REVIEWS COURTESY OF ZXSR

Ranarama
by Peter Austin, Steve Turner, Steve Weston
Hewson Consultants Ltd
1987
Crash Issue 38, Mar 1987   page(s) 108,109

Producer: Hewson
Retail Price: £7.95
Author: Steve Turner

Mervyn is a sorcerer's apprentice - well actually, at the moment he's a frog! A new spell that he was trying out was supposed to make him irresistible to women, but it went horribly wrong and he was left hopping about in amphibian form. This was fortunate however - shortly after he messed up his macho magic, Mervyn's dungeon was invaded by war-mongering wizards who killed everything in sight except Mervyn, believing him to be a harmless frog.

The dungeon is packed with wizards and their evil minions, and as if that wasn't enough, generators situated around the mazes of rooms that make up the levels spew forth magical weapons. Mervyn has to kill 96 wizards before his task is complete - 12 evil magicians on each level.

The screen gives an overhead view of the room Mervyn currently occupies, showing the adjacent rooms that he has already visited. Between 50 and 100 rooms make up a single level, and they have all been plunged into darkness. As Mervyn enters a room it is flooded with light, and remains lit for the rest of the game. Rooms are connected by doorways, some of which are invisible: the position of a portal is made clear when a wizard negotiates a hidden door, or a special spell can be invoked to reveal the entries and exits.

Mervyn tackles the wizards by bumping into them. Colliding with a magician takes the player into a sub-game where the letters of the word RANARAMA are jumbled onto the screen. Pairs of letters may be swapped by moving a cursor over them and pressing fire - the aim is to sort them into the correct order within a time limit and thus defeat the wizard. When the wizard dies, he sheds useful runes - these only last a short time, so Mervyn has to scurry round and pick them up before their power wanes. Runes may be converted and used to boost missile and shield strength, or exchanged for components of spells or extra energy. Losing the battle with a wizard results in a loss of spell power or death.

Designs found on the floor of the dungeon are called Glyphs and come in four varieties - pressing fire when Mervyn is standing on a Glyph activates it. A Glyph of Seeing reveals a map of the room that you have visited; a Glyph of Power activates a spell which acts as a 'smart bomb'; Way Glyphs act as teleporters, transporting Mervyn to another level; while a Glyph of Sorcery allows Mervyn to examine the magical status screen that displays a list of runes collected. This also indicates the spells that Mervyn is using and allows him to exchange runes for additional powers.

Four types of spell are available: Power, Attack, Defence and Effect - and spells have eight levels of potency. As Mervyn progresses through the eight levels of the dungeon he encounters more powerful adversaries, and spells of the appropriate level of potency are required to deal with them.

Mervyn's energy is drained as he moves around the dungeon, and the energy loss is more rapid when higher-level spells are used. Contact with the evil wizards and their minions also saps energy, but strength can be replenished by bumping into one of the floating energy crystals or by exchanging runes for a new power spell.

Points are awarded for killing Magical Minions and for eliminating the Generators that produce Magic Weapons, but Mervyn must have appropriately powerful spells before attacking the denizens. Blasting an eighth-level creature with sixth-level magic only serves to make it madder!

Should Mervyn manage to massacre all 96 magicians he wins his freedom - and with any luck a spell to turn him back into human form will be thrown into the package...

COMMENTS

Control keys: A-G up; Z-C,F fire; B,N left; M,SYMBOL SHIFT right; H-L fire; P pause; W toggle autofire.
Joystick: Kempston, Cursor, Interface 2
Keyboard play:
Use of colour: colourful screen with monochromatic characters
Graphics: good animation, but can get messy
Sound: good spot effects
Skill levels:
Screens: eight scrolling levels


I grimaced when I heard that HEWSON were doing a Gauntlet variant - there are so many around at the moment that I'm getting bored of them. This however is more than just another clone - to my mind, Ranarama is the most playable game that has arrived for review this month. Fighting off the multitude of dungeon minions makes roaming the playing area really frantic, and the gameplay is straightforward enough to make it compelling from the word go. Some of Ranarama's ideas are perhaps a little too similar to those used in Paradroid and Quazatron, but the overall gameplay certainly makes it well worth the asking price.
BEN


