NAME: Wizkid
DEVELOPER: Sensible Software
PUBLISHER: Ocean
PLATFORMS: Amiga / Atari ST / PC DOS
RELEASE DATE: July 1992
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 0 - C O N T E N T S
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01 - Introduction
02 - The Story
03 - Gameplay Basics
04 - Complete Walkthrough
05 - Complete Item List
06 - Secrets
07 - The Future
08 - Credits, Copyright & Thanks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 1 - I N T R O D U C T I O N
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wizkid is quite possibly the strangest game you'll ever play. But don't let
that put you off, it's not strange like "French Game" strange, it's
deliberately anarchic but with light-hearted fun in mind!
Designed by Sensible Software (the legends behind Wizball, Cannon Fodder and
of course, Sensible Soccer), Wizkid took two years to develop and was
released in July of 1992 to rave reviews.
Wizkid is an utterly brilliant, completely original, wonderfully playable and
totally forgotten game.
I hope this guide will help you appreciate it more!
- Johnny "ThunderPeel2001" Walker
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0 2 - T H E S T O R Y
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A long, long time ago (1987), Wizball, Wizard and Nifta, their cat, banished
Zark from the land of Wiz for being naughty. Everyone lived happily ever after.
Nifta had eight kittens, and Wizard and Wizball got married and had a kid.
But they hadn't seen the last of the evil Zark. He's returned, kidnapped Wizard
and Wizball and placed them in the dungeons of his castle. Even Nifta wasn't
safe, separated from her eight kittens she's been imprisoned in the Turtle
Jail.
It's up to Wizkid to save as many of Nifta's kittens as possible, release her
from the Turtle Jail and battle on to Zark's castle!
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0 3 - G A M E P L A Y B A S I C S
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sure you get some nice training from B.D. Snail, but there's plenty more
important information that you need to know!
Kittens
-------
Sure sure, they're cute and everything, but did you realize that you can't
actually complete the game unless you collect all eight of Nifta's kittens?
That's one from every Round! Completing Round 9 will only reward you with a
'Game Over' message unless you've collected all of them along your way!
That means no Round warps and being very careful which exit you take from each
Round if you want to complete Wizkid 100%. It sounds a pain but it's worth it!
Being 'Normal'
--------------
Each Round is made up of several screens (except Round 6, but you don't need to
worry about that right now) which are filled with blocks and baddies. Kill the
baddies, complete the screen. That's all there is to it, right? Well, sort of.
Along with the many ways of completing a Round the most "normal" is to simply
complete all the screens in a given Round. To complete a screen you must kill
every wave of baddies without running out of blocks. If you run out of blocks
while there are baddies around you will hear an unhappy melody and be whisked
away to the next screen to see if you fair better.
Once you've successfully completed a screen any bubbles floating around will
turn into cash and you'll move on to the next one.
The screens will keep looping through the screens you haven't completed, which
is why you sometimes (well, quite often) keep playing the same screen over and
over.
Once you've completed all the screens for a round successfully, a Kitten will
appear. Grab the Kitten and you will move forward to another Round.
If one of Nifta's kittens appears after you've completed all the screens in a
round, but you're not ready to move on (or you want to exit the round in a
different way) you can just hang tight for a few seconds and they pop off the
screen.
'Hidden Screens'
----------------
These little beauties appear in most Rounds and can be bought on the SHOP
screen. You should ALWAYS go for them because you will end up with more money
than when you went in. If you fail to collect all the cash and accidentally
kill those few token baddies, don't worry, simply return to Body mode and the
missed mulah will fall from the sky!
Crossword 2091
--------------
If you're having a bad time with a Round, the game may offer you a chance to
play Crossword 2091. This is always a good idea as you can earn $500, you get
infinite retries and it doesn't cost you anything! (They're very generous,
these Sensible chaps, aren't they?)
'Wiztastic' $100 Bonus
----------------------
If you manage to collect all the coins that fall when a song is played, you
will get a 'Wiztastic' $100 bonus!
