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

Mad Hermit: Go to the table in lower room and get a bottle of wine:

  > GET WINE

Go up to the shepperd and talk to him:

  > BUSINESS

Then answer, in order to pay for a sheep with the bottle of wine:

  > WINE

Then answer the next question:

  > YES

Now, he asks you if this has anything to do with that creepy Mad Hermit. Here you have two options, but only the second is right:

 1. > NO

And he will give you a lamb.

 2. > YES

And he will cut the lambs throat himself and give you some of its blood. Now who's being creepy here...?

Go back to the Mad Hermit and talk to him:

  > YES

And then depending on what you've got from the sheperd answer:

 1. > LAMB

Do that, and you loose, but you can still win the next round.

 2. > BLOOD

With the blood, you win this round (but again no reward yet).

Stage: 3C

Mad Hermit: Go to the boulder in the upper left room and shoot it
Stand on the smashed boulder:

 >  GET RUBBLE

Now go to the fresh grave behind Mad Hermit

 > GET DIRT

Then, when asked for your name, just enter something, like

 > ME

Then you're asked to pay for the dirt with something else, enter:

 > USE RUBBLE

and get some grave-dirt in return

Go to Mad Hermit and talk to him:

 > YES
 > GRAVE-DIRT

and you win again (still no treasure...).

Stage: 4A

Sorcerer Maze: see screenshot [SCR010].
At the Treasure Chest:

 > OPEN CHEST
 > IRON PELLETS

and you gain temporary invincibility. The green paper and black ashes will poison you, and the blue crystals will result in a diamond, which is needed only in 4C for a riddle of Mad Hermit.

Stage: 4B

At the treasure chest:

 > OPEN CHEST
 > IRON PELLETS

and you gain temporary invincibility.

Stage: 4C

Before going to Mad Hermit, you have to get to the treasure chest
IMPORTANT: At the treasure chest:

 > OPEN CHEST

and this time, take the crystals:

 > BLUE CRYSTALS

and you get a blue diamond, which you need to get an additional bonus from Mad Hermit.

Go to Mad Hermit and talk to him:

 > YES
 > DIAMOND

and you'll get 2'000 additional cubits!

Pass Mad Hermit and go to the Unicorn (beware of the cubes / see screenshot [SCR008]).
Answer the Unicorns questions. Here you have different possible paths, depending on your answers.

First, here's the right answers in short, for better readability:

 > NO
 > NO
 > NO
 > YOU

If you want to know what happens in all other cases, just read the following paragraphs.

First question:

  "DO YOU CALL IN THE SORCERESS?"

To get the black unicorn artifact (bad):

 > YES

If you answer that first question with "YES", the evil sorceress appears and kills the unicorn, and that vision will haunt you forever - in the form of a black unicorn artifact! So, that means you can have only EITHER the white OR the black unicorn artifact, but not both!

To continue and get the white unicorn artifact (good):

 1. > NO

Second question:

  "AM I TO SERVE KING QUARK?"

To get only 10'000 cubits bonus (bad):

 > YES

In this case, the unicorn goes into the kings' zoo, and the king awards you 10'000 cubits - but that's not what you want, if only because you don't get the white unicorn artifact this way. Instead, to continue and get the white unicorn artifact (good):

 > NO

Third question:

  "DOES THE BANDIT CLAIM MY POWER?"

To get only temporary invincibility (bad):

 > YES

The unicorn (Kelveshaan) gives you temporary invicibility and disappears. Again not what you want.

Instead, to continue and get the white unicorn artifact (good):

 > NO

Fourth question:

  "THEN WHO HOLDS MY FUTURE?"

To (again) get only temporary invincibility (bad):

 > ME

The unicorn (Kelveshaan) gives you temporary invicibility and disappears. Again not what you want.

Instead, to finally get the white unicorn artifact (good):

 > YOU

and you get the white Unicorn artifact, 10'000 cubits and temporary invincibility!

Stage: 4D

At the treasure chest:

 > OPEN CHEST
 > IRON PELLETS

and you gain temporary invincibility.

Ghost Town

Stage: 1A

In the prison, open the cell with the body of a dead outlaw by walking over the 3rd lever (from top-down).
Go to the dead body and get the first letter of a total of nine letters. Together they form a word, but that word is different for every new game, so there's no point in writing down the letters here. There's a list of all possible words at the point where the word must be entered.

