Ranarama

Scenario

Mervyn the sorcerer’s apprentice has inadvertently changed himself into a frog whilst trying to make a potion to improve his looks! Trapped in a dungeon with only evil Warlocks and their minions for company, he must escape…

##Playing the Game

You start in one of the rooms on the top level of the dungeons. Your aim is to explore each room in turn to track down the evil Warlocks, but you will also have to fight their malevolent minions. In some rooms there are also squat weapon generators which create spinning blades and other weapons to attack you. You can destroy these for extra points.

Each room lights up as you enter it. You will see the room’s inhabitants and magical floor Glyphs (if any) which can be used to help you. When you locate a Warlock, leap on top of him to enter a ritual combat in which you must put the letters of the word RANARAMA in the right order before time runs out. Pairs of letters may be swapped by moving a cursor over them and pressing FIRE.

When a Warlock is defeated, the runes he holds are scattered to the four winds. Collect as many of them as you can before they fade and die, as you can use them to cast spells to increase your power and resilience.

Glyphs

The Glyphs on the floor of most rooms help you in your quest.

Sorcery

At least 5 screens of information can be accessed using UP/DOWN to scroll through them. The first screen shows spells currently in use and also runes collected so far. Subsequent screens give details on other active spells and spells which can be cast using the runes collected. These can be cast by pressing the FIRE button.

Spells

There are also four types of spells:

• Power
• Offence
• Defence
• Effect

You start the game with the weakest versions of each but as you collect runes from defeated Warlocks, you may cast stronger versions. You will need these to survive in the lower levels!

Bear in mind that spells should be evenly matched. A strong Offense spell, for example, makes your fire more powerful but also rapidly drains a weak Power spell so you might die from lack of power.

You start the game with Psychic, the second weakest Power spell, with Mortal (the weakest) in reserve. Your power continually drains at a steady rate and if you do not succeed in replenishing it with Energy Crystals or a stronger Power spell, you will eventually fade and drop to the Mortal level. If you fail a second time on Mortal you die for good.

You also start with the weakest Offense spell (Zap), which means that some generators and creatures will need several hits to destroy. Your Defense spell (Protect) is also weak, giving you only minimal protection against attack. Your initial Effects spell (Find) enables you to locate invisible doors. If you suspect there is one in your current room, stop and press fire. Any hidden doors will then be revealed.

Energy Crystals

You will stumble across these floating, spinning crystals from time to time. Touch them to absorb their energy and replenish your power level.

The Evil Minions

The following shows the scoring and relative strength for the various fighters you encounter in the dungeon.

Warlocks

The following shows the scoring and relative strength for the various mages you encounter in the dungeon.

Controls

Use a joystick.

Credits

PROGRAMMER: Gary J. Foreman
MUSICIAN: Steve Turner
DESIGNER: Steve Turner