THUNDER CASTLE Cartridge Instructions (For 1 or 2 Players) Guide your knight through the deadly mazes of Thunder Castle, slaying evil dragons, sorcerers and demons as you go. Watch for gates that block your path...magic objects that grant special powers, extra points, or extra lives...and magic creatures that energize your knight. Complete all three mazes -- forest, castle and dungeon -- and the game starts over at a faster speed. Continue playing, increasing your score, until all of your knight's lives are lost. OBJECT OF THE GAME: To score the highest number of points by slaying the evil guardians of each maze and collecting magic objects. The player with the highest score at the end of the game is the winner. PRESS THE RESET BUTTON Game title will appear and the game will go into Demo Mode, repeating titles and sample mazes for forest, castle and dungeon. TO START THE GAME: Press any key. Select the number of players by pressing Key 1 or 2, then Enter, on the right hand controller. GAME CONTROLS One-player game -- use either hand controller. Two-player game -- player 1 (First Knight) uses the left hand controller; player 2 (Second Knight), uses the right hand controller. DURING GAME PLAY YOU WILL USE ONLY THE SIDE ACTION BUTTONS AND THE DIRECTION DISC. Press any side action button to activate a magic object after your knight picks it up. Object can be activated only once, unless picked up again. Press the direction Disc to move your knight. Release the Disc to stop the knight. The Disc moves the knight in four directions: TOP EDGE : Knight moves up BOTTOM EDGE: Knight moves down RIGHT EDGE : Knight moves right LEFT EDGE : Knight moves left To save time, press the Disc to turn your knight before he reaches a turn in the maze. The knight will continue in his present direction until the turn is possible. GAME IN BRIEF (see next section for game details) 1. Three dragons appear in the forest maze, one at a time. Slay all three dragons and advance to the castle maze. 2. Six sorcerers guard the castle maze, appearing two at a time. Slay all six sorcerers and advance to the dungeon maze. 3. Nine demons guard the dungeon maze, appearing three at a time. Slay all nine demons and advance to the next, faster forest maze. 4. To slay a dragon, sorcerer or demon, move ENERGIZED knight on top of guardian. If knight comes into contact with guardian while not energized, knight will lose one life. 5. To energize knight, touch a magic creature: bat in forest, mouse in castle, or red skull in dungeon. Energy lasts several seconds, then disappears. 6. Pick up magic objects for extra points, lives or powers. Avoid the comb. To pick up object, move knight on top of it. Object picked up replaces any unused object in possession. To use object, press side action button. Object disappears after use. 7. Knight starts with four lives. Additional lives are earned by picking up candle stick or accumulating points. Game ends for player when that player's knight loses all lives. 8. In a two-player game, a player's turn lasts until his knight loses a life. Game ends when both players' knights have lost all lives. GAME DETAILS MAZES There are three levels to Thunder Castle -- forest, castle and dungeon. Forest level is slowest. Dungeon level is fastest. If your knight makes it through all three levels, game play resumes at the forest, but game speed continues to increase. There are several possible mazes at each level. Once a maze appears, it does not change until the next level is reached. WALLS AND GATES Knights and evil guardians can move only along open passageways. Magic creatures can move through walls and gates. All mazes have gates that randomly open and close. Gates are invisible until they close. Gates remain closed for a few seconds, then open again. MAGIC CREATURES All mazes have magic creatures that energize your knight when touched. Forest maze : 2 bats Castle maze : 1 mouse Dungeon maze: 1 red skull The knight remains energized for a few seconds, during which he flashes and special music plays. Only while energized can the knight slay evil guardians. EVIL GUARDIANS All mazes have evil guardians that must be slain to advance to the next level. Evil guardians come in three colors. Green: slower than your knight and worth 300 points when slain. Gold: almost as fast as your knight and worth 400 points when slain. Red: faster than your knight and worth 500 points when slain. Guardians pursue your knight when he is not energized; flee from your knight when he is energized. If your knight touches or is touched by a guardian while not energized, he will lose a life. Different mazes contain different evil guardians. * Dragons: Three in the forest maze. Dragons appear one at a time. * Sorcerers. Six in the castle maze. Sorcerers appear two at a time, and can move as a pair or split up and attack from different directions. * Demons. Nine in the dungeon maze. Demons appear three at a time, and can move together or split up and attack from different directions. MAGIC OBJECTS Magic objects appear at various times, in various locations throughout each maze, remaining for several seconds before disappearing again. To pick up a magic object, move your knight on top of it. To use the object picked up, press any side action button. An object's power can be used only once each time it is picked up. An object remains in your knight's possession until it is used or replaced by a different object. (A knight can carry only one object at a time.) * Grail: Energizes knight * Crown: Freezes guardian(s) for a few seconds * Necklace: Speeds knight up for few seconds * Lantern: Doubles knight's energy * Key: Lets knight move through gate or wall * Ring: Moves knight to random location in maze The above objects also add points to your score. The first object picked up within a maze adds 100 points. The second adds 200 points. All subsequent objects within that maze add 300 points. Some objects can be picked up without replacing the object already in possession. * Coins: Add 500 points to score * Candlestick: Grants an extra life * Comb: Cuts your score in half GAME LIVES Each knight starts with four lives, and loses one life if touched by an evil guardian while not energized. Additional lives can be earned by picking up a magic candlestick, and by reaching scores of 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 points. Game ends for you when all of your knight's lives are lost. The number of lives left, in addition to present life, appears in the upper right corner of the screen, next to your game score. SCORING Slay a guardian: * Green: 300 points * Gold: 400 points * Red: 500 points Pick up magic object (except coins, candlestick and comb): * 1st object in maze: 100 points * 2nd object in maze: 200 points * All other objects in maze: 300 points * Coins: 500 points Remember: If you pick up the comb, your score is cut in half! Extra lives awarded when score reaches 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 points. WINNING TIPS 1. Lure an evil guardian as close as possible to your knight before touching a magic creature. Your knight will be energized for only a few seconds and meanwhile, the guardian is running away from you! 2. Try to anticipate gates, to trap an evil guardian in a dead end. Corners also slow guardians down. 3. Pick up the most useful magic objects. Although all objects give points, some are more useful than others. Exceptions: Always pick up coins and candlesticks. The extra points and lives don't affect other magic powers. 4. Avoid touching the comb whenever possible, but don't be afraid to sacrifice points, if the comb stands between your knight and a safe retreat. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (c)1986, 1998 Intellivision Productions, Inc.