MYTH - History in the Making (c)1989 System 3 Programming: Peter Baron Graphics: Bob Stevenson Producer: Mark Cale Concept: Mark Cale Additional Design: Bob Stevenson & Peter Baron Music: Jeroen Tel/Maniacs of Noise - Stefan Hartwig (loader) ----------------------------------------------------- GENRE: Action Adventure THE MYTH STORY Magical tales of intrigue and mystery were spawned thousands of years ago, as the world's civilisation believed that mythological gods and demons carved out the way of the world. They were said to have dealt their own hand in the epic Game of Life and ruled their domains with cast iron law and powerful sorcery not known to mere mortals. The subsequent fear of such sorcery enabled the gods to mold their own world, like an elaborate game of chess, and pre-ordain the fate and destiny of their minions. The combination of ruling bodies kept the world in balance and laid the foundations of our history. Only a mortal can attempt to change the eras of time... *********** An everyday lad lounges at his desk fully submerged in an article he reads aloud in his complex mind, about Medusa, the terrifying snakes that entwine her scalp, and shivering coldness of her black-eyed stare as she turns courageous men to solid stone. The lad seems arrogantly amused with what he reads and curls his upper lip in an aggrieved sneer, signaling his resentment at the brash, uniformed way in which his favorite daydreams had been handled. "This guy's a jerk", rolls off his silver tongue as he hurls the trash magazine into an overused bin. It seems near bursting with a hive of knowledgeable mythological drawings, screwed up and scribbled out, that weren't quite good enough or didn't depict how a certain fable was meant to annihilate all who dared challenge it or who didn't respect its vital role in the strat- egic Game of Live and History. He would spend hours thumbing through books and sketching the theories as he understood them, believing that mythology was for real, believing everything was there for a reason, believing that titanic gods watched his every moves and even played some of them for him so as to ensure that foreseen destiny would indeed take its course. This guy was hooked, at times he wore blinkers to everyday life, or upset school teachers with his hankering on about myths and how they were the only history any of us need learn if we were to ensure the future turns of the world were in the right direction. Maybe he seemed a little confused, strange to some teachers, but everyone warmed to him. He wore the right trainers, the right jeans, he hung out with the right guys, danced to the right music. His cockiness and arrogance was a lure to all the best girls in school and his contempt for those who wouldn't listen to him, shieded him, and gave him bigger following than the school football captain. This guy was a happening, a hero to younger kids, a thorn in the side of history teachers and a real worry to his parents who had seen his obsession grow from a passing interest to the only supporting crutch his life seemed to be leaning on. This obsession wooed him to sleep at night and led him through everyday life with hypnotic effect. He couldn't wait to get home and lose himself in mythological literature, to draw his favorite characters and dream of long-fought battles through time itself. If he only knew. Word of his undying loyalty to mythology had not only spanned the length and breadth of the school playing fields and formed major points of discussion over school dinners, but had astonishingly penetrated the Heavens. The last remaining good titans had been casting a hopeful net over our planet for some time, a global search that had them clammering for a mortal with character, cunning, and most of all, belief. These great universal dictators had swallowed their pride and had finally succumbed to the fact that their means of rulership was now rapidly becoming a laughing stock. Strong, steadfast beings who aggressively ruled the Heavens, the Seas, the Land, were now in a state of panic. The evil god Dameron, a self-appointed leader, turning the skies black with rage and the seas red with the blood of many a god who dared question his tyranny. Bloodbaths arose in the Heavens, death was meeting those who refused to control their part of History in his way and the once seemingly solid temple of this History was now being severely rocked to its very foundations. The law stated that the great gods could not interfere directly with the destiny of Modern History, but that the world's future lay with its past and therefore by changing the past, Dameron will conquer the future and forever destroy mortal Life. An encouraging fire engulfed the era of time as they found who they were looking for and with the discovery of a mortal with such a belief they breathed tentative, if not premature, sighs of relief into the soul of our hopeful History. They were to visit him in his sleep and bargain with mortality, convince him that his relentless pursuit of mythology was to be rewarded by actually meeting the gods he dreamt of by battling the demons he scribbled on pieces of old paper, by solving the life and death riddles of ancient leaders. He must confront the twisted power of Dameron and struggle through all the corner- stones of time, putting right the evil god's wrongdoings and setting the wheels of our History in motion once again in the right direction. They were to take him through all mythological eras of time, including roman-greek, norse-viking and egyptian. then onwards towards the greatest challenge for no mere mortal except this one, Dameron. The world's future is at stake and must