Hewson have taken an existing idea and improved on it. The Gauntlet style has been beautifully incorporated into what is basically a shoot 'em up extravaganza. The icons on the detailed floors are very easy to use, and well distinguished from each other - despite their size fitting more than one room on each screen is a clever idea, and makes the game appear much larger than it really is. My only gripe is that the frog can be a bit unresponsive in some situations, but apart from that there seems little wrong with Ranarama.
PAUL


Although Ranarama isn't the most addictive game I have ever played, it is certainly a game that ought to last for a long time. The graphics are very reminiscent of US Gold's Gauntlet, but are slightly better; colour has been splashed about liberally, and the characters are reasonably animated (if a little small). Steve Turner has done himself justice, with what has turned out to be a highly playable program. The instructions were not all they could have been - for instance the art of rune-swapping could have been better explained. But that apart, this is a great game - one to buy, people!
MIKE

REVIEW BY: Ben Stone, Paul Sumner, Mike Dunn

Presentation84%
Graphics88%
Playability91%
Addictiveness91%
Value for Money89%
Overall90%
Summary: General Rating: The most innovative of the Gauntlet clones.

Award: Crash Smash

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Sinclair Issue 16, Apr 1987   page(s) 52,53

FROGGY GOES A-COURTIN'...BUT MARCUS BERKMANN IS ALREADY SPOKEN FOR, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

FAX BOX
Game: Rana Rama
Publisher: Hewson
Price: £7.95
Keys: Up A-G; Down Z-F; Left B or N; Right M or S/S; Fire H-L
Joystick: Most types

Ribbit, ribbit, ribbit. It's a frog s life on the Spectrum sometimes, even if you are partial to flies. Pity poor Mervyn, then, a sorceror's apprentice who, while trying to concoct a potion to make him tall, dark and handsome, turns himself into something short, green and extremely slimy - a frog. Still, it helps him survive an invasion of evil warlocks - now he's just got to go round and destroy them, all 96 of 'em on eight labyrinthine levels. Or rather you've got to.

This is the scenario behind Rana Rama, a fast-hopping megazapper from the magic keyboard of Hewson's Steve Turner. Okay, so it does look a bit like Gauntlet - lots of games will from here on in - but it doesn't play like it, no sirree. You've got to think while playing this one - something that may not appeal to fans of the great glove.

You're stuck in a massive dungeon of eight interconnected levels and about four by four screens per level. You see only the rooms you've visited (50 to 100 per level), and meanies are only visible in the room you're in - a clever touch that peps up the game no end while no doubt saving lorryloads of memory. The network of rooms is deliberately complex, and you often have to go around the houses to reach one you've missed.

Throughout the game you carry with you four spells - Power, to keep you going, Offence (or firepower to you and me), Defence, and Effect, a sort of catch-all category that gives you certain useful (and occasioned, bizarre) powers against your enemies. Spells can be upgraded, though it's a complicated business. Every time you touch a warlock, you're launched into a subgame where you must rearrange the letters R-A-N-A-R-A-M-A (helpfully muddled by the computer) in the right order pretty darn swifly. Get past this, and Mervyn has the chance to pick up a maximum of four magical runes which flash onscreen.

Runes are vital if you're to get anywhere in Rana Rama. With them you can bump up your spells and make yourself more powerful. For this reason the most dangerous part of the game is the first bit, when you're at your most vulnerable. When you've got some runes to play with, you can afford to take more risks. But at the start, concentrate on damage limitation.

As you'll see from the table, some runes are rather better than others. The really whizzy ones you'll find on on the lower levels, but occasionally you'll get a good one on level 1 when you pick up all the four runes going. If possible try to tempt the warlock into a smaller room, 'cos it'll be easier to grab the full rune complement.

There's a random element in which runes you'll pick up, but generally they'll be more high-powered the more trigger-happy the warlock.

The spells you start with are mainly Base Magic spells which, honestly, aren't up to much. The one exception to this is the power spell, where you start as Psychic. When you're killed - and you will be - you revert to level 1, Mortal. Die again and the game's over, so go to Psychic as soon as possible after your first demise it you want a buffer between you and oblivion.

