Elixir

Imagine the scene:

You are Cyril, a likeable old gentleman - the proprietor of a small but busy chemist's shop. One evening, after a hard day's work, you accidentally take a swig of potent liquid: a strong reducing agent.

Within minutes you have shrunk down to the size of a bottle of aspirins. Frightened and alone, at first you panic... then you remember the magic elixir which is stored at the back of the shop on the top shelf.

The elixir just might restore you to your normal size... it's your only hope. But can you possibly reach it; you'll have to work out a suitable route by climbing up and down and across the shelves.

A fascinating, humorous game packed with strategical puzzles and problems. Keep clear of the lipstick missiles, leap over the exploding flash-bulbs, dodge the dripping acid, and watch out for the curious "circulasaurus" creature!

Scenario

Poor old Cyril! Alone in his chemist's shop one night, he mistakenly swallowed a powerful reducing agent - leaving him only inches tall. What is he going to do? Sitting down and carefully thinking for almost an hour, it suddenly dawned on him. It wasn't guaranteed to work, but it was his only real hope for returning to his normal size: he must reach the magic elixir - which is stored at the back of the shop on the top shelf.

Objective

You play the role of Cyril. Inside his chemist's shop are many shelves - laden with bottles, boxes, pills and potions.

With your ultimate aim being to reach the elixir, you must first consume all 40 red vitamin pills located on the various shelves.

To move between the shelves you must walk, climb and jump. You can jump on, and between, various objects, providing they are not too high, simply by pressing a combination of the directional keys listed below. For example, by pressing the "Z" and "*" keys simultaneously, you will jump left. To move between shelves the tubes, thread and string can prove to be very useful. To climb up or down these items press "*" and "?" key and keep holding the key down until you reach your required level.

The Pills

There are six different coloured pills that you will come across:-

The Status Screen

At any time during the game you can select the Status Screen by pressing the RETURN key. The Status Screen shows: your score, the number of lives you have remaining and your current inventory.

Problem Solving

The game involves many problems to be solved; red pills may seem inaccessible or gaprs too wide to cross. However, there is a solution to every problem and a number of items are available to aid you in your quest. You do not have to decide when to use your collected objects; if you have a useful asset, it will be applied when you reach the appropriate position. (A chine normally indicates a change in your list of assets)

Getting Started

Here is a suggested route for getting through the first two screens:-

Jump onto the purple box to the left. Your first objective is to collect the piece of thread on the box above your head. Jump left across the gap. Now, you cannot jump high enough to get onto the jars immediately to your left, so you must walk to the left until you reach a box you can jump onto.

Jump onto this box and then by jumping to the right, you can climb onto increasingly taller boxes and jars. If you continue to go to the right you will reach the thread which you can pick up. You will find this extremely useful later when you come across a hook.

Now you should jump to the left onto the next shelf, and then by jumping up the containers you can reach the red vitamin pill.

Next, you should move to the left onto the adjacent screen. (Overhead you can see the keyhole to the darkroom. However, you are too large to get through this keyhole without a little lubrication). You should now aim to collect the second red pill by jumping across the tops of the bottles, but be careful to avoid the magenta pill - by jumping over it, otherwise it will cause you to slow down.

If you move to the left onto the next screen, you will see the mysterious vanishing cream. Now, you have another 38 red vitamin pills to collect before you reach the elixir - so jump to it!

Scoring

Your objective is to reach the elixir. However, the remedy is only effective when you have collected all 40 red vitamin pills; you wil then have amassed 2000 points. 50 points are gained every time you collect a red pill.

Game Controls

Z - Left, X - Right, * - Jump/Climb Up, ? - Climb Down
RETURN - Select Status Screen, ESCAPE - Exit from game

BBC Micro: f0/f1 - Pause On/Off, f2/f3 - Sound On/Off
Electron: 1/2 - Pause On/Off, 3/4 - Sound On/Off

Loading

Tape: CHAIN"" (RETURN)
Disc: SHIFT-BREAK