Introduction

In Time Bandit, you virtually create your own game! You can choose from more than twenty places during the entire game, and each place has more than 15 distinct variations and levels of difficulty: this means over 300 variations in all! You can use the Time Gates to travel to three different Worlds of Time: Western World: Visit the Lost Maverick Mine, Dead Man's Pass. Avoid or destroy the Evil Guardians: the Watching Lurker, Angry Elmo, Killer Smurphs and lots more! Find the keys which remove various locks preventing your escape. But hurry Bandit - your power is dwindling and time is fleeting!

"All of Space is your Garden, and All of Time is Yours in which to Harvest it. You are the Time Bandit."

Stake your claim in Western World, seek the riches of Fantasy World, and explore the bizarre future in Space World! But beware, Bandit, strange creatures guard the precious loot of time!

Travel

You begin each leg of your venture from your grass hut at the "Timegates". From there, you must get a key (you may have to search for it!) and then get the lock.

Then make your way to the map of your choice (one of more than twenty!) by entering a pulsating "gate". Each gate represents a different map. When each new map appears, you Phase In. This will show you exactly where your Bandit is. You will encounter one-way doors in some maps, represented as a thin white wall with a green arrow pointing in the direction it allows you to travel. In some cases, you may run off the top of the map and reappear on the bottom (or vice-versa) if a passage permits. This is known as "warping". The enemy creatures must obey one way doors, but cannot warp.

Objectives

Once inside a map, you are trapped. In order to escape, you must take the "KEYS" shown on the screen as a white skeleton key) to the "LOCKS" (shown as keyholes). Only one Key can be carried at a time and it only unlocks the first Lock you reach. When all Locks are opened, you can reach the exit (shown as a Gate). A picture of the object that the Bandit is searching for will be at the top of the screen below your score. For example, you will see "GET" followed by a picture of a Key if that's what you need - or a picture of a Lock if you have a Key already, or a Timegate when all the Locks have been opened.

The name of the map you are in (at the top of the screen) is followed by a code (1A for example) showing what phase the map is at. The higher the phase, the higher the complexity and more locks blocking the exit. If you successfully reach phase 4D, a special Mystery Message will appear on the screen! Collect treasures (shown on the title page of the game) - The Bandit's main source of Power. The first treasure in each map is worth 100 points, the second 200, the next 300, etc. The treasure value indicator is near your score. Shooting the Evil Guardians is always fun! Not only do they crackle and sizzle, but you get 30 points!

Regeneration is vital to the Bandit's survival. For every 100 points of score you earn, one (1) point will be added to your Power (described below).

Hazards

Power is the life essence of the Bandit. It will begin at 100 (the maximum) but due to damage by creatures and exceeded time limits, will slowly decrease. Your Power strip is located on the right side of the screen during play. Use the strip for a quick glance, but the exact Power value is above the strip when it gets below (10), the whole screen will pulsate as a warning. If your Power goes below zero (0), you are dead.

Time is another obstacle the Bandit faces. Time travellers are unstable and can only remain in a map for a limited period of time. If your time (shown at the top of the screen) expires, your Power will decrease very rapidly.

A large and colourful array of creatures will assail you on your adventure. They make their appearance through spinning Portals located generously about each map. Just before one of the Evil Guardians come out, you may notice strange activity inside the Portal. Beware running by one! (A creature may wait to ambush you! If a creature touches (clobbers!) you, it will cause five (5) points damage to your Power.

Game Controls

Arrow keys/Joystick - Move you in the desired direction (if possible)
SPACE/FIRE - Fires horizontally in the direction you are facing
P/ENTER - Pause/Resume
Z - Fire left, / - Fire right

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