Swordquest: Earthworld
v 1.2
1-14-01
author: Dimetric Houston
e-mail: dhousto6@bellsouth.net
CONTENTS:
Introduction
Updates
Notes
Story
Controls
Rooms and Zodiac Rooms
Objects
Action Sequences
Clues
Walkthrough
Tips, Tricks and Secrets
Credits
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION:
Hello all. This FAQ covers the game Swordquest: Earthworld for the Atari
2600. It is an adventure game. It is the first in the awesome series of
Swordquest games for the 2600.
The Swordquest series was Atari's first multi-part gaming series. The games
were accompanied by a small comic book which, in addition to providing
entertainment, also yielded clues to helping complete that particular game
and the series as a whole.
The Swordquest games are:
Swordquest Earthworld
Swordquest Fireworld
Swordquest Waterworld
Swordquest Airworld
This FAQ only covers Swordquest Earthworld.
I am not going to bother with the copyright stuff. If you are low enough
to try to bank a profit off of this, or you decide to plagiarize it, that's
your wretched morality.
The newest version of this FAQ can be found at the following sites:
GameFAQs (www.gamefaqs.com)
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UPDATES:
v 0.5 8-5-00
-Preliminary edition.
v 0.6 8-17-00
-put action sequence descriptions in Action Sequence section
-updated Walkthrough section
-updated Tips, Tricks, and Tips section
v 1.0 8-22-00
-FINAL UPDATE! I have discovered a web site that has the solutions to
solving the Earthworld puzzle. It has pictures, item descriptions, and
just the whole nine yards you need to solve this game. This FAQ will
no longer be continued or updated unless something major occurs (like
the web site just mentioned goes down or something). The website is
Lafe's Game Solutions and the URL is
http://yosemite-sam.dragonfire.net/Solutions/Solution.htm
v 1.1 1-13-01
-added Notes section
-updated Walkthrough section
-updated Raft subsection of Action Sequences section
v 1.2 1-14-01
-updated Credits section
-updated Notes section
-added some small info to Walkthrough section and Raft and Waterfall
subsection of Action sequences section
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NOTES
1-14-01
This update merely adds another website (and some small info) that contains
the solution to the game. This FAQ will remain at v 1.2 while doing this,
as only the Credits section would be updated. Version 1.3+ will occur only
if there is something to add to the walkthrough.
1-13-01
It was bound to happen. The website that contained the solution to the
Earthworld puzzle has become unaccessible. Therefore I am now finishing the
walkthrough.
There are other websites which also have the solution to the Earthworld game,
but hindsight shows that a shutdown could occur for them as well. As a
result, I have decided to just do the whole walkthrough here. If you have a
website that has the solution to the Earthworld puzzle and wish to be
credited (which I will gladly do), e-mail me with the link to your website
and I will include you in the Credits section.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
STORY
You are Torr and Tarra, children of the great warrior Tarr. Your father was
slain in cold blood by the evil king Tyrannus and his henchman, the wizard
Konjuro. You are on a quest for the Sword of Ultimate Sorcery to exact
revenge upon Tyrannus and Konjuro.
Your quest will take you through four worlds of elemental power. Each world
has different challenges to test your skill and imagination. Conquer each
world and proceed to the next, all with the single goal of obtaining the
Sword of Ultimate Sorcery.
Your quest begins in Earthworld. This world houses 12 rooms, each occupied
by one of the 12 zodiac incarnations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTROLS
Joystick: -Moves character.
-Moves cursor in zodiac rooms.
Button: -Enters/leaves action sequences.
-Takes/leaves object in zodiac rooms.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ROOMS AND ZODIAC ROOMS
There are 12 rooms in this game. Each room has a zodiac symbol in it. You
can see this symbol and objects in the room by pressing the button when you
enter the room.
To avoid confusion, I am labeling the room you initally see as a "room."
When I refer to a zodiac room, I mean the room with a zodiac symbol. Often
you see this room once you press the button in a room.
When you enter a room, it is completely empty, except for your character.
You must press the button to enter the zodiac room (or start the action
sequences in some cases). Rooms are composed of four exits (top, bottom,
left, and right).
Some zodiac rooms house objects. These objects are to be used to assist you
in completing the game.
Inside zodiac rooms are particular objects. The flashing box is the cursor.
Objects are scattered all over the room. The lower leftmost object is a
door. To exit the zodiac room, place the cursor on the door and press the
button. The object next to the door is the zodiac sign for that room. You
can't do anything with the symbol.
To take an object from the zodiac room, place the cursor on the object and
press the button. If you have enough space in your inventory, the object
will appear in the bar at the bottom of the screen. This object is now in
your possession and will go with you from room to room until you leave it.