Stage: 1C

Talk to the ghost of a Woman in lower left building

 > YES

A ladder appears; go up the ladder, then go to the dead body to note the next letter.
Go to remains of murdered waitress Molly

 > GET REMAINS

Get loot and go to the graveyard
Go to Molly's grave

 > BURY MOLLY

You will not get anything for this right now, only after you've burried the remaining three dead bodies as well.

Stage: 2A

Near starting point, where there was a rock previously, a trapdoor to the "Lost Maverick Mine" has opened.
Enter the mine and find a dead body behind a rock (shoot the rock) with another letter.
Also get the key and loot from the mine.

Stage: 2C

Talk to ghost of a woman in upper left building

 > YES

A ladder appers; go up the ladder.
Go to the dead body to note next letter
Go to the remains of daughter Ellen

 > GET REMAINS

Get loot and go to the graveyard
Go to Ellen's grave

 > BURY ELLEN

To let her rest in peace.

Stage: 3A

"Lost Maverick Mine" has a new trapdoor to a lower level, get a key and loot from there
Talk to the ghost of Luke Selleck in upper right building
Luke Selleck thanks you for burying his daughter.
A ladder appears, go up.
Go to the remains of Luke Selleck

 > GET REMAINS

Go to the diary book
Notice vault combination XX-YY-ZZ (apparently randomly generated for every new game)
Go to vault door
enter combination:

 > XX-YY-ZZ

The vault door opens
Go to the dead body
Note another letter.
Go to Luke's grave

 > BURY LUKE

Now only 1 left to bury...

Stage: 3C

Talk to the ghost of an outlaw in lower left building

 > YES

A trapdoor appears; go down.
Go down trapdoor
Go to remains of Outlaw "Tom"

 > GET REMAINS

Go back up and head to the graveyard
Go to the last grave

 > BURY TOM

You receive 1500 cubits bonus
You receive another letter. WRITE IT DOWN - this is the only time you can see this letter; you cannot come back here to check it again.

Stage: 4A

"Lost Maverick Mine" has a new trapdoor on the lower level to a second lower level.
Enter into 2nd sublevel and get to the trapped ghosts
clear the area from other enemies and then carefully eliminate the ghosts. Be careful; like the ones on the graveyard, they take several shots to be destroyed. Now you can walk up to the two dead bodys to get two more letters.

Stage: 4C

In a room on the upper side, a new ladder has appeared; go up.
go to the dead body and get another letter.
Go to black tar pit - DO NOT WALK IN! The tar pit cannot be crossed yet, and everytime you walk in, you loose a life.
Go to the box to the right side of the tar pit and enter the right word. Which one it is, depends on the letters you found.

Below you see a list of words I gathered with a hex editor from a memory snapshot of the game (so I hope the list is complete):

Words:
- TERRORIZE
- HEARTLESS
- ENCHANTER
- MISCREANT
- GENTLEMEN

(please send any other, should you find more)

- Once you enter the right word, a bridge spans across the tar pit. In the area on the other side, you find some loot and an artifact which looks like an old 19-century golden watch, and which also gives a reward of 5'000 cubits.

Excalibur

Special notes:

The Klingon ship CANNOT BE DESTROYED BEFORE LEVEL 4D! Don't even try...
This level is played only 4 times, not 16 like all others. It directly jumps to the stages as follows:

- 1A
- 2B
- 3C
- 4D

Notice that this also means a corresponding increase in enemy aggression level each time you enter the level!
There's an optional part which can cost you up to 9 lives, and is NOT necessary to finish the level and get the artifact. It's getting to the asteroid with the Hercules serum, using the long-range transporter from Starbase-4; so do that part on your own risk. You'll just gain temporary invincibility, which might be helpful for another part, but then again, at the cost of several lives... I do not recommend doing it, since it's not very useful.

There's a lot of puzzles to solve in this level. With each iteration, you NEED to solve a few more in order to get to the keys for the exit. However, solving all the puzzles for destroying the Klingon ship should be saved for the last level 4D, because it is not really possible in earlier levels as mentioned above. So I suggest you leave the level as soon as you have the required keys, save for 4D.

Now, since the puzzles are always the same in each iteration (only the codes are generated dynamically), I'll just explain the full solution only for 4D in detail. For 1A/2B/3C, you'll just follow it as far as necessary until you have the required keys to end the level.

