_ _ _ _ _ __ __ __ _ _ ____ _ _ _ __ _ __ | | | | | | | ) | | |\ | | | / \ / \ | | / \ / \ / |--| |-- |-/ |-- | | \| | | | | | |-- | \__ \/ \/ | | |__ | \ |__ | | | | | | | | |__ | ___) ___ _ ____ __ __ ____ __ _ / _| / \ | _ \ / \ / \ | __| | \ | | | / / _ \ | |_) | / /\ \// \ \ | |__ | \ | | | | | |_| | | / | | | | | | | __| | |\ \| | | | | _ | | |\ \ | | | | | | | | | | \ | | \_ | | | | | | \ \ | | | | | | | |__ | | \ | \___| |_| |_| |_| \_\ |_| |_| |_| |____| |_| |_| ____ _ __ _ _____ _ ____ ___ ____ / ___| / \ | \ | | | _ \ | | | __| / \ / \ | (__ / _ \ | \ | | | | \ | | | | |__ | /\_\ | /\ | \__ \ | |_| | | |\ \| | | | | | | | | __| | | ___ | | | | \ \ | _ | | | \ | | | | | | | | | | ||_ | | | | | ___/ / | | | | | | \ | | |_/ / | | | |__ | \/ / | \/ | |____/ |_| |_| |_| |_| |____/ |_| |____| \___/ \____/ =============================================================================== Table of Contents =============================================================================== [INTRO] Introduction [START] Getting Started [WALKT] Walkthrough [DOSSI] Dossiers [CLUES] Interpretation of Clues [QUEST] Frequently Asked Questions [VERSN] Version History [COPYR] Copyright [CONTC] Contact Information Navigation tip: Press Ctrl and F to bring down a search bar. Then type in the name of the section you're looking for - like [DOSSI] for the Dossiers. =============================================================================== Introduction [INTRO] =============================================================================== Continuing with my recent theme of police/detective/spy video games, I present to you my FAQ/Strategy Guide for Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego. I've now written a guide for four of the five original Carmen Sandiego titles. That's really pretty cool. The shocking thing, however, is this: Now that I've finished this guide, this is the first time since April 2007 in which I haven't had an FAQ in progress! Don't worry, though; I'm not planning on easing into retirement - at least not yet. Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego is about 20 years old, so the graphics and sound are simplistic, even though they get the job done. But like all Carmen games, it's still fun and educational, and even 20 years later, all of the clues remain relevant. Time places a greater emphasis on history as opposed to geography than most Carmen games, although both have their role in deciphering clues. Despite the cartoony graphics and the bumbling V.I.L.E. underlings, the game is fun and educational for people of all ages. Note: I played the NES version of this game. I got a copy of the PC version from my public school system's surplus sales center a few years back, but someone had taken out the book needed to get past the promotion quizzes. That's why I played the NES version instead, which does not have off-disk copy protection. The NES version was released in 1991 and isn't much different from the PC version. If you're playing the PC version, almost everything in this guide will still make perfect sense to you. =============================================================================== Getting Started [START] =============================================================================== Pop your cartridge into the NES and turn the game on (first, though, I usually clean the edge connector with a Q-Tip moistened with Windex; this trick has made all my games work like new). If you're playing on a PC, copy the installation disk's files to a directory (probably C:\CARMTIME) and then click on the executable file (or, from DOS, enter CD\CARMTIME and then CARMEN). After the title screen, try fooling with the different floors on the elevator (the basement has abbreviated game credits; other floors display silly messages or return you to the title screen). Once you've had enough of the tomfoolery, go to Personnel and enter your name. Afterwards, you can enter a password to resume saved progress with that user name; the first time you play, however, you won't have any such password to enter. Let's take a brief look at the controls and menu options on your trusty Chronoskimmer 325i: The main screen displays the current location, the number of hours remaining, a photo from the current country and time period, and general information about where you currently are. ---Travel--- The Travel button allows you to depart to the next place and time. Usually there will be four choices available, but occasionally you'll have three or even two options on the travel list. ---Search--- At each location, you can talk to a Witness, query an Informant, or Scan for clues. "Witness" and "Informant" will always give you information about where the suspect went next and will occasionally yield a clue about the suspect's physical appearance and other traits. The Scanner only provides hints about the suspect's whereabouts. However, when you use the Scanner, some clues can be scanned several times, providing increasing detailed information, though at the cost of several hours of time. Also remember that the more places you search, the longer each investigation will take. ---Data--- "Evidence" sends you to the Crime Computer dialog. This allows you to input pieces