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%THE LEGEND OF PRINCE VALIANT%
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Walkthrough
written and maintained by Adam Lamontagne
A Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) game by Ocean 1992.
1992 King Features-All Rights Reserved
Version 1.0 completed 3/1/99
Copyright (c) 1999 by Adam Lamontagne (doleman@ime.net)
What's included?
Story
-What your goal is in the game
Intro
-Brief history of my video game playing
-Playing this game on an emulator
-Save game feature
Walkthrough
-Level 1
-The Marsh
-Level 2
-The Forest
-Level 3
-The Viking
-Level 4
-Sea Battle
-Level 5
-Camelot
Finale
-Mission Accomplished
-End of game notes
-Disclaimer
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%Story%
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"The Legend Begins......"
"The saga of Prince Valiant and his quest for Camelot."
"Of brave Knights and shadowy practitioners of evil."
You must guide Prince Valiant through marshes, dungeons, caves and castles in
order to make it to King Arthur's Court at Camelot. Along the way you will
battle enemies from men to mythical beasts and have to struggle through traps
and other hinderances in order to make it to Camelot.
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%INTRO%
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I'd never heard of this game until some time in early '98. I'd been an NES
fanatic for over 10 years, finishing every NES game I could get my hands on and
compiling NES game lists on the internet since '95. I knew of every NES game
out there, and even ones that weren't.
Getting my first NES/Famicom adapter, I was able to play games that were only
released in Japan that never made it to the states, like Cosmic Epsilon, Konami
World and Gradius 2.
Then came the emulators. In a blinding flash I had access to over a thousand
games, hundreds of which I'd never even heard of. After playing tons of these I
finally stumbled across one that only vaguely sounded familiar, The Legend of
Prince Valiant. I'd heard about it from a guy on the NES mailing list and
figured I'd give it a try. Being a fan of the whole King Arthur period, I was
instantly a fan of the game.
The Legend of Prince Valiant is an NES UK-only release...I'm pretty sure it
never came out in Japan. It is by Ocean, who made some pretty lousy 8-bit movie
adaptations, but they seemed to hit it just right with this game. The
difficulty level of the game seems rather higher than normal, but it's one of
those games where a pattern can be memorized, so a serious gamer can
systematically beat this game if they give it a certain amount of time and
effort.
It is a side scrolling game, but changes to a first person view for a couple of
levels. One of these levels is like Operation Wolf, where you gun down bandits
and thieves with your bow and arrow a la Robin Hood. Another first person level
has you controlling a ship's cannons and firing them at other ships crossing
your field of view. These levels, while not necessary, give the game another
dimension and add to its quest-like flavor.
Chances are you will have a hard time finding a copy of this game, even on eBay,
unless you live in the UK, and even then it's probably a good find. Download
the ROM (destroying it within 24 hours, of course :)) and make full use of the
save game feature to explore the game in full. This game definitely deserved
some time in the lime light. If anybody knows of a website with a review or
screen shots for this game, point me in that direction.
Enjoy my walkthrough!
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%Walkthrough%
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The following will lead you through each level of the game. Some levels only
need a little explanation and guidance, while a couple of them are like
labyrinths.
Since I didn't have a manual for the game, the exact story at times seemed a bit
vague, so I'll paraphrase the intros from each level of the game at the
beginning of each level in the walkthrough.
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Level 1
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The Marsh
"Valiant encounters a marsh, which he knows he must cross if he is to realize
his dream of finding Camelot."
"But the path across seems broken and in places uncrossable."
"Valiant must cross the marsh any way he can using safe areas."
"This marsh is inhabited by a large monster which he must encounter and destroy
in order to continue on his Quest for Camelot."
The first level is pretty straight forward. Start by shooting the first 2
vagrants that come at you and move right. You will see gray lines in your path
which are trap doors, so leap over these. Enemies come at you throughout this
level, so be sure to shoot the moment you land and also watch your back.
This game requires lots of jumping skills, so you might want to familiarize
yourself with the controls a bit at the beginning before delving into the game.
When encountering a standing archer, duck and wait for the arrow to fly by, then
shoot. You can't shoot from a crouching position. Jump over a kneeling
archer's arrows.