Fixing the firing pin: When one walks to the workbench at the back of the Excalibur and tries to fix the pin by entering

 > FIX PIN
 > USE WIRE

a message appears that "only a genius would know into which of the 999 holes to put the wire. Which one is it?" This seems to be some kind of joke of the programmers, because there is no correct answer. You'll only just get an error response telling you that you hear a grinding crunch and something falls on the floor. So, in short, don't bother!

Stage: 4D

At the back of the nacelle (upper right), walk on the gray floor board

 > GET WIRE

Go to the commanders seat on the bridge
It tells you that you can see a ring

 > USE WIRE

You get the ring and 500 cubits
Go downstairs to the speaking door

 > USE RING

The door opens
Go to the book and write down the coordinates
Go to the transporter room and enter the coordinates at the terminal
Walk up on the transporter and get beamed down to Voracious-12
Collect the key and some loot.
Walk into the hole to drop into the underground tunnel system
Go to the log book and note the heading coordinates for Starbase-4
Go to the blue crystals near the exit

 > GET CRYSTALS

The blue crystals can be picked up a second time later for an additional 500 cubits bonus.
Leave the tunnels and head back to the transporter
Back on the Excalibur, go to the engineers terminal (the text with the Scotty-ish accent...)

 > USE CRYSTALS

The power of the ship is restored
Now if you want the 500 cubit bonus for the crystals, beam down to Voracious-12 again before continuing and get some more blue crystals.
Then go to the helmsman's terminal on the bridge
Write down the current heading, just in case you want to return to Voracious-12 again
Enter the heading coordinates of Starbase-4, and you'll arrive at Starbase-4, where a Klingon ship waits.
Go over to the communications terminal
Re-enter the distress code mentioned on the terminal's display
Write down the transporter coordinates in the response
Go back down to the transporter room
Enter the coordinates and beam yourself down to Starbase-4

*** Here begins the optional part ***

Go to the room with the unhelpful computer and enter the characters which show as lightning bolts on the screen (two characters after each other, see screenshot [SCR006]) Fill the entire line! Since it depends heavily on what language setting you have on your computer, it's difficult to say which keys you have to press exactly. Once you've done it, you electrocute the computer, and he'll release part of a 5-digit coordinate. It's always of the format ABC_D, where the underscore "_" stands for the missing digit.
Go to the long-range transporter room and use the terminal
Here's the part that will cost you up to 9 lives: Try the coordinate you've got and fill in the missing value where the underscore "_" character is, using a value from 0-9. One of them should work. Of course you have to step on the transporter each time to try, and if it wasn't the right one, you'll loose a life.
Once you got the right combination, you'll be beamed to the asteroid. Avoid the rolling, indestructible cubes there and walk to the sign.

 > USE MUCK

It tells you that you drink some of it, and if you drink more, you'll surely die! This is true - DO NOT enter that command again, or it's immediately game over!
Instead, you've already gained temporary invincibility with the muck, so you might use it to quickly continue with the part on board of the Klingon ship. Run back to the transporter and get back to Starbase-4.

*** Here ends the optional part ***

Continue here for the mandatory part, in order to blast those evil Klingons to smithereens:

In Starbase-4, go to the room with the crates
One of the crates has a different description (content) than the others; go to that one.

 > OPEN CRATE
 > GET PIN

You now have a working firing pin
Now hide in the create to get on board of the Klingon ship:

 > OPEN CREATE
 > HIDE
 > NO
 > YES

You get transported onto the klingon ship. Be careful, they fire on sight! Use diamonds etc. wisely for getting past the Klingons as unharmed as possible. Move quick to do everything you need and get out as fast as you can.
Get to their bridge and roam the terminals to get the codes for dropping the shields. The other codes are irrelevant.
Note from one of the terminals that the changed security door password apparently always begins with "de", but the rest of it changes in each level, as described below.
Go back to the talking security door and enter the new security password:

- 1A > DEATH
- 2B > DESTROY
- 3C > DECAY
- 4D > DECIMATE

Go to the crew member and get 500 cubits reward
Go down and walk to the loose floor panel

 > OPEN PANEL 
 > GET CHARM

You get the rabbits foot of a crew member.

 > USE WIRE

You shortwired and disabled the electrical fields on the Klingon ship, so now you can move to the back end and grab the last key.

Start running back towards the crate
A dialog pops up, where a crew member, Lt. Moore, asks you to give him his rabbits charm back:

 > YES

Now, depending on the stage you are, you either get nothing (1A - 3C) or an additional "lucky patch" (4D) in exchange for the rabbits charm. It's this "lucky patch" that will give you the advantage at the end of 4D, and 4D only.

