01 - Introduction
02 - Gameplay & controls
03 - The Witch Doctor
04 - Level-specific notes & passwords
05 - Helpful tips
06 - Other junk
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Version History:
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The Humans is a cross between Lemmings and The Lost Vikings, and versions of
it appear on lots of different consoles. I don't know how applicable this faq
will be to any version other than the Game Boy version.
The game is fun enough; but as I played through it, I was a little bit
disappointed to find that there's only a tiny focus on solving puzzles, and a
large focus on performing huge lists of specific steps quickly and perfectly.
And in most cases, losing a Human means you have to restart the whole level,
because there isn't enough time to do anything else.
Oh well, it has a solid "90's game" feel, in that it picks a silly theme and
sticks to it, and forces you to learn all the ins and outs of a level before
you can complete it. I guess I grew up with this kind of game, so there's
something charming about it for me.
The idea behind each level is that you need to bring one Human to a certain
spot in the level. Each level will give you a hint for what you're trying to
reach, and once you reach that thing, the level is complete. The Humans is
unlike Lemmings or The Lost Vikings in this regard; you don't need to bring
all the Humans to the end in order to complete the level. You just need one.
Typically, you'll use all of the Humans to be able to get one Human far enough
to finish the level, and you won't usually have any spares. Sure, if a Human
dies, you'll get another one to replace him, but the level must be solved with
no more on-screen Humans than the number you started the level with. There's a
limited number of Humans you have in "reserve," so don't kill off too many
Humans. Also, when you get your replacement Human, he'll be back at the start
of the level. So unless you haven't gotten very far, it won't usually be worth
it to try and backtrack enough to get him. Time is ticking!
When a Human dies, or if you use the "restart level" option, you have to pull
from your "reserve pool" of Humans, and the game will tell you how many you
have left. If you run out, you'll get dumped back to the title screen. BUT,
just start your game again, and the password for the level you died on will be
pre-filled for your convenience, and you'll have a nice full reserve of Humans
again.
I don't understand the point of having the reserve pool. If you run out, the
only thing you can do is go back to that level using a password, which fills
your supply of tribesmen back up. I guess you could try the challenge of
playing through every level without ever running out, since the reserve pool
doesn't fill up between levels, it only fills when you enter a password. The
password doesn't change depending on how many tribesmen you had at the end of
the previous level. Shrug?
You control one human at a time; Humans don't move if you are not controlling
them. The selected Human is the one with the arrow over his head. Move him
with LEFT and RIGHT, select actions with B, and do the actions with A. Your
actions change according to what item a Human is holding. For example, if a
Human is holding a spear, he can use it to pole-vault across gaps.
Use SELECT to control a different Human. You can press SELECT and move the
cursor to another Human, and choose him with A; or you can press SELECT then B
to cycle through the Humans. If you press START while the cursor is shown, you
will be given a "restart level" option. This option will use up Humans from
your total stock of Humans, so it essentially kills all your Humans and gives
you new ones. If you don't have enough humans, you'll get dumped back at the
title screen, where again, you can just go right back into the level and try
again with a full stock of Humans.
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03 - The Witch Doctor
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You can skip this part, I just need to talk about this.
You can summon a Witch Doctor to transform one of your backup reserve
tribesmen into a tool, like a spear or torch. To me, this almost breaks the
whole game, because many levels have specific areas that force you to do extra
steps in order to acquire the tools you need to complete the level. In some
cases, the whole level is nerfed by just creating your own tools. What's
stopping anyone from using the Witch Doctor to break tons of levels?
Obviously it costs you a tribesman every time you do it, but you ALWAYS have
more tribesmen than you need to complete a level. It would make sense to me if
the levels didn't have passwords, because then you'd be expected to use the
same pool of reserve tribesmen through the whole game, and every death or
voodoo transformation would cost you a precious tribesman. But as it is, the
passwords are handed out like candy; it's definitely an integrated part of the
game. And using a password handily refills your tribesman supply. There is
only one password per level; it doesn't change if you have fewer backup
tribesmen.
Does the password system exist only to provide an "easy mode" for people who
want/need it? No! The password system isn't accessible through a cheat code or
anything; you have to enter a password even for level 1. The game was written
EXPECTING people to use the passwords. When you run out and get kicked back to
the title screen, the password is pre-filled to take you to the level you just
died in. So the game expects you to pick up where you left off, except now you
have less to worry about, since you've got all the tribesmen and tools you
could ever want.
