Dungeon II: Solstice - Atari 2600

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The Story So Far

Winter Solstice. The shortest day of the year. The symbolic death and rebirth of nature. This year however, something sinister has occurred.

The Crow, a mysterious race of half-man, half-bird necromancers has stolen the sacred bough of mistletoe from the ancient stone triangle. It is the mystic key to keeping nature in balance. Without it there will be no new dawn and the world will remain in darkness, thus amplifying the power of the Crow.

Dungeon II: Solstice

How To Play

Your goal is to penetrate the Tower of the Crow, retrieve the sacred mistletoe and return it to the Grove of Megaliths. This is a turn-based game. Each move requires you to return the joystick to the home (unmoved) position before you can make a new move.

The top portion of the screen displays your current surroundings. The layout of the world is the same every game, but the locations of certain things within the world will be randomly set each time.

The center area of the screen displays your current inventory or text options when you encounter a monster. You may move the joystick left/right to cycle through the options. Again, you must return the joystick to home each time. Press the fire button to select an option.

The lower portion of the screen displays your Hit Points (HP) and Spell Points (SP). Hit Points are your health. If it goes to 0, you die and the game is over. Spell points are required for spell casting.

Dungeon II Screenshot Dungeon II Screenshot Dungeon II Screenshot Dungeon II Screenshot

About

Dungeon II: Solstice is the sequel to Dungeon, the popular dungeon crawl game by David Weavil released in 2009. Dungeon II: Solstice features packaging designed by Dave Dries, who also created the artwork for the original Dungeon. Dave's artwork is featured on the label, manual, box, and the included 10" x 14" poster.

Features

  • Three Character Classes: Play as a Wizard, Faerie, or Warrior
  • Various enemies will try to thwart your quest!
  • Collect mystical objects to aid you on your jouney
  • Will you fight, cast magic, or run when encountering a foe?
  • Several healing methods for when you find yourself wounded!

Dungeon II: Solstice Poster

Dave Dries' breathtaking artwork for Dungeon II: Solstice is featured on a 10" x 14" poster and including free with the game!

Dungeon II: Solstice Poster

 

Additional Information

Dungeon II: Solstice includes game cartridge, beautifully illustrated 8-page manual, and a 10" x 14" poster featuring Dave Dries' Dungeon II: Solstice artwork! Available in NTSC and PAL60 television formats--please select above. If you do not select an option, you will receive an NTSC cartridge by default.

Get a Dungeon II: Solstice Box!

Dungeon II: Solstice BoxDungeon II: Solstice Box

If you'd like a boxed copy of Dungeon II: Solstice, please select "Box Upgrade: Yes" at the top of the page before adding Dungeon II: Solstice to your cart. Our boxes are professionally printed and include a box insert to hold your Dungeon II: Solstice cartridge in place. We want you to play our games, so we have not sealed or shrinkwrapped the boxes in any way, allowing you easy access to the game cartridge and manual.

These boxes are the same size as boxes Atari produced for their games "back in the day". They look great sitting on a shelf with your other boxed homebrew games, or alongside games from the classic Atari 2600 library. We only have a limited number of boxes for each game, and there is no guarantee they will become available again once our supplies are exhausted. Click on the images to the right to see larger photos of the box.

Number of Players 1
Controller Joystick
Cartridge Size 4K
Code and Design David Weavil
Packaging Design Dave Dries

John Enfield on 09/07/2023 05:35pm
I got this game a few weeks ago and love it! Great to have more turn-based games for the Atari VCS. Turn-based RPGs are my favorite genre, so this is fantastic! I love that it came on cartridge in a box with a poster and manual - all full color. Very impressive. I'm enjoying playing it while trying to map out the forest and dungeons on graph paper. Felt like it was 1982 all over again. :) It's a great game that even impressed my wife who doesn't play 8 bit games as much as I do.
Bryan M Knotts on 09/21/2021 09:35am
This is an excellent follow up to the original Dungeon! Same great turn based RPG combat system, and the ability to select between three avatar characters with different is a nice new feature. Mr. Weavil continues to impress. My more thorough review can be found here: https://youtu.be/5r5UDQDgNBU
Mr.Beefy on 07/11/2021 09:59pm
I loved the first Dungeon, so when Dungeon 2 was being developed I knew I would eventually get it.

So do I love it as much as the first? No, but that isn't a bad thing. The first one blew me away and this one is more of the same goodness.

I feel like this one is a harder game to win, but also a much shorter playthrough than its predecessor. Dungeon 2 removes the leveling up of your character, but adds the ability to play as three different characters. The first game I really needed a map to help me beat it. This one is much easier to pick up on the layout. While items do spawn in random places I felt like I always knew where I was after a few plays.

So should you get Dungeon 2? If you liked Dungeon 1 it is an easy yes. If you like turn based RPGs then I think Dungeon 2 will be enjoyable for you.

If you didn't have either Dungeon but wanted to try one which should you try?

If you want a slightly quicker (albeit more difficult) play then Dungeon 2.
If you want to have a game that feels slightly more in depth I would say Dungeon 1.