What sort of noshes must you cope with? The warlocks (and on lower levels the necromancers) are of course your main target, as they provide the valuable runes. Don't fire at them, walk into them - this is in effect a challenge to the warlock and leads to the subgame. Warlocks are normally surrounded by Magic Minions, which are usually recognisably animal in shape (if only just) and limited in number. They come in many forms, from Dwarf Warriors (relatively easy to kill) to Gargoyles (rotten meanies). Kill the lot of 'em.

The third type of meanie is the Magical Weapons. These come from small square or rectangular generators and are endlessly renewable, unless you destroy the generators. It's vital, then, to knock off any generators as soon as you enter the room - even before going after the warlocks.

While warlocks fire at you, their minions and weapons will walk into you to harm you. As you weaken, your frog will begin to flash and his croaking will grow louder and more desperate. To stay alive you'll need to find one of the many gyrating little energy capsules which, like rozzers, are never around when you want them. When you need a capsule, it'll fizz loudly as it whooshes into you - if there's no fizz, you've wasted it.

And there's more. Secret doors are scattered liberally across the dungeon, so don't be misled by what seems like a dead end. If minions appear through walls, that's where the door is. Alternatively, the map that's activated by the See Glyph (displayed as an eye) show's all the secret doors.

Rana Rama is one of the best games I've ever played on the Spectrum. Fans of that little charmer, Gauntlet, find Hewson's entry less than gripping - it's all a matter of personal taste, I s'pose. But I'm hooked - two and a half hours last night, battling my way down to level 6. There's just so much to do and think about, and it's a treat for the peepers. So my advice is, hop off and snap it up - it's toadally brilliant!


REVIEW BY: Marcus Berkmann

Blurb: Frog's Legs One if the game's nicest features is the way you slowly build up the map of the level you're exploring. The See Glyph shows you which rooms you've visited, and exactly where you are in the grid (a flashing light). Lifts to other levels are also highlighted. With a See Spell you'll also be able to spot wandering warlocks (red squares), but again only in parts of the maze you've already explored. The map also displays any secret doors you may have missed. Starting up, though, can be tricky, so here's the first level complete and unsullied by warlocks...

Blurb: Born To Rune Here are the first five levels of spells and the runes you'll need to get 'em. The warlock is the man to get the runes off, then use them wisely. With offence and defence it pays to upgrade at every opportunity. Bear in mind that power spells can be lost, returning you to the ranks of mere mortals, so it's up to you whether you want to invest in an Electra or an Elemental or settle for a Psychic. You'll soon decide which of the Effect spells you like best - note that when you upgrade you lose the Effect you had before. The Effect spell is activated by standing still and firing - if you do this quite a lot, consider carefully which one you'd prefer to use. I prefer the Find and See spells myself, especially on levels I haven't been before. Jump, which sends you randomly to another place in the grid, is often more trouble than it's worth.

Blurb: AT THE HOP This corner of the first level (the top right hand corner on the map) is always one of the busiest - although you can't see them now, the other two rooms are just groaning with meanies of every description. Destroy those generators quickly, or else your position will be hop-less! The Sorcery Glyph displays your spell status and rune list, and lets you scroll through the available spells. Head for this immediately after grabbing some runes to stock up your spell larder. Harassed by minions? Stand on this glyph and many of them will go west. There's a random element to it, though, so you may kill the lot or none at all. Disappears after use. It's a nice effect when you do blow up a generator, and you could well find that you can now reach parts of the room other beers cannot reach. (Eh?) The See Glyph shows you a map of all the rooms you've visited. And as with all the glyphs, land on this and the meanies can't get at you. Grab this energy capsule when you start flashing, otherwise it's curtains. A nice trick to know is that when you've knocked off all the warlocks and moved on to another level, there'll be loads of energy capsules around if you come back - so pop up now and again to refuel. This thing's harmless, but unlike the little generators it can work to your advantage. Not only can you use it as cover but you can shoot over it and zap your enemies in relative safety. Neat, huh? Generators produce the warlocks' Magical Weapons, so they need to be destroyed as soon as you enter the room. Otherwise you'll have munchies and energy balls all over you - nasty! Way Glyphs take you down to another level, but watch out 'cos they may take you further down than you're ready for. And you can't always get back either. So stock up with some heavy duty spells before you contemplate moving on. Dwarf Warrior? Looks like a troubadour to me. They're dangerous little characters, nonetheless, so wipe 'em out! Although you don't get points for "killing" weapons, you do have the satisfaction of knowing they're not going to leap out behind you all the time. Generators, incidentally, are worth 500 points.