of evidence into the various fields, such as hair color or favorite artist. When you think you have enough clues to get a warrant (usually two non- gender clues), select "Compute" to get the warrant, which you'll need to make a valid arrest on the suspect. "Dossiers" shows the personal data of each V.I.L.E. baddie. The Dossiers section found in this guide is more usable, however, but it is fun to see what each crook is supposed to look like. ---Abort--- If you get hopelessly lost and can't find your way back, select "Abort" to end the mission and start a new one. Even the best detectives make mistakes. Note that the A and B buttons are interchangeable throughout this game. =============================================================================== Walkthrough [WALKT] =============================================================================== This walkthrough will direct you through a sample case, showing the methods and strategies used during the game. Most of these clues appear in the actual game, although this case is shorter than they will normally be. From the Personnel floor, sign in with your real name or your favorite alias. Our briefing tells us that an unidentified woman was seen stealing Queen Elizabeth's tea set from 1952 England. The Federal Time Travel Commission has given us a 32-hour permit to solve this case. The FTTC has never granted an extension for extra time in a case, so you'll have to work quickly yet carefully. Our Chronoskimmer 325i boots up (you can tap A to speed up the countdown) and sends us to 1952 England. There are a number of buttons on the screen, but for now we should select the one marked "Search." This is where we can search for clues regarding the suspect's whereabouts, as well as for her physical appearance and other identifying characteristics. Let's start by speaking to a witness, who says that the suspect was studying Inca civilization. A quick glance at the encyclopedia says the Incas lived in Peru, so that's a useful hint. We then click "Travel," where our available options are China 400-1300, India 1300-1700, Peru 400-1300, and Peru 1900-. Notice how we can visit Peru in two different time periods. She could have been studying Peruvian culture in the future or going to examine it firsthand. So because of the ambiguous clue, we return to the "Search" submenu and ask an informant, who informs us that the suspect wanted to meet the Nazca and that she would love to own a print of "Starry Night." This clue tells us with more certainty; the Nazca were mysterious mound-builders in ancient Peru. Also, we learn a little more about the suspect, since that work was painted by van Gogh. From the main screen, click on the "Data" button and then "Evidence," which is where we input information we've learned about the suspect's identity. Keep pressing the button to scroll through the "SEX:" entry until it comes to "Female." Do likewise with "ARTIST:" - "Vincent van Gogh." If you modify the wrong field, just keep scrolling until it's blank again. We can't get a warrant yet because these clues aren't sufficient to rule out all possible suspects except one. Regardless, we now select "Travel" and warp to 400-1300 Peru. Continuing our investigation, we meet with a witness. When we do so, however, a V.I.L.E. underling appears on the screen - he's a well-armed cowboy. When you see people like that, you know you're on the right track. We learn that the suspect wanted to visit the Holy Roman Empire. This means we should be on our way to 400-1300 France. However, let's make a wrong turn just to see what happens. We play stupid and go to 1300-1700 Italy. When we talk to a witness, we're told "I wish I had something to tell you." We've made a wrong turn. Go back to the Travel menu and return to 400-1300 Peru. As Voltaire eloquently stated, the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, Roman, or an empire. Our temporary amnesia has dissipated, so we travel back to 400-1300 Peru. From here, we go to 400-1300 Spain. A witness tells us that the suspect wanted to sell distorted watches to Salvador Dali (tee-hee!) and that she has ebony hair. Ebony means black, so we enter "Black" under "Hair" on the appropriate evidence field. We know that Salvado Dali was a painter of recent times. Under Travel, our only options are 1300-1700 Holland, 400-1300 Mexico, 1900- Spain, and 1300- 1700 U.S.A. Our best bet is 1900- Spain. In Spain, we talk to a witness. This looks dangerous - an arrow from someone's crossbow comes whizzing by, just barely missing our heads! And we get a warning about the presence of sinister persons. When this happens, you know you're very close to the crook! However, just finding her won't be good enough. You can't make a valid arrest for someone if you don't have a warrant - or if you have the warrant for the wrong person. Getting a warrant is not all that difficult if you've been playing carefully. Click on the "Data" button, select "Evidence," and then select "Compute." If you've entered enough clues to narrow the list of possibilities down to just one suspect, you'll get the warrant you need. If you haven't found enough clues, you'll be shown a list of possible suspects. And if all possibilities are eliminated, then you