.PRINCE OF PERSIA 1 1990 Prince of Persia Prince of Persia is a quite nice action/adventure game which first appeared on the Apple II some months ago, and got rave reviews from everyone who saw it. It's got incredibly lifelike animation, and the IBM version also supports 256-color MCGA graphics, which look stunning. The music isn't half bad either, and it supports a number of sound cards as well. To get it running on a hard drive, you just need to copy both disks into one directory, that'll work fine. None of this install from floppy crap. Anyway, your object in Prince of Persia is to rescue the princess who is being held by your enemy, Jaffar. To do this, all you've got to do is get out of the dungeons in which you are being held. The dungeons have a number of traps, and a few Persians (ie: Jaffar's guards) to prevent your escape, and you will fall prey to many of them. In Prince of Persia, you do have hit points, and can die. You are always resurrected, however, at the beginning of the level you died on, and you have unlimited lives. It can be frustrating when you get pretty far and manage to kill yourself by running off a ledge or something. The only thing you CAN run out of is time - you've got only one hour to escape from the dungeon and rescue Ms. Princess. Every so often a message will appear saying how much time you've got left, and the space bar will also tell you. Movement ~~~~~~~~ Although you can play with a joystick, I find that keyboard control is a bit more responsive. It may just be my joystick, however. Play with it and decide which you prefer. Control-K switches to keyboard control. I think Control-J will switch to your joystick and calibrate it. Movement in the game is simple. With a joystick, you just push in whichever direction you wish to move. With the keyboard, you use the numeric keypad for movement. The key layout is as follows: 7 8 9 4 5 6 SHIFT 2 Both the 5 and 2 keys will move down. 4 and 6 are left/right, 8 is up. 7 and 9 are diagonal jumping keys, and the SHIFT key is your "action" button. Here are some of the moves you can do in Prince of Persia: Run Push the stick/key left or right and hold it down. Release the stick/key to skid to a halt. Walk Slowly Hold the button and press left/right to move slowly in either direction. Do this to move up on a ledge cautiously to jump or drop down, or to make a leap over a chasm. Also useful when treading on spikes. Climb Up Pushing straight up will cause your character to jump up. If there is an overhanging ledge, he will catch on and pull himself up if you continue to push up. Break Ceiling If you jump and the ceiling moves, that indicates a loose stone. Position your character underneath the loose stone and jump up to try to dislodge it. If you do, be sure to get out of the way to avoid getting conked on the head and losing a hit point. Once you have dislodged a stone, you can pull yourself up to another section. Jump Sideways Pushing the stick/keypad in an upward diagonal direction will cause you to attempt a jump to the side. This is essential in jumping over small chasms and holes in the floor, and jumping over floor traps. Running Jump If you are running and move to a diagonal position, your character will do a running jump, which can cover more area. A running jump will take longer to stop, however, but it is often neccessary. Crouch Pushing down moves into a crouch position if you are not near any ledges. Crouching also moves you forward slightly. Climb Down To climb down to a lower section, or to drop down, simply position yourself at the edge of the opening, turn around (so your back is to the hole), and push down. If there is not a floor below you, you will hang for a moment and drop. Grab Ledge If you fall, and in this game you certainly will - and often, you can attempt to grab onto a passing ledge as you fall by. To do this, simply hold down the button as you fall past, and you'll try to grab on. You can either hold the button for a moment and drop, thus breaking your fall (and limiting damage), or you can push up and attempt to climb out. Get Item When you are near an item, such as a potion or sword, push the button to pick it up. Suicide Sometimes you'll manage to get yourself into a position where you can't escape. Control-A will put you out of your misery. Combat ~~~~~~ To win the game, you will need to fight. Once you get a sword, you can start killing some Persian guards. As a fencer, I am disappointed in the swordplay's lack of realism, but it DOES beat what most games do. I have not found a game yet which meets true swordplay in any satisfactory manner. Anyway, enough of my diatribe. Return the joystick to the center, or press the shift key on the keyboard (while not moving) to draw your sword... Advance Use the direction keys to advance slowly towards your opponent. Retreat Use the direction keys to move away from the guard. Lunge To make a lunge (ie: attack), don't push any direction keys, and hit the shift key/space bar. Parry To parry a blow, hit the up direction key or push your joystick up. It's a good strategy to wait for him to attack, parry the blow, and hit him with a riposte. Run Away Push down, and you'll sheathe your blade. You automatically