Well of course I acquired the greatest Commodore VIC 20 game of all time - Sword of Fargoal - not long after committing to the system. If the reader of this blog looks back to 2007 they will spot my previous pathetic attempts at beating this game on the Commodore 64 and iPhone versions. The VIC 20 version is the original and is even less forgiving than any since. No saves, no checkpoints, no mercy.
It's a top down, procedurally generated single player dungeon crawler with the map only revealed through exploration. The player has to descend anywhere from 15 to 20 levels deep, grab the titular Sword of Fargoal, and then escape back up through all newly generated and hidden levels before a timer expires. There is no fighting one's way out as any contact with a monster instantly teleports the sword back to a new hiding place on a new level 15-20 somewhere, and there is not enough time to backtrack once that first timer goes off. The timer does not reset.
A few attempts last fall were very educational for the descent, and I developed a strategy to reach the sword with a full compliment of potions and spells in my inventory. I simply did not use them and choose to heal up slowly in real time, with long periods being AFK while that went on. In one session, I went back and forth between waiting to heal by standing still in Fargoal and grinding runes in Elden Ring on my PS5.
This strategy allowed me to reach the sword during my previous three playthroughs. Once grabbed, the player has either 2000 turns or 30 minutes to get the hell out and win. As previously stated, any contact with a monster means the sword is lost and rehidden, so I realized later that some potions, spells, and items one collects on the way down are not necessarily useful on the return trip. My next playthrough, I told my self, I would draw a distinction between the two (combat vs. non-combat) and only save the ones that will help me avoid contact on the way out.
For the descent, I would use most of the healing and regeneration potions, only saving a few for the way out in case I get damaged by traps. I wonder if trap damage also causes sword loss? That’s a frightening thought.
For the return trip, I will attempt to save the Invisibility spell for obvious reasons; Shield to maybe prevent damage from traps, and Light, which works only for the level the player is on. A thought I had was to, once I get to level 14, grind levels by going back up to 13, resetting it with monsters and treasures in hopes of having around a dozen light spells, but that could take hours and a shitload of luck.
12:32 PM: Level 1 - I appear in the maze and first encounter a mercenary, which takes my health to 3. I win, wait on the spot where I defeated him, and heal. I found the temple shortly after beating the second mercenary. I start exploring the level, gathering gold to take back to the temple for experience, and find a drift spell before remembering my rule to save the "treasure or trap" spots for last. That's right, there are spaces one steps on that have a fifty-fifty chance at being either a treasure (like a spell) or a trap, which range from explosions to cave-ins to pits. A drift spell can be used quickly if a pit trap activates to avoid damage. Other Level 1 enemies included an ogre and a werebear.
I get enough gold to level up my character to level 2, thankfully more than doubling my hit points to 28. I also find a map to the level and a teleport spell. Oddly enough, no traps. On to Level 2.
12:47 PM: Level 2 - I start in a big open room and am besieged by an elven ranger and a weak hobgoblin, defeating them easy. A barbarian does some damage before I find the temple on that level and pause to heal. The gold I had picked up so far was enough to take my character to experience Level 3/ hit points with only a third of the level I am on revealed. The rest of the level has me set off a ceiling trap and clumsily let an ogre start a battle. Fortunately, I still won.
Initiating combat with an enemy by walking onto them allows the player to break free and run if the battle is not going well. Letting the monster make the first move by walking into the player traps the player there until someone wins or loses. So exploration must be more careful here - no running through the dungeon like a maniac.
I scoop up a magic sack which allows for the player to carry more gold between trips to the temple, as well as a teleport spell and character level 4 before I head to the stairs. Before I climb down I decide in the real world to check on laundry in the dryer and grab a smoke and a snack.
1:14 PM: Level 3 - No time for snacks as I enter the level and am beset by a weak werebear and a weak ogre, who were weak enough to die in one hit each. Another weak gargoyle falls before a tough elven ranger does some damage. Not knowing where the temple is yet, I stand still to very slowly heal and eat some chips and salsa. I watch the screen though - enemies can and will wander into you from unexplored parts of the level.
