Got hero? Talesworth Adventure Episode One, a challenging puzzle game from Sean "Jinx" Gailey (MrJinx), really hopes you do, because the people cry out for a hero as cunning as he is strong and brave. Unfortunately, all they've got is Questy, who, on a scale of one to ten in the brains department, is brick. Fortunately Questy's got you and an undying love of big sacks of cash to help him reach his goal. Along the way, he'll learn the true meaning of friendship, and lessons about life and love. Or, uh. Get shot with a whole bunch of arrows and fall down a whole lot of pits. Which, when you think about it, is practically the same thing.
The goal is to use the tools at your disposal to get Questy to the exit of each level, preferably with any treasure he might find. Click on an item from the sidebar, and then click on a valid spot on the floor to place it. Different items will affect Questy's journey in different ways; one-way doors will slam shut behind your hero, for example, and bags of money will always send him running in their direction. When you've laid out your course, click GO! to send Questy off on his way and hopefully towards success. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.... oh, wait, it totally is. Just hit the reset button on the left if you get stuck in a loop, or click clear tools to have all placeables instantly returned to your inventory. (Or just click on one to pick it up again when Questy stops.)
Initially, the only thing that stands between Questy and sweet, sweet victory is the occasional locked door you'll need to grab the key for. As the levels progress, however, things get trickier; pressure plates, pitfalls, angry monsters and more all stand between you and sweet, sweet loot. I don't know why dragons bother with the elaborate maze setup, really; I'd just rig up a giant novelty anvil over the entrance. Happily, the game also autosaves your progress, so when you need to give your gray matter a cool down, Questy will be waiting at the start of your last level when you get back like a faithful golden retriever. An exceptionally thick one. The sort with uncontrollable drooling.
Analysis: So allow me to put on my patented Captain Obvious hat and say that this game is quite a bit different from Mr Jinx's previous title, Talesworth Arena, which shares only a fantasy motif and a partial title with Talesworth Adventure. This is a puzzler distilled down to its purest, blocky visual'd essence. No cheap gimmicks tacked on to pad the gameplay or unnecessary story; Mr Jinx, who apparently also specialises in really awesome clothes (warning: some designs may be a bit gory for the kiddies), has given us a love letter to yesteryear, when games were more about challenge and brainpower than your graphics card. Which is not to say the 8-Bit look is also nice, but the endlessly looping retro track had me glad for the mute button after five minutes. Which, I guess, is authentic too.
The progression of difficulty and addition of new items and obstacles as you go along definitely keeps things feeling fresh, which is a good thing considering how brain-bending some of the levels can be. The easy stance on resetting means you can resort to trial-and-error if you need to, but some sort of hint system would have done wonders for my frustration. If that strikes you as the quibble of a quibbler who is maybe not so good at maze puzzles, you would be correct. What do you want from me, Questy?! Admittedly, this does make that moment of "Eureka!" all the more satisfying when it strikes.
What's nice is that the game never feels unfair. All the levels are well designed and conquering them will have you patting yourself on the back when you're not sagely stroking your chin and gazing off thoughtfully into the ether, you big, brave, brain-ninja, you. Offering a meaty feast of 30 levels and three bonus maps to test your heroic mettle against, Talesworth Adventures Episode One is a challenging retro adventure . What's next for Questy? I predict a tempestuous romance with lone adventurer, Questina. Or perhaps a duel in the pixel wastelands with evil Lord Questymort. Only time will tell!
Personally, I don't think "Talesworth Adventure" really captures the feel of this game. How about "ChuChu Dungeon" instead?
I <3 Questy!
I tried playing this, but after a few of the red/green trolls, I gave up. I'm partly colorblind, but I'm capable of faking my way through most things using context - that shadowy patch of grass is dark green, that dried bloodstain on the driveway is dark red, etc.
Context is something lacking with these trolls - the only difference between a red troll and a green troll, or a red axe and a green axe, is the color. And frankly, they look the same to me.
I know the palate-shifting is an attempt to hold true to the 8-bit game era ("You're fighting a wolf/winter wolf/warg wolf/werewolf"!). But I would appreciate being able to toggle a high-contrast option (a la Exorbis 2) to use different sprites for the different baddies and their corresponding necessary weapons.
I want to be able to play it; I like the puzzles and the mechanics. The stages I got through were fun and challenging, with enough "Ooh, that's a clever solution!" to get me hooked. I'd just prefer to not have to wrestle with mechanics that aren't supposed to be puzzles.