Is the Witch Doctor only included in the game to provide help for beginners
who want/need it, like the golden leaf provided in many modern Mario platform
games? No! It's as much a part of the game as anything else; just try to pass
level 8 without using the Witch Doctor. You can't even leave the first
platform without summoning the Witch Doctor for a boulder/wheel.
I see only 2 explanations:
1. Players are meant to attempt to complete every level in immediate
succession, without using passwords to refill their backup tribesmen, and
without using the Witch Doctor unless explicitly necessary; i.e., level 8.
Using the Witch Doctor to make levels easier costs you in the long run,
since it limits how many mistakes you can make (killing Humans or selecting
Restart Level costs you these reserve tribesmen.) and ultimately how far
you can get in the game. Perhaps the game was written without passwords at
all, but playtesters noted that the game was much too hard, so passwords
were added as an afterthought.
2. It just wasn't planned very well. The Witch Doctor, combined with level
passwords that reset the tribesman count, basically means you have lots of
free tools whenever you want them, accidentally making huge chunks of many
levels completely optional.
I'll admit that either way, having passwords makes the game significantly more
enjoyable and accessible. Needing to complete the game in a single attempt
would require dozens of playthroughs, making tedious levels MUCH more tedious
through necessary repetition. So instead of being "Nintendo Hard" and an
absolute chore to complete, it's actually a pretty neat game that is easily
digestible in small chunks.
The best solution would have been for passwords to be generated that preserve
how many backup tribesmen you have. Then the player can return to previous
passwords and try to complete levels without losing any.
So what does that mean in terms of actually playing the game? I recognize that
I can use the Witch Doctor to severely nerf a lot of levels, but I generally
try to complete them legitimately. It's an artificial restriction I place on
myself, and I admit to ignoring it when a level gets me too frustrated.
Section 04 will generally assume that you, the reader, will also appreciate
trying to complete levels in the way they were "intended."
Learn how to move the Humans, and learn to build a "human ladder." If you
use a Human to build a ladder, you'll have to use a different Human to
climb him and progress through the level. You basically go as far as you
can until you hit a ridge that you can't walk over, use your Human to make
a ladder, then select a different Human and repeat.
Now that you have the spear, you can use it to jump over gaps. After you
cross the gap, turn around and throw the spear back over the gap so that
other Humans can use it to jump. Obviously the last Human doesn't have to
worry about that.
More of the same, with more spear-tossing to let more Humans jump the
gaps. Be careful not to hit a Human with the spear when you throw it; the
Humans can die from this. Also, falling too far will kill a Human. Once
you reach the top, just grab the torch and use it to burn the tree. Then
you can recover the idol that looks like Elvis.
Start by going right, then head back as soon as you find a spear. You'll
have to go up the ladder with the spear to get the fire. By the time you
reach the fire, all your other Humans will be used up as human ladders.
Throw the fire across the gap, then jump across using the spear. Then drop
the spear, head back to the start, and head right again. Switch between
throwing the fire and jumping with the spear, you'll need to bring both
with you until you find the rope.
I'm sure I did this the wrong way, because I used up almost all of the
time on Easy mode. I'd need to find a different solution on any other
difficulty. The person you're trying to rescue is to the left of the
starting point, but you need the spear and fire that are both to the
right. So I sent Humans up the right side to get the tools, and had to
leave two up there as ladders. Then I sent everyone else to the left, and
played the leap-frog game of tossing the spear back, so that two Humans
could make it most of the way up, bringing the torch with them. BE VERY
MINDFUL of how hard you throw the spear and torch, you don't want to kill
the other Human, or get the torch stuck in a tree. Very annoying. Since
there are two torches at the top of the level, you can actually drop one
off the side of a ledge for you to pick up later, just in case you throw
your first torch too hard. When you're down to just one Human, keep
bringing the torch and spear with you to the top. Throw the spear at the
dinosaur to kill it, then torch the tree to rescue your friend.
An odd level, but it introduces the boulder, which will appear in later
levels as well. Pushing B will do a small hop while you're on the boulder.
Race down the hill and hit B when you're at the top of the ramp. It took
me a few tries to get it just right.
