Castlequest
Encyclopedia
Castlequest is an adventure
/puzzle-hybrid video game. It was developed and published by ASCII Corporation in 1986 for the Family Computer console and MSX
computers, and was subsequently released in 1989 for the NES
in the United States by Nexoft Corporation.
It is the sequel to The Castle
, released in 1985 for the MSX, Sega SG-1000, and other systems (though not the Family Computer or NES).
and ASCII Turbo File
peripherals for saving and loading game progress. When the game was reworked for the US NES release, the save/load feature was removed (the NES does not have the 15-pin expansion port which the Turbo File connects to). However, the player has 50 instead of 4 lives initially. There are two magical fairies to help. Another obvious difference between the MSX and NES/Family Computer versions is that the player can attack enemies with his sword (or dagger) only in the NES/Family Computer versions. While this attack is limited because the enemy must be very close to the player for the kill to take place, which puts the player in the risk of being killed by the enemy because timing is crucial. The prince can dash and retrieve his weapon on a timely basis, and attacking in the wrong time can prevent the player from launching another attack when the enemy is in the right location to be attacked, leading to the certain loss of one life from the player.
This scenario, however, is not relevant to the MSX version, since the only way to eliminate an enemy is to throw an object on it, or to force the enemy to climb an escalator and remain there until it is crushed to the ceiling.
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
/puzzle-hybrid video game. It was developed and published by ASCII Corporation in 1986 for the Family Computer console and MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
computers, and was subsequently released in 1989 for the NES
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
in the United States by Nexoft Corporation.
It is the sequel to The Castle
The Castle (game)
The Castle is an MSX game released by ASCII Corporation in 1986. It is composed of a castle with 100 rooms, most of which contain one or more puzzles the object of the game is to navigate through the Castle to rescue the Princess. The player can push certain objects throughout the game to...
, released in 1985 for the MSX, Sega SG-1000, and other systems (though not the Family Computer or NES).
Gameplay
The object of the game is to navigate through Groken Castle to rescue Princess Margarita. The player can push certain objects throughout the game to accomplish progress. In some rooms, the prince can only advance to the next room by aligning cement blocks, Honey Jars, Candle Cakes, and Elevator Controlling Block. In some rooms, this can be quite time consuming since the prince can only open a particular door if he can stand by the door. Meaning that he can not open the door while jumping in mid-air. The prince must also carry a key that matches the color of the door he intends to be open. The player can navigate the castle with the help of a map that can be obtained from the first room that he/she begins. The map will provide the player with a matrix of 10x10 rooms and will highlight the room in which the princess is located. The player must also avoid touching enemies like Knights, Bishops, Wizards, Fire Spirits, Attack Cats and Phantom Flowers.Version differences
In the Family Computer and NES versions, each room is wider than the screen, so the display scrolls horizontally as the player moves. Because of the different room sizes, many adjustments to the room layouts were made in comparison to the MSX version. In the Family Computer version, the player starts with 4 lives, and the game supports the Famicom Data RecorderFamicom Data Recorder
Famicom Data Recorder HVC-008 is a compact cassette data interface for the Family Computer.-History:Manufactured by Matsushita/Panasonic for Nintendo, the Drive was released in 1984 only in Japan as an addition to the Family BASIC Keyboard to save data from BASIC programs created by users...
and ASCII Turbo File
Turbo File (ASCII)
The Turbo File devices from ASCII Corporation are external storage devices for saving game positions on various Nintendo consoles. The devices have been sold only in Japan, and they are mainly supported by ASCII's own games.- Turbofile :...
peripherals for saving and loading game progress. When the game was reworked for the US NES release, the save/load feature was removed (the NES does not have the 15-pin expansion port which the Turbo File connects to). However, the player has 50 instead of 4 lives initially. There are two magical fairies to help. Another obvious difference between the MSX and NES/Family Computer versions is that the player can attack enemies with his sword (or dagger) only in the NES/Family Computer versions. While this attack is limited because the enemy must be very close to the player for the kill to take place, which puts the player in the risk of being killed by the enemy because timing is crucial. The prince can dash and retrieve his weapon on a timely basis, and attacking in the wrong time can prevent the player from launching another attack when the enemy is in the right location to be attacked, leading to the certain loss of one life from the player.
This scenario, however, is not relevant to the MSX version, since the only way to eliminate an enemy is to throw an object on it, or to force the enemy to climb an escalator and remain there until it is crushed to the ceiling.
External links
- Gonzalez, Dan: Castlequest Instruction Manual.