Shadowgate
If you've ever played Shadowgate before, you probly already know it's tough the first time through. This guide is for those poor unfortunates who are going through for the very first time, or just can't remember anything about the game.
This is my first walkthrough type thing, so if you don't like it, then whatever. This entire guide will be based upon my personal experience with the game, and will run you through the maze the quickest way. Many hours have been logged on my NES just beating this game over and over, so I do feel that I am qualified to be your guide.
The story so far:
You are the last in the line of Kings. Your quest is to stop an evil wizard from raising some demon type thing called "The Behemoth" from the pits of Hell or somesuch, by finding and assembling the mystical Staff of Ages, then USEing it to destroy the wizard. I know...sounds like dozens of other games out there, but this one's not the usual "Hack&Slash" type or strategy type. Instead, it's a First Person Puzzle game.
Let's get started!
First, turn on the game. This is probly the most important step of all. Now, if you're still with me, start a new file. The game starts with you standing in front of a closed door.
First step is to completely ignore all that useless text they want you to read. You really don't need to know anything about what it says if you're playing along to this file. Now, time to actually start playing! Be sure to use a Torch whenever the music changes. After the change, you probly have 20 seconds to light a new torch, or you will die.
OPEN the door in front of you. OPEN the skull above the door. TAKE the key 1.
MOVE to the next room in front of you. Go through more of that annoying text that you don't really need to read. TAKE both torches. USE Key 1 on the door in front of you.
MOVE to the next room. TAKE both Torches. Notice that one gets it's own listing? OPEN the book. If you attempt to take the book itself, the floor will give way, and you will die. TAKE the Key 2 from the book.
MOVE back into the room behind you. USE the Key 2 on the locked door.
MOVE into the room you just unlocked. TAKE the Sword and Sling.
MOVE back to the room where you opened the book. OPEN the small white stone on the bottom left of the rear wall.
MOVE into the new doorway. USE the torch on the left. You can't take either of the torches, and you can't go through the door above the ledge. TAKE the Arrow.
MOVE through the door opened by using the torch.
MOVE into the next room using the bridge on the left. USE your lit Torch on the Torch that got it's own listing. You will automaticly use it to kill the Wraith. TAKE the Torches and the Cloak. USE the Cloak on yourself. OPEN the left door. The "door" on the right is a dummy, it isn't really there.
MOVE to the next room. LOOK at the word EPOR on the wall twice, you will memorize it as a spell. USE EPOR, the rope will allow you access to the room above. TAKE the bottles, the Torch, and the scroll 1 on the shelf. Scroll 1 is another bit of info you don't need if you're following me through this. Do not use Bottle 1 on yourself, you will die. You can use Bottle 2 to make yourself light enough to cross the rickety bridge you saw a few rooms ago, but don't go there yet.
MOVE to the room above. Take the Torches, and the Broom, you might need it later. OPEN the door behind you.
MOVE into the room behind you. OPEN the two coffins furthest to the right. TAKE the Bag 2, it contains several Coppcoins that you don't really need, but it's fun to strip the place bare, isn't it?. USE your lit Torch on the Mummy. TAKE the Scepter the Mummy leaves behind when burned. OPEN the door behind you.
MOVE into the room behind you. OPEN the door to the left and the right.
MOVE into the room to the right. Notice the shark swimming by? Guess that means you can't get that Key 3 the Skeleton is holding. OPEN the door.
MOVE into the next room. TAKE one stone from the floor, or all 5 if you want, and USE it on the Sling.
MOVE behind the waterfall. It doesn't appear that you can, but if you have the pointer on the dark strip on the left edge of the waterfall, you will enter a new room. HIT the stone in the wall, it will fall away, revealing Bag 1. TAKE the Bag. Open it, and TAKE the three Gems.
MOVE back to the room where you opened a door to the left and right.
MOVE left. TAKE the Torches. Do not bother opening the plate in the floor, it's just another trap. OPEN the door. USE the White Gem on the socket next to the door. TAKE the Sphere.
MOVE into the next room. You will now see a bunch of stuff laying on the floor. Whenever you take anything, or attempt to move through the door at the end of the hall, a dragon will breathe fire at you. Very important: TAKE the Shield first! You will automaticly use it to protect yourself. TAKE the Spear, the Hammer, and the Torch. That's all you need from this room. If you continue taking things, your newly acquired Shield will melt away, and you will die. Even though you do have the Shield, you still can't enter the room at the end of the hall.