Cash "Cheat"
------------
Running low on Wizdollars is never fun, luckily the boys at Sensible
implemented a bizarrely obvious cheat in order to get an unlimited amount! It
may sound like this will ruin the game for you, but even with using it it
still presents a challenge. In fact, I'd say by using this cheat the game
becomes much more enjoyable! Here it is:
Simply spend your cash on a new star when you've already got the full
complement of five. That's it. Instead of doing nothing, it actually GIVES you
the price of the star! Exit the shop to Body mode, pull down to bring the shop
back and lo! the star is there again! Buy it again and again until you feel
you have enough Wizdollars. This works on every Round except Round 9 (where
how much money ou have becomes quite important).
B.D.Snail's Tip List
--------------------
Before we hit the walkthrough proper, here are some useful tips from B.D.
Snail himself which will help you if you want to figure this game out for
yourself (taken from the manual):
1. The best way to play is to hit the tiles as fast as possible on diagonals
to smash them everywhere. Don't worry too much about conserving tiles.
2. In the cave maze: "Go through the exit even thought it's not there, try
Room 32 to see what is where."
3. An extra life can be found somewhere on Round 6.
4. The lava flow can't kill if something is even.
5. Remember, you don't have to pick up the kitten if you don't want to
progress to the next round immediately.
6. Do what you can't in the past.
7. The lucky dip takes an object as well as giving you one.
8. Money can't be transported between rounds.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 4 - W A L K T H R O U G H
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here it is! The complete walkthrough to Wizkid! Brace yourself for inspired
insanity!
Buy all the items in the shop and exit to Body mode.
Simply ring the bell on the left side of the screen. Open the door that falls
down and then open it again to use the Newspaper to keep that pesky dog at bay.
Once inside you'll see a weird purple room. Jump up to the top right-hand
corner of the purple room and jump up again until you see the 'roof' give way.
A small icon should appear lower down. Go down and activate it and a donkey
will appear (why not, eh?).
(To exit the room, if you decide you need to, grab the 1KG weight and jump up
until you stand on the spot which opens the door. Drop the weight here and
you'll see another weight. Grab this and do the same to keep the main door
open... although there's not much reason to do this unless you make mistake.)
Go back up to the top right hand corner of the purple box and keep jumping
until you bust a hole in the roof. Jump out and use the Carrot on a Stick with
the Donkey. The Donkey will carry you and then fling you next to the 'Oxygum'
machine. Use the Token on the machine and an End of World Kitten will appear.
Grab the kitten and drop down into the water... next stop, Round 2!
ROUND WARPS (AND OTHER THINGS)
==============================
Round 4 Warp
------------
Just complete all the screens of baddies and collect the Kitty that pops up
and you're off to Round 4!
Quick Round 3 Warp
------------------
Keep winding the well's handle until the bucket appears. Jump onto the bucket
to sink deep into the well. Go into the Ladies room and use a toilet in order
to unblock the volcano (this is Wizkid, weird things happen). Go out and into
the Men's. Use the urinal one in from the left and it should leak when you
flush it.
Head back outside and jump into the bucket again before you drown. Water
should rise and take you back onto the upper screen. Now you can keep winding
the handle for infinite colour bubbles, but you can also jump into the volcano
(where the bubbles come from) and you'll find yourself next to a Kitty and the
exit to Round 3!
Note: Once you fall into the volcano there's no way out, it's Round 3 bound or
quit!
Mega Warps and Hidden Things
----------------------------
(See 'Secrets' section below.)
Buy the Fishbone Key and then the Red Specs (the other Specs are worthless).
This sunken Viking ship is a bit weird. If you jump on the second shield along
and then directly (without touching any of the others) onto one of the last
three, you'll get bubbles to collect, which is handy. But jumping directly
from the first shield onto the fifth will change the colour of the screen,
revealing a door in the lower left hand side of the screen -- so long as
you're wearing the Red Specs! (You can also jump on the 4th and 6th shields to
reveal the poor heroic donkey from the previous Round, but it doesn't do
anything.)
