Sword of Saros 8-5-83

 

This is a late level WIP for Sword of Saros.  Although the game is playable it's much harder than the final release (which wasn't exactly easy to begin with).  What's most interesting about this prototype is that the end game is completely different.  Instead of wandering around level 7 bribing monsters and walking through doors until you find the correct one, you must instead find the sword in a treasure room and then confront the Wizard.  After touching the Wizard while in possession of the sword the game will restart as no ending screen had been implemented yet.  This version of the end game makes more sense than the one in the released game, however it makes gold completely useless in the prototype.  The levels will also continue endlessly until the Wizard is killed.

There are also a lot of other differences...
Prototype Differences
There is no title screen.  The game starts immediately in the maze
The Wizard is dark orange instead of red on the maze screen
Life is called Life Pts
You start with 20 life instead of 25
Max life points is 20
The gold counter displays all the leading 0's
Return is called Continue
There is an extra black line between Gold and Continue (Return)
The amount of each item you own is not displayed
Instead of displaying the type of item the item's effect is displayed.
 - Lamp is called See Maze
 - Potion is called Heal Spell
 - Cross is called Turn Enemies
 - Scroll is called See Enemies
 - Ring is called Invisibility
You start the game with a Key
The movement sound is higher pitched
The skeletons the Wizard summons move in a straight line instead of weaving
You character is not animated
You move much faster on the Wizard screen
There is no sound effect for reaching the Wizard
There is no sound for picking up a treasure
You have to push against the treasure to pick it up
The spider does not shoot webs
The Wizard is more aggressive in the maze and will sometimes block your path instead of running at you
The sword pieces are not displayed upon completing a level
Picking the wrong door will warp the player to the beginning of the maze instead of granting a random treasure
The player will start a level right on the bat or Wizard at higher levels
You don't lose keys between levels
The sword is found as a random treasure on level 7
Level 7 isn't any different from the rest of the levels.  There is no monster bribing end game.
The levels will continue infinitely until the sword and found and the player touches the Wizard on the battle screen.
There is no ending screen after killing the Wizard.  The game simply starts over.

 


Note the different colors on the Wizard

 

The effects are listed instead of the items

 

The sword is found in a random treasure room on level 7

 

Lets finish this old man!

 

 

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