MOVE back to the room with the Shark and the Skeleton. USE the Sphere on the water. TAKE the Key 3. USE your lit Torch on the water. If you attempt to use it on the Sphere, the Torch will go out. TAKE the Sphere.
MOVE back to the room where you learned EPOR. OPEN the door at the back of the room. USE the Blue Gem on the socket in the floor. The wall will open up, revealing a Wizard. Don't bother with what he says, it's all garbage anyway. TAKE the Scroll 2 he leaves behind. OPEN the Scroll 2, and you will gain another spell, HUMANA.
MOVE back to the room with the three mirrors. USE the Hammer to break the middle one. USE the KEY 3 on the door revealed by the broken mirror. Breaking either of the other mirrors will cause you to die.
MOVE into the next room. If you have not used the Cloak on yourself, then you will be forced back from this room. OPEN the door, and a large Firedrake will appear. USE the Sphere on the flames, and the Firedrake will die.
MOVE into the next room. Attempt to cross the bridge, and a Troll will stop you, and demand a toll. Do not pay him, or he will demand a further toll, and then will kill you if you pay again. USE the Spear on the Troll. Next time you have to pass this part, you will be able to use the HUMANA spell to advance past it.
MOVE to the next room. USE the loaded sling on the Cyclops. Now USE the Sword on it. If you don't use the Sword on the Cyclops, then you will have to knock it out whenever you pass this way again. USE the handle on the well, then OPEN the bucket. TAKE the Gauntlet, and USE it on yourself.
MOVE to the next room. TAKE the Torch.
MOVE into the first door on the left. Lots of stuff here to take! OPEN the desk. TAKE the Scroll 3, the Scroll 4, the Key 5, the Glasses, the Skull, and the Map. USE the Glasses on yourself, now you can read the Book. OPEN Scroll 3 to learn the spell TERRA TERRAKK. OPEN Scroll 4 to learn INSTANTUM ILLUMINA. OPEN the Book to learn MOTARI RISETH. You've now learned all the spells available in the game! Now USE the Red Gem on the socket by the bookshelves.
MOVE to the next room. USE TERRA TERRAKK, then OPEN the Globe. Now take the Key 6, the Bottle 5, the Cup, the Bellows, and the Poker.
MOVE back to the room just past the Cyclops.
MOVE to the middle door. Have fun taking all the bottles and such. For fun, you can use the stuff in the green pot on yourself. Don't worry, nothing bad happens. Do not open the cage under the shelves, or you will die. USE the white floor stone that is between and below the cage and the green pot. TAKE the Water, the Horseshoe, the Bottles, and the Testtube.
MOVE down the stairs. TAKE the Flute. If you have not used the Gauntlet os yourself, then you will be unable to TAKE it. Now that you have the Flute, USE it! A small hole will open in the tree, and a Ring will appear. TAKE the Ring.
Move back to the room just after the Cyclops. OPEN the door at the end of the hall.
MOVE into the next room. USE your lit Torch on the carpet. Take the Key 4, the Crest, and the Mirror. USE the Key 4 to open the middle door, the Key 5 to open the right door, and the Key 6 to open the left door.
MOVE through the door on the right. You will encounter a Sphinx who will ask you various riddles if you try to pass. To answer it's riddles, simply USE the item that is the answer on the Sphinx. If you answer incorrectly, you will be warped to a random spot that you have already visited in the maze. The answers to the Sphinx's riddles can be found at the end of this file, should you need them.
Now that you've successfully answered the Sphinx's riddle, MOVE to the next room. TAKE the Star and the Scroll 5. The Scroll 5 is just more reading, nothing important. Next, OPEN the star map, and TAKE the Rod.
MOVE up the ladder. USE the Arrow on the girl, you'll see why. After you hit the "girl" with the Arrow, don't try to pull it out, or "she" will attack you. TAKE the blade.
MOVE back to the room that had the three locked doors.
MOVE through the door to the left. Attempt to TAKE the Horn, and a Hellhound will appear. USE the Water on the Hellhound, then TAKE the Horn.
MOVE up the ladder. USE the Star on the Wyvern, then TAKE the Talisman.
MOVE back to the room that had the three locked doors.
MOVE through the door in the middle. TAKE the Torches.
MOVE through the door on the left. USE the Rod on the hole on the corner of the balcony, and a skeletal hand will appear holding a Wand. TAKE the Wand.
