Summary 3 STARTING THE GAME 4 STORY 5 HOW TO PLAY 6 GAME CONTROLS 7 THE GAME INTERFACE 8 THE THREE HOUSES 9 CHARACTERS 12 ENEMIES 13 HELPFUL HINTS 14 CREDITS STARTING THE GAME • Use a ROM loader (like SofaRun) to load the game ROM on your MSX, or use an emulator like blueMSX, openMSX or WebMSX. • Wait for the title screen. • See page 5 to learn how to play. Have fun! Minimum Requirements: • MSX1 with at least 16 kB of RAM. 3 STORY F rom time to time, hordes of Garks, gardeneating demons, appear terrorizing villages. And there are only two items capable of defeating these devastating creatures: ginger and silver dagger. The target this time is the village where you live, your sacred place. In the village reside three powerful figures: the witch Aris, who forges the silver daggers and supplies you with ginger seedlings, the sage Isao, who gives you valuable tips, and Yu Tao (you), a talented and fearless kung-fu fighter who is determined to defeat the hordes of Garks and protect the garden. It couldn't be different, as there is a magical and very special connection between you and the garden: whatever happens to the garden, will also happen to you. In other words, taking care of your garden is taking care of yourself. 4 How to Play M y Sacred Place is an action strategy RPG for MSX in which you have to protect your village's garden from the clutches of the fearsome Garks. Generally speaking, you should arm yourself with as many silver daggers as possible and create protective barriers using the ginger seedlings. This all needs to be done before day time runs out and the horde of Garks arrives at nightfall. Silver daggers and ginger seedlings can be purchased from the witch Aris' shop. Each ginger seedling costs 3 Tyzin coins, and each silver dagger costs 5 Tyzin coins. If you need more coins, you can go to your home dojo to train. Blocking eight fireballs in a roll earns you Tyzin coins. Furthermore you can ask sage Isao for advice. In some cases, he will be able to provide you with some money. My Sacred Place color palette is optimized on MSX2 (or higher) computers, and can be played either with a keyboard or a joystick. 5 GAME CONTROLS M y Sacred Place can be played on the keyboard or on the controller. See below the main commands. Directional pads or arrow keys: move the character in four directions (up, down, left and right), navigate between items from the Aris witch's shop and block fireballs at the dojo. Controller button 1 or spacebar: starts the game; put the ginger seedlings in the magic soil; throws silver daggers and buys items from (or exit) the witch Aris's shop; exit Isao's temple. 6 THE GAME INTERFACE 1 2 3 5 4 6 1. Aris The Witch's house/shop. 2. Isao The Sage's house/temple. 3. Your home dojo. 4. Magic soil, where you can drop the ginger seedlings to create protective barriers. 5. Your garden. Protect it! 6. Dashboard: score, remaining time, your Tyzin coins, your ginger seedlings, your silver daggers and the health bar. 7 THE THREE HOUSES Aris The Witch's house, where you can purchase items and recover health. Isao The Sage's house, where you get important knowledge for your journey. Your home dojo, where you train to get Tyzin coins. Block eight fireballs in a roll to get coins! 8 Yu Tao (you) is a talented and fearless kung-fu fighter, and one of the three most powerful people in the village. You have taken it upon yourself to protect the village from the clutches of the terrifying Garks. It couldn't be different, as there is a magical connection between you and the village garden. What happens to the garden, happens to you. And that's why you'll do anything to protect it. 9 Aris The Witch is a powerful witch. A master in the manipulation of herbs, roots and minerals. She is the one who supplies you with ginger seedlings, and also forges the silver daggers, thanks to her mastery of the curious, and feared, Silver Fire. 10 Isao The Sage (or Isao The Old Wise Man) is an ancient sage, and also a former martial master. Holding great wisdom about life, he teaches you valuable lessons. Some times, he also helps out with some Tyzin coins, some extra time, or some extra points. 11 Garks are terrifying garden-eating demons. The origin of these creatures is unknown. Predominantly red in color, they have fire fur, many yellow eyes, horns and sharp teeth. They are lethal and attack in hordes. As far as it is known, there are only two things capable of killing them: ginger and silver dagger. Legend has it that some people have lost their sanity just by seeing these creatures. 12 HELPFUL HINTS • Ginger seedlings and silver daggers can be purchased at Aris the Witch's shop. • Look closely at the village floor and you will find magic soil, where you can drop the ginger seedlings to create protective barriers. • Need Tyzin coins? Train at your dojo. Blocking eight fireballs in a row earns you coins. • Isao has a lot of advice to give you. In some cases, he may also provide you with Tyzin coins, or some extra time. • The Garks crossed the ginger barrier? Don't you have any more silver daggers? If you have ginger seedlings in your inventory you can make a SACRIFICE ATTACK. The Gark dies, but you will lose 1 ginger seedling and 1 HP. • If you pass the season without taking damage, you will receive a NO DAMAGE BONUS, earning 2 Tyzin coins, 2 gingers seedlings, 2 silver daggers and 100 points. • What happens to your garden, happens to you. In other words, taking care of your garden is taking care of yourself. Hold tight! 13 Credits code, graphics and music Mario Cavalcanti (@mariocavalcanti) COVER ART AND ILLUSTRATIONS Andres Ramos (@renderia) TESTER Paulo Vinicius Radtke (aka PV) SPECIAL THANKS Amaury Carvalho 14 Made with for MSXdev22.