know you've made some kind of mistake entering clues. Remember that getting a warrant consumes one precious hour of time, so use my dossiers to make sure you know you can get a warrant when you try to. In general, however, obtaining a warrant requires two character clues (besides gender), but sometimes you'll need three. Anyway, we should now have a warrant for the arrest of Lynn Gweeny. We search the next place on the investigation list, and someone shoots at us with a slingshot! Then we scan for clues. Looks like we've got 'er! If you have a valid warrant, the Capture Robot will reel Lynn in and put her in the pokey (at least until she escapes a few cases later). You'll also be one case closer to getting a promotion. After the message from ACME, you'll receive a password you can use to continue from this point the next time you sign in with that name. Make sure to write it down! You'll also have the option of beginning another case. =============================================================================== Dossiers [DOSSI] =============================================================================== Name Sex Hair Eyes Artist Author ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Carmen Sandiego F Black Brown Edgar Degas Fyodor Dostoyevsky Lynn Gweeny F Black Gray Vincent van Gogh Fyodor Dostoyevsky Molly Coddle F Brown Blue Edgar Degas Victor Hugo Kari Meback F Brown Brown Vincent van Gogh Victor Hugo 'Auntie' Bellum F Blond Hazel Mary Cassatt Katherine Anne Porter Minnie Series F Blond Blue Mary Cassatt Rudyard Kipling Sybil Servant F Red Gray Jose Orozco Katherine Anne Porter Sharon Sharalike F Red Hazel Jose Orozco Rudyard Kipling Justin Case M Black Blue Vincent van Gogh Victor Hugo Gene Yuss M Black Brown Vincent van Gogh Fyodor Dostoyevsky Nosmo King M Brown Hazel Edgar Degas Katherine Anne Porter Rudy Lepay M Brown Gray Jose Orozco Katherine Anne Porter Ernest Endeavor M Blond Blue Mary Cassatt Fyodor Dostoyevsky Russ T. Hinge M Blond Hazel Mary Cassatt Victor Hugo Earl E. Bird M Red Brown Jose Orozco Rudyard Kipling Lee & Bill Ding M Red Gray Edgar Degas Rudyard Kipling =============================================================================== Interpretation of Clues [CLUES] =============================================================================== These will help you figure out what each identity clue means. Ignore all qualifiers like "deep brown eyes;" that means brown. ---Hair--- Black: Dark as midnight, Ebony, Raven Blond: Color of flax, Must use peroxide, Real towhead Brown: Mahogany, Mousey brown Red: Auburn, Carrot top, Titian-colored ---Eyes--- Blue: Color of the Mediterranean Gray: Color of slate, Like a stormy sky Hazel: Deep-set hazel eyes, Tiny hazel eyes Brown: Big brown, Dark brown, Deep brown ---Author--- Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Subscribes to "The Writer's Diary"; "Crime and Punishment" and "The Idiot"; favorite literary character Dmitri Karamazov Victor Hugo: Exiled French author; Exiled by Napoleon III; "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"; Jean Valjean/Detective Jalbert Rudyard Kipling: England's first Nobel Prize winner; English author born in India; "Just So Stories"; Liked Shere Khan in "The Jungle Book" Katherine Anne Porter: Novels by a female American writer; A collection of prize-winning short stories; "Pale Horse, Pale Rider", "Ship of Fools" ---Artist--- Mary Cassatt: Famous female American artist; Female Impressionist painter; Arist born in America and a friend of Degas; Impressionist painting "The Bath" Edgar Degas: French Impressionist pastels; Collects paintings of ballet dancers; Wants to own "The Rehearsal" Jose Orozco: Artist referred to as the Mexican Goya; Famous Mexican muralist; Collects Mexican art; Likes work of a famous Mexican naturalist; Print of the fresco "Prometheus" Vincent van Gogh: Dutch post-Impressionist; Artist was once a missionary in Belgium; Wants a painting of sunflowers; "Starry Night" =============================================================================== Frequently Asked Questions [QUEST] =============================================================================== Q: What are the distinctions between the different detective ranks? A: Later cases usually require you to visit a larger number of locations before meeting up with the criminal. The chart below tells you the number of cases you must solve before you can reach each promotion. By the way, I don't think the passwords work unless you use the same name I used (it wasn't VINNY). Also, time limits can vary by about four hours; I only list the average. AVERAGE TOTAL CASES RANK TIME LIMIT COMPLETED PASSWORD Time Cadet 32 hrs.+/- 0 (none) Time Patroller 30 hrs.+/- 1 PBDBBBF Time Investigator 38 hrs.+/- 6 XNLDXBR Time Inspector 44 hrs.+/- 15 WNZZXZZ Time Detective 48 hrs.+/- 25 DDPPXZT Ace Time Detective 52 hrs.+/- 35 ZFHXJJN Super Time Sleuth 55 hrs.