Digital Fantasia Games - LaunchBox Games Database

Digital Fantasia

Arrow of Death: Part 1

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1982

Brian Howarth's second Mysterious Adventure follows on from your success in retrieving the Golden Baton. Peace was initially ensured, but the baton has subsequently become tarnished, and now radiates evil. Crop failures and illness are now rampant throughout the land. The only solution is to find the Arrow of Death (in this game) and assemble it. Armour, an orb and an eagle are among the helpful objects in completing your quest. The game is largely one of exploration and object manipulation, with little combat. These games used the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus also have the same features - a basic 2-word parser, small vocabulary, and brief descriptions. They were similar to other adventures of the time.

Arrow of Death: Part 2

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1982

Arrow of Death Part II is the third game in the Mysterious Adventure series of illustrated text adventures by Brian Howarth. This is the continuation of the previous game, Arrow of Death. Following the events of that game, the player now has all of the pieces of the Arrow of Death, which can destroy his enemy. However, the Fletcher who knows how to assemble it correctly has been kidnapped by Xerdon. The player will have to travel through unfamiliar lands with exotic plant-life and many threatening creatures in order to rescue the Fletcher and safeguard your people. These games used the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus also have the same features - a basic 2-word parser, small vocabulary, and brief descriptions. They were similar to other adventures of the time.

Arrow of Death: Part 2

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

Arrow of Death Part 2 is the third game in the Mysterious Adventure series of illustrated text adventures by Brian Howarth. This is the continuation of the previous game, Arrow of Death. Following the events of that game, the player now has all of the pieces of the Arrow of Death, which can destroy his enemy. However, the Fletcher who knows how to assemble it correctly has been kidnapped by Xerdon. The player will have to travel through unfamiliar lands with exotic plant-life and many threatening creatures in order to rescue the Fletcher and safeguard your people. These games used the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus also have the same features - a basic 2-word parser, small vocabulary, and brief descriptions. They were similar to other adventures of the time.

Circus

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

The seventh in the Mysterious Adventure series of illustrated text adventures by Brian Howarth. Your car has broken down, miles from anywhere. Heading off in search of a gas station, 3 miles down the road you come upon what appears to be a Circus tent, nestled in a small valley. Sounds and music come from inside. As you reach the gate, suddenly there is complete silence. You walk fearfully towards the entrance of the tent, wondering what exactly is going on here. Maybe if you are lucky, you can find some gas here... Around this time, the game engine was replaced with a far more powerful one. Now the games accepted complete sentences. You can hit ENTER to switch between graphics and all text. This made them somewhat easier to play and less frustrating.

Escape From Pulsar 7

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1983

Escape From Pulsar 7 is the fourth title in the Mysterious Adventure series of illustrated text adventures by Brian Howarth. It has a science-fiction theme influenced by the hit film "Alien". The player finds themselves trapped alone on a giant space ship. The rest of the crew are dead, killed by a mutated zoo specimen. The player's goal is ultimately that they must escape the ship in a life pod to avoid being the creature's next meal. Explore the bunks of your comrades to find the tools needed. Only useful items can be taken, so the gameplay is quite linear, with several maze sections. These games used the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus also have the same features - a basic 2-word parser, small vocabulary, and brief descriptions. They were similar to other adventures of the time.

Feasibility Experiment

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1983

You have been asked by a dying alien race from across the Universe to search for various amount of treasures scattered around, and return them to save them. In this graphic text adventure you see text describing each location and you can see a picture showing you what each location looks like. You type in commands with the keyboard to interact with the locations and control your hero.

Mysterious Adventure 6: Circus

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1982

The sixth or seventh (depends on how you count it) in the Mysterious Adventure series of illustrated text adventures by Brian Howarth. Your car has broken down, miles from anywhere. Heading off in search of a gas station, 3 miles down the road you come upon what appears to be a Circus tent, nestled in a small valley. Sounds and music come from inside. As you reach the gate, suddenly there is complete silence. You walk fearfully towards the entrance of the tent, wondering what exactly is going on here. Maybe if you are lucky, you can find some gas here...

Perseus & Andromeda

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1983

Perseus & Andromeda is Number 9 in the Mysterious Adventures series. As the title implies, this one involves Greek mythology involving the characters Perseus and Andromeda. Hero Perseus must slay Medusa and rescue Princess Andromeda who will then become his bride. To accomplish this, he must arm himself with a sword, shield and sandals. This game follows the Perseus mythology story closely (as seen in the movie "Clash of the Titans" for example). Many puzzles involve giving an object to someone, who then gives Perseus another object. Entering temples and praying can produce plot-advancing events. Around this time, the game engine was redone to allow complete sentences instead of the more primitive 2-word Scott Adams parser that had been used previously, although early versions of the game may have still used the cruder parser.