Walk over to the door, use the Fishbone Key in it, grab the Kitty and make
your way to Round 3.
ROUND WARP
Complete all the screens and grab the Kitty that appears for a warp to Round 4.
---------------------------
Round 3 - Mount Wizimanjaro
---------------------------
You need to complete all screens to get the Kitty and move on to Round 3
(completing a screen means killing all the baddies on it without running out of
blocks).
On the way you can pickup a Red Diamond, an Asteroid Ship and an Extra Life,
Though, which are extremely handy.
First you MUST make sure you have either 2 stars of energy or 4 before you
collect the final note of the song! You cannot have an odd number of stars
otherwise you won't be able to collect the extra life or Asteroid Ship (which
is useful later on). So just make sure you have an even number of stars before
you attempt the access the lava in Body mode.
In the shop you'll see something new that makes a regular appearance from now
on: a HIDDEN SCREEN! These little beauties are basically a way of increasing
your funds, so if you can afford one you should always buy it because you'll
only come out of it with more cash than before you went in! Hidden Screens are
basically just like normal screens except they have about 1 stationary baddie
and a ton of 10c coins! (If you accidentally kill the baddie before you've
collected all the cash, fear not the money will appear if you exit to Body
mode later on.)
So now that's out of the way, buy the Red Specs and leave the Green Specs and
the White Elephant (both are quite useless).
Pick a door, any door, it doesn't matter so long as you have an even number of
stars. You'll enter a room with three chutes (each corresponding to a door on
the previous screen) and a lot of burning hot magma. If you have an odd number
of stars (1, 3 or 5) then touching the lava kills you immediately, this why you
need an even number of stars. Good to know, eh?
Firstly, grab the Red Diamond from the ledge and then drop down into the lava
and grab the Asteroid Ship (both will come in handy much later on). Now wander
off the screen to the RIGHT and you'll see a TV. Jump onto it and you'll get an
extra life and that's all there is to here!
Go back into 'Head' mode and complete all the screens to move on to Round 4
with all your newly acquired items.
-----------------------------------
Round 4 - Elementree My Dear Wizkid
-----------------------------------
Take the 'Hidden Screen' for more cash and then buy the Bonbon and the
Flying Scarf. Exit to Body mode and wait for the plane to arrive. Once it does,
jump on it and use the Flying Scarf. Now that you're flying don't wander off
the top or bottom of the screen (just yet) keep going to the second screen and
grab the Cross from the top of the steeple (carefully avoiding the steeple
itself!). Then fly off the bottom of the screen to return to Round 4. Once
there jump on the tree (collecting the bubbles if you want to) and press fire
to drop down inside it.
Once there you'll see the "Sensible Softpawn" clown (don't ask me, I have no
idea). Keep trading with the clown until he drinks the Spiked Cola (it may take
a while of using the Lucky Dip to get the next item you need). Once he's drank
the Cola his eyes will spin and you can't trade anymore, except for the Lucky
Dip.
IMPORTANT: Before you move on, keep using the Lucky Dip until you have the
Spade, Match, Cross and the Red and Blue Diamonds that you previously
collected. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THEM BEFORE YOU LEAVE! All other items are just
junk and will eventually just circle around in your inventory and the Lucky Dip
bin. If don't get the others you won't be able to complete the game completely.
Once you have the important items, jump back on the elevator and the wasted
clown will take you down instead of up. You'll reach a screen with an exit...
but no sign of a Kitty! Fear not, use the Spade with the ground near the 'Exit'
sign and you'll dig right down to the Kitty and Round 5! (If you just walk
through the Exit you'll be returned back to the upper screen.)
ROUND WARP
Buy the Flying Scarf and use it on the plane that lands on the tree. Once in
the air fly off the top of the screen for a warp to Round 6.
OR
Complete all the screens and collect the Kitty that appears for a warp to Round
7.