This level introduces the rope. You can drop it, throw it, or dangle it
off a cliff. This allows other Humans to climb up, so you don't have to
leave a Human standing by a ledge forever as a human ladder. The rope can
be a little finicky though, so if you can't climb up or down a rope, try a
few more times before repositioning the rope-holder.
Head to the right and make a huge human ladder to reach the rope, then you
can bring the Human back down and go across the bottom of the level to the
left. You're going to end up above where you started, dangling the rope
down to the shaman you're rescuing. You need 3 Humans at the top to be
able to do this. I think it might be possible to just take 2 Humans the
long way around, then lower the rope and grab a 3rd at the end. When I
tried this, I accidentally killed a Human because for some reason he fell
down after climbing the rope, and died. I was so mad I just took 3 Humans
around to finish the level.
Lots of tossing and jumping. Don't throw the spear too hard. You can
ignore the fire when you find it, unless there's something you can use
fire for that I don't know about. Don't kill the T-Rex right away, climb
up first to get the extra spear.
Aaaand this is the level that forced me to learn about the Witch Doctor. I
had no idea prior to getting stuck here that you can trade the Humans in
your "reserve" for tools. Not even on-screen Humans. So that means you can
basically get free tools. Hold DOWN and press SELECT to bring up the Witch
Doctor screen, which will allow you to spend a reserve Human to equip the
currently-selected Human with the chosen tool. Choose the boulder/wheel.
The cliff and rope setup at the bottom of the level is likely only there
so that people don't buy spears for the guy at the bottom and cheese the
level.
It's tricky to hop off the boulder at just the right place so that it
falls down to a lower level. If you end up dying, no biggie. Just buy more
boulders for your Humans, and even re-use boulders left by dead Humans,
until you make it to the end. Use 2 spears to kill the dinosaur.
The mission here is "feed the deity," but it should actually be "get the
hamburger." I looked over the whole level using the SELECT cursor, looking
for some sort of deity, but that tiny hamburger is the thing you're after.
There's a Human up near the hamburger, but he needs the rope to be able to
get to it. It's easy enough to send 2 Humans on the trip around the level,
but you actually need to bring 3. So as soon as you get the rope, send
your Humans back to retrieve a third.
Fido is the dinosaur in the bottom-left corner with the long neck. When I
did this level, I tried to maintain the practice of bringing as many
Humans as possible everywhere I went, including having to backtrack when I
got the fire, and I didn't run into any real problems.
The end goal in this level is the hut to the left, guarded by an angry
dinosaur. As you climb around, retrieving spears and ropes, you'll reach a
point where you'll have to carry the torch back to access another spear.
This includes leaving Humans on the right side of the level so that they
can grab the torch and rope when you toss them across. Or, why not use the
Witch Doctor to get a torch out of thin air? Even better, just get a spear
when you find the torch, and avoid backtracking altogether?
The first dinosaur you meet takes 1 spear to kill, and the second takes 2
spears. There's a subtle difference in the eyes of the dinosaurs; the
2-spear ones look a little angrier, I guess.
Easy level. You have one Human. Go to the right to get the torch, then
find the stash of three spears. You'll need all the spears and the torch
at the bottom of the level, so you'll have to make a few trips to get
everything down. You can drop items off cliffs and down ladders to save a
little bit of time.
To finish this level, make your way down to the bottom-left corner. The
dinosaur that looks like Fido from a previous level will not hurt you; you
you can walk right through it. Also, you can abandon the rope pretty early
on; I carried it with me all the way to the end before realizing I hadn't
used it in a while. You do need to be very careful with your throws to
avoid killing anyone or dropping spears into pits. Of course you need to
bring 2 spears to the end to kill the angry T-Rex.
Whoa, a moving platform. It's not too tough to jump at the right time, but
this level is just an introduction to later levels with more frustrating
moving platforms. Everything else in this short level should be familiar
and easy.
This is the halfway point, marked by the arrival of winter. Nothing really
changes aside from the visual theme. Ride the platforms to the left and
grab a torch, then ride to the top-right corner to burn a tree. Then toss
the torch to the other Human, who can then reach the igloo and clear the
level. The game is recycling the level endings; it's not even winter in
the picture and they still recycled it.
I'd say something like "don't be afraid to just wait until the platforms
line up just right," but since you don't have a spear, you really don't
have any other choice but to wait.
