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Krull - Atari - Atari 2600    Manual Scan icon HTML Manual   

Krull
                                    KRULL
                 
                       From The Major Motion Picture!

                Video Games Cartridge for the Atari 2600 VCS

NOTE: Always turn the console POWER switch OFF when inserting or removing an
      ATARI Game Program cartridge. This will protect the electronic
      components and prolong the life of your ATARI 2600 Video Computer
      System game.


>> A Prophecy Fulfilled

...And the Beast sailed his Black Fortress through the darkness of space,
past a thousand planets, until he landed on the planet of Krull. And from the
depths of the Fortress came an army of inhuman soldiers - called Slayers -
who ravaged the planet in the name of their hideous master. And Krull was
plunged into darkness.

But the Prophecy foretold the arrival of the Beast, and predicted one slim
ray of hope for the people of Krull: "...Then shall a girl of ancient name
become queen, and the king she chooses shall rule the planet. And their son
shall rule the galaxy."

The future queen of whom the Prophecy spoke is Princess Lyssa, and the young
king she choose is Prince Colwyn. Together they can destroy the Beast and
save Krull.

But will they be able to make an alliance and save the planet?

A hasty marriage ceremony was arranged for Lyssa and Colwyn. The Beast was
alerted by his spies, however, and the ceremony interrupted at the last
minute by Slayers, who stormed the castle walls and carried Lyssa off to the
Black Fortress. The future of Krull lies in Colwyn's ability to find his
bride, and in their ability together to conquer the Beast. The road to the
Black Fortress is a dangerous one - the Slayers, the Beast, and a deadly
Crystal Spider all lie in wait.

You are Colwyn's only guide through the journey ahead; you'll need both
strength and wisdom to destroy the Beast. But remember - the Prophecy is on
your side. Good luck and safe journey!


>> Game Summary

(Note: Be sure to read both the GAME SUMMARY and the GAME PLAY sections
before you begin the game.)

Your mission is to find and enter the Beast's Black Fortress, rescue Princess
Lyssa, and destroy the Beast. The task is not an easy one, for the location
of the Black Fortress changes with each sunrise on Krull.

To discover the location of the Black Fortress, you must travel to the lair
of the Widow of the Web. Inside the cavern is a gigantic web, a poisonous
Crystal Spider that guards the web, and the Widow's Cocoon. When you stand on
the cocoon, a blinking light points to one of eight pathways leading to the
Black Fortress. If you go down the correct pathway before the next sunrise,
you'll find the Black Fortress and the Beast.

If you cannot find the Fortress before sunrise, however, you must return to
the cocoon to find the new location of the Fortress.

Inside the Black Fortress you must rescue Lyssa as you dodge fireballs thrown
by the Beast. Once Lyssa is free, she will give you the power to destroy the
Beast.

You begin the game with three lives. Extra lives and special weapons called
Glaives can be picked up when you travel across the Iron Desert during the
course of the game.

Sunrise and Sunset: At the top of you screen is a strip showing the passage
of the sun, The color of the strip shows the time of day: red indicates
sunrise and sunset, blue indicates daytime, and black indicates nighttime.

>> Game Play

You begin the game with the marriage of Colwyn and Lyssa, travel through the
Iron Desert to the Widow's Cavern, and end of the game in the Black Fortress.

Colwyn's Marriage to Lyssa: Slayers interrupt the marriage of Colwyn and
Lyssa by storming over the castle walls. To protect Lyssa, you must use your
sword to eliminate Slayers. The faster the Slayers march, the mire points
you'll earn by stabbing them. But watch out for their neon spears - one touch
means death!

Eventually the Slayers will capture Lyssa and take her to the Black Fortress.

              [picture of castle-marriage game screen omitted]

The Iron Desert - Riding the Fire Mares: in the Iron Desert you must pick up
Glaives to fight the Beast, as well as extra lives. You'll cross the Iron
Desert on the back of a Fire Mare. To pick up Glaives and extra lives, press
your red controller button as the object passes beneath your lead Mare. When
your lead Mare is directly over the object to be picked up, the object will
flash momentarily.

Extra lives and Glaives that are picked up will appear in a strip at the
bottom of your screen (see diagram).

                [picture of Iron Desert game screen omitted]

Widow of the Web: Jump over strands of the Widow's web to reach the cocoon,
located at the top of your screen. You'll score points for jumping over
strands of the web, and for the first time you reach the cocoon. The strands
of the web are sticky; you can't jump if you are touching one of the strands.
Most of all, watch out for the Crystal Spider - its bite is deadly.

