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High Score Club 9.24 - Mr. Do!'s Castle


Ze_ro

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Important Note: This weeks competition is over and no further scores will be accepted.

 

Mr. Do!, that king of arcade clowns, is in a bit of a bind - again! This time, a pack of pesky unicorns is trampling the bricked hallways of his castle.

 

Help Mr. Do! rid his dwelling of these crafy, quick-changing (and deadly!) creatures with the skullful swing of a hammer. Sometimes a quick clobber to the head will do it. Or maybe a well-chosen brick knocked out from above. If you can't stop these critters, then break a hole in the floor to slow 'em down.

 

It's up to you to know when to fight - or when to flee! Tension mounts as you hurry Mr. Do! through the castle's maze, grabbing keys along the way. Only when Mr. Do! has collected all the keys can he unlock the castle door, and open up an extra chance to beat these nasty critters!

 

docastle-attract.jpg

 

Game Information
  • Game Name: Mr. Do!'s Castle
  • Released By: Parker Bros, 1984
  • Left Difficulty: N / A
  • Right Difficulty: N / A
  • Game Mode: Default

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 September 7th at 1:00 AM (Central Time, UTC-6).

 

Challenges
  • Arcade Challenge - This game was also released in the arcades. Play that version via MAME (or the actual arcade machine if you have access to one). Highest score will get 5 points, 2nd 5 points, etc. All scores will get at least 1 point.
    1. 58,800 (Deteacher) [+5]
    2. 21,760 (roadrunner) [+4]
    3. 17,620 (DT Kofoed) [+3]

 

Current High Scores
  1. 617,980 (oyamafamily) [+11]
  2. 144,940 (disjaukifa) [+10]
  3. 107,580 (Stan) [+9]
  4. 40,100 (Deteacher) [+8]
  5. 33,280 (toymailman) [+7]
  6. 32,360 (JacobZu7zu7) [+6]
  7. 21,780 (classicgamer_27330) [+5]
  8. 20,580 (Jifremok) [+4]
  9. 9300 (roadrunner) [+3]
  10. 8660 (Tony The 2600) [+2]
  11. 5660 (DT Kofoed) [+1]
  12. 5220 (Miss 2600) [+1]
  13. 5160 (Gorfy) [+1]
  14. 4860 (Vocelli) [+1]
  15. 1720 (Amstari) [+1]
  16. 1600 (LarcenTyler) [+1]

Best Tips
  • oyamafamily [+2]

TwinGalaxies Top 3
  1. 1180 (David B Yancey)
(Game 1, Difficulty B)
Current Standings
  1. JacobZu7zu7 [412]
  2. toymailman [383]
  3. oyamafamily [341]
  4. Gorfy [297]
  5. DT Kofoed [250]up.gif
  6. Frostbite76 [247]down.gif
  7. Vocelli [227]
  8. Stan [219]
  9. Deteacher [186]
  10. Jifremok [181]
  11. Miss 2600 [164]
  12. Scrabbler15 [151]
  13. Amstari [121]up.gif
  14. classicgamer_27330 [117]down.gif
  15. LarcenTyler [105]up.gif
  16. theKLT [99]down.gif
  17. roadrunner [94]
  18. cparsley [73]
  19. pokeplayer984 [65]
  20. SpiceWare [48]
  21. Mister VCS [46]
  22. pis [46]
  23. zylon [46]
  24. keilbaca [37]
  25. ed1475 [36]
  26. centiqueen81 [33]
  27. Wickeycolumbus [29]
  28. DJT [29]
  29. Krytol [28]
  30. Chuck D. Head [27]
  31. Cynicaster [20]
  32. SeaGtGruff [20]
  33. Darth Kinzer [18]
  34. HatefulGravey [17]
  35. Curious Sofa [16]
  36. Torr [13]
  37. littleman jack [7]
  38. atarigal [5]
  39. Cortat G [5]
  40. bennybingo [5]
  41. rmaerz [3]
  42. Zach [3]
  43. atariUCLA24 [3]
  44. dwane413 [3]
  45. retrorussell [3]
  46. SpaceDice2010 [2]
  47. MIKE5200 [2]
  48. Mangia-Boy [1]
  49. Buck [1]
  50. 4Ks [1]
  51. Cream147 [1]
  52. chuckwalla [1]
  53. DickNixonArisen [1]
  54. leematari [1]
  55. Zoyx [1]
  56. Mingy Jongo [1]




 

Scoring Points in Mr. Do!'s Castle
  • Red Unicorns - 500 points each
  • Yellow Unicorns - 1000 points each
  • Green Unicorns - 1500 points each
  • Bonus Letter Unicorns - 500 points each
  • Knocking out floor blocks - 20 points each
  • Opening the castle door - 1500, 2000, 2500, or 3000 points

 

Hints and Tips

The Manual

 

As always, you really should read the manual. In case you don't have the manual, AtariAge has a typed copy and a scanned copy available online. Unfortunately, the manual doesn't provide any specific hints, though it's worth reading for a description of the nuances of the gameplay.