I take a little more damage from an explosion trap once I start exploring again, and again wait a few seconds to heal up before continuing my search for the temple - it heals much faster than standing still anywhere else, and of course it levels the player when they bring it gold. Luckily, I was close as I can see two monsters wandering into areas of the level I have uncovered. It's time to get back out there and finish this level.
That attitude did not last long as another explosion and a ceiling trap send me back to the temple to heal and drop off gold. Two monsters still wander nearby but I take them out quickly and explore more. A pit trap almost takes me downstairs but i cast that Drift spell I picked up earlier and walk away, still on Level 3. It's been all trap and no treasure so far on this crappy level but there is one left. Luckily, it's another magic sack before heading down some stairs rather than a pit.
1:34 PM: Level 4 - I picked up another character level and am now at 5. The loading screen between levels shows one's stats and inventory - and is the only chance to see it as the game does not pause to do that. The level is pretty quiet and sparsely populated so I find the temple, round up the gold, and wisely save the 50/50 spots for last in case they are traps and not treasures. The first one I try is a pit and this time I have no drift spell to save me from falling into Level 5, so I use a teleport spell that keeps me on the same level but erases the map. I quickly locate the last 50/50 spot, which was yet another magic sack, before heading down.
1:48PM: Level 5 - Upon appearing I am standing next to a monk and must quickly attack before he does. He does some damage before his defeat so I stand still in my corner of the level for a few moments to slow-heal. Sure enough, as soon as I write the above sentence and grab a chip a swordsman shows up and steals my gold. My only chance is to chase him with my health already a little low and defeat him to get my gold back. Fortunately, I achieve that with hit points to spare before slinking back to my corner to heal up a bit more.
After a bit I feel healed up to be comfortable sneaking away to use the restroom before resuming my search for the temple, finding it with a hobgoblin on my tail. I had presumed that standing on the temple granted the player immunity from attack, but in my previous playthrough I saw it happen. They seem to avoid the temple for the most part, it seems, but not all the time.
I take a break to finish that laundry and come back with the maze cleared and mapped, and four of the 50/50 spots to reveal. I get a teleport spell, a healing potion, and then a ceiling trap which erases my map. I remember where the last unchecked 50/50 spot is and head there to finally get an Enchanted Weapon, or basically a weapon upgrade.
2:22 PM: Level 6 - My first foe is a gargoyle that does some serious damage before biting the dust. I head to a corner to heal but am tracked down by a troll, which I dispatch before standing still for slow-healing once again. A few more enemies barely slow me down before I find the temple and drop off gold. I level up once again from the experience and am at 98 hit points. The last two 50/50 spots contain two more healing potions. I still have no Light nor Invisibility spells and that is concerning.
2:35 PM Level 7 - This one went by pretty quick and once cleared out there were a whopping six of the 50/50 spots to try my luck on. I get a drift spell but then an explosion erases my map. Four 50/50 spots to go and I have to relocate them from memory. Next I find another healing potion before a teleport trap sends me across the screen. The last 50/50 spot is a Shield Spell, at least.
2:45 PM Level 8 - I run into a monk right away that whittles my hit points down enough that a wyvern almost finishes me off. I use a healing potion to avoid the wait. It does not restore full health, though, so I wait a bit longer for the slow-healing to bring me back up before seeking out the temple. Still not at full health, I take a chance on a 50/50 blocking the hall and get an explosion trap, erasing my map for the second time on this level with no temple in sight.
I'm starting to bury gold until I can find the temple at this point, but soon locate it, drop off the gold I'm carrying, and return to the spot where I buried the excess a few minutes earlier. Finishing off the level meant fighting another wyvern, this one tough enough to send me running back to the temple to heal halfway through the fight.
Only two 50/50 spots left, one is a pit so I use up my Drift spell, the other, finally, a Light spell.
3:07 PM Level 9 - Immediately attacked by a wyvern, a dimension spider, another wyvern, and a mercenary, and all but one were vanquished without taking any damage. Next I run into my first assassin, an invisible enemy, but I kick his ass and a nearby swordsman's ass as well. Another wyvern falls before I finally find the temple and deposit gold.