Who is Elmo? Elmo is the reindeer pacing back and forth. This is a very
straightforward one-man level, hard to get lost in it. Just some more
moving platforms.
Ok, this is the one. This is the level that will make you hate moving
platforms. There is a huge problem with the fact that the screen won't
scroll while you're choosing how far to jump. Ugh. If you can make it past
the one side-to-side platform, the rest of the level is easy.
If the platform you're standing on is moving forward while you jump
forward off of it, it'll boost your jump, just like it'll nerf your jump
if it's moving away. Start charging your jump when your Human is under the
rightmost edge of the cloud.
Again, the mission should just read "go to the hamburger." The only new
trick in this level is the weight-sensitive plate in the bottom-right
corner, past the tree you have to burn. Put a Human on this plate to raise
a gate further in the level.
Or, you know, just grab the rope right at the beginning, lower it down to
the left of the hut, right above the hamburger, and send someone down.
Fastest level in the game so far! Have I been missing other shortcuts?
Get the spear to the right, climb the left ladder to get the torch. Bring
it up the right ladder and burn the tree. Head down the ramp on the
boulder and don't miss the landing zone! Stay on the plate to lift the
gate at the top of the left ladder.
"Recover the boulder?" I legitimately have no idea how to solve this level
without the Witch Doctor. You can get a rope in the bottom-right corner,
but I see nothing you can do with it to get you across the gaps. And if
you're going to use the Witch Doctor to concoct a spear, then you might as
well just jump directly to the boulder and pick it up, skipping the whole
level.
This level is terrible. You'd better get used to navigating those moving
platforms, because you'll have to do so with all 3 tribesmen, over and
over until you nail the boulder jump. You can't even access the Witch
Doctor in this level. Be sure you bring the torch with you and toss it
across the gap before you ride the boulder across it. If you don't throw
your Game Boy across the room from the moving platforms, you might throw
it when you miss the boulder jump and you have to restart the entire
level. I came very close to destroying mine.
The reindeer that looks like Elmo from a couple levels back won't hurt
you; you can walk right through him. When you're on the boulder, get as
much of a "running" start as you can, then jump when you're right at the
very top of the ramp. Fortunately, you can toss the spears over to the
first Human you brought over, and finish the level with him. That saves
some time, and you don't have to ride the boulder back across the gap.
The shaman is actually being guarded by a person, who will attack you with
spears if you get too close. The moving platform is safe, so try to throw
while riding it.
More guards to kill in this level. An important thing to note when
attacking guards, is that the farther you throw a spear, the more of an
arc it makes as it flies through the air. This hasn't really mattered in
previous levels, since dinosaurs are so big, but keep in mind that you CAN
throw a spear so hard that it flies over the guard's head and doesn't kill
him. This is tricky when you're standing on a moving platform, because you
can't always see just how far you have to throw.
The goal for this level is just to reach the top-right platform. I only
know this through exploration, since the hint is useless and there's no
visual indication that the level ends here.
There's really nothing too crazy or new in this level, just remember not
to throw spears too hard or else they'll arc over the guards. When I came
up to the last guard, he and I threw our spears at the same time and
killed each other. As long as you have at least one tribesman in reserve,
and you've been bringing everyone along with the rope, it's no big deal to
just grab the next guy and finish the level.
I should say that even though the moving platforms can sometimes be buggy
and frustrating, I've found that the game is actually pretty forgiving
when it comes to stepping directly onto a moving platform. I've stepped
across gaps that I thought would kill me. So that's good, I guess.
Grab the spear and toss it to your buddies at the top of the level, then
park on the switch and stay there forever; there are two gates lifted by
this switch. Then it's a bunch of normal stuff, leaping gaps, tossing
spears back, climbing ropes etc. It's a little tricky to kill the mammoth;
you have to climb up the ladder while it's still alive, because one spear
isn't enough to kill it. It's not too bad. Once you reach the top, make a
flying leap down to the igloo.
This level is bad. The moving platforms are awful. I'm ok at getting to
the bottom and moving the boulder onto the weight plate. But I've never
managed to get back onto the up/down platform. I have no idea how you're
"supposed" to do it. I just die every time, and since they provide you
with two spears at the start of the level, it seems like they intend for
you to die. Since the boulder is still in position, you can just head up
with your 2nd guy. Shrug.