To leave an object in a zodiac room, place the cursor on the object you wish
to leave and press the button. The object will disappear from your inventory
bar and appear in the room space.
Note: Initally you will only be able to use the top and bottom exits in
rooms. In order to use the left and right exits, you will need a
certain object.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OBJECTS
There are a total of 16 objects in this game (one of them is actually your
goal, thus in reality there are really 15 useable objects). These objects
will accomplish certain things depending on the situation. Leaving objects
in certain rooms will yield clues that will help you complete the game.
Below are the objects:
Key Rope
Cloak of Invisibility Shoes of Stealth
Water Food
Necklace Amulet
Dagger Talisman of Passage
Short Sword Lamp
Leather Armor Ring
Grapping Hook *Warrior's Sword
*This is your goal for Earthworld
See the Tips, Tricks, and Secrets section to see some functions some of these
objects serve.
Note: You begin with the Grappling Hook, Rope, and Dagger.
Note: You can only carry a max of 6 objects. If you want to carry something
else, you will have to leave an object.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACTION SEQUENCES
Certain rooms have special tasks that must be performed before you are
allowed to enter the zodiac room. These tasks are called Action Sequences.
They require skill to surpass. Once you've gone past them, you automatically
enter the zodiac room.
Having certain objects on hand will help you in these action sequences.
The rooms having action sequences are:
Leo
Aquarius
Sagittarius
Taurus
The sequences are described below:
Leo--Waterfall
--------------
Here you must manuever between the spaces of the waterfall (doesn't look like
one though, does it?). Once you make it through one part, a larger line
appears in front of you. This continues for four parts, each time the space
you must get through being smaller. Also of minor note is that once the line
completes its movement, it moves very slightly to the left when it starts
again. If you are hit by the line, you are sent back to the start.
Taurus--Horns of Taurus
-----------------------
Here you must get to the other side without being hit by the horns. If you
are hit, you are sent back to the start. These are invisible at first. You
need the lamp to see them, or the cloak of invisibility or leather armor to
get through them unharmed.
Aquarius--Raft
--------------
The most frustrating of all the sequences. Here you must jump on the rafts
(press up on the joystick). When the red part is directy in front of you,
press up to jump to it. Continue to do this and move up to the exit (the
purple rectangle at the top of the screen). If you jump into space (no raft
is in your path) or reach the end of the screen while on a raft, you will be
sent back to the start. The challenging part about this is that the rafts
change speed and size randomly and constantly. A long fast raft will break
into one, two, or three slow moving rafts or else several rafts (on a line)
will merge into one (thus you are now in "space" and thus are sent back to
the start). You can also jump back down rafts by pressing down on the
joystick when a raft is under you.
Sagittarius--Spears of Sagittarius
----------------------------------
This is just like the Horns of Taurus. See that section for the details of
what to do and how to handle this.
When you enter the rooms and press the button, the action sequence will
start. Press the button while in the action sequence to leave the sequence
(you will then be back in the room).
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CLUES
If you leave the right objects in a zodiac room, when you attempt to exit the
main room, a rainbow colored display will appear with some numbers in the
middle (plus you hear a catchy tune). These numbers are further clues to
help you finish the game. They often refer to the comic book.
A typical clue is 16 5.
(from the manual)
"This could mean look at page 16, panel 5 of the comic."
In the comic, on the pages and panels indicated by the clues, are words which
are very will hidden (usually in the background, scribbled in somewhere).
I assume the words would be a clue as to what objects to leave for the next
clue.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
WALKTHROUGH
This walkthrough is designed to help you through the complex maze called
Earthworld. I'm listing the rooms by zodiac symbol. The rooms have a
peculiar wrap-around feature. See the grid below to see how the rooms wrap.
Rows wrap only to themselves. For example, Virgo, Capricorn, and Taurus wrap
only to those three rooms. Take the right exit of Taurus and you are back in
Virgo. Left exit in Virgo puts you in Taurus.
The long left column shows the vertical wrapping of the rooms. Initially
this is what you will have to deal with. You must get a certain object to
enable horizontal travel (see below)
I am also listing the objects that are initally in each room. If a room
doesn't have any objects, "none" will be written in the space.
*You start in the Virgo room.