I grab the rest of the gold in the now empty and mapped level before starting on the 50/50 spaces. This time I get a teleport spell, a healing potion, an explosion that does not erase the map, a regeneration spell, a ceiling trap, and a shield spell before heading back to the temple to heal before taking on the next level.
3:22 PM Level 10 - The map I found on Level 1 was for Level 10 and it really pays off, as I can see the entire map revealed when I arrive. Monsters are nearby though, and the temple is on the other side of at least one 50/50 space which could be a trap. Also of note is an inaccessable area of two rooms, with one 50/50 space, off of the main maze. I take out one monk and stand still to heal before trying to get to the temple.
The other monsters were easy so I made it to the temple, scooped up the remaining gold and dropped that off, and then checked all of the 50/50 spots. There were a few teleport traps but I picked up a drift spell, a map to Level 17, and a teleport spell on the way out.
3:41 PM Level 11 - It's all House Full of Dragons or whatever down here as I immediately fight two fyre drakes and one shadow dragon, taking little to no damage myself. A dimension spider, which can teleport, also took a shot at me and died. After that is was clearing out the gold and the 50/50 traps, which were about 50/50 this time. Another pit, another used up drift spell, but also another weapon enchantment. Heal up and head out.
3:56 PM Level 12 - Greeted by a tough wyvern, I chill and wait a bit to explore. A sudden fyre drake attacks chips my health down further so I explore a little and find the temple nearby for a full heal. I'm at the point where I suppose I can start just using up the healing potions, as they will probably not be needed on the way up. I decide to wait until after this full heal at the temple, though.
A dark warrior hit me hard, repeatedly, and I had to retreat to the temple to heal. It was a good reminder that even though most monsters are now not too much trouble, and occasional one is still life-threatening. I do the usual and gather the gold, level up to 10, check the 50/50 spots and get another much-needed Light spell, and head to the stairs down.
4:17 PM Level 13 - Like real human players ganking a spawn spot, four different enemies were upon me before I could move, one after another. I used another healing potion here as well but still wasn't up to exploring for a few minutes. Standing still and healing, I watched to make sure no new enemies were sneaking up on me.
It would be time soon to decide whether or not to grab the sword and make a run for it, or grind back and forth between levels 13 and 14 to see if I could pick up a few goodies. I think I have three light spells, a few shield spells, but no invisibility spells. I decided while waiting to heal that I would try it once to see what the revised and redrawn level 13 would hold.
But first, level 13. Once I had healed to about a hundred hit points I set out looking for the temple again, only to be beaten down again by a dark warrior and chased away by a dimension spider. I was going to be on this level for awhile. I decided to walk up to the mailbox and take another smoke break (it's weed) while the stupid spider bounced back and forth on the other side of a wall I thought it could teleport through.
Returning to the game, I walk toward the spider a bit and he does teleport through the wall to greet me, taking my hit points way the hell down again. I got brave and continued to explore, which was dangerous as I encountered one of those invisible assassins again. Luckily I defeated him and found the temple soon after. After bringing in all the gold to the temple, there were a whopping twelve of those 50/50 spots to check out. My hope was that five were Invisibility spells and five were Light spells, but I had no such luck.
Four ceiling traps, two pits, a teleport/lose map trap, another damn magic sack, and time healing after the damage from the traps. Finally an Invisibility spell along with a healing spell. Before I could finish them off I walked into a pit I had already revealed and ended up falling through. Level 13 was unlucky for me in a lot of ways.
4:59 PM Level 1415 - No immediate enemy attacks so I was able to slink away from the hole I fell through and heal in place. As soon as I used up a potion, though, the enemies emerged and a War Lord forced me to use another potion. I pressed H again and accidentally used two. Oops. I take another break in the real world, too, and catch an afternoon shower with the wife.
When I come back and finish Level 14 I am not seeing the temple as I explore, but that has been common in previous levels, and I assume bad luck. But then I found the Sword of Fargoal instead, sitting there all shiny between two gold piles. Of course, I did not pick it up yet and set off the timer.