 

Stan

 

  1. Mr. Do's Castle looks like shit, it sounds like shit (because there are no effects), and it pretty much plays like shit. Get that out of your head before you begin because really, the horrible graphics and odd collision detection is the only thing that makes this game difficult. Consider it's horrible qualities as leading to the rest of the tips presented here. Once you figure it out, it's really not that bad.
  2. Okay, so the deformed looking hunchbank things are unicorns apparently in the world of Mr. Do's Castle. Kill them for the most points. To do so, you have to get them UNDER you and hit the blocks at the right time to land it on them. You can also just knock out all the cherry blocks to advance, but the points are minor. It's good if you have that one pesky one left that you can't seem to convince to get in a good spot, but don't try to do this from the outset if you do. At least take out half of the unicorns before trying to get all the cherries.
  3. Earlier unicorns are stupid and you can trick them into going to the lower levels (best bet is usually there for unicorn slaying), let them walk towards you, go up above them, and then hit a block when they're under it. You can also drop blocks from several levels, but that takes a lot more timing. If you have unicorns trapped in a previously hit block, you can also drop blocks on them while they're in there, so baiting, leaving traps, and hitting blocks above can work in that case too.
  4. Hitting a block isn't easy because the collision detection and graphics are so bad. Make sure Mr. Do's foot is basically in the little gap between the blocks and face the one you want to hit. There are some marked with a little golf club looking symbol. That, in the world of Mr. Do's Castle, is a cherry. You get bonus points for them, a whole 20!
  5. It's in your best interest to get rid of the unicorns as soon as possible. If you wait, they turn into smarter, faster, and more annoying versions of their deformed selves. Try to eliminate unicorns as soon as you can, there's really no way to corral easier or harder ones, just take what comes at you, lead it, and then drop a block on it.
  6. If you leave a hole, unicorns will fall in them and sit there for a moment, and then the hole fills. DO NOT STEP ON THEM, you'll lose a life. This, however, can be used if you've made several holes on the lower floor. Do that, let a unicorn go towards the hole, move up a level, and be prepared to drop a block after they come out of the hole. Or drop one on them while they're in the hole.
  7. You'll also see these messes of lines that move. Those are, apparently, ladders. To move them, you have to be facing the side they're closest too ABOVE them. Edge forward a bit and you'll move it over to the left or right, depending on where the ladder originally was. You can use this to kind of bait the smarter unicorns or keep them away.
  8. You will also see what are called skulls. Let's make that "skulls" because they actually look like the letter X. If you have unicorns between two of these, and have one already hit, hit the other and you'll kill them. It's not as hard as I previously thought and can be useful in later levels when it starts out with a lot of unicorns. Hit one that you pass, wait for a unicorn or two (you can also empty some slots before the next X), and when they're close hit the other X and you'll take out a bunch. Pretty slick if you can get it to work, but it can be difficult.
  9. You can also try to collect all the key icons. Keys in the world of Mr. Do's Castle look like the reverse of the "cherries". If you get all three, you can go up to the castle, touch the middle, and then the unicorns will change into bonus unicorns, which are apparently some sort of walking mitres or something. You do NOT have to hit them with bricks as I thought, you just have to hit them with your hammer to get points and a letter towards a life (spell EXTRA). This is the only time you can hit an enemy with a hammer.

 

oyamafamily

 

oyamafamily has written a pretty long bit of strategy over here and here.

 

--Zero

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Hmmm, should have taken a picture. I was going to double check, but I thought Larcen had a higher score than this, I thought he had 10K something. Oh well. Here's my first go and some tips:

 

9,440

 

ULTRA TIPS OF WHAT IN THE HELL IS THIS DAMN GAME

 

1. Mr. Do's Castle looks like shit, it sounds like shit (because there are no effects), and it pretty much plays like shit. Get that out of your head before you begin because really, the horrible graphics and odd collision detection is the only thing that makes this game difficult. Consider it's horrible qualities as leading to the rest of the tips presented here. Once you figure it out, it's really not that bad.

