HSC Season 5 Week 33: Crystal Castles

[Ze_ro]

Important Note: This week's competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

Once upon a time, Bentley Bear was rambling through the woods, daydreaming about poached salmon. He stopped to take a nap in his favorite hollow tree trunk. But when he awoke, he found himself inside a huge castle glittering with diamonds, emeralds, and pearls.

 

Though Bentley didn't know it at the time, he was trapped in Crystal Castles, home of Berthilda the Witch and her evil cronies. To escape their spell, he must harvest the gems in the castles before Berthilda and her malicious gang send him into permanent hibernation!

 

 

Game Information

• Game Name: Crystal Castles
• Released By: Atari, 1987
• Left Difficulty: B / Novice - Easy Game
• Right Difficulty: N/A
• Game Mode: Default - Start at Level 1
• Chosen By: Mister VCS

Post your scores right here in this thread, and I will add them to the list. Remember to play the game with the recommended game mode and difficulty settings as shown above so that your scores will be consistent with everyone elses. The deadline for posting scores is Wednesday April 30th at 1:00 AM (CST).

 

Current High Scores 228,783 (RJ) [+11] 215,910 (StanJr) [+10] 215,858 (godzillajoe) [+9] 153,068 (Deteacher) [+8] 136,325 (Mister VCS) [+7] 125,766 (Impaler_26) [+6] 125,081 (Vectorman0) [+5] 117,422 (toymailman) [+4] 114,961 (phaxda) [+3] 111,319 (SpiceWare) [+2] 107,914 (keilbaca) [+1] 78,899 (aftermac) [+1] 70,626 (jimdandy75) [+1] 62,168 (Gemini) [+1] 50,507 (Kurt_Woloch) [+1] 48,601 (Shannon) [+1] 30,317 (theking21083) [+1] 29,999 (Elerach) [+1] 21,746 (LarcenTyler) [+1] 18,802 (opeygon) [+1] Best Tips Deteacher [+2] Challenges Best Level 1 Score - Top score gets 2 bonus points. 2711 (Vectorman0, aftermac, Impaler_26, Deteacher) [+2] TwinGalaxies Top 3 860,088 (Todd Rogers) 362,286 (Brian Gilman) 135,739 (Stephen R Riesenberger) Game 1, Difficulty B)

Current Standings Deteacher [316] toymailman [280] keilbaca [194] Captain Beard [155] aftermac [124] theking21083 [123] Impaler_26 [108] Kurt_Woloch [99] homerwannabee [90] PressureCooker2600 [87] Nathan Strum [84] SpiceWare [83] Gemini [70] phaxda [68] rheffera [65] StanJr [53] Mister VCS [53] midnight magicman [46] Recycled [44] Bentley Bear! [44] LarcenTyler [38] DarthCalvin [36] Blackjack [35] Christophero Sly [35] the 5th ghost [30] shadow460 [27] Rom Hunter [23] ed1475 [19] Butterwasp [18] godzillajoe [14] doctorclu [13] theKLT [12] lucifershalo [12] opeygon [9] Artlover [9] atariwarrior [9] Dauber [9] Shannon [8] vintagegamecrazy [8] keitaro [7] lonewolfette9847 [6] Goochman [6] atari2600land [6] Omegamatrix [6] darthkur [6] chuckwalla [5] Nognir [5] MrBeefy [5] cosmosiss [3] Crazy Climber [3] SeaGtGruff [3] hrecker [2] gospeedde [2] Phantom [2] Snider-man [2] EricDeLee [1] jimdandy75 [1] Whickeycolumbus [1] RJ [1] jboypacman [1] [d2f]Iggy*SJB [1] HatNJ [1] KaeruYojimbo [1]

 

Scoring Points in Crystal Castles

• Harvest a Gem - 1 point for the first gem, 2 points for the second gem,
  and so on up to 99 points per gem.
• Harvest the Last Gem in the Castle - 1000 points for the first castle, increasing 100 points in every castle thereafter.
• Don the Magic Hat - 500 points
• Eat the Honey - 1000 points
• Crush a Gem Eater - 500 points
• Smash Berthilda the Witch - 3000 points
• At every 20,000 points, Bentley wins an extra life.

 

Hints and Tips

• If Bentley harvests the last gem in the castles, he wins extra points.
• Elevators make perfect escape routes. However, they only operate one at a time.
• Bentley is invincible while he's jumping.
• Bentley can temporarily stun Nasty Trees and Gem Eaters by jumping over them. But this maneuver won't work if he's wearing the magic hat, or while the Gem Eaters are swallowing gems.
• When floating scores appear on the scene, creatures can't move through them; nor can the creatures move through each other.

