Boulder Dash
Typed out by G. L. Sicherman
Boulder Dash [NES-XB-USA]
JVC Musical Industries, Inc.
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(THE STORY)
Stoneford, an old adventurer ill in bed, called his son, Rockford, to
his side. Handing Rockford an old map, he said: "My son, you must take
up the quest I never completed. Find the Secret Jewels of the Six
Worlds, and you will be rich beyond your wildest dreams!" These were his
final words.
As Rockford, your quest begins in the strange and perilous Boulder
World! An underground world swarming with weird enemies, all out to
prevent you from collecting the priceless diamonds just waiting to be
mined. Can you master the enchanted walls, transform butterflies into
jewels, find the mysterious escape tunnel, and get away from the growing
amoeba before it engulfs you?
Six different magical words of adventure await you in BOULDER DASH!
(USING THE CONTROLLER)
CONTROL PAD
Moves Rockford up, down, right, or left.
START BUTTON
Press this button to start the game when the opening screen appears. If
you leave the opening screen on for about thirty seconds, a demonstra-
tion of the game appears. Press the Start button to return to the
opening screen and start the game.
If you need to pause the game while you are playing, press the Start
button. To go back to the game, press it again.
A BUTTON AND B BUTTON
If you move the Control Pad up, down, right, or left while you're
pressing the A and B button, you can dig mud or pick up one diamond next
to you without moving in that direction. You can also push a boulder
away from you, without moving, using this technique.
When you are trapped and can't move in any direction, hold down the A
and B buttons at the same time for more than one second. This allows
you to escape from the town and return to the entrance of the World you
are now in. But you will lose one Rockford when you do this.
(SCREEN DISPLAY)
| YOUR CURRENT SCORE
| NUMBER OF DIAMONDS
| YOU NEED TO COLLECT
| IN THIS TOWN
|
| TIME REMAINING
|
|
|
|
|
|
(STARTING THE GAME)
Press the Select button to choose between One Player and Two Player, and
press the Start button to decide.
Press the Control Pad right or left to choose your character's color,
and press Start.
To enter your password, press the Control Pad right or left to move the
cursor sideways, press the Control Pad up or down to change the number
on the cursor, and press the A button when you have entered your pass-
word. If you are playing the game for the first time, just press the A
button when the password screen appears.
The next screen shows you which world you are on. Press the Control Pad
to choose which town you want to go to, then press the A button. Press
the A button again, and the game starts.
(ENDING THE GAME)
When your game is over (what a shame!), you can choose whether to "END"
or "CONTINUE" that game.
On the same screen, your password will appear. Write it down for next
time, so you can begin playing from the same world where you left off.
(GAME OBJECTIVE)
As Rockford, the hero of this game, you have six Worlds to explore on
your quest. Each World has four towns. Your goal is to collect the
required number of diamonds in the towns of each World.
The number of diamonds you have to collect is shown at the top left of
the screen. After you collect them all, a door will appear which leads
to the next town.
When you have completed the four towns of a World, you can go on to the
next World. You decide in which town you should start in each world.
NOTE: Each town has its own unique tricks and puzzles which you must
solve in order to win.
When you use your password to begin playing in a World where you left
off before, you must go through all four towns, even if you completed
some of them before.
(HOW TO PLAY)
You begin the game with four Rockfords - one to play, and three in
reserve. With every 2000 points you earn, you receive an extra
Rockford. Rockford loses a life when he touches an enemy or something
falls on him.
You can cause rocks or diamonds to drop by digging a hole under them.
Be careful not to drop them on yourself, or they will crush you.
Some enemies turn into nine diamonds when they are hit by an object you
have dropped.
You can move a rock until it touches another object to block it. You
can only move rocks which have empty space on the other side of them,
and only one rock at a time.
When you surround an Amoeba on all four sides with rocks, the Amoeba
turns into a diamond. If you are lucky enough to enclose several
Amoebas at the same time, all of them will turn into diamonds.
When an Amoeba touches another enemy, that enemy turns into nine
diamonds.
The Amoeba multiplies itself during the game. When it reaches a certain
number, it turns into a rock. Nobody knows what this number is.
(BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS)
DOOR - This appears when you collect the required number of diamonds in
each town.
DIAMOND - This is the treasure you are seeking.
MUD - Rockford can dig through the mud.
ROCK - Rockford can't dig through rocks. Rocks do not always look like
rocks - in some towns, they look quite different from what you might
expect.
WALL - Rockford can't dig through the wall.
SPECIAL STONE WALL - For certain periods of time when it is active, this
wall changes rocks to diamonds.
NOTE: Be aware that the appearance of mud, rocks, and walls is not
always the same. Each World has its own unique forms.
(ENEMY CHARACTERS)
These enemies give you points when destroyed.
* BUZZBUZZ * PINGPING
* FLAPFLAP * BUBBLEBUBBLE
* BIMBIM * GURIGURI
These enemies turn into diamonds when destroyed, but do not give points.
* PUFFPUFF * PIROPIRO
* TACKYTACKY * AMOEBA
(USEFUL PLAYING TIPS)
KNOW YOUR ENEMY
Some enemies move clockwise, while others move counter-clockwise along
the wall of the tunnel.
CRUSH ENEMY AND BREAK WALL
When an enemy is crushed by a rock, the enemy explodes and breaks ob-
jects around it. So by crushing an enemy beside a wall, you can make
a hole in the wall.
DROPPING A ROCK ON THE ENEMY
Dig a hole up to a rock until you are right under it, and wait for an
enemy to appear below you. Then move aside to drop the rock onto the
enemy.
GET HIGH SCORE WITH SPECIAL STONE WALL
If you find a Special Stone Wall, dig over and under it, and drop rocks
on it. The first rock that hits the wall makes it active, so that for a
certain period of time, the rocks that drop onto the wall will turn into
diamonds as they fall through the wall. Be sure to clear room below the
wall. When the wall's magic runs out, it acts as an ordinary wall.