----------------------------------
Round 5 - The Ghost of Wizkid Past
----------------------------------
This is a great Round. Why? Because you can't die, you're completely
invulnerable to baddies! Problem is, you need to die in order to move on to the
next Round. Still, it's going to be pretty stress-free along the way!
When you get to the shop buy the Extra Man (if you can't afford it, just keep
doing the screens until you can, remember you can't die!). Next buy one of the
Hidden Screens (doesn't matter which one). Once there, DON'T kill the
butterfly, instead touch the bombs, one by one, until you've killed yourself!
You'll turn into a ghost and disappear into the grave. But what's waiting for
you there? Dracula, of course(!?!). Now you just use the Cross near where you
started to destroy the vampire and get the Kitty for this Round. Once you've
got it just wander off the right side of the screen for the exciting Round 6!
ROUND WARP
Complete all the screens and collect the Kitty that appears for a warp to Round
7.
----------------------------------------
Round 6 - Wizkid and the Wizball Mystery
----------------------------------------
Getting bored with bouncing blocks on your head? Try shooting things instead.
Huh? Yep, this Round is a shoot-em-up in the style of the original Wizball!
Your tactics are: Shoot everything that moves (unless it's an asteroid).
Seriously, that's it. The second time through the Round (it will appear to
loop) the Giant Eye will sprout two more eyes, shoot these and it's Round
complete. Collect the Kitty that appears and move on to Round 7!
Also, there's supposedly an extra life somewhere in this Round, but I can't
find it!
Martin/EightBitTerror writes:
"I think you get this life by not shooting anything except the bosses.
sorry, can't confirm this..."
Thanks, Martin!
-----------------------------------
Round 7 - Wizkid Goes to the Circus
-----------------------------------
This Round is a bit twisted, but what good circus isn't?
Buy the Mouse, TNT and Sharp Pin. Use the Mouse with the cheese and then
cruelly 'pop' the Mouse with the Sharp Pin. Jump off the platform and then back
on to it to send the weight flying into trampoline. Jump down the hole it makes
to get to the room where you can get the Green Diamond... extremely tricky
timing though, when you get there. Try doing a small jump *just* as the Diamond
reaches the edge of the screen. Once (after probably, several attempts) you
have it, place the TNT in the cannon and use the Match on the fuse. BANG!
You'll automatically grab a Kitty as you fly over to Round 8.
ROUND WARP
Complete all the screens and you'll get a Kitty and a Warp to Round 9.
-------------------------------
Round 8 - Wizkid Meets Dog Girl
-------------------------------
Jump into Dog Girl's mouth (a programmer's ex-girlfriend/boss??) it may take a
few attempts but it is possible. Wizkid will wake up from a nightmare. Jump on
the bed twice and the Yellow Diamond will appear. Grab it and exit screen
right.
Complete all the screens of baddies for a Kitty and Round 9!
------------------------
Round 9 - Jail House Wiz
------------------------
Buy the Can Opener and use it on the turtle's shell. Jump inside it and you'll
see a wad of cash being held in place by some glowing orbs. Try as you might,
those orbs are keeping that cash steadfast. Here's where those multi-coloured
diamonds you've been collecting come in use, just pop each one in the correct
orb and then grab the cash! (You'll find out what you need all this cash for so
close to the end of the game, shortly!)
Complete all the screens as usual. Instead of a Kitty appearing though, you'll
get a key. The key will open the jail on the turtle's back to reveal Nifta (the
cat from Wizball)! She'll tell you to grab all the kitten's you've rescued so
you can use the boat to make a break for Zark's castle. You need all nine
Kittens (including Nifta) in order to beat Zark in the race to his castle.
--------------------------------------------------
Round 10 - Castle Zark and the Wizeroids Challenge
--------------------------------------------------
Having collected all nine kittens you will row your boat quick enough to get
into the castle before Zark can shut the door. Once inside Zark tells you he
will release your parents on one condition: You must beat his high score on
Wizeroids!