Phase 4

Commodore 64 - Released - 1984

Phase 4 is a space themed shoot-em-up. You control a fighter craft who must blast its way through four levels of alien ships. Each level has a unique background and set of re-spawning opponents, and the aim is to reach a target number of aliens destroyed before moving onto the next level. The first three levels are vertical shoot-em-ups with a landscape of alien pyramids, the darkness of space, and an alien city as background. The final level is a horizontal shooter over a built-up area. After the four levels are completed, the game loops back to the beginning with a larger quota of enemy to be destroyed. The game comes with several difficulty options. One option allows use of a shield which gives you invulnerability for a short period of time. Another allows guided missiles, which follow the horizontal (or vertical for phase 4) position of your ship after firing. The final option allows the use of a limited number of smart bombs to destroy all of the on-screen opponents.

Ten Little Indians

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1984

The object of the game is to collect all ten little indians, which are figurines amounting to a fantastic fortune. It starts unconventionally enough inside a train carriage with no apparent way out, especially as you can see the countryside whizzing past the windows. After a certain number of goes the train crashes! Getting the train to stop takes some experimenting, but when it does, it pulls up at the station of Lower Massington, which turns out to be another problem, in as much as the game really gets going in Upper Massington, in the manor house which belonged to the late Major Johnston-Smythe! Here the fabulous gold figurine is hidden, but so are ten identical ones made from worthless metals which will guide you to the fortune itself. Be warned, many other fortune hunters have had a go and never been heard from again. Usual on/off text/graphics fadllty of Digital Fantasia games, and a convoluted plot worthy of Agatha Christie in this highly recommended adventure.

The Golden Baton

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1982

Your mission is to retrieve the Golden Baton, a priceless artifact worshipped by your race for eons. It maintains balance and keeps peace in the land, but now it has been stolen from the Palace of King Ferrenuil! Many have searched for it, none have returned. The player will face wolves and crabs, navigate a boat trip, and deal with a magical crystal. Most of the way, you use one object in some way to gain another. Golden Baton uses the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus has the same features - a basic 2-word parser, limited vocabulary (object names plus standard words such as EXAMINE, WEAR and DROP), and brief descriptions. A Help command is also available which provides hints. Although primitive by later standards, these compare favourably to other interactive fiction of the time.

The Time Machine

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1983

The Time Machine is the second in the Mysterious Adventure series of text adventures by Brian Howarth. You are a newspaper reporter, come to investigate the eccentric professor who lives all by himself out on the moors. You start the game in a swamp and must find your way to an old manor house. When you get there, you find the place deserted though. Ultimately you must rescue the professor by finding 3 missing prisms which control his time machine, which are lost in time. Items found in one destination sometimes have to be used in another. As the other games in the series, the game uses an interpreter similar to the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus also has the same limitations - a basic 2-word parser, limited vocabulary, and brief descriptions.

The Time Machine

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

The Time Machine is the second in the Mysterious Adventure series of text adventures by Brian Howarth. You are a newspaper reporter, come to investigate the eccentric professor who lives all by himself out on the moors. You start the game in a swamp and must find your way to an old manor house. When you get there, you find the place deserted, though. Ultimately, you must rescue the professor by finding 3 missing prisms which control his time machine, which are lost in time. Items found in one destination sometimes have to be used in another. As the other games in the series, the game uses an interpreter similar to the Scott Adams adventure engine, and thus also has the same limitations - a basic 2-word parser, limited vocabulary, and brief descriptions. Illustrations are included in Spectrum, C64, Dragon and Oric ports.

The Wizard of Akyrz

BBC Microcomputer System - Released - 1984

The Wizard of Akyrz is the eighth game in the Mysterious Adventures series. The player begins in the royal palace, where the king asks him to save his daughter from an evil wizard. If the player should succeed, his reward will be priceless. Most instructions are either 90-degree compass moves, or verb-noun commands such as "get painting", "fit chain" or "climb tree". On the player's journey he will discover treasures, which must be stored in a special room, reached via a spell. The game engine has been redone to allow complete sentences, instead of the two-word Scott Adams parser that was used previously.

Waxworks

Sinclair ZX Spectrum - Released - 1983

Graphic and text adventure. Number 11 and final entry in the Mysterious Adventures series. You've spent a fun day at the local fair. Now you decide to head over to the waxworks for some fun. But you are tired. You lie down for a snooze... It turns out you are trapped in the Waxworks. Is it all a dream though? Around this time, the game engine was redone to allow complete sentences instead of the more primitive 2-word Scott Adams parser that had been used previously although early versions of the game may have still used the cruder parser.

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