After defeating certain enemies, several things items may appear. Tokens appear
most frequently. Every 20 Tokens you collect will reward you with an extra
life. Collecting an "E" will give you more energy, while a "T" will add a
minute to your timer. Both of these are valued commodities, so scrounge up all
the "E" and "T" icons you can find.
At the broken grey bridge, the stone in the water rises and falls, so time your
jump onto it and quickly off of it before you fall in the deadly marsh water.
Another broken bridge along the way can only be crossed by swinging on a vine.
You'll be vine swinging throughout the game, so get used to it, releasing
yourself at the height of your swing to get more distance.
To avoid archers shooting at you from the woods, try to get under them a little
to the right or left (not directly under) and when they fire straight down, make
a break for it before they shoot again.
Note that some enemies that run at you can be jumped over, but try to only do it
when you know you won't be able to kill them with one shot and you are in a
pinch. Don't try to rush through the level or you will be systematically
slaughtered by the Marsh's inhabitants.
SERPENT MINI-BOSS
At the end of the second section of the Marsh, you'll encounter a Serpent mini-
boss. Stand on the left side of the screen and fire at it when it rises from
the water, while leaping over the fireballs it spews at you. Sometimes it fires
3 or 4 fireballs in a row, so be alert. It won't take much to finish him off,
so plug away.
The third marsh section is tricky. Just time your jumps and avoid enemies and
their arrows. Learn your enemy's patterns!
You'll encounter a couple large Bats in the middle of this section. They try to
knock you off the rock platforms. When you hit one it knocks them back a bit,
so try to finish them off quick (about 7-8 shots) while avoiding them if they
come too close.
WINGED DEMON
At the end of this section you will encounter Level 1's boss, some kind of
Winged Red Demon who flutters around spitting fireballs at you. Just blast him
while ducking or jumping over his shots. He takes quite a bit of damage but
will eventually go down.
The CROSSBOW will be your reward for defeating him. On to Level 2!
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Level 2
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The Forest
"After a short rest, Valiant must continue onto the next stage of his journey."
"This involves crossing through a large forest armed with a crossbow he took
from a robber who attacked him in the marsh."
"The forest is inhabited by a host of evil cut-throats, all with a common aim."
"To rob Valiant."
"Progress through the forest will be most successful in short bursts; crossing
open areas then taking cover behind a tree."
"Valiant must emerge safely from the forest to go onto the next stage."
This is the Operation Wolf style first-person stage I mentioned. Robbers will
be hiding behind trees and will step out to take a shot at you. Be quick aiming
the cross hairs then blast 'em.
If you miss an enemy and he pops back behind the tree, he usually pops back out
at the same place. The screen will stop scrolling if there are too many enemies
on the screen that you haven't killed.
It's a pretty straight forward level, where you shoot anything that moves and
hope you have enough energy to make it through. You won't make it through on
the first try (unless using the save game feature on an emulator), so try and
memorize where enemies are going to pop out from.
Shoot the "E" and "T" icons when they appear to get the extra energy and time.
Good luck!
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Level 3
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The Viking
"Valiant has discovered the skeleton of a man who, judging by his dress, must
have been a Viking."
"On closer inspection Valiant sees an arrow lodged in the man's armour which,
being inquisitive, Valiant tries to draw free."
"On doing so the ground beneath his feet opens up and he plunges into a cave
deep below."
"Valiant soon discovers someone, in fact many people, have been there before
him, as a maze of wooden bridges and platforms have been built, extending far
out of sight."
"It soon becomes apparent that the platforms are in fact an intricate maze with
some deadly built-in booby-traps to hinder his movements rather than aid them."
"Valiant is a natural athlete and his talents will be needed if he is to escape
with his life."
This level starts you out on a screen with a door in the middle, a skeleton to
the left of the door and the Viking Ring to the right of the door. The Viking
Ring is your goal, so why not just run over and get it to move on? Here's why:
You'll automatically inspect the skeleton, which triggers a trap that plunges
you into a cave below. You spend the rest of this level trying to get back up
to this area to get the Viking Ring.