Blurb: MERVYN'S MEANIES Death Serpent Spawned from the heads of dead warriors - yeeugh. 5th level minion that'll need five zap shots if you want to see the back of it. You'll need a Buzzball or better for instant results. Ghoul A 6th level fighter that's barely visible. That doesn't stop it from draining you energy at a scarifying rate, of course. Arachnae Aren't spiders vegetarians? Possibly, but not these. No nut cutlets for these vicious octopeds - they're much keener on froggies (and we're not just talking about legs). Gargoyle You'll have to venture to the very deepest levels to find these sweeties - and you'll soon wish you hadn't bothered. Swift, cunning and deadly to anyone without high-powered defence. Warlock The stronger a warlock, the keener he'll be on touching you and forcing combat. Only the weakest warlock will succumb to missile attack, but don't bother anyway - otherwise you lose your runes! Necromancer Very nasty characters, these, to be found manly on the bottom levels. Avoid unless you have at least 4th level power and defence. Level 8 necromancers are the most powerful meanies in the game, so go well prepared!

Blurb: Base Magic Power: Mortal - Uses your won life energy. When expired you are doomed. Offence: Zap - Better than nothing. Defence: Protect - Standard defence. Effect: Find - Will cause hidden doors to appear. Mysticism Power: Psychic - Uses energy of the mind. Offence: Missile - Improved firepower. Defence: Shield - Reduces hits. Effect: See - Displays warlock on map if room has been explored. Witchcraft Power: Symbiotic - Uses life force of others. Offence: Plasma Bolt - Bane of mortals. Defence: Wall - Better defence against physical attack. Effect: Jump - Transfer through space when in real trouble. Magecraft Power: Electra - Uses electromagnetic force. Offence: Fireball - Deadly firepower. Defence: Barrier - Muncher of mortals. Effect: Demon - Unleashes an ally. Runecraft Power: Elemental - High power from the elements. Offence: Buzzball - Electric firepower. Defence: Unseen - Mortals cannot see you. Effect: Foolbane - Will cause mortals blind panic.

Graphics9/10
Playability9/10
Value For Money9/10
Addictiveness9/10
Overall9/10
Award: Your Sinclair Megagame

Transcript by Chris Bourne

Your Sinclair Issue 63, Mar 1991   page(s) 81

Time to catch up with our 2 favourite barg hunters, JON PILLAR and RICH PELLEY, as we fix on our helmets and drop down deep...

BARGAIN BASEMENT

Players
£2.99
Reviewer: Rich Pelley

"Mervyn the Sorcerers apprentice is trapped in a Dark Dungeon - and has inadvertently changed himself into a frog! Help Mervyn defeat the warlocks and turn him back into a human.

At the beginning of the game you are transported to one of the rooms in the top level of the dungeon. Your aim is to explore each room in turn and defeat each warlock that you encounter. Each room lights up as you enter it. Some rooms also have mysterious symbols embedded on the floor, called Floor Glyphs, which are used to either weave magic spells, destroy enemies in the room, reveal a plan of the level or transport you to new level.

When you locate a warlock, leap on top of him and you will lock him in ritual combat where you have to unscramble the letters making up the word R-A-N-A-R-A-M-A before the time runs out."

Well, that's the general gist of the game, and conveniently copied straight out the instructions too. Of course, things are far more complicated than that. Take that screenshot below, for example. It probably looks a bit Gauntletish to you, but only the parts of the maze, or indeed screen, that you have actually visited are displayed so it's extremely easy to get lost, especially as seemingly dead ends may well not be so. There are spells too, which you'll need to increase during the game to progress further.