Wizkid will jump on the Wizeroids arcade machine and put all the money he's
collected in Round 9 into it. Despite its retro stylings, Wizeroids is one
expensive game, at $250 a credit it's just as well you collected that pile of
cash in Round 9, eh?
This is also where that Asteroid Ship you collected on Round 3 comes in handy,
for every credit you'll get four lives instead of three if you collected it.
So get cracking, all you have to do is beat Zark's highscore to complete the
game! It's entirely up to you! Good luck!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 5 - C O M P L E T E I T E M L I S T
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIAMONDS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Blue Diamond - In the shop in Round 1.
Red Diamond - Above the lava on Round 3.
Green Diamond - Beneath the circus in Round 7.
Yellow Diamond - In Dog Girl's mouth (sort of) in Round 8.
USABLE ITEMS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Asteroid Ship - In the lava in Round 3 (used in the final Round).
Bonbon - In the shop in Round 4 (used to begin trading).
Can Opener - In the shop in Round 9.
Carrot on a Stick - In the shop in Round 1.
Cheese - In the shop in Round 7.
Cross - On top of the steeple (flying section) in Round 4.
Flying Scarf - In the shop in Round 4.
Fishbone Key - In the shop in Round 2.
Match - Traded from the clown in Round 4.
Mouse - In the shop in Round 7.
Newspaper - In the shop in Round 1.
Red Specs - In the shop in Round 2 and 3.
Spade - Traded from the clown in Round 4.
Spiked Cola - In the Ladies room beneath the well in Round 1.
Token - In the shop in Round 1.
TNT - In the shop in Round 7.
USELESS ITEMS
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Bottle - From the Lucky Dip in Round 4.
Chocs - From the Lucky Dip in Round 4.
Red Herring - From the shop in Round 9.
Ring - From the Lucky Dip in Round 4.
Teddy - From the Lucky Dip in Round 4.
White Elephant - From the shop in Round 3.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 6 - S E C R E T S
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Round 1 Hidden Maze
-------------------
The entire game of Wizkid is filled with secrets, the hidden underground maze
in Round 1 is a great example. You'll find Round Warps, Sound Tests and even a
hidden mini-game called Wizeroids!
To get to there simply buy the Token, wind the well until the bucket appears
and jump into it. Once underground go to the Men's room and use the Token with
the Condom Machine. Wizkid will float off with his new condom balloon (once
again, this is the weird world of Wizkid, better get used to it!).
You'll land in a room with two doors, one marked 'Exit' and another Gents. Go
into the Gents and you'll enter another room with two doors, yet another Ladies
and Gents. There's also a third invisible door to the right of the screen, go
through the invisible door and you'll return to the previous screen (with the
'Exit' sign), but with one minor difference: At the top will be written 'Secret
Room Number Zero'.
Go back into the Gents and you'll see you're actually in 'Secret Room Number
1'. There are 255 'Secret Rooms' and you can access them all using a
combination of the Ladies and Gents doors: The trick is, going through a Gents
door will double the room number you're in and plus 1. For example, if you're
in 'Secret Room Number 1' and you go through the Gent's door you'll then be in
'Secret Room Number 3' ((1*2)+1) = 3).
If you're in secret room 50, going through the Gent's door will put you in room
101 ((50*2)+1 = 101), see?
So what happens when you through the Ladies? Well you just double the number
without adding a one.
Secret Room 1 -> go through the Ladies door -> You're now in Room 2
Secret Room 50 > Ladies Room -> Room 100
Like I said, by using a combination of both, it's actually possible to visit
all 255 rooms (just mess around and experiment with them, it will make more
sense when you're doing it). Don't worry if you've gotten yourself decidedly
lost, you can go through the hidden door (on the right) at any time to return
to 'Secret Room Zero' again and start over.
There's actually not many rooms that have anything interesting in them, so
here's the complete list of ones that aren't empty:
Room # | What's there
---------------------
046 | Round 2 Warp
051 | Round 3 Warp
058 | Round 4 Warp
067 | Round 5 Warp
078 | Round 6 Warp
091 | Round 7 Warp
106 | Round 8 Warp
123 | Round 9 Warp
|
124 | Allow 1 Continue when you die (useful!)
