Shadow of the Beast (Atari Lynx) FAQ/walkthrough by Darrin (ForcexDistance) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Obligatory standard boiler-plate disclaimer: This walkthrough may 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. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think this is one of the very best lynx games, but it takes some time before the game grows on you. Like many Lynx games (such as Turbo Sub, Gordo 106, or Dirty Larry) it has a non-linear difficulty curve. When you first play it the game seems too hard and frustrating, especially with only a handful of lives. However, with practice the game can be memorized and beaten. The game is impressive with its liberal use of parallax scrolling, myriad of catchy tunes, scaling effects, dark atmosphere,frightening bosses, multitude of different enemies, and killer gameplay. Even the cover art is killer! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Controls: Joypad- Moves character left/right, up ladders, or to duck. The game has nice animation, so don't get distracted by the slight delay required to completely turn around! B- Punches/shoots A- Jump (the landing of the jump can be slightly altered mid-air) (A + B)- Jump kick Start- Pause Option 1- Inventory screen -------------------------------------------------------------------- Items: Gun- Standard issue gun with 25 shots. Use fists when possible to save ammo for tougher adversaries. Bullets- Refills the gun with more ammo. Save enough ammo to defeat the three headed dragon near the end of the game. Fist- Necessary item to make your punches dole out damage to the red dragon boss. This is the only way to 'tame this dragon'! Gear- Allows the machine to operate the elevator needed to reach higher areas in the game. Energy wave- Necessary for defeating the green dragon boss in the tree zone. Torch- Necessary for visibility in the castle zone near the end of the game. Silver key- Used to exit the castle. Gold key- Used to enter the well from the bottom. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Walthrough: Forest (main outside hub): The game starts in the middle of a forest, which serves the function of being the main hub (much like Simon's Quest for NES). And also like Simon's Quest, it is not clear whether you should start your quest by going left or right first.You want to go left first but not until you dispatch the cannon operator just to the right of the game's starting point. Wait until the sharp-dressed monster lights the fuse and punch the cannon to make it turn around. The enemy will leave a gun behind which will make your journey towards the left easier. Move left until you see a black bat in the trees and move to the right immediately and you can outrun the bat as he flies toward you. Now, go left as soon as it is safe to do so until you see another bat and rinse/repeat until you see the ground traps (marked by white dots on the path). This section is actually fairly challenging, and it is okay if you take a hit or two during it. Jump over each trap as you try to land in the spaces between the groups of white dots. Enter the tree, and enjoy the cool 3D scaling. You can almost taste the bark! Feel free to shout 'TIMBER' in the process like a lumber-jack, but that is purely optional. Tree Zone part 1: Inside the tree, you will notice a small ornament at the bottom of the stair-well. It is not purely for decoration. Admire it from a distance! As you walk to the right it will spit a solitary shot at you. With the right timing, you can jump over the bullet. If you do get hit and feel embarrased, it shouldn't be too much of a problem (just tell your friends you 'fell down the stairs'). Go down the rickety ladder and head left. Go down the ladder. Many of the enemies in the game have their own pattern and often don't acknowledge your presence as a form of prey. So accept your role of predator and learn their patterns. You will see a yellow gargoyle fly around. Don't get too close. Walk slowly until it is in punching distance and dispatch it. You will see a moving platform (the game is a platformer, after all). Carefully time your jump and adjust your landing so you land safely on the platform. Rinse and repeat for the next few platforms. Remember, if you fall too far you get hurt. You will see a blue enemy at the bottom, so get close enough to punch and it should be dispatched. Hopefully you have at least half of your power-bar remaining by this point. Go left and carefully jump on the visible platform but watch out for the flying gargoyle. Carefully punch the gargoyle while you are riding the platform. Jump to the ledge. Carefully jump on the next platform you see moving to your left. As always, it might behoove you to pay attention to how each platform moves so you can time your jumps better. Jump off the platform to the solid ground near the bottom-right. The next part takes some timing, skill, and practice. Remember, this is only a walk-through but nobody is going to hold your hand or carry you through the whole game. Anyway, walk to the right and when each of the green swordmen are in punching distance dispatch them. Don't punch too soon or too late. Work the timing into your muscle memory. You also have to watch the spikes that come down from the ceiling and time it all accordingly. Go up the ladder and stop. Do not go up the next ladder you see. Not all ladders lead to success! It will only bring you to the boss which you are not ready to fight yet. Don't be a hero! Instead, go right and down the ladder near the brown pillar. You will see another series of platforms. Analyze their movements and carefully descend as before. Again, watch for the blue enemy and dispatch it as soon as possible (and as always, if you are low on health the gun may be more practical than fists). If you got