Black Lamp for Atari 8-bit computers | Guide

January 03, 2011 • Updated: Mar 11, 2025 - 08:08 PM

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Jolly Jack has no reason to smile at life. And it is because, by one of those paradoxes of fate, he has become the laughing stock of Allegory in his role as royal jester.

Worse still, he is madly in love with thePrincess Grizelda, whose father does not look with the slightest sympathy on the part of such audacity on the part of a boorish courtier.

His misfortune, however, changes one good (or rather, bad) day when aband of dragonssteal theBlack Lamp, protector of the kingdom.King MaximIn the face of the imminent threat of a monstrous invasion, he calls for some brave soul to take on the challenge of recovering themagical talisman

This is the plot ofBlack Lamp (Atari Corp. 1989), platform gameIvan MackintoshandRichard Munns, which takes place through attractive rustic landscapes and gothic-style interiors. All with an energetic melody that becomes somewhat repetitive - thank goodness there is an option to deactivate it.

BLACK LAMP

Posted by:Atari (UK), 1989.
Gender:Arcade, platforms.
Extra:1 player, joystick.

CONTROLS

To start the game, press thetrigger buttonor the keyStart (F2). You control Jack's movements with thejoystick. Among his repertoire of skills, he stands out for going up and down diagonal stairs; making long jumps forward; and making short jumps backwards. Apart from, of course, running, going up and down vertical stairs and being able to shoot magic balls at his opponents.

During the game, you can make apausewith the keyOption (F4). Likewise, themusiccan be activated and deactivated with the keySelect (F3)

GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS

The game consists ofnine levels, where you must find a total ofnine lamps of different colors- red, gold, grey, fuchsia, yellow, blue, light blue and green - including the magical oneBlack Lamp, andreturn themone by one to the corresponding shelves. The latter, however, is protected by adragonand has afixed location-unlike the others, which appear randomly scattered every time you play.

By the way, the player cancarryasingle lamp at a timeto one of the specific shelves on each level; this means that you will have to go through the shelves again and again.more than a hundred screensof the game to recover all the lamps. Once you have all nine lamps, you can advance to the next stage.

Unlike othersplatformsof his time,Black Lampcombines static screens with others that allow you to advance horizontally. In addition, many rooms are connected by doors and windows that lead to the front and back, in addition to the usual up, down, right and left. Also some "teleportation gates" from which there is no way to go back. Not to mention that it requires very good eyesight to locate them.

A fact: The location of the lamps changes from game to game, but doors, stairs, lamp shelves, and dragons are in pre-established locations; using a map is essential.

MAGIC ITEMS

In this version of the game you will be able to collecttwo types of items

Meal: in the form of roast chicken. It gives you back some of the energy you have lost.
Arms: in the form of mallets. Collecting five grants you increased firing power, though only temporarily.

The location of chickens and weapons changes throughout a match. However, if you've already collected items from a room and return to it a few minutes later, there's a good chance that they'll be replenished - albeit in different locations.

ENEMIES

Throughout the crusade, you will have to facebizarre enemiesranging fromkiller waspsuntilflying witches, passing througharmed ruffianswith spears, bows, arrows and shields.

When entering/exiting a room, theenemies retreat. Unlike you, they are like ghosts that can pass through walls without requiring doors. Even when you kill them, the enemies reappear in the rooms, they never stop coming.

There are no wasps outside. The dragon shoots fireballs at you. When you defeat it, it turns to stone. In the dragon rooms you only face it. But if you defeat it and go back, there will be enemies like in any other room.

Note.-In the Amiga, Atari ST, Commodore 64 and Spectrum versions there would be other items to collect and a greater variety of enemies.

SCORE

Wasps: They fly in groups of three and attack one by one. Killing them earns you100 pointseach one.
Soldiers: some use shields, others use spears. They shoot fireballs at you. Killing them gives you200 points
Archers: They carry bow and arrow, and they also shoot at you. They are300 points
Druids: They wear hats and throw balls at you.200 points
Witches: they fly on brooms, they don't shoot. They are400 points
Dragon: every impact of your bullets counts50 points
When taking theBlack Lamp200 points
When placing it in thestorage box1000 points
Complete a level: 10 thousand points

Note: "Swapping" lamps does not give points; it is common to find "repeated" lamps in a game. Picking up weapons or chickens does not give points either.

STRATEGIES

- You always start in thesame rooms

- Even if you move from one level to another (1 to 9)They don't give you extra livesYou have nine (9) lives to completethe whole game

- Many timesyou will have to jump backwardsto get from one platform to a higher one (it's tedious). Another complicated movement can be descending stairs.

- There are nine dragons in total and, therefore, nine difficulty levels. In level 2 you have to get TWO black lamps... if this is the case, in the rest of the levels up to the ninth -where you would have to recover nine lamps-There would be a total of 45 lamps to collectand the same number of dragons to annihilate.

OTHER DATA OF INTEREST

According to the Internet, there is consensus across all versions of the game thatControlling Jack can be difficult, as the character does not respond immediately to certain actions - you will notice this in particular when he walks in one direction and does not stop until he has taken a full step.
There is no way to make a Black Lamp trainer file. However, there is aversionwhereyou don't lose energy (v2).Finally, a curiosity: The sound every time Jack dies is very similar to the effect of Draconuswhen Frognum becomes Draconewt.

We thank Paul Mallinson (England), author of theweb The King of Grabsfor providing us with some of the images that illustrate this article.