The thing's a pretty cunning mixture between a shoot-'em-up, maze game and logic game, so I would imagine would keep you hooked for quite a long time as it is so complex, even though it's not initially too addictive, and does look a bit out of date in this day and age. However, there hasn't really been anything like it since, so despite the fact that it's coming up to its 4th birthday, I'd still recommend it very highly. Oh, and many happy returns if it's your 4th birthday too.


REVIEW BY: Rich Pelley

Overall78%
Transcript by Chris Bourne

Crash Issue 43, Aug 1987   page(s) 42

Issue 38 (March 1987) Page 108

ROBIN: Ranarama is yet another Smashed game along the same lines as Gauntlet. In this game you have complete control over Mervyn, a sorcerers apprentice, who happens to be in frog form at the start of the game (due to a few miscast spells).

Mervyn is trapped in a dungeon; to escape and return himself to his former glory, he must destroy 96 evil warlocks, 12 on each level. In some rooms there are strange symboLs on the floor which. If Mervyn moves over them, can be used to weave spells, reveal maps or destroy the enemies in the same room.

The rooms vary; some are quite large, others are little more than tunnels. Each is shrouded in darkness till Mervyn enters it for the first time - then light floods into reveal the contents of the room.

To kill the warlocks, Mervyn must find them and then move into the same space. This takes the player into a subgame, which features the letters R-A-N-A-R-A-M-A jumbled up. The player must sort them into order by taking a pair of letters at a time and exchanging the positions of the two letters - within a time limit. Losing the battle means losing spell power - or even death.

If you win, then the warlock leaves some magic runes, which must be collected quickly lest their power wane and disappear. The runes can be converted or exchanged for parts of spells or strength in battle.

There are four types of spell available, and each has eight levels of potency. As Mervyn progresses through the eight levels of the game, he meets more powerful adversaries and so needs an increased spell strength. Using spells saps energy, as does contact with evil Warlocks and their guards. Fortunately for Mervyn, he can increase his strength with energy crystals and by exchanging runes for power spells.

Ranarama is a novel variant on the Gauntlet theme, and arguably the best of the bunch. It seems to me a better game than Gauntlet.

It's graphically good, and the animation of the small characters is acceptable. I particularly like the way the rooms don't appear onscreen till you enter them for the fist time; the subgame is also an interesting development, and gets quite frantic at times.

Ranarama is worth buying, even though it's a bit derivative of the arcade machine - it has better gameplay and more ingenuity than the other Gauntlet clones.

RICKY: I couldn't agree with Robin more - Ranarama probably tops the lot because it's such a busy game. It's not a straight copy, and goes beyond Gauntlet with rune-casting, spells and a host of other features. Its atmosphere conveys a true sense of adventuring, because the rooms aren't revealed till they're entered. If you haven't played Ranarama yet, check it out.

Then: 90%
Now: 92%


REVIEW BY: Richard Eddy, Robin Candy

Overall92%
Transcript by Chris Bourne

Sinclair User Issue 60, Mar 1987   page(s) 46,47

Label: Hewson
Author: Steve Turner
Price: £7.95
Joystick: various
Memory: 48K/128K
Reviewer: Graham Taylor

Hopping up from the back straight, a couple of months after the competition, comes what appears to be a Gauntlet variant from Hewson.

Ranarama looks for a good ten minutes like more swords and sorcery on a tile background with carnage on a grand scale. Except that your hero is a frog.

This impression is completely wrong. The frog is still there but Ranarama turns out to be a good deal more subtle and varied than Gauntlet and, personally, I prefer it.

Steve Turner is the man responsible. His last program was Quazatron and in an odd sort of way there are similarities with this game. Your frog does, you'll be pleased to know, get to kill a lot of assorted monsters but the key to Ranarama is the sub-plot - if you can kill a warlock and unscramble the word ranarama within a time limit you can then (also within a time limit) pick up runes.