NOTE: You can also decide not to give him the charm, so that you keep it for yourself. But that still won't you give as much luck as you need in the end, as described below.

Run to the teleporter and beam back to Starbase-4
From there go back to the Excalibur
Run to the bridge and to the communications terminal
Enter the "Drop Shields" Code
The Klingon Vessel lowers its shields (and the Klingons their pants, so to speak).
Go to the weapons terminal

 > USE PIN

The phasers are operational again

 > USE PHASERS

If you have the "lucky patch", because you returned the "rabbit's charm" to Lt. Moore, you are "very lucky", and you destroy the Klingon ship!! Since you get the "lucky patch" only on stage 4D, you can also destroy the ship only on 4D.
If you just have the "rabbits charm", because you did not give it back to the officer, you are just "lucky", and so you'll land a hit on the Klingons, but then they take evasive action and fire back, and your firing pin goes up in flames again.
If you don't have any of these items and just fire, the Klingon ship "performs a spectacular evasive roll" and they laugh at you! And you'll get the message as described below at the ending of the lower levels.

Excalibur endings:

Stage: 4D

Go to the exit, and the captain speaks to you, thanks you for everything etc. You get 5000 cubits bonus, and an artifact that looks like a Klingon "Bird of Prey" ship!

Stages: 1A / 2B / 3C

If you have activated the ship's power and freed the crew at this point, when you finish the level, the captain will send you a message, thanking you for your efforts, altough the Klingons got away.

The Sentinel

Stage: 2A

Drop into the hole near the start, from there go to the right, avoiding the flames, and then up the ladder.
Go to the scroll.

 > GET ANKH

You get the ankh and 1'000 cubits
Thanks to the ankh, you will be able to decipher the scroll in the other egyptian level, "The Guardian".
There is only one key to get in the tunnels. The central part is not yet accessible.

Special note:

There are some areas within the "Boulder Dash"-inspired rock field with diamonds, moving flames etc. Apparently these areas are not reachable when playing alone. My guess is that while playing in coop-mode, those areas can be reached, but I could not verify that.

The Guardian

Stage: 2A

If you got the ankh in "The Sentinel", you can decipher the scroll about the "Quest of the two locks", getting four directions, such as LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT, RIGHT.

Stage: 2C

Near the end, you find a scroll and a golden scepter.

 > GET SCEPTER

You get the scepter and 1'000 cubits bonus.

Stage: 2D

In the large room with the boulders, there is a new scroll:

 "The passage of time can make many years
  seem to amount to only a day."

I haven't figured out what this is supposed to mean, or how it should help, so if you find out, let me know!

Stage: 3A

Near the exit, take the RIGHT lock if you don't want to finish the level directly, but attempt the "Riddle of the Spinx" first, which will reward you with 5000 cubits bonus.
At the maze of glowing spots, follow this path (from bottom to top; in the middle part, you'll be teleported from A to B):

    x = path
    . = glowing spot
    
       EXIT
        |
      ..x...
      ..x...
      .xx...
      Bx....
      ......
      ...A..
      xxxx..
      x.....
      xx....
      .x....
      xx....
      |  
      START

NOTE: There's also a screenshot for that, [SCR009].

The scroll you find has the "Riddle of the Sphinx". To start it:

 > YES
 > YES

Then the riddle appears, which is indeed an old one (now we know where it originated...):

 "Which is it which has
  four feet in the morning,
  two in the afternoon,
  and three in the evening?"

Answer with:

 > MAN

One explanation I've found says that morning, afternoon and evening are referring to stations in life; morning means while one is a baby (and crawling on all four), afternoon when one is in his best age, and evening referring to an old person, using a walking stick (the third leg).

You get 5'000 cubits as a bonus.

Stage: 3C

In the large room with the boulders, there is a scroll with a riddle:

 "In a room with two lids,
  they awaken at night.
  A pageant of specters,
  bringing wonder and fright.
  What are they?"

Answer with:

  > DREAMS

You get 1000 cubits bonus.

Stages: 4A / 4B

In the large room with the boulders, there is a book (instead of the scroll) with a part of the map to get through the maze of glowing dots at the end of the level for the "Riddle of the Sphinx" (which I've already provided a map for above, so you can safely ignore it). By the way, the message is signed by "I. Jones". Apparently Indy was quicker, but not as lucky...