put it away after killing someone, so be careful not to do this in battle unless you want to run for it. Notes ~~~~~ A few things which you may find which afford further discussion include the following: Potions Potions come in two flavors, red and blue. A red potion will heal one hit point, and a blue one will hurt you. Swords When you find the sword, grab it. You'll need it to fight. Floor Switch A raised floor stone is a switch which is activated when you step on it. These usually raise a portcullis or reset a trap. Floor Switch A floor stone which is level with the other stones, but has a dark depression beneath it is another kind of switch. These usually lower a portcullis or spring a trap. Often these should be jumped over. Loose Stones When you jump, you may see some of the stones on the ceiling or floor rattle a little. These are loose, and can be broken to open new areas, or trap you. Jumping up underneath loose stones will cause them to crumble (avoid being beneath them when they do) and running over loose stones will cause them to collapse (don't stand on them as they crumble - they don't make good elevators). Sometimes you may need to return over areas that have loose floor stones, so use your judgement before collapsing them. Portcullis A portcullis simply keeps you from passing through a doorway. Hit a floor switch to raise one of these. They are often on a timer, and you will need to hit another floor switch to return through them. The switches can be up to a few rooms away. There are also sometimes other floor switches which will slam them shut. Drill Some type of drill or spear or something which falls from the ceiling, like a portcullis. They, too, are operated by floor switches. Spikes There are often nice beds of spikes for you to fall on. Don't run over these or fall on them, as they'll kill you. You can jump over them. There are also other traps and the like to find and kill. Be wary, and remember that time is counting down. To jump across wide chasms, try to make a running jump, and keep your hand near the action button to try to catch a ledge if you miss. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXE files PRINCE10.EXE is version 1.0 PRINCE11.EXE is version 1.1 (has copy protection) Both seem to work well OTHERS.ZIP The files in this archive came with the game, but don't appear to be needed. They are here - just in case! Keys: (not including movement keys) Escape : Pause Space : Show time left Shift : Pick up object / drink potion Ctrl A : Restart level Ctrl G : Save game, if you're on level 3 or above. Ctrl J : Switch to Joystick Ctrl K : Switch to keyboard Ctrl L : Load a saved game while at the title screen. Ctrl Q : Quit Ctrl R : Restart the game Ctrl S : Sound toggle Ctrl V : Version Shift L : Advance one level (2-3-4 only) The use of Shift L causes you to have only 15 minutes instead of 60. When you start level 7, you are falling from a great height. Legally, the only way to survive is to grab a ledge on your left. If you cannot do this, you will have to cheat. If you started the game in Cheat Mode (see below), press Shift-L to go to the next level immediately, or Shift-W to land gently. Step on the raised floor to open the portcullis, go right, step on raised floor just there, and exit door will open. When you are on the unnamed level, step on the raised stone to the right, then run quickly to the left until you land in the princess's arms. You have now won the game. In the high scores, the score is the amount of time that was left. The more time, the better you were. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Command line parameters: PACK : Don't know UNPACK : Don't know BYPASS : Don't know DRAW %d : Don't know MEGAHIT : Activate cheat mode (see below) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheat Mode: Start the game with PRINCE1 MEGAHIT (v1.3 = PRINCE IMPROVED) Extra keys: - : Decrease time + : Increase time C : Shows a code H : Shift screen left J : Shift screen right K : Kill enemies N : Shift screen down U : Shift screen up Shift B : Show sprites & animated images only Shift C : Shows another code Shift I : Turn screen upside down Shift L : Advance one level (2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12-12-unnamed-1-2 etc) Shift S : Drink small potion (not confirmed) Shift T : Add extra energy (red arrows at bottom left) maximum of 10 Shift W : Fall slowly so you don't die Copy protection: On ver 1.1, you need to drink the potion corresponding to a letter in the manual before proceeding to the next floor. The cheat keys don't work at this stage. Ver 1.0 does not have this protection. Here are the codes and answers: PAGE LINE WORD ANS ___________________________ 1 1 6 D 1 2 5 V 1 2 8 S 1 3 4 L 1 4 2 T 1 5 5 O 1 6 6 P 1 6 12 H 1 7 11 U 2 3 9 J 2 6 5 H 2 10 8 N 3 1 1 A 3 3 5 C 3 3 11 M 3 4 4 B 3 5 1 W 3 5 2 Y 3 5 4 R 4 1 2 J 4 2 4 T 4 2 9 L 4 3 2 R 4 5 3 C 4 7 6 S 5 2 4 F 5 2 9 A 5 3 3 D 6 2 2 K 7 2 4 M 7 5 6 B 7 6 4 O 8 2 13 I 8 5 7 U 8 6 1 I 10 4 2 G 10 5 1 P 10 6 4 Y 11 2 3 F 12 7 4 E ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prince of Persia Hints/Solve These are some basic techniques for playing the game. o When jumping, ALWAYS hold down the button. You