Runes are the building blocks of spells. And spells determine your defensive and offensive powers - the more powerful the warlock the more useful the runes you can pick up but then the more difficult the warlock is to beat in the first place.

This is very similar to the way you could build up your droid in Quazatron and there is definitely a similar 'feel' to the game.

There are over a hundred screens of playing area in RanaRama, all broadly in the Gauntlet style. They're on different levels connected by lifts. The lower the level the more likely you are to die and the more powerful you'll need to be to stand a chance.

Some squares in the layout have special features. Stand on one sort and you get a map of the current level, another gives you a 'lucky dip' casting of a spell - often a 'smart bomb' which clears the current screen.

One difficulty is you play the game blind. You don't see a room until you actually enter it and often door locations are not revealed until you fire a 'show' spell. This is standard equipment when you start the game, more powerful spells include ones which will show the location on the map of warlocks.

Monster movement is intelligent - the warlocks in particular judge your strength relative to theirs and will either make straight for you or make a run for it. You'll have to be pretty sneaky.

Unlike Gauntlet where you have to kill everything there are often reasons not to get involved in attack in Ranarama. If you take on warlocks you'd better have the power to kill them because if you just wound them they get very, very angry indeed.

Graphics are smooth and speedy. Although monsters are all one colour it matters little and the overall impression, because of the various background features, is of a very colourful game. Even the character set has been redesigned beautifully and looks great.

The sub-game which involves rearranging the Ranarama by swapping letters in pairs seems utterly impossible within the time limit when you first try. Gradually though you learn to work methodically without panicking (too much) and collecting runes. A spell squirt the playing area allows you to scroll through the spells you currently have and choose from any new spells which your current rune stock allows you to create. More strategy in deciding what powers will help you most.

Ranarama is brilliantly crafted. It ought to appeal to those who like Gauntlet and its variants but really it has so much more to offer in game variety and inventiveness. Even the sound effects (standard 48K) are rather good.


REVIEW BY: Graham Taylor

Overall5/5
Summary: Not another Gauntlet variant, although it looks like it. Instead a brilliant multi-faceted blast, cast and thinking game.

Award: Sinclair User Classic

Transcript by Chris Bourne

C&VG (Computer & Video Games) Issue 65, Mar 1987   page(s) 16

MACHINE: Spectrum/Amstrad/CBM 64
SUPPLIER: Hewson
PRICE: £7.95 (Spectrum)/£8.95 (Amstrad/CBM cassette)/£12.95 (CBM disk)/£14.95 (Amstrad disk)
VERSION TESTED: Spectrum

Ranarama sees Steve Turner's return to his unique world of magic, spells, runes, potions - and frogs!

The Dragontorc man serves up more of the same but in a far more accessible form. The problems are still there to be solved but in RanaRama they don't bring the game to a halt while you spend a frustrating few hours trying to solve them.

You control Mervyn, a Sorceror's apprentice, who has inadvertently turned himself into a frog while trying to brew a potion to make him, tall, muscular and handsome. Some mistake, eh?

But it has allowed him to escape capture during an invasion by evil warlocks.

The aim of the game is for Mervyn to tackle 12 wizards found on each level of the game, guarded by evil troops scattered around the many rooms. There are eight levels in all. The rooms are viewed from above - Gauntlet-style - but they only become illuminated when you enter them. On average you get around five rooms to a screen.

Succeed in capturing a wizard and you enter a sub-game which allows you to build up your magical spells. Basically this is sorting out the jumbled up words of RanaRama against the clock. It's simple but you always find yourself panicking. Unscramble the jumble and you are rewarded with extra strengths.

The missiles, power and shields you gain are all graded to match the nasties on different levels.

Some of the game features are: Magic Bolts: Eight kinds of bolts of increasing power, transfer to other levels.

Power Points: You can use these to attack all meanies within the room.

Magical Spell Potions: YOu can cast spells to increase your power on these points.

Clairvoyance Points: These can be used to obtain a map of the current level. Only the places you have been are revealed.

Meanies can be killed by colliding with them but you lose energy in the process.

Energy levels can be loose by collecting spinning energy crystals or by firing up another power spell. When your energy drops low the frog sparks and flashes.