More moving platforms, then right at the end, burn the tree and grab the
spear. If you're quick, you can make a human ladder right at the ledge,
then climb up and down quickly enough that the guard throws a spear at
you. If he doesn't hit you, you can pick up his spear. (This isn't
necessary to complete the level, but it might be handy if you miss with
your first throw.) To complete the level, back up and make the human
ladder on the other side of the tree, a good distance away from the ledge.
Then climb up and throw your spear at the guard from on top of the other
Human.
Hopefully by now you love moving platforms. I had some weird clipping
issues in this level, where I'd get stuck in the corner of a ledge if I
jumped into it or stepped off a moving platform too soon. If you try to
jump forward, it will knock you back out, so if there's a platform that
moves beneath you, wait for it before you try to free yourself.
When I first sent a Human up to the weight plate at the top-left corner, I
dropped his spear down so others could use it. That was a mistake; there
are two separate plates in this level that open two separate gates. You'll
have to bring that human back after you move the boulder onto the second
plate, because you need all of your Humans to ladder up to the end of the
level. Other than that, the level is easy enough to figure out. (if you're
good at killing guards with spears.)
Another "reach the hamburger." Ride the platforms down to grab a spear,
then realize that the hamburger is right there close to the start of the
level. Is... is that close enough to jump to? Yep. It is. Now, I'm all for
avoiding the Witch Doctor and trying to solve the level as it was
intended, but that burger is literally just sitting right there, within
jumping distance of the first platform. No Witch Doctor, no glitches, no
nothing. It's just right there. I can't come up with any reason to go the
"long way" around this level, unless you're curious and want to try it.
But this shortcut is my official solution.
Last level! I feared this level for the entire game, because of all the
terrible things I experienced in earlier levels. But it's really not TOO
bad, moving platforms notwithstanding. There's actually an interesting
construct in this level where the first moving platform hands you off to
the second one without you having to do anything. (When stepping onto this
platform from the ladder, remember that it takes time for your Human to
move to the edge of the ladder. I killed a few Humans with bad timing on
this transfer.)
You don't need to bring the rope any further after you climb down it in
the center of the level. It seems like you might be able to climb down to
the end of the level from there, but the guard would be very tricky to
kill if you descend by rope.
The rhino only takes one spear to kill, but you need another spear to
cross the gap past it. I'm not 100% sure where that extra spear is
supposed to come from, maybe you have to somehow grab one of the spears
from the guard to the left? Honestly, I won't tell anyone if you just
Witch Doctor your way through the whole level. There's a tricky guard
right at the end, where I assume you're expected to jump the gap, then
quickly select Throw, charge up, and kill the guard before he gets you? No
way. Witch Doctor that mess.
Sorry if you were expecting a FAQ with a little more integrity and respect
for the sanctity of playing games in the most complete and honest way
possible. I wish I understood the intended role of the Witch Doctor. I
hope to track down a manual for this game someday, and I'll update this
FAQ if it has a good explanation.
Enjoy the silly ending. I thought the Humans would all go extinct in the
severe winter cold, but it looks like they made it. And so did you!
- Play on EASY mode. Don't feel bad for not picking something "harder." The
only difference across the modes is how much time you get to complete each
level. Personally, feeling more rushed than I need to be would sap all
enjoyment out of this game. If it turns out you really like the idea of
optimizing your level strategies, and you want to speedrun the game, then
these modes are for you.
- When using the rope, if you find you mysteriously can't climb up or down,
when it seems like you should be able to, just adjust your climber by a
couple of pixels and try again. When letting the rope down, try to aim for
1-2 pixels between the rope and the wall you're standing on. This range
seems to give me minimal problems.
- When selecting your next Human with SELECT and B, (instead of using the
cursor) you can start moving your Human as soon as he is selected. You don't
have to wait for the screen to scroll him into view.
- A Human can fall from a height as high as 2 Humans without dying. Any more
than that and you're toast.
- In general, plan on bringing as many Humans and tools with you as you can.
You can push SELECT and scroll around the level to see what you'll need as
you work your way through, but I've miscalculated before, and had to restart
levels because I got too far before realizing I should have brought the rope
with me.
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06 - Other Junk
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This FAQ was written by me; my name is Splain. Copy it if you want, but credit
me.
Comments, questions, or corrections can be sent to peoppozo.msn@com. But, you
know, switch the . and @ around.
