Title: The Fighter of Ball
System: MSX
Authors: 黒澤　雅仁　(Masahito Kurosawa)
Publication: Micom Basic (マイコンBASIC) November 1986
Page Scans: 106-107
Preserved By: dared207
Recommended Emulator: openMSX

Loading the Game -

Insert the tape image in your emulator;
Type 'CLOAD' and press Enter;
After the game loads, type 'RUN' and press Enter to start the game.

Article Translation -

Story

I was once a renowned warrior. However, thanks to that sorcerer, I was transformed into a ball—and to make matters worse, I’ve been thrown into a creepy dungeon.
To escape this place, it seems I must evade the jailer—a creature known as "Hennakao" (Strange-Face)—and insert four keys into four corresponding key boxes.
Yet, even if I manage to break out of *this* cell, there is no guarantee that the next destination will be the surface world.

Content

The Story section should give you a pretty good idea of ​​what this game is about. During gameplay, you will occasionally have the opportunity to collect items (simply passing over an item's location is enough to pick it up; however, their positions are randomized). There are 8 stages in total!

Items

There are two types of items: the Hourglass and the E-Ball. Their locations are invisible until found.
Collecting an E-Ball grants you an extra life (you start with two E-Balls, though there is a cap on the maximum number you can hold).
The Hourglass can be activated by pressing the Space key; doing so temporarily freezes the jailer's movements (this, too, has a usage limit).

Clearing Stages & Getting Out

Once you have inserted all four keys into their respective key boxes, a concentric-circle-shaped exit will appear. Reaching this exit clears the current stage.
If the jailer catches you, you are "Out" (you lose a life), and one E-Ball is deducted from your count. If you get caught when you have no E-Balls remaining, it results in a "Game Over."

Techniques

① The jailer is single-mindedly focused on moving directly toward you; consequently, it will get "stuck" if its path is blocked by walls, keys, key boxes, or items. You can use this behavior to your advantage—for instance, to help pinpoint the locations of hidden items.
② Conserve your Hourglasses! There are certain stages where running out of Hourglasses can lead to sheer panic.
③ When in doubt, hit [STOP] to pause the game and take a moment to carefully think through your strategy.

Programming

The layout data for empty spaces and walls is stored in hexadecimal format, while other elements are defined using coordinate data to construct the stages. If you take a close look at the code, I believe you'll find it quite easy to create your own custom stages.



ストーリー

私は名のある戦士だった。しかし、あの魔法使いのせいで、ボールの姿にされ、おまけに不気味な牢屋（ろうや）に入れられてしまった。
ここから脱出するには牢番”ヘンナカオー”をさけて、四つのキー・ボックスに四つの鍵を差し込まねばいけないらしい。
しかし、この牢を抜けてもつぎのとこるが地上とはかぎらない。

内容

ストーリーでだいたいわかると思います。プレイ中、たまにアイテムを取ることができます（アイテムの場所を通過すればよい。ただし位置はランダム）。８面あるよー。

アイテム

砂時計とEボールの二つ。場所は見えません。
Eボールを取ると1人増えます（Eボールは最初二つある。もら、数に上限あり）。
砂時計はスペース・キーで使え、しばらくの間牢番の動きを止められます（これも上限あり）。

クリアーとアウト

四つの鍵を四つのキー・ボックスへ差し込むと同心円形の出口がでます。そこへ行くと面クリア。
牢番につかまるとアウト。Eボールが一つ減ります。Eボールがないときアウトになるとゲーム・オーバー。

テクニック

①牢番は自分のほうへ来ることしか考えていないので、壁、鍵、キー・ボックス、アイテムのある場所にくるとひっかかってしまいます。これを利用してアイテムの位置を見つけることもできます。
②砂時計は節約しよう。とくにある面では砂時計がないとパニックになります。
③まずは［STOP］でじっくり考えよう。

プログラム

空白、壁のデータは１６進、ほかは座標データで面を作っています。よく見ればすぐ面が作れると思います。
