************Cobra1's Guide to Forbidden Forest For The Commodore 64*********** (A Beginning Bowman's Guide To The Forbidden Forest) Version Number : 1.2/Revision Date : 1/14/03 | / \ 1. Introduction(How this came to be) / | / | 2. Controls(Proper bow care) / | / | 3. General hints(Basic training) / \\ | <>>====>| 4. Walkthrough(Collecting your trophy) \ | \ | 5. Updates \ | \ | 6. Credits(Manufacturer's assistance) \ | \ / 7. Copyright(Warranty priviliges) | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Still no trophy....You have wandered these "special" woods for many years now and have yet to find your big prize. Being the best archer in the land wasn't enough for you, so you entered the so-called Forbidden Forest in hopes of finding the biggest bounty in history. You just notice the full moon beginning to rise.....Looks like you'll have to go home empty-handed. Such a shame... Suddenly, there's a large rustling in the bush to your left. You quickly notch an arrow and aim at the bush. A giant black...creature....comes rushing out. You fire the arrow deep into its hide, causing it to shriek in pain. After it collapses, you examine its corpse. It turns out to be a gigantic spider....the same size as you! Poison still drips from its mouth. You hear more rustling and cries like the one the spider gave ring out in the distance. You ready another arrow as you concentrate on your new goal.... Forget the trophy....Now you must try to survive the horrors of the Forbidden Forest..... Your job in Forbidden Forest is to defeat enough of a specific monster to move on to the next deadlier creature in the set. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Controls ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The controls are simple....and Joystick only : Move Joystick : Left and right turns the archer towards that direction. Hold the joystick to run in that direction. Up and down and change the "peak point" of the arrow shot. In other words, it adjusts the altitude on how high your arrow will fly. To tell how high your arrow will go, just look at the bar on each side of the screen when you adjust it. Fire Button : Notches(loads) an arrow into your bow. Press it again to fire in the arrow in the direction you are facing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. General Hints ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ There's a usual rhythym to most of the monsters. For most of the monsters, it's load, run, fire, run, repeat. When you notch an arrow, you will automatically move your bow to the center position. This can leave you vulnerable to a monster and you cannot move while you are doing this. Remember, you have 50 arrows PERIOD. As you increase in difficulty levels, that number will seem much more constricting. Either practice your aim or you WILL suffer the consequences later on... While you are running, no monsters will come after you or even appear(excluding the Giant Frogs). So if you are in danger, just run until the monster is off-screen, then resume your attack from a slightly safer stance. Even if you have played action games all your life, please start no higher than the level of Trooper...for your own safety. Remember, the kills don't reset unless you continue. If have 14 frogs remaining and you get killed, you only have 14 more to shoot on your next life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Walkthrough ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Next to each monster's name, you will see a series of numbers. These are the required number of the monster for each skill level in order(Innocent, Trooper, Daredevil, Crazy). Okay....Let's go! : Giant Spiders(4, 8, 12, 16) : These are your warm-ups. You don't even have to move. Just load, turn and fire. If you miss, just run off in the opposite direction and pick-up where you left off. On higher difficulty levels, they move faster(the only actual creature to change with difficulty). However, no matter what the speed, you still have enough time to notch an arrow and fire without having to run. Giant Bees(1, 2, 2, 3) : Hitting these insects takes good timing. Just wait for them to get about halfway to the gorund. Then run somewhat out of the way(don't run the bee off-screen, or it will reappear at the top of the screen). Now, when it is near to the ground, quickly fire an arrow at it. If luck is with you, you should hit it. Don't try for aerial shots. It's too small of a target there and it moves far too quickly. Giant Frogs(6, 12, 18, 24) : Do NOT stop moving except to reload! If you hold still, you are more than likely to be crushed. Instead, load an arrow and keep running in one direction. When a frog is in front of your path, FIRE! Then, start running again and reload when you have no frogs directly above you. It may take a while, but you should pull through okay. Dragons(1, 1, 2, 3) : Load your arrow and wait like a sitting duck...really. The dragons can come in from three different directions, but you only need two different tactics to destroy them. For the dragons that fly in from the left and right sides : Run in the opposite direction it came in on. As you see it breathing fire, time it and you can run underneath(or you MIGHT be able to just wait for it to fly over you. However, that method has more of a chance of you getting flame-broiled). Now run along with the dragon, then quickly turn your bow up at a steep angle and aim for the tip of the dragon's jaw. You should hit its head instead, earning you a kill. For the dragons that fly in from directly above : Just wait until its