this far, it is time to celebrate with a nice energy drink found on the right. Watch your energy fill up. Wow, it is too bad this stuff doesn't come by the case like Red Bull. Now don't waste your health reserves any more than you have to. Go left and you will see stalactites. Move nice and slow until each one starts to shimmy/shake and quickly turn around and backtrack out of its way. Carefully dispatch the green swordsmen as before as you try to avoid the rest of the stalactites. You will reach an impasse. Do not make a blind jump to the left. Instead, go down the ladder. You will see Tarzan-inspired swinging vines. Carefully jump on them while making sure to avoid the falling red goo. Dispatch the golden gargoyle. Carefully, and I mean carefully, proceed to the right while timing your jumps and controlling your landing as you ride more platforms, vines, or avoid the dangerous slime falling from the ceiling. Be patient. Watch how the platforms move. And don't worry about staying on a vine a few rotations until it is safe to jump (you can hang on the vine as long as you want without falling off). Jump to the safe ground. Descend the ladder and dispatch the yellow gargoyles. If you hadn't noticed by now, timing is critical in this game! You are now faced with 3 routes. Aren't dilemmas and times of indecision wonderful feelings? Do not touch the red/spiky device on the right (it is a shortcut to the first boss). Similarly, don't go down the ladder yet either. Instead, head left and ride the platform to jump to the left. Carefully walk until you start to see a large statue holding a blue gemstone. He is not a politican, but he can sure blow hot air. Instead of worrying what political party he (or she) represents, wait for his fire to cease and walk close to it and duck. When the fire dies down and his gemstone returns to his hand, punch the crystal about two times and duck again. Rinse and repeat until you obtain the crystal. Now, before reminiscing about the blue crystal from Simon's Quest, backtrack safely till you are in the proximity of that red/spiky device (dispatch enemies as appropriate). Descend the next 2 ladders, and don't go down the third (yet). Go left, ride platforms, and dispatch the swordsmen whilst avoiding the red slime. Dispatch the blue monster and carefully collect the yellow key. Backtrack to the right and go down the ladder. Run left and outrun the green snakes that chase you (unless you want to fight them instead). Either way, work your way left until you see another bottle of that blue high-caffeine energy drink left by the game designers as a gift to ease your anxiety! Now, backtrack and go up the ladders till you see the spiky device. Enter it and you will take a shortcut back to an earlier part of the game as the screen changes with warping effects. If you don't remember, the ladder going up leads to the boss. Now that you have the blast wave, you are ready to fight the green nasty dude. Equip the item and go up the ladder and head right. A gold statue will trap you inside the boss area (always a nice and tender moment). The good news is that nobody can call you a coward when running away is no longer an option! Like the other bosses in the game, he is pattern based, so listen carefully. Walk towards the boss until you are almost close enough to touch it's head (when the boss has moved to the left). Don't try 70's therapy ideas on him by telling him that "you're okay and I'm okay". I tried. Instead, duck the spray of shots. If you are hit by them, you may not be far enough to the right. When it has moved down/right, blast him with 2 or 3 energy waves as if you were Ryu from Street Fighter 2 with a 'III' triple-shot item from Castlevania! You know you are hitting it when he flashes with each hit (kinda like how boxers flash when hit in real-life)! Remember to jump his low shot that he spits from the right side. Rinse and repeat. After the boss is defeated, go right until the level ends. It is okay if you have little to no blast waves or regular bullets left at this point. If you do have some blast waves left, save them for when you might need them. Around these parts, Murphy's Law is the law of the land! Tree zone (part two): Go right and jump the spikes on the right side of the broken machine. Go down the ladder. Slowly go left and watch the pattern of the cobras. When safe, run up to each one and punch it timing it so you don't get hit by their shots. Duck the red birds that come from the right, as this can throw off your timing! Get the gear and backtrack to the broken machine. Use your mechanic's degree and place the gear. Hit the lever and wait for the platform to descend. Get on the platform and hit the lever and ride upwards. Go right and get the torch first and then head left and hit the switch to the off position (You might get teased for carrying a torch in a well-lit area now, but you will have the last laugh later on when you need the torch in the dark dungeon). Backtrack to the ladder and go up. If you need health, go right to the blue potion (whilst carefully dispatching the red fat birds). If you have full health and still want to get the potion this may be indicative of a drinking problem. Go left and use the muscle memory you honed from playing Battletoads on the NES and carefully walk under and between the eyeballs. Walk slow until you start to see a layer of fire breathed by a chained-up green dragon. If this is frightening, just be thankful they have leash laws in this fine community of 'model citizens' or rather 'model denizens'! Now, immediately when the fire dissipates, run left and walk past him (he won't hurt you when you touch him, but I still wouldn't try petting it). It might help to jump at the last moment just to make sure you clear his next fire breath. Get the silver key. Carefully backtrack