be brought back to tranquil normality. He must remember his arrogance, he must have faith in the prophecies he tried to enforce upon others. He must believe that this is History in the Making! ************************************************** INTRODUCTION TO THE GAME This game has 4 levels. They are: 1. Greek Legends 2. Norse Legends 3. Egyptian Legends 4. The Final Confrontation (with Dameron) Each level has several phases, which can be quite different in play. The end of the last level is followed by a game End Sequence. CONTROLS OF THE CHARACTER MOVEMENTS Plug joystick in Port 2 (no keyboard controls). Upon Level load completion press Fire to start (this allows you to take a rest in-between levels...). Without Fire button pressed, the joystick controls the movements around the screen. There is walking and jumping (2 kinds). With Fire depressed, you are in the fighting mode, and motion of joystick then gives (Level 1 through 3): Throw Daggers High kick (pulled _____ | ______ High punch opposite to facing) \ | / or weapon blow \ | / \ | / Middle punch Kick (pulled -------------X------------ or stab with weapon opposite to facing) / | \ (or throw fire bolts) / | \ Low kick (pulled _____/ | \_______ Lower punch opposite to facing) | or stab with weapon Kneel / Crouch (or icon pick up) Notes: 1. Directions are for facing right. When facing left, reverse all directions. 2. Some weapons have to be worked with fire button in conjunc- tion with joystick movement (you will have to try!). WEAPONS Levels 1 thru 3 have various weapons that you obtain by various ways (for you to find out - hints are provided below). You start with your bare fists... You select the weapon by pressing the < | | > keys to scroll left-right or right-left. The center top of the screen shows only 3 slots, so not all the weapons you have show. You have to scroll. The center one is the one in use. Level 4 is unique in this area as you are on a magic carpet fighting like a jet fighter... So the controls are like hori- zontal shoot'em up games. You do get various weapons there too. LIVES/ENERGY The top right of the screen shows the number of lives in reserve and your energy. Instead of an energy bar you have 3 (at start) energy pellets which change color upon use. In the game you may have up to 4 such pellets as you can gain new ones in the play. So it is for lives. You can have up to 7 in reserve even though you start only with 2. GENERAL HINTS Always remember you can pause/unpause the game using the P key! The first aspects of the game you should MASTER are the JOYSTICK controls. The highly interactive nature of the game is required because of some of the COMPLEX MOVES the main character has to perform. A high level of competence at the controls will enhance your game play CONSIDERABLY. Try use with trainers on! Because of the adventure elements, our second suggestion is that you should get into the habit of RECORDING what happens on each screen. This will enable you to obtain HIGHER SCORES with repeated play. The last point is, NEVER take anything FOR GRANTED - some things are not as they appear. Be curious, nosey, etc. and try everything. Throwing things in fire can bring unexpected results for example. ------------------------------------------------------- Written in June 2000 with input by COWBOY of FBR (1989), and hints from Kim Lemon's Site discussion board, as well as the VOID Site info for the Spectrum. -END- (extras from the original instructions sheet) Keyboard controls [...] For Spectrum and Amstrad owners SPACE BAR - Cycle through and select icon in window - Press again outwards to get back in the game Q - Left W - Right I - Up J - Down / small jump O - Fire H - Pause game If these keys prove unsuitable to some games players, there is an option to define the keys at the beginning of the game. Status area definitions For Spectrum and Amstrad owners Status area 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 쿞core � 쿌mount � 쿐nergy � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 旼컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 쿗ives � 쿎ollected items� 쿟eleport cons � 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� 읕컴컴컴컴컴컴컴� Lives - Ammount of lives (up to six) Score - Current score Amount - Shows the number of times the currently selected item can be used Items - Shows what you are holding. Press SPACE to select them and LEFT and RIGHT to move Energy - Shows your energy. When energy is low the man will pulse colours. When energy reaches zero a life is lost and energy reset to maximum Teleport icons - The amount of these you have collected so far. When all have been collected they will flash continuously to confirm that the master icon is on the map [...] Clues For Spectrum and Amstrad owners Collect all the "TELEPORT ICONS" to reveal a "MASTER ICON". This is then used on the "TELEPORT PAD" to get results. CHEST Treasure what you may find. VASES Take a welcome break and your quest could prove fruitful. GEMS Just what the doctor ordered. HEART ITEM Conserve your strength and realise your limitations. DOVE Be flight and cause a major coo! SKULLS A burning desire brings out the devil in you. MEDUSA Head off in the right direction and open your eyes to all around you. TRIDENT Be a kill joy, two's company but there's a crowd. SACK As you journey onwards, remember you have certain statutory rights. BOLTS It all adds up to a lot, so save some for a rainy day. ========================================================================== Taken from Project 64 with additional material by Cristian Secara. Readapted for the Spectrum in 2000 AD by Alessandro "Gazzosa" Grussu http://members.nbci.com/gazzosa