The Story So Far

Marty McFly, a senior at Hill Valley High, is late for class. But after tonight, when he gets behind the wheel of a nuclear-powered DeLorean invented by an exxentric scientist, Dr. Brown, Marty won't be late for anything. In fact, he'll be about thirty years early.

The year is 1955 and after hiding the car, and cautiously walking through his hometown, Marty meets up with troublemaker Biff as well as Lorraine and George, the two teenagers who will one day become his parents. This is where Marty's real trouble begins as Lorraine falls for him instead of George and Marty must now put things right before he can travel back to the future.

Playing Instructions

The object of the game is to get George and Lorraine to fall in love. To do this you must get them together; there are however other characters who make this difficult. You control Marty McFly, the hero of Back To The Future.

The other characters are:

Dr. Emmett Brown (or 'Doc') [Dressed in white]
Dr. Brown builds the incredible time machine which takes Marty back into the past. He sometimes can be helpful and sometimes gets in the way. Biff always walks away from him.

Biff Tannen [Dressed in brown]
The school bully. He will hit out at you whenever he has the opportunity. If you are moving fast on the skateboard, his punch will miss you.

Lorraine Bates [Dressed in yellow]
Lorraine is Marty's mother. However, as the time is 1955, she is now a young girl and does not know that Marty will one day be her son. She is starting to fall in love with Marty. If she does not meet and marry Marty's father then the future will change and Marty and his family will cease to exist.

George McFly [Dressed in blue]
George is Marty's father; in 1955, a teenager. He is shy and prefers to keep away from the action. Marty must get him to fall in love with Lorraine if he is to ever be born.

Marty's Photograph

At the bottom left of the screen is Marty's photograph. As you play the game, the picture will either build up or be erased. As more picture is erased, the future is corrupted and your existence will be in jeopardy.

The Family Photograph

To the bottom right of the screen is the photograph which Marty carries around with him showing him and his brother and sister. As Marty's photograph is completely erased or revealed this photograph will have another segment removed or added. If this photograph is completely revealed then you will have succeeded in preserving the future and the existence of yourself and your family.

If, however, this photograph is completely erased then you will have failed to save yourself and family and the future will no longer contain you!

Object Icons

To save your future: you, as Marty, must make sure that your future parents, George and Lorraine, fall in love. As they spend more time together (they must stand next to each other) so they will fall in love and segments will be added to Marty's Photograph and the Family Photograph. There are four different sorts of objects which are shown on the four left hand Icons at the top of the screen. These are:

1. Love Poems
   In the film, Marty writes these for George to recite to Lorraine in the Coffee Shop. These may be found in the school.
2. A Cup of Coffee
   This is from the Coffee Shop.
3. Alien Suit.
   In the film, Marty disguises himself as an alien to frighten George into going to the school dance with Lorraine. This can be found in Dr. Brown's house.
4. A Guitar
   Marty plays this at the school dance. The guitar can be found in the dance hall.

As you walk past these objects their icon at the top of the screen lights up yellow. If you pick one of them up (you can only carry one at a time) then the icon will turn white to show what you are carrying.

You may then use the object to influence one of the other characters when you are close enough to them. (You can tell when you are close enough because their Character Icon will turn white.)

The same object may have different effects on different people. You may find it useful to make a list of the effects different objects have on different characters. The effect will always be one of the following:

1. The character will turn away.
2. The character will follow you.
3. The character will stand still.
4. The character will ignore the object.

Character Icons

At the bottom of the screen in the centre are four Character Icons which refer to Dr. Emmett Brown, George, Lorraine and Biff. These indicate when characters are affecting each other's behaviour. If one character meets any other and is not already doing something then their icon will flash white.

If you wish to influence another character's behaviour with one of the objects then you must get close to the character, when you are close enough their Icon will turn white, then if you use the object then their Icon will turn green for as long as they are under the influence of that object. For instance, if you wish to make Lorraine stand still you might collect the Alien Suit then find Lorraine and when her Icon turns white use the Alien Suit, then her Icon will turn green and she will stay in the same place until the influence of the Alien Suit wears off and her Character Icon returns to blue.

These Icons can be useful for locating characters who are off screen if you keep a watch on who's meeting and influencing who.

They are also very useful for telling when George and Lorraine are together.

Skateboarding

You may use a skateboard to get about quickly. The skateboard can be quickly constructed from old packing cases which local children have been playing with.

The skateboard icon is located at the top right of the screen and functions in the same way as the Object icons, turning yellow as you walk past a skateboard and white if you get on it. You may carry objects while skateboarding but will have to get off the skateboard to use them. You cannot punch anyone while you are skateboarding.

Punching

If Biff punches you hard enough then you will fall down and be unable to get up for a short time. Similarly you may punch Biff and knock him down for a short time.

The Clock

At the bottom of the screen is a clock which will keep track of how long you are taking to play the game. The time it takes to complete the game will indicate the amount of skill you have.

Returning To The Future

Once you have successfully exposed the whole of the Photograph then you must get to the Doc's house to pick up the Time Machine (built from a DeLorean car). You must enter the Doc's house when you leave it the Time Machine will appear and whisk you Back to the Future.

Levels

There are five levels to choose from. If you do not select a level, the game will play on level 4. Level 1 is the easiest.

As the levels get harder you will start the game with less of the photograph revealed and the characters' behaviour will change to make play more difficult.

Game Controls

Use joystick to control Marty.
Move left/right. Move up to go through door.

With fire button pressed, move left/right to punch in that direction.
With fire button pressed, move up to pick up object or get on skateboard.
With fire button pressed, use object or get off skateboard.

If using the keyboard, use the cursor keys in conjunction with the space bar.

F1 - Start Game, F3 - Select Level, F5 - Terminate the game (during play), F7 - Pause/Continue

Loading

Cassette-based computer
Press CTRL-ENTER

Disc-based computer
|TAPE (RETURN)
Press CTRL-ENTER (RETURN)

Credits

Written by Martin Walker
Designed by Mark Eyles and Martin Walker
Converted by Software Images