RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (Atari – Atari VCS)
If you expose the first Easter egg, the second will be unearthed along with the
Ark. The route to this optimal ending is detailed here (along with peripheral
minutiae). Upon assuming the role of Indiana Jones, seize the whip found in the
Entrance Room, head southward to the Marketplace, and take the grenade from the
blue basket.
Before the snake closes in, drop your basket of coins on the parachute: Using
the second controller, position the selector dot under the money – if it’s not
already there – and press the fire button. Make sure that you’re touching only
the parachute; contact with its peddler will nullify the transaction,
necessitating a trip for more coins. The flute, whose song renders you
impervious to snake venom and tsetse-fly poison, isn’t required; your
adversaries are easily avoided (and neither Easter egg is forestalled by your
death – unless it’s your third, of course). Once you’ve bought the parachute,
revisit the Entrance Room. To ensure that you don’t stroll right into the snake
upon returning northward, exit the Marketplace at a safe distance from his
current course, which will persist in the Entrance Room. It might be necessary
to lure him to one side first.
Select the grenade; prime and drop it (by pressing the fire button on the main
controller) while standing near the center of the eastern wall. Hurry back to
the Marketplace; you won’t survive the explosion if you remain in the room. It
will occur as soon as you leave, however; you can return without delay. To
elude the snake once again, touch the currently empty blue basket. He’ll appear
in the western Marketplace as before, enabling you to exit from a suitably remote
spot. Leave the Entrance Room through the breach you’ve created.
While crossing the Temple Entrance, grab the timepiece. Take the southeastern
passage to the Room of the Shining Light (henceforth referred to as the RSL).
You can ignore the northeastern outlet; you’re only obliged to pass through the
Spider Room when you’ve locked yourself out of the Temple Entrance. When you
use either RSL dungeon’s secret exit (see below), three barriers appear inside
the Temple Entrance, obstructing entry from without. The two southern exits are
immediately blocked; while they can be whipped open from within, westward
departure from the RSL is no longer possible, and you’re left only with the
northern detour. Taking this is simple enough, as you’re required merely to
continue northward through the Spider Room while walking against the western
border; but the reverse route isn’t recommended…
…as a swarm of tsetse flies repeatedly attacks from the Spider Room’s southern
periphery, rendering you temporarily unconscious several times on your way to
the eastern border (where the exit is found; the logical southern entrance from
the RSL is one-way). Chances are, you’ll be stricken by a strand of webbing
while immobile, rousing the spider. For the record, he’s not the least bit
impressed by your flute-playing. All told, making it across the room from west
to east is achievable with persistence, but not much fun.
Continuing along this tangent: A barrier that slowly descends over the Temple
Entrance’s northwestern passage is also triggered when you use one of the
secret exits. It drops a bit further at each ninety-degree position on the
timepiece, and lowers too far to bypass from either side upon the third
complete revolution. It’s nearly indestructible; the game’s second grenade,
found at the Black Market (unless the hand of the timepiece points upward or to
the upper left, at which times the basket provides an extra key instead), must
be detonated within the existing Entrance Room rupture to restore travel
between the two rooms. This isn’t necessary, as the Marketplace can still be
reached, and harbors an eastern exit itself: If you take and select the
headpiece of the Staff of Ra (see below), and then walk northward against the
eastern border as the fire button’s held down, you’ll arrive at the Temple
Entrance. (This passage from the Marketplace is located just north of
center-screen.)
This is the secret exit’s precise longitude. The other exit is found at the
same distance from the western wall of the dungeon across the room, rather than
on the symmetrically proportionate longitude. You can free yourself at any time
by walking directly southward into the border.
There’s no need for any of this, of course; you can pass up the secret exits by
taking care not to drop the whip until you absolutely don’t need it, and
retrieving it whenever you subsequently pass through the Entrance Room.
Returning to the current game: Lash your way out of the dungeon, and enter the
Treasure Room to the east.
Select and open the timepiece; each position corresponds to one of the three
items that individually appear here when the money’s taken. Wait until the hand
points directly to the right, as seen here, and grab the cash and the Chai. The
latter will be required for unveiling the first Easter egg. It’s only otherwise
used for bribing the Black Sheik in the Marketplace: Dropping it on the flute
transports you to the Black Market. This approach doesn’t figure into the most
resourceful game completion.
Exit to the west. Whip yourself to freedom once again, return eastward, and
take the replenished money when the hand of the timepiece is pointing straight
downward. You’ll have to drop the timepiece, the whip or one of the coin
baskets to make room for the Ankh in your inventory; you might as well get rid
of all four just before taking the Ankh, as they’ll interfere with your
imminent feat. (Provided that you reach the Treasure Room fairly quickly after
starting the game, the Ankh will appear if you grab the coins right away, when
the hand still points to the upper right. You’ll then have to linger only for
the Chai. This is recommended, in fact, as you’ll then be able to reach the Map
Room without missing the first sunrise; see below.)
Incidentally, the third Treasure Room item, the hourglass, isn’t required. It
serves as a “manual” version of the Ankh; the grappling hook will appear if you
select the hourglass after entering the Mesa Field. It only comes in handy when
you’ve accidentally dropped the Ankh while standing on a mesa, or you’ve
departed southward from the Marketplace (having lined yourself up for emergence
onto a mesa, averting a lethal plunge). The advantage is that the selector dot
can be moved from beneath the hourglass, whereas the Ankh must be dropped when
you’re done with the grappling hook. The drawback is that the hourglass can’t
immediately convey you to the Mesa Field, as Ankh activation can; if you fall,
you won’t be able to rescue yourself instantly.