The Manual
As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a typed copy available online for your viewing pleasure. Here are the hints it provides:
aftermac
Eliminate enemies. On levels with the witch, the first thing I do is grab the hat and kill the witch. Quick 3,000 points. Then I go after the honey pot to keep the bees away for a while. Next, I go after the gem eaters. Try to run over them as soon as they start eating a gem. If you wait too long you will die when you touch them. Killing as many enemies as possible makes it easier to trap the remaining enemies behind walls when you are, for example, waiting for an elevator.
RJ
I guess my best tip would be to learn the elevator patterns on those screens w/ multiple elevators. That & timing when you ride can save your hide! Also if theres a creature waiting for you to get off an elevator, jump (over it) just as you get off. Trees & crystal balls (the white faces) ALWAYS make a beeline for you. Use this to control their movements & trap them where they cant get you. ALWAYS kill the witch, it's an easy 3000 pts & most of the time she's not even dangerous. She'll never chase you, just hangs around waiting for you to get her. In early levels, leave some gems near gem eaters to eat, them smash em. W/ smart playing, you can often kill all gem eaters. In higher lvls the gem eaters are a bit too fast to safely use this strategy.
Deteacher
1. If you are on a top level, waiting for an elevator, but there's an enemy waiting to kill you at the bottom, hold the joystick down and jump right before you get off the elevator. You'll jump straight up, but once the elevator stops, your jump will continue in the direction you're holding the joystick. I found this tip out in a move of desperation. 2. Here's how to get that last gem in the tower that's being guarded by the ghost. First, clear the board of all gems except for the two towers. Make sure you leave the hat...you'll need it. Once you've done that, go to the right tower and get that gem (nobody is guarding that one.) Now, hop on the elevator and ride down. Once you reach the bottom, make a dash for the hat and get on the left elevator (if you time it right, you should end up on it right as it appears.) Ride it up and get the gem while you're still invincible. This one might take a little practice to get the timing right, but it can be done. 3. I try to start off each level by getting the honey first. This seems to hold off the bees for a while. Then I go after gem eaters. I'll save the witch for last, since she isn't really much of a threat and she doesn't eat gems. One final note...while the screen can only show 6 lives in reserve, the game keeps track of extra lives beyond 6. I had 8 lives in reserve at one point, but only saw 6 bears. Just FYI.
Shannon
Stay away from the trees, jump over them to make 'em shrink up and avoid them. Take the time to eat the Gem Eaters and get them as quick as you can before they eat everything up, they are worth alot of points. One thing I noticed about the Gem Eaters, once they get on a trail of Gems they will eat 2-4 before getting lost again, so grab 'em when the do! Grab the honey quickly, it slows the bee's down (I think) and is worth points. Always snag the witch with the hat, although there is no big hurry since she is mostly harmless. A good way to get gems is to step on one and then hit a diagonal direction. You will usually (not always) be lined up pretty well to snag a line of gems.

 

--Zero

[Kurt_Woloch]

OK, here's my best effort so far... 50507.

 

[aftermac]

28,669

 

I'm positive this isn't a very good score.

 

[Elerach]

This game gets really hard.

 

29,999.

Edited April 23, 2008 by Elerach

[aftermac]

43,465

 

Bit of an improvement. I haven't been able to make it past the level with the ghost in the tower. That's going to require some practice.

 

[opeygon]

a good game. i'm moving this weekend and all my stuff is packed, but i think i can get a few games in on the emulator before i pack my cpu up. this is gonna be fun!

[Impaler_26]

I love this game!!! I haven't played it since ages and i'm gonna have a blast playing it this week!!

 

First entry:

 

91,057.

[Mister VCS]

First try: 84,840

personal record is 116,900 from the 80ies

[Lauren Tyler]

21,746.

 

I still remember when I first played this in the arcade at my sixth birthday. I would never have guessed they'd make an Atari 2600 port! But they did, and while I have the cartridge, I'm too lazy to hook up my 7800 right now.

[Impaler_26]

107,406.

[Mister VCS]

116,872

 

Is the use of the Atari-trackball recommended for this game?

[Deteacher]

Not only would I recommend the use of the trackball, but emulator use is all but a waste of time, IMO. Just for the heck of it, I tried it out on Stella. I managed 23K and change, but my wrist is killing me now. Time to break out the trackball for this one. This'll be a fun week!

Edited April 24, 2008 by Deteacher

[aftermac]

Not only would I recommend the use of the trackball, but emulator use is all but a waste of time, IMO. Just for the heck of it, I tried it out on Stella. I managed 23K and change, but my wrist is killing me now. Time to break out the trackball for this one. This'll be a fun week!