You really can't go wrong with either and I hope to see a Dungeon 3!
Mark Stahl on 09/19/2020 02:53pm
The strategy and replayability of this game is truly impressive. Yes, it is a very short game, and you will be able to win with all three characters with a handful of tries, but will you be able to win 5 times in a row without dying? Certain random elements make for exciting repetitions. Not knowing where every item is located and which passages will be blocked off and which ones won't be requires strategic decisions. Will you recharge now or press on a little further? Is it worth searching for the owl, or would you do better to simply go for the goal? Should you use your last 2 MP to heal, or would it be better to save them for an emergency fireball? Dungeon II: Solstice strikes an amazing balance between maximizing your resources while minimizing your risk. It really gives you that tense "turn around before it's too late" feeling, which is one of my favorite hallmarks of a great RPG. Each character plays differently, and you will find yourself developing different strategies for each. The wizard is definitely the most difficult character to win with (I died three times in a row just now), but also perhaps the most fun and challenging. The knight is a total tank, and is the most straightforward character to play, although it technically has the least resources. The fairy packs a large punch, although it can be killed rather abruptly if you're not careful. I very highly recommend this clever, challenging RPG for the 2600; truly brilliant game design!
HippoBytes on 05/11/2020 12:06pm
This is an Atari 2600? What a feat to develop such a well done RPG. If this game was out in 1982, it would have been my absolute favorite. Well done! Intuitive gameplay makes exploring, fighting and casting spells simple and FUN to play. You can even chose between 3 different characters! Great improvement on the already impressive initial Dungeon. Highly recommend for your homebrew collection. Full review video: https://youtu.be/yyyazSLOMO0
FroggoGamer on 01/28/2019 07:43pm
I own the original Dungeon so I'd like to make a few comparisons (I'll just say D1 and D2 for the sake of brevity).

Because the programmer wanted to stay within the 4k limit of early era Atari 2600 carts, D2 is obviously shorter than D1.

D2 is also harder than the original. I actually died a over half dozen times before I finally won one game.

D2 offers three characters rather than one-- A Knight, a Wizard, and a Faerie. Each starts with different parameters. You don't level up but you can return to the place you start and heal yourself once. (I beat the game with the Knight, in case anyone is curious.)

D2's map changes, like the location of the cave entrance, the key & Mistletoe location, and the maps within the cave and dungeons.

It was an amazing feat to capture the essence and gameplay of the original Dungeon game and shove it into a mere 4k cart.

Because all great series tend to at least be trilogies, there needs to be a Dungeon 3. I am loving this series so far and now I want more!
tomtomvicky on 01/01/2019 12:57pm
Game review: Dungeon II Solstice:

It is dark outside, wild winds are blowin'...This is to be known as....Solstice, the shortest day of the year. But this time, an evil crow has stolen the important sacred Mistletoe, and without this, there won't be a next sunrise, actually there won't be a sunrise never ever again and the crow will become even stronger.
Unless....
Thus starts the new RPG game from ace programmer David Weavil, Dungeon II Solstice.

First, a quick overview about the game itself and its packing. Dungeon II Solstice comes supplied with a professional printed box,an 8-page colour printed manual and a 4-fold poster, everything is of high quality as to be expected from Atariage,
And...reading the manual before game play is essential.

So, grab a friend (because mapping is a 'must'), bang the poster on the wall, insert the cart to boot the game and choose a hero at the beginning of your journey. You can choose from 3 different character classes, those are: Wizard, Faerie or Warrior, all three equipped with different attitudes regarding Hit Points and Spell Points, so choose wisely, because a Warrior can't have any Spell Points, for example.

The aim of the game is to travel along this quest, fight enemies, and infiltrate the Crows Tower where you must find the lost Mistletoe and therefore restoring the balance of nature.
During your journey you also have to find the 'Key of Mist', with which you can enter the Tower of the Crow to retrieve the Mistletoe for returning home to the Grove of Megaliths. Phew a big task lay ahead for sure.

Of course, along your journey you will encounter enemies, so make sure you fill up your Hit Points/Spell Points and, depending of character class, you have options like 'Fight', 'Cast' (a spell), 'Owl' (make sure you find the owl along your travels, he's a very competent fighter), or 'Run' (as in 'run away'). The manual gives you detailed information about Hit Points/Spell Points and how to use these options.

Enemies are: Wolf, Goblin, Dark Faerie and the worst of all horrors, the Crow. I won't go into detail here about their abilities and types of attack; the manual gives you excellent information about this.
Yes...you gotta read the manual.

There's also a 'Healing' option if you are low on Hit Points/Spell Points. Return to your Grove of Megaliths, and there the Gods of Old will restore both to maximum. Another option is that you can also use a 'healing spell' if your character is able to do so.
Inside the manual there's also a 'How to play' page, very good information about screen layout, joystick movement, and VCS 'Game Select Switch' usage.

Overall, as an RPG enthusiast I will say this; even better than the first 'Dungeon'. Played D2 quite a bit over the Christmas period, very enjoyable, excellent plot and execution of playability is top notch.
Now, where's that damn manual?

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