I had thought that the sword could only be on levels 15-20, but I was on 14. Or was I? I admit to forgetting to look between levels as it loaded when I fell into that pit. Did I drop two levels to fifteen? Either way, there was the Sword. Laden with gold and no temple on the level to drop it off, I had to decide if I should go back up, go down a level, grind its loot, and return to this level later for the sword.
I decided to go up, leaving the sword there for now. It turned out that I was on Level 15 after all and as I appeared back on a new version of level 14, once again obscured until I explore it, but hopefully restocked with goodies. At the least, there will be a damn temple so I can drop off all of this gold. At this point I have picked up so many magic sacks that I can carry 900 gold at a time.
5:31 PM Level 14 - A shadow dragon took a few good swipes at me right away so I had to heal in place before finding that damn temple. And so went the rest of the level, with all enemies now pretty tough, but a few remaining easy to beat. By the time I found the temple there were buried gold stashes throughout the level and most of it was explored.
After healing at the temple I checked out a few 50/50 spots hoping for some good loot. I made a mental note to check the totals between levels when I head back down to 15. To be honest, I had no idea if the sword would still be on 15 after I left it behind and returned to 14. Another thought had occurred to me - if I had fallen to 15 from 13 via pit, would it be better to do that again, so I could grab the sword, then climb up the pit to 13, skipping 14?
I decided to get really weird by clearing 14, going up to 13, and clearing that again in hope of finding a pit to 15. If I failed to get a pit on 13, I would just head down to 14 again like normal.
5:59 PM - Level 13 Again- One again under immediate attack and having to run and heal after engaging multiple enemies as soon as I arrive. One of them was a new one to me - he looked like the usual shape for a gargoyle but when I engaged him in combat the screen showed a message "THE DEMON HAS DRAINED YOUR EXPERIENCE LEVEL", and then the Demon disappeared, presumably with that level. Ouch.
I found the temple shortly after that and set to healing while two humanoid enemies danced across the screen, waiting for me to come into range again to notice me. After healing, I cleared out the level but found only a few 50/50 spots. One Light spell, but no pits. I decided to head back down to 14 and 15 and grad the sword and go for it. I had a few light spells, a few shield spells, and a very few invisibility spells. It would be time to make my run.
6:20 PM - Level 14 Again - I quickly find the stairs down to level 15 and presumably the sword.
6:22 PM - Level 15 Again - Being careless while sneaking away to heal, I activate a pit right away but use Drift to remain on level 15. Taking a breath, I remind myself that once I pick up that sword, every step must be very careful. So I carefully finish clearing level 15 our before I start the timed escape process.
6: 39 PM -Level 15 The Escape Begins - When it loaded up level 14 again, I jotted down my inventory of potions so I know what I have going up. I had to run my ass off right away, cast Light and Invisible, as a dimension spider and other monsters were right on me. I run across the maze and take the first stairs up that I can find.
6:41 PM - Level 14 The Escape Ends - Again I cast Invisibility and Light and dodge monsters until I find stairs up. Here is where it all fell apart. Assuming Invisibility was working, just as I stepped onto the stairs and pressed C for Climb, a monster wandered into the same space, discovered me there, and started combat, thus stealing the sword.
My run was over. Six hours of setup destroyed in six minutes, as it has been going since I reacquired Sword of Fargoal six months ago. I make these attempts to learn more about the escape and how to manage it, but it falls apart so quickly each time that I get discouraged from trying the effort again. But that is the design, primitive to not allow for saving, or even resetting the damn timer when the sword is stolen.
I'll try again someday, and probably forever, because it is fun to get there, even though the eventual resolution is so damn elusive. The only thing I learned today is that the stairs up are not sacred - just being on them and pressing C is not enough to protect the player from harm before the Commodore VIC 20 acknowledges that they are going up. So while one is desperate to get there and leave the level behind, make sure there are no monsters even in the vicinity before attempting to climb them. Six-hour painful lesson learned.
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