 

2. Okay, so the deformed looking hunchbank things are unicorns apparently in the world of Mr. Do's Castle. Kill them for the most points. To do so, you have to get them UNDER you and hit the blocks at the right time to land it on them. You can also just knock out all the cherry blocks to advance, but the points are minor. It's good if you have that one pesky one left that you can't seem to convince to get in a good spot, but don't try to do this from the outset if you do. At least take out half of the unicorns before trying to get all the cherries.

 

3. Earlier unicorns are stupid and you can trick them into going to the lower levels (best bet is usually there for unicorn slaying), let them walk towards you, go up above them, and then hit a block when they're under it. You can also drop blocks from several levels, but that takes a lot more timing. If you have unicorns trapped in a previously hit block, you can also drop blocks on them while they're in there, so baiting, leaving traps, and hitting blocks above can work in that case too.

 

4. Hitting a block isn't easy because the collision detection and graphics are so bad. Make sure Mr. Do's foot is basically in the little gap between the blocks and face the one you want to hit. There are some marked with a little golf club looking symbol. That, in the world of Mr. Do's Castle, is a cherry. You get bonus points for them, a whole 20!

 

5. It's in your best interest to get rid of the unicorns as soon as possible. If you wait, they turn into smarter, faster, and more annoying versions of their deformed selves. Try to eliminate unicorns as soon as you can, there's really no way to corral easier or harder ones, just take what comes at you, lead it, and then drop a block on it.

 

6. If you leave a hole, unicorns will fall in them and sit there for a moment, and then the hole fills. DO NOT STEP ON THEM, you'll lose a life. This, however, can be used if you've made several holes on the lower floor. Do that, let a unicorn go towards the hole, move up a level, and be prepared to drop a block after they come out of the hole. Or drop one on them while they're in the hole.

 

7. You'll also see these messes of lines that move. Those are, apparently, ladders. To move them, you have to be facing the side they're closest too ABOVE them. Edge forward a bit and you'll move it over to the left or right, depending on where the ladder originally was. You can use this to kind of bait the smarter unicorns or keep them away.

 

8. You will also see what are called skulls. Let's make that "skulls" because they actually look like the letter X. If you have unicorns between two of these, and have one already hit, hit the other and you'll kill them. It's not as hard as I previously thought and can be useful in later levels when it starts out with a lot of unicorns. Hit one that you pass, wait for a unicorn or two (you can also empty some slots before the next X), and when they're close hit the other X and you'll take out a bunch. Pretty slick if you can get it to work, but it can be difficult.

 

9. You can also try to collect all the key icons. Keys in the world of Mr. Do's Castle look like the reverse of the "cherries". If you get all three, you can go up to the castle, touch the middle, and then the unicorns will change into bonus unicorns, which are apparently some sort of walking mitres or something. You do NOT have to hit them with bricks as I thought, you just have to hit them with your hammer to get points and a letter towards a life (spell EXTRA). This is the only time you can hit an enemy with a hammer.

Edited by Stan
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Argh! For a game that revolves around KILLING UNICORNS, this should be much cooler!

I'll post some sort of score later, but my heart's just not into it today.

 

Phew, you probably won't have too much heart after trying it. Really, it's a pretty damn bad game. The poor design, collision detection, etc. almost make it unplayable. I was able to achieve a score of over 9000 on round one, so it's possible to do pretty well. First score was over three rounds I believe. Getting 9000 on the first is easy though, not so easy after that.

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LOL @ Unicorns... ?!

 

Those are some messed up Unicorns, since when do they come in red and green?

Why are Unicorns climbing ladders?? Whats with the huge HOLE where the eyes are supposed to be? :lol:

 

This game plays about as good as it looks. Common' those are not Unicorns they are green aliens with anntenes on their heads.

 

The collision is NOT forgiving at all, if they smell you, you're dead.

It's not the worst game, but it's pretty mediocre.

 

My score after 3 tries,

 

12,500

post-3059-0-90162800-1314825430_thumb.jpg

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Pretty good start Jake. I don't think we're going to see the scores getting much higher than that. I read the manual finally and it seems this game has like, supposedly, eight rounds or something of four levels each? There's just no way, when it gets harder, you could make it any further in this damn thing. Mediocre is being generous, after playing it more I have to say this is one of the worst 2600 games ever made.

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I think we get to blame Coleco for this one.

 

I don't know. Most of Coleco's games were outsourced to other companies and one of them, Wickstead Design also made games for PB. Individeo, who did some Coleco games, was run by former PB staff (Ed Temple and Ed English).

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Little better. This game is still beast in the suck department. After you run through the first four, it just repeats with all green unicorns, so achieving high scores is quite possible, provided you're good enough at baiting and trapping.

 

30,080

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