You have a limited amount of time to reach the cocoon; the hourglass at the
top right of the screen counts down the time. If it runs out before you reach
the cocoon, the spider will rush toward you and will take one of your lives.

When you reach the cocoon a flashing white light indicates the correct
passageway to the Black Fortress. This passageway leads to the Black Fortress
- but only until the next sunrise. You must reach the Black Fortress before
the sun rises, or you will have to return to the web to find its new
location. (Note: The blinking indicator light will disappear when you move
off the cocoon.)

If you travel down a pathway and the Black Fortress doesn't appear, your Fire
Mares will automatically turn around and take you back to the Widow of the
Web. Each time this happens, however, you'll lose an extra life, or if no
lives remain, you'll lose a Glaive.

              [picture of Widow of the Web game screen omitted]

The Black Fortress: Lyssa is locked away in a prison behind the pacing Beast.
Throw your Glaive to break away chucks of the prison. To activate the Glaive,
press the fire button; to throw the Glaive, simply release the button. Make
sure to catch the Glaive when it rebounds from Lyssa's prison. You can steer
the Glaive with your joystick during its flight towards the prison, but the
Glaive will rebound straight down after it hits the prison wall.

You can lose Glaives two ways; when your Glaive hits the Beast, or when you
fail to catch a Glaive after it rebounds from the prison wall. If you have no
Glaives left, you can leave the Black Fortress through exits at the lower
right and left of your screen. You may not leave the Black Fortress while you
have any Glaives remaining.

When you've broken a hole into Lyssa's prison that is large enough to admit a
Glaive into the prison. Lyssa will travel down to Colwyn, giving him a
fireball with which to kill the Beast. Throw the fireball directly at the
Beast and he will be destroyed.

After the Beast has been killed, the game starts over at a more difficult
level of game play. You can continue playing until all extra lives have been
lost.

         [picture of inside the Black Fortress game screen omitted]


>> Scoring

                           Feat                    Points
                ---------------------------     ------------
                Stabbing Slayers                       10-90
                Reaching the Widow's Cocoon              500
                Jumping Web Strands                    40-60
                Destroying the Beast                    3000
                Breaking into Lyssa's Prison    70 per chunk


>> Using The Controller

Plug one Joystick Controller firmly into the LEFT controller jack at the back
of your console. Hold the controller with the red button to your upper left,
toward the television screen.

Use your joystick to move Colwyn around the screen - he moves up, down,
right, left and diagonally in the direction you move the joystick. Use the
red fire button to stab Slayers, to pick up extra lives and Glaives, to jump
over strands of web, and to throw Glaives and fireballs inside the Black
Fortress.


>> Console Controls

GAME SELECT/GAME VARIATIONS: Press GAME SELECT to chose the game variation
you want:

                    Game Variation          Level
                    --------------          -------------
                    Game 1                  Regular
                    Game 2                  Beginner
                    Game 3                  Intermediate
                    Game 4                  Advanced

Game play becomes progressively more difficult as you move from the Beginner
level to the Regular, Intermediate, and Advanced levels. The spider web
becomes more difficult to climb, the sun rises and sets at a faster pace,
you have less time to reach the Widow's Cocoon before the Crystal Spider
descends upon you, and the Beast's attacks are more frequent.

GAME RESET: Press GAME RESET or the red button on your controller to start
the game.

DIFFICULTY SWITCHES/TV TYPE SWITCH: The DIFFICULTY switches and TV TYPE
switch have no function in this game.


>> Helpful Hints

o   Start playing on Game level 2 - the Beginner version - to become familiar
    with game play. Then move on to harder levels.

o   Make sure you have at least one Glaive before entering the Black
    Fortress, since you'll need a weapon to rescue Princess Lyssa and fight
    the Beast.

o   If you think you may not have enough time to reach the Black Fortress
    before sunrise, simply wait on the Widow's Cocoon until the next sunrise.
    Then go down the new path to the Black Fortress.

o   Try to reach the Widow's Cocoon from the upper left side of the web.
    Maneuver yourself to the web center - the movement of the web will pull you
    up to the cocoon.

                           C019741-82 REV. A 2682


This document obtained from the History of Home Video Games Homepage, �1997-1998 by Greg Chance