^
|
|
Gemini---Libra------Aquarius
| | |
| | |
Cancer--Scorpio------Pisces
| | |
| | |
Leo----Sagittarius---Aires
| | |
| | |
*Virgo--Capricorn-----Taurus
|
|
Libra
|
|
Scorpio
|
|
Sagittarius
|
|
Capricorn
|
|
Aquarius
|
|
Pisces
|
|
Aires
|
|
Taurus
|
|
Gemini
Virgo Leo Cancer Gemini Taurus
----- ---- ------ ------ ------
necklace food ring lamp shoes of stealth
short sword key
Aries Aquarius Capricorn Sagittarius Scorpio
----- -------- --------- ----------- -------
none talisman leather armor cloak of invis amulet
water
Libra Pisces
----- ------
none none
Horizontal Travel:
-----------------
To enable the use of the left and right exits in rooms, you must be holding
either the Key or the Talisman of Passage.
In order for the clues to appear, you have to leave the right objects in a
zodiac room, then return to the room and exit. Once all the right objects
are left, the clue will appear upon exiting the room.
I am showing everything in a chart. The Clue column shows the number of the
clue. The Object column shows what object(s) need to be left in a zodiac
room. The Room column shows what room an object needs to be left in. So for
clue #1, leave the dagger in the Gemini zodiac room.
There are 10 clues (clue 0 shown below doesn't count). In order for a clue
to appear, you must leave the correct object(s) in ALL zodiac rooms RELATING
TO THE CLUE. For example, to get clue #2 to appear, you must leave the hook
in Cancer AND the rope in Leo. Let's say you leave the hook in Cancer first.
Then you go to Leo and leave the rope. When you exit the Leo room (the
actual room, NOT the zodiac room), the clue will appear.
The clues do refer to page numbers and panels. There is usually a word that
is hidden somewhere in the panel. I have left the words out as they don't
lend any help to the actual solution thanks to this walkthrough.
IMPORTANT NOTE: To get your first clue (clue 0), go through ALL the rooms
without leaving any objects. When you loop through them
all, the clue will appear (it should be between Taurus and
Gemini, although I hear you just need to go to Aries).
Clue Object Room
=================================
***Be sure you read the IMPORTANT NOTE above before starting!!!***
0 none none (go through all rooms)
1 dagger Gemini
2 hook Cancer
rope Leo
3 ring Aquarius
key Scorpio
necklace Gemini
4 short sword Virgo
hook Libra
food Scorpio
5 dagger Taurus
shoes Aries
water Aries
6 amulet Gemini
armor Aquarius
food Taurus
water Pisces
7 cloak Capricorn
lamp Libra
ring Virgo
sword Leo
talisman Cancer
8 armor Aquarius
lamp Cancer
necklace Libra
rope Virgo
shoes Virgo
talisman Sagittarius
9 amulet Scorpio
hook Scorpio
cloak Aquarius
key Aries
food Virgo
ring Taurus
sword Gemini
10 amulet Cancer
lamp Cancer
dagger Taurus
key Taurus
food Scorpio
rope Scorpio
necklace Gemini
water Gemini
cloak Aries
shoes Aquarius
armor Libra
ring Libra
hook Libra
sword Capricorn
talisman Sagittarius
Once you gain the last clue, hit the button (or exit the room, I forgot)
and you will see something similar to the title screen. Hit the button and
you will end up in a room with the Warrior Sword (your goal). Get it and
you win!
The game apparently starts over after this, so just shut it off and bask in
your victory.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
TIPS, TRICKS, AND SECRETS
Object functions:
-----------------
this section is being done as I find what particular objects do.
Lamp--allows you to see the Horns of Taurus and Spears of Sagittarius.
Leather Armor--protects you from the Horns of Taurus and Spears of
Sagittarius. You can travel through the room without worry of
being hit.
Cloak of Invisibility--same function as the Leather Armor.
Amulet--causes you to go to a random room when you exit a room. The grid
showing the room order is nullified when you have this object.
Shoes of Stealth--I don't know the exact function these serve, but you will
notice that when you have them, you don't make any sound
while traveling.
Key--enables horizontal travel. You can now use the left and right exits of
rooms.
Talisman of Passage--same function as the Key plus it allows you to enter the
Leo and Sagittarius zodiac rooms without having to go
through the action sequences.
Necklace--nullifes effect of Amulet
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CREDITS
God--for the strength, life, and intellect to do this FAQ
Lafe's Game Solutions
(http://yosemite-sam.dragonfire.net/Solutions/Solution.htm)
--awesome website that has solutions to quite a few old-time games.
Beautiful HTML pics of the Swordquest games to help you through them.
2600 Connection
(http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/9260/index.html)
--another site containing the solution to the Earthworld game as well as
having the function of the Necklace.
Unknown--the mysterious person who actually did the solution
I hope you have enjoyed this FAQ. If there are any corrections, additions,
etc. that you see that need to be put here, please e-mail me and let me know.
Thanks for reading.
dhousto6@bellsouth.net
Dimetric Houston
The End
AtariAge - Swordquest: Earthworld strategy