will never know when you shall slip or fall short of the jump. Also, make yourself as close as possible to an edge before you jump so you can get maximum distance. o When fighting, the most effective way is to use the standard block-and-hit technique. To do this, wait till the opponent strikes, block by pressing up, then immediately press the button and the character strike and get a better chance of hitting the opponent. o Inspect every room for secret passages. There are many in this game and you will not be able to finish it without finding them. To find them, jump up and down to look for any floor passages. Jump up and hit the ceiling to look for any ceiling passages. o Doors don't stay open forever. Once you step on a step-block, the doors will start to close. . . that is unless something is on the step-block. o Learn to distinguish step-blocks from the floor. o After you complete each level (after Level 2), save the game. When you die, restart by pressing Control-R and then press Control-L to resume your game. This will allow you to save a lot of time considering that you WILL die. o Don't be afraid to explore. In order to win the game, you must explore every detail of the game and not miss anything on any level. Hints Note - * means that there is an energy expander on that level. Level 1 Your first level is very easy. Get the sword, which is to the left from where you start and then go to the exit which just to the right of where you start. Practice your sword techniques on the guard. Remember to watch for unstable floors. Level 2 * Straightforward. Watch out for floor spikes. Beware of the blue potion which will DECREASE your life count. There is an energy expander here so don't forget to get it. Level 3 * This will be one of the toughest levels. From where you start, go to the right and climb to the top using the centre segment. Now, you must do a jump of faith to the right. You will find that there is a floor when you land. You will also discover a step-block which will open the gate far to the left. There is also a energy expander in the area to the right. When you are ready, jump on the step-block and BURN RUBBER to the left! You will have little time before the door starts to close. Do a running jump over the large hole then one final jump near the door and hang on to that ledge. Hopefully, the door will almost be closed so you can pull yourself up. After that, it is very straightforward. When you confront the "LIVE" skeleton, keep hitting until it falls off the ledge. Then climb down after it and keep hitting it until it falls to its doom. Level 4 * Very straightforward. Watch out for loose floors and be sure to get the energy expander. When you confront the mirror, you will have to execute a run-jump through it. You will pass through but your shadow will come out the other side and will create a lot of trouble for you. Level 5 * Straightforward. There is an energy expander here but you will soon find out what will happen to it. You will have to experiment with this level before you can finish it. Level 6 Straightforward. Beware of the master guard (he is fat) for he will slice you up if you are not good enough. At the end, your shadow will create mischief once more. . . Level 7 * You start out falling so press the button to grab onto the ledge. Continue onto the right until you reach the ledge with a large hole with another ledge far to the right. Climb down the ledge, fall, and grab onto the ledge. Continue to the right. If you can't continue, go back and fall down another ledge for it will lead you to the same place. When you drink the blue potion, the room will turn purple and you will turn green. Run off to the left and you will float slowly down... DO NOT go into the exit because there is an energy expander just to the right. Level 8 Straightforward but very hard. Be quick but be patient for a friend of the princess will help you. Level 9 * If you drink the blue potion, your vision will be distorted. To regain normalness, find another blue potion and drink it. Be sure to get the energy expander. Level 10 You will have to knock out many ceiling and floor blocks. Level 11 * Very simple. Be sure to get the energy expander. Level 12 The last level. I will not provide you hints because it would truly take the fun out of the game. You must use skill, agility, strength, courage, and trust to get past the level. Your probably stumped on the shadow. Remember, your shadow cannot harm you in any way. Altough it might seem to, it is really the sword that is harming you. Just push the joystick up and you will put away your sword. Your shadow will mimic you of course. Walk into your shadow and you will become one person again. Your shadow is merely a reflection of yourself and hence will try to mimic you. Then you will need to do a jump of faith to the left. Yeah, I know there is nothing there, but trust me. You have to do a running jump and that's the only way to make it. Continue on and you will do battle with your final opponent, Jaffar. . . Jaffar is an awesome fighter. In order to beat him, you will need to use the block-strike technique. Also be careful of the fallen board behind you. Enter the final door and run to the princess.