MOVE down the stairs to the left. TAKE the Bag 3, OPEN it, and TAKE the Big Coin and the 3 Goldcoins. Do not try to take the pot of gold. It is tempting, but it's just another trap.
The next part will take you a minute or two, and it probly does sound discouraging, but MOVE back to the room with the two bridges, the solid one, and the rickety one. USE a Bottle 2 on yourself.
MOVE across the rickety bridge. Quite a threatening Snake, isn't it? Too bad it's only a statue. USE the Wand on the Snake. TAKE the Staff. Now, to reduce your inventory by one space, USE the Blade on the Staff. Now it's time for another long trip.
MOVE back to the room that had the three locked doors.
MOVE through the middle door.
MOVE through the door on the right. USE the Scepter on the King's empty hand (his left, your right). A part of the wall with a seal will slide down. USE the Ring on the socket that was covered, and the King's throne will rise.
MOVE through the King's secret passage. TAKE the Torches. Do not MOVE into the passage to the left, it's another of those traps.
MOVE forward.
MOVE through the door on the right. USE MOTARI RISETH. The statue will sink, and a bridge will appear.
MOVE across the bridge. You are now in a room with a cylinder on a chain, three handles, and a pit. Do not go into the pit. Yup, another trap. The next task is to open the cylinder by USEing the handles in the right order. If you can't figure it out, the answer is at the bottom. TAKE the Orb, then USE it on the Staff. The Staff of Ages is now complete!
MOVE back to the room with the two Gargoyles. USE INSTANTUM ILLUMINA to blind the Gargoyles.
MOVE through the door the Gargoyles were guarding. Now, either USE the handle on the well, or OPEN the cover, both do the same thing. USE the Big Coin on the well.
MOVE down the well (you have to use the box in the room layout box). USE the Mallet on the Gong. USE a Goldcoin on the Ferryman's hand.
MOVE onto the raft. USE the Talisman on the left socket, under the icon of the Sword. USE the Horn, and the doors on the left will open.
MOVE through the doors. You will now see that evil wizard summoning the Behemoth! Ah well, it's too late, the world is doomed. Let's go home and have a couple beers, shall we? Nah, just kidding. You do have one chance to save the world, still! The fate of the entire world rests on your shoulders! The lives of millions of people hang in the balance! What are you going to do??? How about you USE the Staff on the Behemoth, and we go get those beers? In it's dying rage, the Behemoth grabs the evil wizard, and drags him back down to Hell, or whatever. The scene then shifts to a King's throneroom, where it goes through a bunch more crap that's not worth reading. You're given a kingdom, and the King's daughter as a reward for saving the entire world.
After all that, comes hints that there would be a sequel. Personally, I would have liked to see a second game in the series.
"The First Story's End"
Sphinx's Riddles:
"First burnt and beaten, drowned and pierced with nails, then stepped on by long-faced animals." Answer: Horseshoe
"I'm a fire's friend, my body swells with wind. With my nose I blow, how the embers glow!!" Answer: Bellows
"I've no eyes, but once did see, thoughts had I but now I'm white, and empty." Answer: Skull
"It has towns, but no houses. Forests, but no trees. Rivers, but no fish." Answer: Map
"Long neck, no hands, 100 legs, cannot stand. Born of forest nest, against a wall I rest." Answer: Broom
"You look at me, I look back, your right hand raises, I my left. You speak, but I in vain." Answer: Mirror
Cylinder Combination:
USE Handle 3, USE Handle 2, USE Handle 3.
Useless Trivia:
The Mallet is the only item in the game that you can USE without TAKEing!
Fun Things to do in Castle Shadowgate:
Be sure to burn all the carpets you come across! And that Tapestry in the room that has the three locked doors too! Doing so doesn't actually do anything, but if you're going to strip the place of everything that isn't nailed down, you might as well try to burn the place down as well!
Legal Garbage:
Shadowgate is Exclusively distributed by Seika Corporation, USA. Nintendor and Nintendo Entertainment Systemr are trademarks of Nintendo of America Inc. Game-Pak (NES-GP). Shadowgate (TM) is a trademark of ICOM Simulations, Inc.
This document may be freely distributed, as long as it is not modified in any way. Of course, I don't really expect anybody to pay attention to that part, so whatever.
Copyright (C)2001 M. "Oaf" St.John
If there are questions or comments reguarding this walkthrough, please contact the author at MJS0980@AOL.COM.
As you very well know, you cant download the rom unless you own the game. By clicking the above link, you are telling me you own the fucking game.