and get the blue potion if you didn't get it the first time. Backtrack to the platform next to the lever and ride it back down. Backtrack to where the gear was and dispatch the enemies in the process. Go down. Yay, another fork in the road! Go right first and hit the lever. Now go left. There should be a silver beam to allow safe passage left until you can hit another lever. Go right and go down the ladder when approprate. Go left first, and carefully jump on the moving beams as you work your way left. Touch the blue fist icon (which hopefully by now should not be enrobed with an energy seal). Backtrack to the right and dispatch enemies till you can descend the ladder. Go left and carefully avoid the balls dropped by the robotic-bee (well what would YOU call it?). Time your movement so that the balls avoid you and time your jumps accordingly if you choose to jump over some of them. Go down the ladder and avoid the spikes as you time your jumps over them (it is a far jump to make without falling in the spikes). Go right and duck the red fireballs as appropriate that come from the wall. Go down the ladder. I like to use any remaining energy waves left from the first boss fight against the ceiling enemies. Similarly, I like to use regular bullets against the ghosts as I proceed left to the ladder. Go down. Walk very carefully past the blue fire blasts (anticipating when they fire) and jump spikes where appropriate. Proceed right until you start to see the red dragon's nose. It is boss time. Now, watch his pattern from a safe distance. Equip the golden fist powerup, but don't get too excited. It has more in common with a pair of cheap brass knuckles than a grenade launcher. At the right time, jump the spike and hit him about 2-3 times with your fists. Now, jump back over the spike before the boss breathes his fire. It is a fairly simple pattern, but you gotta time it right. Rinse and repeat until the boss goes down. Go to the locked door and use the yellow key to get through. Ascend the well and you will be back near the starting point of the game. For fun, you might want to go back in the well so you can see that cool scaling effect again. You can almost taste the well-water! Main outside hub (part 2): Now it is finally time to take the right path from the starting point of the game.Walk right until a group of purple winged birds come at you. As per usual, time your punches just right so you can dispatch them with no harm. Walk right and punch the insane blue bear-like creatures that come at you. Trust me, you don't want to mess with monsters that fail their anger-management coursework three times. Break the pillars to find health and a silver ball, probably just left by a member of a werewolf bowling league. Carefully push the silver ball to the right while being careful to avoid the spikes that come from the ground. Carefully and slowly push the ball into the hole in the ground to stop the enemies from flying out. Walk carefully to avoid the spikes and proceed to the right. Time your punches to quickly dispatch the flying eyeballs that come at you (i.e. keep your eyes open for eyes). Keep walking past the enemies facing away from you in the trees until each one falls. Quickly turn around and dispatch each one in turn. You will see the same enemies in the trees but now facing you (it might behoove these gentlemen to invest in some camoflauge clothing). Walk slowly until they drop and time your punches to take them out as before. Go right and you will note a rather ominous gargoyle statue. Punch it several times. Unlike a happy-meal or a box of Cracker-Jacks, there is no pleasant surprise inside! When the monster breaks loose, punch him three times. The next bit is a bit tricky. To defeat the spiders, punch them once to drop them and then jump over them. Be weary of the spikes which come at the same time. It is time to overcome your arachnophobia and that pesky fear of "large spikes protruding from the ground". I forgot the official name for that one! Thankfully, there is some health ahead in the stone pillars. You will soon see a myriad of scaling eyes ahead. Analyze their placement and judge your distances accordingly as you carefully look for safe spots to go to. You may have to walk and follow a line of them as they disappear to allow safe passage (the little guys seem to be doing a "wave" as in a sporting event). Keep walking and duck the greenish gargoyle that flies past you. Carefully punch the green gargoyle that looms quickly ahead. Walk to the right until you can see a large red dragon drop a bomb. It is important to remember that the dragon always drops the bomb in the SAME SPOT. Walk near where the bomb lands and duck/punch it. It will fly to the right and hit enemies. Do it again to finish off the red dragon. Be careful not to touch the blast radius if the bomb goes off. Keep walking and you will notice a worn-down sign. You will also see a series of spikes that descend whilst moving right-ward. Follow closely behind them so that you are safe as you walk. Carefully punch the red enemies that come at you as you retain your position behind the moving spikes. After this you will soon see a green alien track-star coming at you who is convinced he is running a monster marathon towards you (he is the only enemy of his kind in the entire game btw). Punch him as per usual. Go towards the right to the castle. Dodge the falling boulders and be weary of the arrows also. It might be comforting to remind yourself that sticks and stones can break your bones, but at least words can never hurt you!! If you don't know what doors are for, the game will politely show an arrow so you know where to go. Go through the door and once again enjoy the cool scaling of the castle door. You can almost taste the stone! Castle: Go left slowly until the green hoppers