Help? I'm on level 11 and...
my quandary is: how to let him have both the key and the locked door. Either I put the one-way door immediately after the first cave and let him get to the locked door, or I put the door underneath the circle center allowing him to get the key, but not both. Also, either way I have an extra bag of gold, but I'm not sure what to do with it.
I really like this one, but I am stuck on "How Many Ways to Skin an Ogre."
Nevermind, got it!
Stuck on "Can't Get Blood from a Stone", and the video walkthrough somehow manages to conveniently skip the hard part:
That darn thief and the darn gem!
Hmmm. There doesn't appear to be a way to trap the boulder in "Gathers No Moss", which dooms you to a squishy death no matter how far ahead you think (sooner or later, you MUST cross paths with the boulder).
Not fair. Where's this walkthrough I've heard mentioned? Sounds like cheatery to me... which looks like what's required for that one.
The penultimate level gave me some trouble for a while too, because I couldn't figure out how to get the gem back from the thief. The trick is:
If you kill him in the earlier level in which he appears ("A stranger among us," I think the 3rd purple level), then he isn't there in the second-to-last level, allowing you to nab the gem.
Fun stuff so far! I solved the third and fourth purple levels (including the gems) with one bag left in each, though bpsp's comment makes me think that I was supposed to do something else in the former.
Okay, so I just hate boulders. It's especially annoying to have to plan 15 course corrections ahead for a boulder run when you can't keep the guy alive long enough for the boulder to execute 5 of them...
If I had to criticize, I'd say some of the levels were just plain too hard: not figure-out-able ahead of time unless you had the walkthrough. There was no predicting where to put some of the tools, no matter how hard you squint -- you just had to be psychic.
Fun stuff! As an old-time player of DROD (http://caravelgames.com/Articles/Games.html) I love the old style dungeon puzzle games and would recommend checking out that game if you liked this one.
5/5
I've beaten the game (AND nabbed the gems on the way) without the help of a walkthrough, so at the very least I can say it's figure-out-able. It just takes lots of patience and time. I'm now stuck on the last two bonus rooms...
(I didn't mean to sound like a braggart, I just want to reassure you that there's nothing impossible or unfair here, merely really hard. I only beat it because I put a ton of time into it!)
For the life of me, I can't get past bonus room #2
Hyep. Bonus #2 is also stumping me severely. Bonus 3 is pretty easy, actually, compared to this and the final level.
I am enjoying this as well, but I do not understand the 4-way intersection explanation. It says that Questy only cares about them if there is a T intersection created by a one-way gate. Regardless of what I've tried, Questy ignores the arrow instructions and continues straight through?
Yeah: Questy will go straight through the 4-way intersection unless he physically can't -- that is, when the way is blocked by a gate. That is, when the 4-way intersection becomes a 3-way intersection, then he will treat it like any nomral T-intersection... so only one of the arrows will mater.
I don't think ever matters. It only shows up twice in the game, and I don't think any solution involves him turning on one of those. I guess they only bothered introducing it because it will be an element in future games?
Managed to solve the last level with the dragon using only 5 out of the 7 gold bags and only 2 out of the 3 one-way doors. Somehow, I don't think that this is what the creator intended, since it circumvents most of the obstacles on the screen. But it gets you to the dragon, sword in hand! With the gem to boot!
Counting squares from the top left of the screen, place the bags at 4 down/6 across; 6 down/6 across; 9 down/5 across; and 7 down/12 across. Place the doors at 3 down/6 across and 9 down/10 across. This allows the boulder to crush the red ogre. You ignore the green ogre, follow the boulder, grab the sword, and you're done.
For those stuck on the second bonus level, here's a broad hint. The ogre should be killed in the following order:
Get green axe, kill green ogre (top right), swap axes, kill first red ogre (bottom right), then second red ogre (top left), get jewel, swap axe again, kill final green ogre (bottom left), exit.
The dragon level - I actually do think the "too simple" solution is the intenden one. The green ogre and the surplus tools are just red herrings.
The way with all the surplus tools is the only way you can get the gem. The longer way is probably supposed to be more obvious (it was for me), but you need to find the the shortcut if you want the gem.
Too adorable! And the perfect length and difficulty for a between-classes break.
I can't seem to find the video walkthrough though. Could someone provide a direct link please?
