eyeballs, and spiders. Go north.
36: Wolves and a Shield of Valor behind a tree. Since we're done with this
area, enter the exit.
And that brings us to the third town. This one looks like a retirement home -
all that's present is two old guys, a woman, one house, a Life Potion off to
the right, and lots of trees. Move on when ready.
37: A cave. Slimes behaving like bats. Nothing else... move north.
38: Golems who shoot, now; also the occasional warrior. Head north.
39: Lots of eyeballs and narrow paths. Grab the Strength Glove in the upper-
left corner and head east.
40: More eyeballs. Wander around the gigantic hole and head south.
41: Flying skulls make an X across this room. Be careful, because they hurt,
and head east.
42: Golems. Some of them shoot. Circle around and head north.
43: On the right, a Life Potion is behind some rocks, which also block a
shortcut. On the left, a golem moves slowly down the corridor. Your
choice which passage to use. Head north.
44: Flying skulls and bait skulls. Circle around to the upper-left corner to
get a Magic Axe. Then circle back to head west.
45: A rock blocks off a shortcut and a chest with a Fire Wand. Warriors patrol
the other path. Either way, go through the exit.
46: A castle, now... we must be getting close to the boss. Sorcerors pop up,
shoot, and disappear. Be careful getting to the chest with the Sword in
the center. Head north.
47: Scythers behaving like eyeballs. Watch out, because they still hurt a lot.
A broken wall provides a shortcut heading north, but you can bypass it via
room 48 to the east.
48: Patrolling axemen. Easy to run past, heading north.
49: A pair of skulls in the center drop Small Potions. When killed, a sorceror
pops in three times, shooting each time, before the skull respawns. A good
place to recharge your health. Also, there's an axeman in the upper-right,
and a Life Heart at the top. Backtrack to room 47 and head north.
50: Plain, ordinary, bats provide the last line of defense. Get past them and
go through the exit to reach THE BOSS.
This boss may possess a punch - I don't know, I don't get hit by him. Two
notches in the surrounding pillars provide ample cover while you observe his
pattern. This rather muscular gent starts off by charging down one corridor.
Having reached the end, he recoils and transforms into a boulder thingy. This
then rises up and moves to the other corridor, thumping down at regular
intervals. You can duck underneath while he is high in the air. The boulder
then transforms back into a humanoid and repeats the pattern. Snipe at him
whenever you feel safe. Eventually he dies and you celebrate.
4. Chapter 4
------------
"Now, the demon Barius began to take some shape in his mind.
With determination in his stride, he walked on."
-- intermission between third and fourth chapter
Start code: GJNP TKKF
Boss code: (none! this is the final chapter)
Map:
(Boss)
E
3
E
2
|
1
E
(Town 1)
If you haven't already guessed from the very simple map up there, the mazes of
the previous chapter are completely absent. The screens prior to your fight
with Barius are simply to ensure you have a full life bar and whichever
weapons you want.
The first and only town in this chapter has both a Life Potion and a Life
Heart. Be sure to pick up the latter -- it's in the lower-right corner. The
sole inhabitant of this town will give you a lengthy speech of encouragement,
then send you on your way.
1: Nothing here but some infinitely-respawning golems. These will drop all
five "use-on-pickup" items, in sequence, so you can choose which one you
want to play with.
2: A Sword and a Fire Rod sit in treasure chests awaiting your arrival.
Skulls will also show up. The first skull in any given location will drop
a Chain Mail. A second will appear shortly thereafter right next to that
spot, and drop a Small Potion for your troubles.
3: A new musical theme here. Also a Strength Glove in the upper-left corner.
Two sorcerors will alternately appear, shoot, and disappear; the lefthand
sorceror drops Fire Rods, while his righthand counterpart drops Swords.
Two runners in the lower-right also provide powerups; the lefthand runner
drops Small Potions (if you need more) and his partner drops Life Potions.
Shoot the runners from above their huts. Are you ready to face Barius?
You are? Good, because that's who you're fighting. Unfortunately, Barius
suffers from the same flaw as all the previous bosses -- predictability.
Barius "attacks" by teleporting from corner to corner, starting in the upper-
left, moving to the lower-right, then the lower-left, and finally visiting the
upper-right before going to the upper-left and starting all over. While he
teleports, three balls move from one corner to the next in a very predictable
pattern. For his first teleport, being two squares up and right from the
lower-left corner will keep you safe. The second and third teleports leave
the upper-left corner free. And the fourth doesn't touch the lower-left
corner. Use this information to snipe at Barius whenever he finishes
teleporting. Not that getting hit during a teleport hurts much (only 4 life
points), but you don't want to get hit too often. Eventually, Barius dies
with a cry. Enjoy the ending text!
===============================================================================
V. Miscellaneous
===============================================================================
Your Attack Power is capped at 16 points. Similarly, your maximum Life Power
is capped at 32 points. So don't bother trying to upgrade past there.
If you have, say, 14 permanent Attack Power and 2 temporary Attack Power, and
attempt to pick up a Strength Glove, then your permanent power will go to 15
while your temporary power will drop to 1, for a continuous total of 16.
===============================================================================
VI. Version History
===============================================================================
Version Date Comments
------- ---- --------
0.1nr 26 Sept 02 writing begins
0.2nr 27 Sept 02 added Chameleon's Ring
0.3 30 Sept 02 added Chapter 1 info, first released version
0.4nr 10 Mar 03 return of writer's interest; slight formatting changes
0.5 29 Mar 03 added Chapter 2 info, major formatting changes
0.6 17 Jul 04 pretty ASCII art, Chapter 3 info
1.0 10 Dec 04 Chapter 4 info; finished!
-- "nr" beside a version number indicates that that version was not released
to the public
===============================================================================
VII. Credits and Disclaimers
===============================================================================
I must here award credit to Game Time Inc./Games Trader Inc. for the playing
instructions sheet they included with my copy of Rolan's Curse. Unfortunately
it is not very good at all, which is why I am writing this FAQ. The only items
of importance I drew from it is the introductory text cited in the walkthrough,
and an idea for the name of the Merlin's Cape.
Kudos go to SWickramasekara, of the GameFAQs message boards, who reviewed an
early version of this document and was unstinting in his critique.
This document is copyright 2002-2004 by me, Matthew Ford, and should only be
found on one website:
www.gamefaqs.com
People are allowed to download this FAQ for their own personal use only. If
anyone wishes to make this FAQ available to the public, either for free or for
profit, they must contact me for permission first. I comment that that is not
likely forthcoming. Should anybody post, print, or otherwise disseminate this
document without such permission, they are in violation of copyright, and will
be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law... maybe.
I make no guarantees as to the usefulness of this information, so don't depend
on it for anything more valuable than what you paid for it (free).
