Introduction

In an age of monsters and magic, the land of Galaduirl existed peacefully within itself and with its neighbours. Trade was plentiful and the rulers were just and wise. In time, the monarchs had a daughter and named her Thelda, princess of the land and heir to the throne. All was good with the world.

Some people don't like peace and quiet, as others don't like dogs barking at ghosts in the night. One such person didn't particularly like either, and dealt with the dogs with a slow death. He had such plans for the peace, too.

His name was Divinax, once-wizard of the realm... With an ease that betrays total surprise on the unwitting part of the victim, he stole away with Thelda and secreted her far away from prying eyes. The King and Queen were devastated. They called upon their bravest knights and magicians to rescue their daughter, but all were too aware of Divinax's vaunted power. Only a mere squire came forward, but with a spirit and fire that could not be denied. The king allowed this youth to go forward, and charged him with finding the six pieces of the lifeforce, the only way to save his daughter. The squire left at once with the promise of Thelda's hand as reward.

The Quest For Thelda

The Quest For Thelda is an arcade game for the Color Computer III with 128K or 512K, disk drive, and joystick and is an achievement in programming. I want to thank you for purchasing this software instead of pirating it, and thereby supporting future production of quality software for the Color Computer I, II and III.

The disk included in this package is called a "flippy" because one can access both sides merely by flipping the disk in the drive. Each side is labelled. This disk contains sides one and two. The label corresponding to its indicated side will be on the right side of the disk, assuming you insert the disk vertically. This is shown on the label by an arrow pointing to the write-protect notch that is being used. This notch always goes up. To test this, insert Disk One ///

into drive 0 and type DIR and press ENTER. You should see the file THELDA.BIN. If you do not see this file, you have inserted the wrong side.

Backups

You cannot make a backup of the first disk. The Quest For Thelda is copy protected, and this disk cannot be copied. You can, however, backup disk two to protect your investment somewhat. Copy this disks with the BACKUP command and keep it in a safe place. If you have problems with the original Disk One within the first year of use, you can return the disk for replacement (refer to the warranty on the back cover).

Loading

First initiate a cold start (turn the computer off and on again after about 10 seconds) and insert the Game Disk into drive 0. Type:

LOADM"THELDA"

If you have a 512K CoCo III, it will load all needed information before the game starts, otherwise it will load the data as it is needed.

Initiating A Game

Upon loading, the title screen will appear. After the title music, you may start the game. If you wish to play a keyboard game, press Space. However, if you wish to play a joystick game (using the right joystick) then press the Fire button.

The title will scroll off and you will be presented with the game selection screen. Here you can either start a new game or continue a game previously in progress.

To continue an old game, you must have had a game previously registered. Move the pointer to the game name you wish to continue. This is done by using the up and down arrows of the keyboard (if playing a keyboard game) or by moving the joystick up and down (if playing a joystick game). Selection is accomplished by either pressing the Spacebar or the joystick button.

If you wish to tart a new game, move the pointer to REGISTER YOUR NAME and select it. If there is an opening (there are three available game slots), then you will be prompted to enter a name for your game. This may be ten characters in length. Press ENTER when completed. Now, you may move the pointer to your newly registered game select it to begin play. If you wish to have more than the three available slots, merely copy disk 2 to a formatted disk and use the copy as your new disk 2.

If you wish to delete a game you no longer want to play, move the pointer to ELIMINATION MODE and select it. After selecting, you may move the pointer to any of the three game slots and select it to delete it from the save area. It should be noted that once a game is deleted, there is no way to regain it. After deleting, move the pointer to EXIT and select it to go back to the selection area.

Starting The Game

After you've selected a game you wish to play (or continue) you will start the game. No matter if you're starting a new game or continuing an older game, you will start from the same position each time you play.

Main Game Screen

When actually playing the game, you will be viewing the "main game screen". The majority of the screen will be occupied by the game area but sections above the play area will initially display your physical strength, magical strength, the number of coins, and bombs you currently possess.

Your physical (heart) strength indicator is in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Your strength is measured in red hearts. Each half-red hearts is worth a strength point. Strength (hearts) are deducted when you make contact with an evil character or any projectile launched from them; therefore, the more hearts you have, the more hits you may sustain before death. Hearts may be collected from creatures or bought from merchants. Obtaining heart containers (larger hearts) will increase your capacity to hold more hearts.

Your magical strength indicator is situated directly below your heart indicator. This is also measured in half-units. As you progress through the game you will be given the opportunity to execute magical spells to aid you on your journey. However, each specific spell requires a certain level of magic strength. Magic strength can be increased by obtaining the magic potions (which will restore used magic strength) dropped by enemy creatures or by obtaining magic containers (which will increase your capacity of magic strength).

The number of coins, keys and bombs are listed on the upper right hand side of the screen. You may collect coins from creatures. Collect coins to use later in merchant stores. You may have a maximum of 250 coins, eight bombs and nine keys at one time. Keys are used to unlock doors and bombs are used against enemies or to find hidden openings in walls.

Implement Screen

Press BREAK during gameplay to activate the implement screen. It is here that you can select the various objects or spells to be used during play. Move the pointer to the implement you would like to use and select it using either spacebar or the joystick button. Now you may move to the spell you wish to use in the same manner. Press BREAK again when done with the implement screen.

The following are the items automatically activated (no user intervention required):

Following are items self-activated (using clear or 2nd joystick button)

Gameplay

Control the character using the four arrow keys and spacebar or the joystick and the button. In order to attack with your sword, press the primary fire button. You will always use ENTER to activate spells but you may either press the CLEAR key or the 2nd joystick button (if available) to use implements. Press BREAK to access your implement subscreen.

Pause

During the game, you can press ALT to pause. You may then either press ALT again to continue or X to quit the game and save progress to disk.

Overground

You start the game in the vast area known as the overground. Here you will find fairies who will restore your health, a graveyard filled with ghosts (Don't touch the tombstones!), and many winding and twisting passages. Occasionally, you will find caves that you may go down. It is here where you will do most of your game playing. Creatures are numerous and sometimes you will find it to your advantage just to run rather than attack large groups. There are various terrain types and logical rules stand (you can't walk on water or through rock) unless magic is involved.

Underground

It is only underground where you can recover the pieces of the life force. Underground you will find objects that will help you on your journey. And if you're lucky, you may come across an Old Wizard who might teach you a spell or two. Before you may acquire a piece of the life force, you must do battle with the evil guardian creature of that underground level. There are six different underground levels; each with its own guardian boss and each level harder than the previous. As with the overground, some creatures here have treasures and coins and will relinquish them only upon their demise.

Your goal is to recover the six pieces of the Life Force. The minions of the guardians will inevitably stand in your way. Kill these various creatures with your sword. Different creatures may require different number of hits, although you must discover this for yourself.

Spells

You may activate a spell by pressing ENTER during gameplay, however your magic strength needs a focus through which to do its work. This focus is a magic crystal ball found somewhere in the land. Therefore, a spell will only activate when it has (1) been selected using the implement screen, (2) the magic crystal ball has been obtained, and (3) you have enough magical power to execute the spell. The spells and their function will be left for you to discover!

End Of Play

This situation occurs when no hearts remain on the life counter. At the end of your game, your progress will be recorded on disk so you may continue later. The game will then revert back to the title screen.