And would a text-only hint-through be useful?
Second bonus room is easy as long as you're not afraid to use ALL the money bags. Load 'em up, consider the proximities, and away you go. The logical solution is the right one, just pay the man his money and he'll work for you.
Here's a solution for bonus room 2:
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2ppg7qo&s=5
I didn't use spoiler tags cuz you obviously have to copy/paste the link in order to see it.
I went the long way on the Dragon Level, killing both baddies with axes while also getting the gem. So either way (short or long) seems to finish up the last level nicely.
how do you get the last two gems in "who does the dirty work" and can't get blood from the stone"?
great game :)
Enjoying this game a lot, but cannot seem to work out 'How many ways to skin an ogre'
Any hints?
Power of posting, just got it...
:)
HOOOW do you get past 'How many ways to skin an ogre?'??
There's a bug (or maybe a clue) on the last level, there's no arrow on the upper right T, and questy just run straight into the wall.
HELP. Sooo stuck on "Boulders care nothing for loot" Tips?
I'm on "Line 'Em Up", and it's different from what I see in the video walkthroughs. I've only got three ogres instead of five and a yellow door blocking off the key. What's the deal?
Totally stuck on "Boulders care nothing for loot". Help?
I believe I'm playing the new version of this game. I am also seeing only three ogre things and the door is closed.
The spoiler for the dragon level just got me fire in the face.
The new "Line em' up" level can be easily beaten with only afew changes to the video. The solution i came up with is below:
To start, move the one way door right one space so it is now seperating the entry corridor from the rest of the level (the first arrow should be pointing straight at it). Then use gold bags to travel up and around the middle pillar, circumventing the first trap as you travel along the middle hallway. add a treasure bag next to the lever to pull questy down, and leave the rest as the video tells you. in all you should have one spare bag leftover. enjoy ;)
I didn't have a spare bag left over like Matt had, but this one works as well:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3827/taleu.jpg
:D
Muddgirl: The video isn't meant to be a here-how-to-cheat its meant to show you how to get to the exit not bag all the gems.
Here is a picture of how I did the last level.
It works and you get the gem to boot.
http://i742.photobucket.com/albums/xx67/castratedcarl/TalesworthAdventureLastLevel.jpg
I like how there are so many solutions to the final (Dragon) level!
Here is one more that finishes with the gem using the format from upper left of (# spaces down, # spaces over):
Bags: (4,6), (6,10), (7,12), (10,12), and (11,11)
Gates: (3,6), (6,13), and (9,10)
Does anyone else think that Questy looks a lot like Groo the Wanderer? Just wandering. Er...I mean wondering. Now, where's the cheese dip?
Ok. I can't figure out how to get the gem in bonus room 3. Just getting the treasure is easy. I looked up the walkthrough, but it's not right. They must have updated it, because of the arrows in the video is pointing a different direction than the one in the game.
Anyone have any suggestions/solutions?
As far as bonus room 3 goes, I have a solution (with gem) but no way to show it visually. But if you think about the board as a 12x16 grid with the rows numbered 1-12 and the columns labeled A-P then:
gold bags at 2K,5F,6B,6G,8J,9L,&10F
one-way doors at 8E & 8F
Kennyb274: thanks for the walkthrough on bonus room 3, it really helped me to get the gem :)
Can't figure out 12. For reference:
http://twitpic.com/1m9b5n
It looks like I need 2 more to solve it, but obviously some have gotten past it. Help?
Another way to explain bonus room three (getting the gem)
Is to remove the third and fifth gold bags shown in the video, place the two one way traps to the left of the X (arrow trap). Then place one gold bag in front of the lever and the other where the green doors are.
Funny thing is, I figured out how to get rid of the thief before the level in which he steals the gem. Since I was such a nice guy, I let him live - long enough to stab me in the back. Later, I went back and got rid of him. But now there are three arrow traps in my way that I used the thief to disarm earlier... With the thief gone, how do I beat the level? I know that the only way past the traps is to
use the boulder as a shield
but I have no idea how to delay Questy long enough to do it! Any suggestions?
Kevinb1229:
An important hint you got ingame was that Questy gets lured by treasure bags. when there's two treasure bags in his sight, he will go for the one that's closer than the other.
I think that practically solves your question.
I'm on the third red level, and i can't figure out how to block the arrow thingy.
I know I need to double hit the switch, but can't figure out how.
Update