This is the most confusing level of the game, but I will ease the pain and lead
you through the cave so you don't have to waste valuable time wandering around
aimlessly. I suggest reading ahead before going anywhere, as you can get lost
or killed very easily.
When you land underground, jump onto the vine to the left and position yourself
on the middle step. Crouch down and shoot the moving disk to the right, which
opens the gate. Quickly swing back over and run past the gate before it shuts.
Work your way to the right until you get to a swinging blade. By ducking under
it, it will swing over you harmlessly. Inch your way past it by ducking and
moving until you are at the edge of the platform. Before jumping to the next
platform, be sure to avoid the saw blade in the floors, which will kill you
instantly.
Now run past the first 2 doors you see and head up the ladder to enter the 3rd
door.
>From here, drop down to the bottom of the screen and head to the right. Enter
the door at the top of the ramp.
You're now in the Dagger Room. Avoid falling rocks and the ghost at the last
moment before jumping over to get the Dagger (the ghost reappears very quickly
after you "kill" it). Press "down" to obtain the Dagger and get out of the room
by exiting the door you came in.
Head back left and ride the platform then take the vine to get between the 2
doors. Enter the top door by pushing "up."
Upon entering this room, duck immediately and remain crouched (arrows will pass
overhead) until the vine swings toward you for the 3rd time. Quickly grab it,
swing across and run to enter the door.
>From the door, go left and climb the 2nd ladder and stand on the platform
facing right. Now shoot the moving disk to open a gate farther along the way.
Don't hit the beehive or you're screwed as bees keep pouring out of it and
attacking. Fire once right when the disk is at its lowest point. Once you hit
the disk, run to the left and past the raised gate before it comes crashing
down.
Continue left. You'll come upon a lift. You can take the upper path to a "T"
symbol, but be careful of the saw in the floor. The upper path is a dead end,
so unless you need more time, take the lower path. Go all the way to the left
and enter the door.
Things get tricky on this screen. You don't want to disturb the beehive, so
instead of jumping over to the next platform, run across. Your momentum will
carry you safely over. If you need the "E" for energy, lightly tap the jump
button. You DO NOT want bees chasing you here.
Notice the springboard on the floor. It took me awhile to figure it out, but
here's what you do to get up to the platform in the air. Stand on the
springboard and jump straight up. A second before landing back on the
springboard, jump again. You'll go a little higher this time. Continue this a
few times until you are high enough to reach the platform. It may take awhile,
but you have to master this to move on.
Now climb the ladder to get to...
THE BEAR!!
The best way to defeat the Bear is to stand in the middle of the screen and hack
away with the knife. Hit & run tactics don't work well, as he will damage you
no matter what, so just keep slashing away until his life meter runs out. He'll
run away (no bear meat for you...I hear it's greasy anyway) and you'll be back
on the ladder you just climbed.
Head back to the left and out the door by the beehive. From here, go right past
the lift and over the gate and enter the door on the platform to the right of
the gate.
>From here, run left down the ramp. Blocks will fall from the ceiling and
barrels will pursue you down the ramp. Avoid these and enter the door you come
to.
Go left past the swinging barrel (duck & move, duck & move) and climb the ladder
to enter the door.
On this screen you want to swing on the vine across the chasm to your left. Be
careful of the catapult flinging rocks at you. Jump over the snake after
jumping off the vine and enter the door.
This small room is dangerous. Move across to the other door while avoiding the
swinging barrel, falling barrels and arrows (duck to avoid the arrows). Enter
the door quickly.
Another springboard :) Use it to proceed right. Collect 2 Tokens and a "T"
then climb the ladder.
Fresh air!! Jump on the boat. Carefully ride the boat across to the dock. If
you stand on the far left side of the boat the rocks SHOULDN'T hurt you (they
didn't the 2 times I crossed, but they might fall randomly, so be prepared to
dodge'em).
You'll come across two 1-Ton weights hanging from above. You need to get these
moving to activate the vine swing to your right. Stand under the right one and
head-butt it a few times to get it moving. Head-butt the left one when it comes
down, then back to the right one. Now keep head-butting the right one to get
the weight moving really fast until you hear a noise. Now run to the right and
swing across on the vine. Climb down the ladder.