 

Really?! Were you using a controller with Stella or just the keyboard? My 43K score was in Stella and probably would have been more if I could have gotten up in that ghost tower without losing 3 lives.

[Deteacher]

Ok, first of all, I stand corrected...the trackball is actually quite difficult to use. I managed a score of over 40K, but I did have some trouble keeping control of Bentley Bear. After I switched to the joystick, I scored 71,015! So, maybe the joystick is easier to play with (either that or I just suck with the trackball.)

 

To answer your question, aftermac, I played with the keyboard controls when I used Stella. I'm sure a controller would make it easier. I should have qualified my statement about the emu being a waste of time.

 

Sorry I don't have a screenshot posted. The batteries were dead in my camera. I'm sure I'll beat my 71K score, though. That was achieved on the first try with the stick.

Edited April 25, 2008 by Deteacher

[aftermac]

52,118

 

Well, I broke 50K, but I didn't get any further... just killed more enemies. Anybody have some tips?

 

To answer your question, aftermac, I played with the keyboard controls when I used Stella. I'm sure a controller would make it easier. I should have qualified my statement about the emu being a waste of time.

 

That's kind of what I figured. Using the keyboard for this game would be difficult. I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something inherently flawed with emulation that was keeping my score low...

 

[Vectorman0]

I too seem to have hit a wall between 48k and 51k my past three games. I think I'm going to give it a rest for a day and come back to it. That usually helps.

[RJ]

I've flipped this game before ("final" lvl is the castle w/ 4 towers & all ghosts & skeletons!) but since we have to start fresh I'll give it a go in the next few days.

[jimdandy75]

Don't currently have this one, so I played it on Stella.

I think it's a pretty fun game

[aftermac]

78,899

 

I finally beat the level with the ghost in the tower, but it was pure luck. I just happened to catch the ghost when it was a bit to the left. I have tried grabbing the hat before going up the elevator, but it has always expired before I get to the top.

 

Tip: Eliminate enemies. On levels with the witch, the first thing I do is grab the hat and kill the witch. Quick 3,000 points. Then I go after the honey pot to keep the bees away for a while. Next, I go after the gem eaters. Try to run over them as soon as they start eating a gem. If you wait too long you will die when you touch them. Killing as many enemies as possible makes it easier to trap the remaining enemies behind walls when you are, for example, waiting for an elevator.

 

[aftermac]

I managed 2,485 on the first castle. Can anyone beat that?

 

Perhaps, this could be a challenge if Ze_ro allows it?

 

[Deteacher]

I managed 2,485 on the first castle. Can anyone beat that?

 

Perhaps, this could be a challenge if Ze_ro allows it?

 

 

That's too funny because I was doing the very same thing last night...seeing how many points I could score in the 1st round. I think I managed 2,300 or so last night.

 

Maybe something like "the highest first round score gets +2 points.

[RJ]

228,783- sorry about the positioning

 

 

I guess my best tip would be to learn the elevator patterns on those screens w/ multiple elevators. That & timing when you ride can save your hide!

Also if theres a creature waiting for you to get off an elevator, jump (over it) just as you get off.

Trees & crystal balls (the white faces) ALWAYS make a beeline for you. Use this to control their movements & trap them where they cant get you.

ALWAYS kill the witch, it's an easy 3000 pts & most of the time she's not even dangerous. She'll never chase you, just hangs around waiting for you to get her.

In early levels, leave some gems near gem eaters to eat, them smash em. W/ smart playing, you can often kill all gem eaters. In higher lvls the gem eaters are a bit too fast to safely use this strategy.

Edited April 25, 2008 by RJ

[Vectorman0]

I still can't beat the first "tower level" with the ghost. No matter how well I do I always end up losing all my lives.

 

RJ - That is a nice score

 

I managed 2,485 on the first castle. Can anyone beat that?

 

Perhaps, this could be a challenge if Ze_ro allows it?

 

 

I agree, it should be made an official challenge!

Edited April 25, 2008 by Vectorman0

[Impaler_26]

I managed 2,485 on the first castle. Can anyone beat that?

 

Perhaps, this could be a challenge if Ze_ro allows it?

Nice Idea! My best score on the first castle is 2,653.

[aftermac]

I managed 2,485 on the first castle. Can anyone beat that?

 

Perhaps, this could be a challenge if Ze_ro allows it?

Nice Idea! My best score on the first castle is 2,653.

 

2,653

 

Wow, Nice job Impaler! I honestly didn't think that was possible until I saw your score! I think that's every crystal on the board.

 

I've spent the past hour-and-a-half trying to match it and I finally did. I did lose a life in the process.

 

Edited April 26, 2008 by aftermac