Time Bandit Walkthrough

Introduction

After 23 years I decided I finally wanted to see the end of "Time Bandit", and so I digged up the ST-emulator STeem and fired up that timeless classic a few more times. Only to discover that I wouldn't have made it anyway, without the emulators' memory snapshot function, which more or less served as a quick-save function for me. Yeah, it's kind of cheating, but at least I could get over "Darside Dare" at all...

Speaking of emulators and trainers etc.: I did buy the original, and I still have, in fact, the original box!

This guide does NOT describe all levels, since most of them are pretty obvious and straightforward. For the same reason I did not bother to create maps for everything (only a few select ones, for special small areas that are hard to get through). In general, there's hardly ever a need for a map to get through a level.

Instead I covered all the puzzles and riddles, and how to collect the artifacts. And I included some general hints and advices, to which I will gladly add any input I receive from you, my fellow gamer.

Conventions

Terminology

Level - One of the time zones, such as "Excalibur" or "Ghost Town" etc.
Stage - The difficulty, such as "1A", "3C" or "4D".

Command input

Every time you need to type in something in order to issue a command on a terminal screen or respond to some NPC, I will note this with a ">" followed by the command in uppercase, like:

  > YES

to respond with "YES" to an NPC's question.

Game version

There are various versions of "Time Bandit", some released as early demo versions, then a final version 2.0 and 2.1, the big difference being the ability to save games in 2.1.

For this walkthrough, I used version 2.1. There should be no differences in 2.0 concerning the solutions, and for the previous versions it does not really matter to me, since they were pretty unfinished anyway.

General notes and hints

The games ending (SPOILER ALERT)

DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO SOLVE IT YOURSELF!

What happens at the end??? A question that bothered many, since probably only few have ever seen it... at least without a Trainer version.

Screenshot [SCR003] shows you the timegates journal page with all levels on 4D, and all artifacts collected. When you press fire, a message from the programmers is shown (screenshot [SCR004], followed by a nice animation, showing a nighttime sky, with the stars forming a "The End" label, and the Time Bandit standing in a green flowery field, gazing at the sky.

Quite nice, and more than I'd have expected, actually. I've created an animated GIF using the emulators slow-motion- and screenshot-features, which you can see in the screenshot section, [SCR005].

INV command

During most puzzle command screens, you can usually enter this command:

  > INV

It will list all items you are currently carrying in your pockets ("inv" is the abbreviation for "inventory").

Level completion recommendation

Complete the following levels in this order:

"The Sentinel"
"The Guardian"
"Cheop's Curse"

because in "The Sentinel" you'll find an ankh which you need afterwards in "The Guardian" to decipher some scrolls. And then in "The Guardian" you'll find a golden scepter, and you'll need both this scepter and the ankh to get the golden mask artifact in "Cheop's Curse".

Single- vs. Multiplayer

Some of the levels are considerably easier to solve when you're playing together with a friend, especially if one of you has died. At least for some of the levels, it is extremely useful to have one of the players be capable - as a ghost - to just walk into obstacles, for

clearing flames,
killing rotating cubes that cannot be shot,
clearing away big worms, especially when they're very fast
blocking enemies by standing in front of a respawn point
making walls visible in "Darkside Dare"

Since you cannot die and become a ghost, and then go back to normal later, you should try, as long as both players are alive, to first do some of the levels where it's useful that both can pick up items. And then afterwards the ones that really profit from one player being a ghost.

Here's a list of levels of which I think that the ghost would be extremely useful:

  - Darkside Dare     - A horror for a single player, but probably just a 
                        piece of cake with a ghost, running in advance, 
                        clearing the way.
  - Gridville         - Flames and Cubes, and the "squad"-enemies, that
                        split into four when shot.
  - Major Hazard      - Flames and Cubes, and a big worm
  - The Sentinel      - Flames
  - The Guardian      - Flames
  - Cheop's Curse     - Flames and Cubes
  - King's Crown      - The ghosts in the rotating knifes chamber
  - Castle Greymoon   - Cubes, and blocking ghosts in the glowing
                        spot maze
  - Arena             - A big worm in the underworld arena
  - Welkin Island     - Clearing the glowing stars for a direct path to 
                        the keys (beginning from stage "3A").

Altough this comes at the cost of a reduced viewing area, but I still think that while a single player hardly stands a chance in certain situations, it's really possible to solve them when playing as a duo.

Level Guides

King's Crown

Stage: 4D

Get the King's Crown artifact at the center of the large maze with the rotating knifes (see screenshot [SCR007]). Get your timing right, or get hurt...

At the exit of the level, when met by the King, to give him the crown and get 10'000 cubits reward, answer

  > YES

Strangely, you still have the artifact in your list now.

Castle Greymoon

IMPORTANT: The "Mad Hermit" is only available in exactly the stages as mentioned below, and if you miss him in one, you'll not be able to talk to him again in the later stages.

Stage: 1C

Go to the teleporters and be transported to the cave of Mad Hermit. Go talk to him:

  > YES

Then choose the torch up right by running to it:

  > YES

You win the first round, but no bonus or anything like that. You'll have to win more games against Mad Hermit before you get a reward.
You can ignore the rubble from the smashed boulder, you'll only need it later.

Stage: 2C