You're back in the room with the springboard. Go through that door. Now you're
back in the swinging barrel room. Go out the left door.
Shoot the snake off the ledge, then vine swing over to the door and enter it.
Head right past the swinging barrel (remember, the barrel will kill you with one
hit, so be careful). Don't crouch on the ground directly under the barrel for
too long or you'll fall through. Climb the ladder and go through the door.
Remember this difficult area? Head right while jumping over the barrels and
avoiding falling blocks. Go past the first door you get to and enter the second
one, but be careful of the spider above the door. Get close to the door to make
it come down, then when it's moving back up, enter the door.
In this small room, shoot the moving disk on your left to raise the gate, then
enter the door.
You're now back at the beginning of the level right past where you fell through
the hole. Enter the next door on the right (the one at the bottom of the
ladder).
Run down the ramp, jumping over the barrels that are rolling after you and enter
the door. Upon coming out of the door, quickly jump onto the ladder to avoid
the saw blade in the floor. Only climb half way up the ladder until an arrow
comes out from the right of the screen, then proceed left. Swing across with
the vine, then ride the lift up to the door and enter.
Come out the door and head left to the moving disk. Crouching on the middle
platform, shoot the disk and quickly run to the right past the raised gate.
Swing across 5 vines (jumping from vine to vine at their highest point) and land
on the platform with the door. Quickly avoid the falling block above the
platform and enter the door.
>From here, work your way to the right past vines, collapsing bridges and a
swinging sickle. Be ready to move quickly once you enter the door, as a block
crashes down on you immediately.
Head to the left and shoot the treasure chest to collect a bunch of Tokens.
Head up the ladder to find...
THE VIKING!
I basically used the same blunt strategy I used against the Bear. Repeatedly
slash at the Viking. He gets in more damage than the Bear did and may even kill
you first if you begin the battle low on energy, but you can wear him down
quicker if you are both at even strength.
After disposing of him you'll appear back near the ladder. Head to the right
past the door where you came in (watch for the falling rock again). This is one
of the hardest areas of the game, as arrows fly at you and barrels roll at you.
The ceiling is low here and you can only jump over barrels if you are under the
openings in the ceiling. Proceed cautiously to the door.
In the next room, quickly enter the door before the beehive empties out.
If these last few rooms weren't hard enough, you have a reappearing ghost,
flying daggers and vine swinging to deal with in this next one. Go right past
all of this and enter the door.
Collect the "T" and "E" in the next room and enter the next door.
Carefully avoid all the saw blades in this room and exit.
Avoid the snake and ghost in the next room and swing up to the door.
Now quickly run to the left past all the bees and enter the door at the end.
Upon coming out of the door, shoot the snake off the ledge and collect the
Tokens and extra time. Exit through the door.
When you come out the door, quickly sprint to the left until you get to the
ladder, avoiding the barrel. Climb it and head back right. Swing across via
the vine and continue right, jumping another barrel (they come from above).
You'll come to another chest. Shoot it and collect the Tokens, then enter the
door.
Before swinging across the chasm, shoot the snake off the ledge on the other
side so you don't have to deal with it when you land on that ledge. Swing
across and climb the ladder to finally exit the caves!
You'll appear outside the cave door to the right of the skeleton where you fell
through the ground at the very beginning of the level. You'll automatically
pick up the Viking Ring and proceed to Level 4!
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Level 4
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The Sea Battle
"Now, with the Viking ring in his possession, Valiant is more determined than
ever to reach Camelot and fulfill his dream of becoming a Knight."
"His journey now involves a treacherous sea crossing. The voyage is a rough
one. Valiant's ship is set upon by both elements, and a band of hostile sea-
going Vikings."
"The young Prince realizes that there is no chance of out-running this evil
armada, hence a fierce sea battle ensues."
This stage is somewhat like Level 2, but instead of shooting arrows at thieves,
you control cannons on a ship. You will control a battery of six cannons. To
select between the one you want to use, hold down the B button and move left or
right to the cannon of choice. Press the A button to fire a cannon. You'll see
2 white lines, one on the left of the screen and one on the right. Moving these
by pressing up or down will determine how far the cannonball will travel.