jump at you. Carefully punch them from a distance one at a time until you can hit the switch to the 'off' position. Backtrack to the ladder and ascend, but stop before your head clears the ladder.Wait until after the white barrel comes and goes, and quickly ascend the ladder the rest of the way and move left until you can safely punch the brown barrel. Rinse and repeat, but watch so that the barrels don't touch you as they move below you.This section is hard, and requires some practice. Don't forget to hit the switch on the left wall to the "off" position near the end of the section. You will thank me later! Ascend the ladder and proceed, being careful to defeat the same green hoppers as before. There is some health in the first few chests, but remember to punch the last chest as there is a marksman in it! Go right until you see a series of axes come at you and punch them one at a time. Go right and watch out for the winged goblins that come at you. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck it might be a 'quack' pretending to be a duck! Anyway, touch the wrench! Backtrack until you can go down the first ladder you see. Watch out for hot wax dripping from the candles as you proceed right. Also watch for the sly-guyz who shoot at you from under the floorboards and jump the projectiles safely. Keep walking and watch the ceiling. Position yourself so that you are between the two gaps in the ceiling and right below the small area in between. Keep walking slowly and carefully punch the large mouths that come at you.Carefully jump the wide chasm to hit the small switch a few times to lower the candle-holder. Jump on it as it goes down to safely bring yourself to the ground.Walk carefully under the large brown spider. Walk and stand right in the middle of the two castle pillars to avoid the barrage of axes like before. Proceed left and remember to punch the brown spiders until they start to go up and down so you can pass under them safely. Go down the ladders and proceed right. DO NOT go back outside when you see the "OUT" arrow! I don't know for sure, but I can only assume you have to do the whole castle again!! Excercise great caution. You will now see a series of red blobs. Analyze their pattern and be patient. With timing and skill, you can punch them one at a time whilst maintaining a safe distance from each of them. Go down the ladder and go left. Time your punches of the green vultures that fly quickly at you. Again, there are a great variety of enemies in this game! Keep walking and the steel doors should be open and allow you passage. Go down the ladder and ignore the green large-mouths to the left. Go right to find some lovely health in the chest! Go left until you can't and go up the ladder. Watch out for the barrels overhead and when it is safe hide in the little cubby so that the barrels bounce over you. It may help to even duck for this. Go down the ladder and touch the extra ammo icon. These are necessary to beat the three-headed dragon. Go down the ladder and you will note an arrow machine with a switch behind. Walk right until enemies start to come and then go back to the switch and hit it! The arrows should nail the group of enemies. Go right as you jump the barrage of axes and avoid the enemy's projectile from the floor-boards. Go past the spider as before and use the wrench on the white control system to the left of the energy laser. Ascend the ladder and go left to hit the switch to the 'off' position. Equip the gun (with ammo if necessary). Go right and down the right ladder. You guessed it. It is boss time. They say two heads are better than one. They also say 'three is a crowd'. Either way, the dragon has three heads and will use them. Watch his pattern carefully as you make sure to jump the one bullet that comes low. He will shoot 3 shots 'top-middle-bottom' in rapid succession and then pause,leaving you enough time to approach and fire 1-2 bullets into his red weak spot on the right side of his person........er, I mean, dragon. Rinse and repeat until defeated. Have a nice dragon steak if you haven't eaten in a long time. Use the blue key to exit the castle. Note that if you hadn't found the torch earlier, the entire castle would have been dark. Main outside hub (part 3): The red sky is your cue that the adventure is nearing an end. Legolas from Lord of the Rings might even acknowledge that "It's a red dawn....blood has been spilled this night" right about now. Go right and watch for the ghosts that quickly come from the left. Also watch the birds from the right! Punch the gravestone to find health. Dispatch the white swordsmen like the green ones, and watch for green hoppers. All the gravestones have health except the second-to-last one in the series, which contains a ghost. Let the group of bats come at you from the left and punch each of them in turn. Walk right and do the same with the other group of bats which come from the right.As usual, watch your timing. Jump over and/or walk safely around the falling balls from the bone-dragon in a similar fashion as you did with the robot-bee earlier. Now it is time to fight the last guy. And like Daniel in Karate Kid with his crane-kick, you finally have an excuse to use your jump kick for a dramatic finish!! His pattern is relatively simple. He alternates between breathing two streams of fire and then one. After he breathes two streams, now is your chance to squeeze yourself into the safe spot. Use your jump kick and hit him 2-3 times. Walk away before he breathes two blasts of fire. Rinse and repeat! Congratulations, you have freed Necropolis!!!!!!!!!!! You have just beat a truly incredible game. It will always be a classic. To put it another way, and to use another Lord of the Rings reference, the game is "worthy of isengard." Thanks for your time! Force X Distance