On the floor to all the rooms are various "glyphs" which are activated by stepping on them and pressing the fire button.

GLYPH OF SEEING: All rooms explored so far will be shown on a map. If you have the SEE spell warlocks will be shown in red.

GLYPH OF SORCERY: Shows your spell status, rune list and allows you to scroll through available spells.

GLYPH OF POWER: Will disappear when used. It activates a random attack spell which is often deadly to all in the room except yourself.

WAY GLYPH: Will transport you up or down a ley to a different level.

In RanaRama you have a short shoot 'em up plus lots, lots more.

Great fun, thoroughly absorbing game play and very addictive. Turner triumphs again.


REVIEW BY: Paul Boughton

Graphics8/10
Sound8/10
Value9/10
Playability10/10
Award: C+VG Hit

Transcript by Chris Bourne

ZX Computing Issue 36, Apr 1987   page(s) 46,47

AMPHIBIAN DARING IN THE DUNGEON AS HEWSON UNVEIL A SPRAWLING MAGICAL EPIC.

Hewson
£7.95

Ranarama follows the exploits of a rather luckless sorcerer's apprentice whose experiments with the potions have transformed him into a frog. The one advantage of his new found form is that he avoids being destroyed by an invasion of evil warlocks. As Mervyn you must try to wreak revenge on the warlocks and steal their magic. One each of eight levels there are 12 wizards to confront in combat. Once you've located a warlock and hopped in his path you are transferred to a sub game where bottle commences. Adding sub games as an extra to the main action has become something of a Hewson trademark in such games as Paradroid, Quazatron and Firelord and here we are faced with an anagram game where you must rearrange the scrambled letters of "Ranarama" back to the original word. This is a reflex test that calls for a keen eye and good co-ordination with the joystick. On each successive level the time limit is lessened The style of lettering can make it difficult to distinguish the letters at first but one quickly gets accustomed. If you are in any way dyslexic however this part of the game could present an insoluble puzzle.

If you succeed in sorting out the letters in time, the action reverts to the main screen where the warlock has disappeared to be replaced by hovering runes which you must collect quickly before they vanish. Amassing these runes is essential as they can be converted into magic powers inserted in the floors of chambers are hieroglyphs with a variety of functions - head for the "Glyph of Sorcery" and once activated you can scroll through the spells which are available to you with the runes you have. Some spells offer powers that won't come into effect until a later level. As you only have two lives it's best to concentrate on obtaining spells that will get you beyond your present level.

SEEING THE LIGHT

Each of the eight levels contains between 50 to 100 rooms and a very simple but effective system makes the usual meandering round a lot more enjoyable. At the start of each game you are placed randomly somewhere on a level - go through a door and the room you enter lights up. As you progress round, locate a "glyph of seeing" which will enable you to get a view of the entire level (but only those rooms you've been in will show up). On this map you may be able to locate hidden doors..In the dungeons themselves hidden doors can be found by taking advantage of a neat visual touch - figures peek their heads through the walls for a fraction of a second revealing where a door is placed.

As you would expect the dungeons are packed with various nasties like serpents, dwarf warriors and hideous insects which require different levels of firepower to be destroyed. These will all drain your energy but there is a floor glyph which can be activated to clear a room of creatures. This glyph is disposable so you can only use it once. Perhaps a greater problem, are the magical weapons like spinning swords and munching mouthes which make life especially difficult as they are impervious to attack. You con however destroy the generators that create them.

Even if you have managed to light up all the rooms on a level you may not have found all the wizards, defeating all twelve is essential to progress and as they pop up where they feel like it you will need to save some of your runes to purchase the spell that will reveal their location.

Ranarama is a highly accomplished example of games programming with just the right degree of zapping and strategy. There are obvious comparisons with Gauntlet and other arcade adventures but Ranarama has a character all its own as well as having all the necessities - it's fast and furious with a vast area and most importantly it's very playable and once you've got your bearings, very addictive indeed.


Award: ZX Computing ZX Monster Hit

Transcript by Chris Bourne

All information in this page is provided by ZXSR instead of ZXDB