If you fire at a ship and miss, notice where the cannonball splashes in the
water in relation to the ship, then make an adjustment and fire again. Some
ships take a couple hits to destroy. You can tell you hit a ship in 2 ways: (1)
it will blow up or (2) the cannonball will make a small red explosion when it
hits.
The key to this level is not letting your cannons get hit by enemy fire. Once
all your cannons are taken out you lose a life and have to start over.
Keep plugging away until the enemy meter is full but be sure not to waste too
much ammo, as the supply is limited. Once you destroy enough ships to fill the
enemy meter, you will move on to Level 5.
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Level 5
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Camelot
"Valiant wakes up one morning to the sound of mighty hoofbeats approaching the
castle-keep."
"He Quickly stands to witness an incredible vision of a Knight with the emblem
of Camelot on his shield galloping past him."
"Certain that this is the way to King Arthur's castle, he follows the Knight."
"Soon he is standing in front of one of the most splendid spectacles on
earth...Camelot!"
"However, his entrance is not met with the grandeur he expected."
"When he shows the guard at the gate the Viking ring and announces his mission
to speak with King Arthur, he is immediately escorted to a dungeon."
You start off this level with an archer in your face. Blast him and move to the
right. Take the upper platform and jump across the moving platform over to a
green door.
In this room your goal is the Key located under the platform you're standing on
when you enter. Dispose of the guards, jump down to grab the Key, and go back
up to exit they way you came in. This is the first of several Keys that you
need to acquire on this level to gain access to locked doors. I'll lead you
right through this level so you you'll never have to deal with any unpassable
areas.
>From the door, move right, swing across the vine and enter the green door.
When you come out the door, drop down a couple of platforms to enter the orange
door.
Upon entering this room you'll have a few guards to deal with. Learn their
patterns so you can dispose of them without losing much energy. Work your way
to the left, swinging across several vines. Be sure to dispose of the archer
quickly when you land. Continue left and enter the gray door.
In this room, quickly shoot the moving disk to raise the gate above you. Once
the gate rises, jump up to the second platform and jump high onto the ladder
before a log rolls out at you. Hurry past the raised gate and climb up the
ladder out of the dungeon area.
Now you're out of the dungeon! Climb up the ladder to the top. Head to the
right. You will see a gray doorway beneath you and another doorway on the upper
right platform. Go through the upper right one.
Upon entering the next room you can either go up through another door or go
left. Go left for now. Avoid the swinging spiked ball by ducking and moving a
few times. Continue all the way left to a door and enter it (an E symbol will
be below it at the bottom of the ladder).
Work your way to the right, ride a platform up to the top level, and head back
to the left. You will see a ladder sticking out of the floor. Climb down it to
enter another room.
A Key is in this room. Watch the pattern of the rising floor grates for a
couple seconds then go get the Key. The second you grab the Key a net comes
down on you, so hurry and jump onto the ledge of the platform with the grates.
Exit the room.
>From the ladder, drop down to the gray door where you came in and exit.
>From here, head to the right. After the swinging spiked ball, press up to
enter the green door.
Quickly shoot the attacker to the left and head that way. Climb the ladder to
the top and go right. Swinging across the 3 vines will bring you to an area
with several Tokens and another Key! Collect the Key and go back to the left
and through the door you came in.
Now, go through the gray door right in front of you.
You're back near the beginning of the level. If you need more Tokens, head to
the right where you will eventually come to a room with about 10 or so.
Otherwise, drop down to the bottom and enter the gray door to the left.
You are now in a room full of floor grates. From the platform you are standing
on when you enter, fall off the right side of it, but hold to the left as you
are falling so you don't land on the grate. Move to the left, jump over the
floor grate and quickly move in front of the red springboard before the spider
web falls on you.
Use the springboard like the ones in level 2 to get up to the platform. Enter
the door up there.
>From here, go left, ride the orange platform down, and head over to the door on
the right and enter it.
