Game 19: Swords and Serpents (NES) - And Passing Wordy Walls

One of the best sensations is the feeling of excitement about getting back into a game. Even though Swords and Serpents is light on story, I look forward to delving into the dungeon. The game does well at piecing out rewards through set treasure and spells, as well as equipment.

Examine item gives very detailed stats; allegedly, a higher efficiency score is better

One of the worst feelings when playing these old games is coming back only to realize the game is messed up in some way. For those with battery saves, a dead battery or corrupted save are growing concerns. Luckily for this game there's no chance of that with passwords; however, I do seem to continue to run into a bug every time I load the game.

According to the manual the highest cost spell is 4 points

When first loading the game, buffing spells like shield and flight cost too much to cast. I got around it by casting heal first, which then seemed to reset the casting cost of the other spells. I do wonder how this bug even occurs. With that out of the way, I moved on back down to level 3 as loading a game always starts the party at a temple (possibly the last one visited, although I'm unsure).

Does it give me extra luck to carry it?

The third floor had triggers to hit before doors in a hub would open to another area. I found a number of items: wizard's wand, scale, and a horseshoe. I also came across the Deadeye spell, which increases accuracy for one party member for one battle. The last room before heading down to the fourth floor contained a magic fountain that restores all spell points. It only has one or two uses, which I believe are reset by visiting a temple.

I just realized from this screenshot I missed searching the square above

The fourth floor had another trigger puzzle. This time they were all available, but required activation in a specific order. The monster strength increased noticeably on this floor, which took some time to get through since I took the longest route possible. Once all four triggers are hit (one behind secret doors), a door appears to the center square of the map.

Each floor has a message on the wall about "Victory"

I was eager to get to the fifth floor, which promised another temple; the next base camp from which to assault the lower levels. Waiting here was the spell Passwall. This is probably why magicians are necessary. Passwall is a powerful spell that puts the party one space forward, even through walls. It can fail on some walls even when there is something on the other side, but more often than not it succeeds.

On the other side of this very wall was a powerful piece of armor for my mage

I found the temple, another armory, and the stairs down all lumped together. The armory didn't offer anything new that I didn't already have, so I felt a bit silly when I realized I had nearly 3,000 gold and nothing to spend it on. I wonder if the economy will level off again.

I hope these messages will start to make sense

On the sixth floor I finally found one of the fabled ruby items, actually two. The shield and ring were very close together, and increased my armor rating by a good amount. I also found a brass key, which opened two brass doors on the eighth floor. I still have it hanging around my inventory taking up valuable space, but I'd like to get rid of it if it doesn't have any more use; I'm not sure there are more doors to open with it. I stumbled into a teleporter. That's okay, I thought, I've already mapped out most of level six with the auto-map, so I should be able to... wait, the color changed.

That looks like the wall color for... oh no

I was afraid of that

Sent back to level 1, I called it a night:

KILIAN - C4YWZHPLXRZVQX?
NORICK - LC3Y66SBKCVAL6?
WEAVIL - ??WVZC?M2XJPKO?
PATHOS - NS4ZOSEX9BN?MZ?
GAME - GUERS???7XFHNK

Instead of posting the above on its own, I pressed on a following night. With the realization that I could randomly find myself off the current floor, I broke down and started my own maps, starting with level 7. Luckily, I remembered a small unmapped square in the upper left corner of level 1, it was surrounded by walls. One passwall later I found myself back at level 6. Not too shabby.

I also found secret level beta, but have no idea what these mean

I remembered a similar place on level 4 and found myself on level 9. There were many teleporters and zoom tubes. A message on some walls warned me not to be too curious. On the other end of one of the zoom tubes, I found myself back at level 1. That was enough of that for now... I think I'll stick with the stairs.

I'm pretty sure I'm here a little early

Even though it adds minutes to exploration I'm glad I made my own maps. Level 7 wasn't too bad, but level 8 has invisible walls everywhere. I collected a couple more pieces of ruby equipment, the Major Heal spell (party heal), and a prize of another 500 worthless pieces of gold. The Ruby Crown is the only piece of ruby ware that isn't armor. I feel like I'm going to run out of room for items before I reach level 10.

Why can't I wear a crown?

Only thing of note on level 8, aside from the horrendous design, was a short pole in the sand. It was such a strange sight that I immediately knew it was important. I didn't have to guess at all since there was really only one item I hadn't used.

I pictured it standing up, but it's actually rather ambiguous whether it's buried or lying horizontally in the sand

Use horseshoe results in throwing it at the pole. Some invisible force decided it was good.

Enough to gain another experience level before calling it a night

It's an interesting puzzle; one that breaks what I would considered immersion in a consistent game world, but at the same time it was rewarding when the above message congratulated me on knowing the game Horseshoes. With that sense of accomplishment, I ended the night.

Passwords abound

Make me frown

An option for a battery

Would imbue much flattery

Instead, I write it down

If I can remember to do so, I'll check out level 3 again to see what's behind the walls. I'm still searching for a black crystal and gold key to bring back to level 1 and 2 respectively. Level 4 did have another passage where I was warned not to explore, and level 9 seems to have the same. I should at least make it to level 10 by the end of next session. I'll probably hold off on posts until I reach level 12 or 13, depending on how much happens between now and then. The game spoils that there are 16 levels.

Session Time: 5h09m (Total Time: 6h45m)