Return to the RSL and make certain that you’re holding only the Ankh, Chai and
parachute. Select and activate the former. You now stand in the Mesa Field.
Swing to the giant mesa just north of your starting point, drop the Ankh, and
select the Chai. With both fire buttons at hand, walk off the edge of this
so-nicknamed Flying Saucer Mesa (an apparent foreshadowing of the fourth
Indiana Jones movie).
In quick succession, drop the Chai and open the parachute. The latter will be
selected the instant you drop the former, as you’ve cleared your inventory of
all surplus objects. The Yar you’ve summoned – a giant mutant housefly from the
game Yars’ Revenge – appears to be crippled, but evidently remains
strong enough to hover in place (so don’t feel guilty).
Once you’ve landed in the Valley of Poison, drop the parachute and walk to the
Marketplace through one of the northernmost bogs. Unless you’re concerned about
your score (which won’t affect the second Easter egg), there’s no need to
hurry. Being caught by the Master Thief won’t hurt you, as you’ve nothing he
can steal and exchange for bullets; and while the sedating tsetse flies are
bothersome, they’re nothing more.
Take the key from the purple basket, and remain there until the snake gets
close. Now wait as long as possible on the blue basket. Repeat this until you
acquire the object with the mysteriously sporadic existence: Upon each movement
of the timepiece’s hand, the headpiece of the Staff of Ra briefly appears
inside all three baskets at once. To avoid a longer wait than necessary, you’re
keeping contact as continuously as possible. You can disregard the green
basket; not only is the revolver superfluous, but crossing the large distance
between the other two baskets lures the snake back and forth, granting
reasonable intervals and thus reducing your chances of missing the moment.
With key and headpiece in hand, return to the Treasure Room, picking up the
whip and timepiece along the way. If you haven’t been dragging your noisy
heels, the Ankh will appear when you seize the money (i.e. while the hand of
the timepiece is pointing to the upper left). In any case, you desire two coin
baskets in addition to the Ankh; so you’ll have to enter at least twice,
eventually dropping the whip to clear a space in your inventory (once you’re
certain that you’ll no longer need it; keep in mind that you’ll only be
imprisoned after taking a non-money item). After confirming that you hold the
key, the headpiece, the timepiece, two baskets of cash and the Ankh, activate
the latter – this can’t be done inside the Treasure Room itself – and swing to
the southernmost mesa. Drop the Ankh, select the key, center yourself on the
mesa, and exit to the south.
Continue southward cautiously; if you step off the pathway, you’ll plummet to
your death. The inner Map Room is revealed when you stand beside the blue
cubicle above the headpiece hieroglyphic. Walk to the middle of the cubicle,
taking care to avoid budging to the north or south; these directions are only
safe on the pathway at center-screen. The key must remain selected until you’re
centered under the map of the Mesa Field; if you select something else while
standing in any other spot, your admittance into the cubicle will be withdrawn,
and you’ll drop like a rock in a fedora if you’re not on the pathway. (The key
actually allows you to walk as far to the east or west as you like, as long as
you remain aligned with the cubicle.) When you’re in place, select the
timepiece; keep an eye on it until the hand points straight up. As in the
Treasure Room, the timepiece isn’t essential, but it makes the wait more
tolerable. Now select the headpiece and wait for the sunlight to reveal which
mesa hides the Ark. Commit the location of the flashing dot to memory; in the
game seen here, it’s far to the northwest. Select the key again, and walk
straight to the west until you’re back on the path. You can now drop the key,
headpiece and timepiece; in the next room, however, leaving the selector dot
under one of these objects might be helpful. If a thief should make your
acquaintance, you’ll lose only something dispensable. If these things appear
directly next to each other in your inventory, select the leftmost; you’ll be
especially protected, as the dot will move to the right if the selected object
is stolen (or dropped).
Head to the south until you find yourself in the dark. Emerge from behind the
centered partition, and hasten to the southeastern corner without touching any
thieves. Walk eastward against the southern border; you’ll shortly enter the
Black Market.
Stand on the shovel and spend your two coin baskets. The other sheik can be
ignored; you don’t need the revolver itself, let alone extra bullets. Be sure
not to cross too far to the west, or you’ll be killed by that jovial chap with
the starched beard. (Should you ever wish to get past him, drop a basket of
cash nearby.) After buying the shovel, depart through the eastern border, from
anywhere north of center.
As before, if you hurry to the Treasure Room, the Ankh will appear when you
take the money. Keep them both; revisit the Marketplace for another parachute.
Activate the Ankh and swing to the mesa containing the Ark. Drop the Ankh,
select the parachute and walk into the sky.
Open the parachute at once. Drift toward the branch, hesitating very briefly
somewhere along the way. This short pause is necessary for catching the
parachute on the bough; if you collide with it yourself, you’ll fall. With
sufficient timing, you’ll swing into the crevice just below the branch.
Drop the parachute immediately upon landing inside the mesa. Walk to the mound
of dirt, evading the thieves; if you hesitate for a second or two before
walking southward, a perfectly straight course will clear between them. Walk
back and forth across the mound, repeatedly pressing the fire button to dig
(obviously having selected the shovel, if you happen to possess anything else).
The mound will steadily diminish if your paces are wide enough. Prepare for your
victorious…well, return to the opening screen!
Once you’ve reached the Well of the Souls, the second Easter egg occupies your
first two inventory spaces. The numeral following programmer Howard Scott
Warshaw’s initials conveys that this is his second VCS game (after Yars’
Revenge).
©2009 Chris Federico