+/- Catch Carmen HHFBWWN Hall of Fame - 80 SJZNBWN Q: How long does it take to complete a case? A: For a fairly good player, about a minute per each location you have to visit. Each case requires you to visit as few as two or as many as ten different locations, so you can do the math. In terms of game time, you can finish a mission averaging four hours per location change if you make just one investigation for each location. Q: I'm having trouble with a clue. What should I do? A: If it's a clue relating to the suspect's identifying features, check the "Interpretation of Clues" section of this guide. As for hints about where to go next, try looking up key names and places in an almanac, encyclopedia, atlas, dictionary, The New American Desk Encyclopedia (included with the PC version), or other available sources. Q: I'm close to the crook, but I don't have enough clues to get a warrant. What do I do? A: You're probably going to have to make a guess, unless you have time to return to your previous location in an attempt to gather more clues. Suppose you know the suspect is female and has blonde hair. Your two possibilities are 'Auntie' Bellum and Minnie Series. Fill in all of either one of those suspects' features in the Crime Computer and get a warrant. After all, it's better to go with a 50-50 chance of solving the case than 0% odds. In the PC version, you can save your case right before the end and make a copy of your save file, and if you're playing on an emulator, you can use save states to your advantage. Q: Can I issue a warrant for more than one person? A: No. If you've gotten a warrant, and you select "Compute" to get a new one, the original warrant is invalidated. You might do this if you've forgotten whether you got a warrant earlier or if you've found new clues that contradict earlier information (because you made a mistake or misinterpreted a clue). Q: How many locations are there in this game? A: 48; there are 12 countries and four time periods, so 4 x 12 = 48. The countries are China, England, France, Holland, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Spain, and U.S.A., and the eras are 400-1300, 1300-1700, 1700- 1900, and 1900-1960. Q: I tried to get a warrant, but I got an "All suspects eliminated" message. What now? A: This is not a good situation! See if you can remember how you got some clues - if one was a little ambiguous or might have been recorded improperly. Try leaving an additional Evidence field empty - preferably one of the more dubious clues. Then issue a new warrant, and if you're lucky, you'll get one. Otherwise, use trial and error, leaving other fields blank, or just give up and start a new case. Q: What does V.I.L.E. stand for? A: Villain's International League of Evil. How vile! Q: Don't a couple of the names of the V.I.L.E. henchmen sound familiar? A: Three names appear in other games; because of their generic nature, however, it is probable that neither party was aware the names were first used in this game. Gene Yuss is one of the golfers in the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance versions of Mario Golf. I don't know if I want to admit to playing this game (it was kind of fun, but it tells everyone about how old I am), but in LEGO Island, Bill Ding was the name of one of the characters. Lastly, the name of Russ T. Hinge is reminiscent of Russ T., the sagacious mushroom citizen of Paper Mario who provides interesting information about side quests and other matters. Q: What happens if you try to sign in using the name of a V.I.L.E. henchman? A: In the PC version, you receive this message: "I trust you're joking! Acme's policy is never to hire known criminals. Please enter your real name or I'll have to call the authorities." In the NES version, however, only Gene Yuss has a name short enough to fit in the name entry prompt, and nothing unusual happens if you try to use that name. Q: How many messages appear in the Detective's Lounge? A: Keep going there and you might see a different outcome of your attempt to get a java fix. The full list: "Butterfingers!" "Please file an 'incorrect cup-drop' form with your supervisor." "Hope you catch crooks better than you catch cups." "This must be your lucky day!" "You don't have time to drink that. You'll be late for work." "Be careful! It's hot!" And for the Lab: "Wow! Now that's what you call good coffee!" "I think it's done." "Now I remember! You pour acid into water, not water into acid." Q: What other notes and tips do you have? A: Here are a few miscellaneous tips, tricks, hints, and observations for this game: * Be quick but take your time. It's faster to check two or three possible sources to get a more specific clue than to warp to a series of wrong locations or to be forced to return to your original location to gather more information. Each location change takes 2-4 hours. * Once you get a warrant, don't go sightseeing needlessly; only check enough sources (ideally one) to know where to go next. * No single sentence will tell you both a fact about the suspect's identity and where the character went. Also, identity clues will never appear alone; they will always be mentioned after a location clue. * Carmen Sandiego herself will never appear until you become an Ace Time Detective. For this reason, if you're following a black-haired woman who likes Fyodor Dostoyevsky, you can usually be confident it's Lynn Gweeny, not Carmen. * When you become an Ace Time Detective, you'll have to catch Carmen Sandiego before being promoted to the rank of Super Time Sleuth. If you learn that your suspect