Now you can either go left or right. Head left, climb the ladder (eliminating
the guard at the top) and continue left to the door.
A Key is in this room. Carefully take out the guards and fetch the Key. Exit
the way you came in.
Now go back to the right. Continue past the green door. You'll have 3 sets of
swinging spiked balls to get past. Get by them, swing over to the ladder and
climb up and enter the door.
Move to the right, but be careful as logs will appear rolling behind you. Be
careful of the orange trap door in the floor. Jump over it, climb the ladder
and enter the orange door.
In here, start by swinging over to the moving platform. Continue right past the
guard with the spear and climb up the ladder to...
...another part of the castle (with an orange background). You'll see a doorway
on a platform above you and a rope swing. Ignore the door and swing across to
the right, being careful of the rolling logs where you'll land. Continue to the
right and climb down the second ladder to enter the gray door.
Here is the lair of the gray puppy. It is probably a Wolf or something, but
those people at Ocean Soft managed to turn what is really a savage killing
machine into what looks like a loveable little dog. At any rate, it's guarding
a Key right below you. Instead of taking on this ravenous beast, go left until
you get to a Bone that just happens to be lying in your path. Grab it and head
back to the gray menace. As you approach it you'll automatically drop the Bone,
causing the Wolf to race past you for the Bone and disappear. You can now
safely grab the Key.
Now head left again, but climb the ladder to get on the upper level. You will
go by a blue door (on the level beneath you), confront another guard, then climb
down the ladder to the orange door.
In this room you will see a Potion on the platform above you. Use the rope
swings and ride the lift to retrieve it, then exit the way you came in. This
will end up being the item you need to finish the game!
Now work your way over to the blue door you passed earlier by climbing a ladder,
taking on a guard and climbing down another ladder to get to the door. Enter
it.
You've seen this room before. Climb the ladder up to the door directly above
you and enter it.
In this room you want to climb the staircase up to the orange door. You can
make a run for the door, but you'll probably have to jump over an arrow shot at
you from the archer on the left platform and squeeze through the door before
making contact with the guard on the right, but you can do it. Quickly enter
the door to confront....
MERLIN!!
The famed wizard of yore is the final obstacle in your path to a meeting with
the fabled King Arthur.
Remember that Potion you grabbed? You'll automatically use it here. Merlin
will shoot something, no doubt magical, at you from across the chasm that
seperates you from him. Whatever it is that he shoots at you will hit the
Potion instead, causing a bridge to form to allow you to cross over (if you
didn't have the Potion here, Merlin really makes quick work of you).
Run across the bridge to find...Merlin waiting for you! Relax. He's harmless
now, unless of course you take a potshot at him which will just piss him off and
result in instant death for you. Just run past him and climb down the ladder to
the door. Behind the door you will find...
THE KING & QUEEN!!
%%%%%%%%
%FINALE%
%%%%%%%%
Your mission is finally accomplished. No grueling hit-point draining battle to
the death with a final boss, just a quick joust with a wizard and your off to
your future in Camelot. The ending dialogue reads:
"Congratulations!"
"King Arthur is impressed and astounded at the way Valiant braved and bested
dungeon, traps and the snares of Knights and guards alike. He therefore grants
the young Prince permission to enter a training programme in preparation for
becoming a Knight of the Round Table."
"You have helped Valiant complete his quest for Camelot."
"And now,"
"The Legend Begins..."
You then get to enter your name into a high scores screen...which promptly
resets because of a lack of battery to save it.
This is definitely a game which requires skill and quick reflexes to get
through. The programmers made a game that definitely rewards patient players,
yet may have turned off the majority of gamers with many different "instant
death" situations and traps to memorize. My admiration goes out to whoever
stuck it out through this game and beat it without cheating ;)
DISCLAIMER: This walkthrough is not endorsed by Ocean Soft, Nintendo
of America, or affiliates. The information contained within this document is
provided without guarantee. All copyrights and trademarks are recognized.
This walkthrough may be reprinted, posted in newsgroups, or placed on web sites,
as long as the proper credit is given to the author. The most recent version of
this walkthrough can be found at www.gamefaqs.com