last pass before it shoots its fireball(this will take a little study time, but the dragons that come from above are actually easier to hit). As it is about to make that pass, fire the arrow. If you time it right, you will hit the dragon just as it flies into range. (Note : Some people suggest facing all the way to the left or right to start, so you can start running the moment you see a dragon. While this tactic does provide you with more reaction time, you are also more likely to run directly into the dragon's fireball. It's up to you to decide which method is better.) Phantom(1, 1, 1, 2), Skeletons(Infinite) : First, press the Mute button or turn down the volume if you have sensitive hearing. The Phantom's shriek of death is very long, loud and high-pitched. Treat the Skeletons as you did the Giant Spiders. Just load, turn and fire. The only "add-on" is you have to kill the Phantom as well, else you are not allowed to advance. The best method is to keep killing Skeletons until the hood of the Phantom's cloak is directly over your head. I don't recommend firing at an angle to hit a Phantom, because if you miss you probably will not have time to load another arrow before a Skeleton gets you. Don't worry, as when the Phantom dies, he takes his bony crew with him. Keep alert on Crazy, though, as you may fire and forget the extra Phantom that will appear after the first one dies. Giant Snake(1, 1, 2, 2) : There's an easy semi-luck based method to this enemy. The moment you have control of your archer, notch an arrow and IMMEDIATELY fire it straight into the air. There's a very good chance you will hit the snake directly in the head for your kill. If you miss, then just run to the side to avoid its acidic venom, then wait for another venom dripping(the snake doesn't appear on its "even-numbered" shots). Now run to avoid that, then load an arrow and fire it skyward. Repeat until you get your quota. Demogorgon(1, 1, 1, 1) : This is the final target. Naturally, there is only one of these things per level. And unlike the other creatures, you don't "die" if you get caught by it. Instead, your game is over instantly and you cannot continue should you fail. Therefore, make your shots count! Worse yet, this guy is partially invisible, and moves without a pattern. Sometimes he'll move without warning. He usually only moves after every flash of lightning, though. Now, don't worry about dodging his shots.....You are given a timer instead. Fortunately, while you are running, the clock stops. Load an arrow and start running in either direction. As you are running, watch the bushes in the background. If you see a shadow, you have found your target. Move the aiming bars(didn't think you'd use them, did you?) so the Demogorgon's head is lined up with them. Now, when you see its claws in the bushes, aim for its head and fire. If you missed, reload and move again(or aim again if it hasn't moved). After a while, it will move closer(bigger sprite and target) clueing you in to hurry up and hit him. If you are lucky with your shot, you will see a ton of fireworks indictating you successfully hit the Demogorgon. Congratulations! After you successfully kill the Demogorgon, you are automatically moved onto the next higher skill level. If you beat it on Crazy(nice work!), then you restart on Innocent instead(did you expect a difficulty level with two Demogorgons?). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5. Updates ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Version 1.0 : Your basic lousy looking FAQ/Inital release. Version 1.2 : Fixed a lot of alignment(had 81 columns, etc.), added an ASCII archer's bow and arrow(Go on. Make fun of it.), and changed the overall layout. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 6. Credits ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I would like to thank the many friends and relatives who put up with me talking about this game constantly. This should help get it out of my system for a while...maybe... I would also like to thank Cosmi for making such an simple yet enthralling game. Thanks also go to these people for assisting me on making this FAQ much better than how it was : Colin Moriarty shoecream punishment 01 Starvenus Tidus9554 I also thank Hang Me 2002 for hosting this momentarily to lure a few more victims...err, "helpers", for this FAQ. I am also giving thanks to my Commodore computer, for putting up with me long enough to start a game on Innocent and play all the way to the end of Crazy with no deaths(everyone knows it took me a while to do it). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7. Copyright ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This guide/walkthrough/FAQ/whatever-else-you-can-call-it took a while to complete....Okay, it took long enough to me. It would hurt me deeply to see it taken and used without my permission....and it would hurt you financally. Thus, I offer the ol' archer's code as a statement(maybe Robin Hood made it): "This may be not be reproduced under any circumstances except for personal, private use. It may not be placed on any web site or otherwise distributed publicly without advance written permission. Use of this guide on any other web site or as a part of any public display is strictly prohibited, and a violation of copyright." If you desire to put this semi-brief FAQ on your site, just contact me first to get an okay, okay? Okay(no, not this okay, okay?...Oh, you know what I mean). This document was typed/created/you-get-it-by-now on 1/2/03 by Cobra1. E-Mail : BlackFangMercenaries@comcast.net