076 | A sound test (not so useful, but fun)
206 | A whole mini-game called Wizeroids!! (Be warned: You can't quit this!)
|
032 | A message with some of the above room numbers in it
102 | Message: "Round by Round Plus 42" (This is the Round Warp equation.)
099 | Message: "Try somewhere between 201 and 211" (Actually 206: The hidden
Wizaroids game)
If find anything undocumented, be sure to email me!
The Birthday Screen
-------------------
Passing almost into legend, many Wizkid players swear they've seen an alternate
loading sequence that wishes Wizkid a Happy Birthday! I can now confirm that
this screen does indeed exist!
The normal will stop early on and Wizkid will appear in front of a large
birthday cake with the words 'Happy Birthday' on the screen. The birthday song
we all know and love(?) will play and Wizkid will blow out those candles in a
rather cute way before loading continues as normal.
By counting the candles we can see that Wizkid is three years old! (Awww!) So
he was born in 1989! I bet you didn't know that!
As far as I know, nobody has figured out exactly what triggers it (if,
indeed it can be triggered).
One obvious possibility is the date the game is loaded up on. I have checked
this myself and the last time I saw the birthday screen was on May 26th, but I
could not replicate it when I reloaded the game.
The other possibitily is that it's purely random, and to be honest, that's the
most likely explanation for this very random game!
If someone should happen to solve the mystery of the birthday screen, please
email me! Thanks!
Shortest Route
--------------
Although the game can't be technically completed unless the player visits and
completes every Round, there's still the option to fly through the Rounds using
the many Warps this game offers. So just for the hell of it, here's how to get
to Round 9 in the shortest possible way.
1) Ok, obviously you can just use the Hidden Maze on Round 1 and go to Secret
Room 123. But that's not much fun, is it? :)
2) This is the (slightly) more interesting way:
Round 1:
Complete all the screens in Round 1 and collect the Kitty that appears
to Warp to Round 4.
Round 4:
Complete all the screens in Round 4 and collect the Kitty that appears.
Warp to Round 7.
Round 7:
Complete all the screens in Round 7 and collect the Kitty that appears.
Warp to Round 9.
So there you go!
Alternative Route
-----------------
The alternative route through the game is the one that allows you to use all
those weird items that you wouldn't usually get to use if you played it in Head
mode or completed it 'properly' as described in the walkthrough.
Round 1:
Use the Ladies room toilet to unblock the volcano, then head back up and jump
into the volcano in the background for a Warp to Round 3.
Round 3:
You have to complete the screens as usual to move onto Round 4.
Round 4:
Buy the Flying Scarf in the shop and jump into the plane that appears on the
tree. Use the scarf and head to the skies! Once there pull up to Warp to
Round 6.
Round 6:
Blast everything into a million pieces and move onto Round 7.
Round 7:
Use the TNT and the Match on the cannon to fire yourself into Round 8.
Round 8:
Complete all the screens to move onto Round 9.
Well, now you know :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 7 - T H E F U T U R E
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WIZTEEN has not been announced or (as far as I know) even been thought of. Also
there has never been any mention of Wiz Jr., Wizkid II nor Wizball 3.
If there's any more exciting news I'll keep you posted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
0 8 - C R E D I T S , C O P Y R I G H T & T H A N K S
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks to the English Amiga Board! (eab.abime.net)
Thanks also to Galahad, Peanutuk and Bippym!
If you spot anything missing from this FAQ, please email me, thanks!!
All text is Copyright 2004 Johnny "ThunderPeel2001" Walker. All rights reserved.
You may not distribute this document in any way that is designed to generate
money or increase sales value. You may distribute it freely so long as no money
is involved and no part of the text is altered.
Questions regarding this FAQ can be made to: thunderpeel @ sbcglobal . net
(remove the spaces)