is male or doesn't have black hair (or otherwise can't be Carmen), don't abort the game, as solving these cases will still count toward reaching the Hall of Fame. * It can be helpful to keep notes on paper while playing. For example, you may want to write down a certain clue or keep track of the locations you've been to, in case you need to backtrack after making a mistake. * There's no way to skip the cutscenes showing the V.I.L.E. henchmen and underlings, although you can tap A or B to speed up the countdown when the Chronoskimmer launches. * If this program is to be used in an educational setting, it may be advantageous or necessary to pair students up, especially since most young people have studied very little geography and history in the modern school system. * Remember that clues about the Incas always point to Peru; Mayans mean Mexico. These clues show up A LOT. * Some of the clues are really funny; for example, you might find an object like "Nostradamus' predictions for the football pool," or someone might say "She was in jail long enough to read Crime and Punishment." * The game's description for France in the last time period omits a necessary "and." Q: How many guides have you written? A: 51 full guides, if you can believe that, along with several maps and text dumps. Visit www.gamefaqs.com/features/recognition/74793.html to see the full list of VinnyVideo guides. =============================================================================== Version History [VERSN] =============================================================================== Oh yeah, baby. Now we're getting down and dirty. This is why you read my far- out guides - for the Version History! Date | Version | Size | ---------|---------|------|---------------------------------------------------- 1-20-09 | 0.1 | 2KB | Began guide. Finished nine cases. 1-21-09 | 0.2 | 3KB | Did some stuff. Finished 32 cases. 1-22-09 | 0.25 | 4KB | Made progress on Interpretation of Clues. Now up | | | to 37 completed cases. 1-23-09 | 0.4 | 6KB | Wrote Dossiers. Completed 56 cases and caught | | | Carmen. 1-24-09 | 0.85 | 27KB | Beat the game and did first major work on guide. 1-25-09 | 1.0 | 28KB | Finished things up and proofread guide. =============================================================================== Copyright [COPYR] =============================================================================== (c) 2009 Vinny Hamilton. All rights reserved. All trademarks mentioned in this guide are copyrights of their respective holders. You can print this guide out for your personal use. You can download this guide to your computer for your personal use. You can translate this guide into a foreign language (British, Southern, Australian, and New Yorker are not considered foreign languages) and post the translation on your Web site as long as you ask permission first. You can post this guide on your Web site as long as you give proper credit AND you don't change a single letter, number, or symbol (not even a tilde). Remember that the latest version will always be available at GameFAQs.com, but don't count on there being frequent (if any) updates. You can't post this guide on your Web site and then say you wrote the guide yourself. You can't post this guide on Web sites that contain (or have links to sites that contain) explicit depictions of naked humans (also known as pornography), racism, gambling, or flattery of totalitarian regimes. You can't post this guide on your Web site if you're going to change anything in this guide that took me so many hours to write. If you don't comply with these guidelines, your hard drive will be reformatted inexplicably and you will suffer from constipation for the rest of your life. Heed this warning. =============================================================================== Contact Information [CONTC] =============================================================================== If you have any questions or comments about this guide, please send an e-mail to VHamilton002@gmail.com. That's zero-zero-two, by the way. Follow these guidelines if you want to ensure that I will read your e-mail: Do include "Carmen Sandiego" in the subject line. Do send polite suggestions for ways to make this walkthrough better. Do tell me about any errors or omissions you notice in this guide. Do send information about any glitches, tricks, or codes you find. Do ask any questions you have about Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego gameplay. I will respond eventually if you follow all of these rules. Do make a reasonable effort to use decent spelling, grammar, usage, punctuation, and capitalization so that I can understand what you're trying to say. Do use patience. I check my messages quite sporadically, and I have been known to go weeks without checking my inbox. Do not send spam, pornography, chain letters, "flaming," or anything that contains profanity or vulgarity. Again, violating this rule will result in deletion of the message and permanent constipation. And lastly, a public service message: Fight for and affirm the rights of all humans, regardless of race, age, or creed! And... Please don't steal other people's property. No one's going to read this, anyway. For Fred