Blinky's Scary School for Atari 8-bit computers | Review
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Today we analyze one of the titles that we did not get to enjoy at the time, due to the premature "death" of our Atari computer. We always wanted to know more about this game, in whose creation Ian Copeland, one of the main English developers for Atari, and Adam Gilmore, a British musician known for his compositions for Atari and Commodore 64, participated.
BLINKY'S SCARY SCHOOL
Posted by:Zeppelin Games Ltd., 1990.Gender: Adventures, 2-D.
Extra: 1 player, joystick.
THE STORY
Almost by tradition, castles are usually inhabited by at least one ghost. However, it was exactly a century ago that the most famous ghost hunter of all time, the landowner Red Laird McTavish, rid Dumtrochie Castle of all its apparitions.The head spook of the Scare School for Young Ghosts has tasked his star pupil, Blinky, with teaching Hamish McTavish, who has boasted about his ancestor's fearlessness one time too often, a lesson.
Blinky has exactly one night to penetrate the castle's defenses - riddled with traps and vermin such as rats, bats, snails, etc. - until he locates and deprives McTavish of sleep. If he fails, Blinky will be banished from his ghostly duties and return to school for another century, to await the next available mystical night.
The player must find the ingredients to prepare magic potions, which will give him special abilities that allow him to locate essential elements to complete his mission.
GAMEPLAY DYNAMICS
At the top of the screen is the "title" of the room where you find Blinky; these titles refer to the elements present: for example, "have you seen the light" indicates that you will find the flashlight - essential for accessing unlit areas.In the center we find Blinky, who we must guide through corridors, platforms and various scenarios to find the ingredients required to make two (02) magic potions. These ingredients, along with other elements, are represented by question marks.
The moon in the lower left corner represents the passage of time. Its appearance changes as dawn approaches - if morning comes, the game is over.
The three slots below serve to collect the same number of items that will then be mixed in the cauldron to create potions. Taking a fourth item will cause you to leave the oldest one in its place.
Then we have Blinky's energy bar, which is depleted by contact with enemies in the castle. Falling into a trap causes you to lose all of your energy.
Finally, below Blinky's image in the lower right corner appears the number of lives available.
CONTROLS
We move Blinky to the right or left with the joystick. We also use the lever to jump. We use the fire button to pick up objects and/or throw them into cauldrons.On the keyboard:
Select - Pause
Start - Resume the game.
Option - Quit the game (during pause).
THE MAGIC POTIONS
Both magic potions require us to locate four ingredients: The first potion will allow Blinky to fly and access a new section of the game. The second allows him to transform into a bubble and travel through the castle's pipes.Before starting the search for the elements, we will find scrolls with references to the necessary objects. For example, the first one indicates:
"A potion to reach those dizzy heights.
Into the pot you must drop a bottle of your favorite pop.
Flour self raising, for extra lift
Perfume, aunt Eonas birthday grift
And last a fish so far from home but this is the end of this awful poem
Not quite for heres another clue
when traveling its quick by loo".
To sum up, we need to locate: fish, flour, perfume and lemonade. The rooms will have the titles: flour power, a red herring, lemon aid, phew de cologne. Thanks to this potion, Blinky will be able to fly -albeit in automatic mode- when standing on the cauldron in the first screen of the game.
The poem for the second potion mentions:
"A potion to plumb depths.
To create an underwater bubble
use these wisely or there'll be trouble
a portion of Aunt Eonas scones
For ballast cos they weigh a ton
Chewing gum a bubbly sweet
Eye of Newt, taken neat
Finally a cylinder of air
to make this potion if you dare"
In other words, we need to locate: eye, hamburger, air tank, gum. The titles for the instances are: eye of Newt, times scone by..., air today , by gum.
By completing this spell we will be able to dive into the depths thanks to a bubble transformation and enter the area where the final item is located: a powerful alarm clock to scare the heir Hamish.
STRATEGIES
Enemies never disappear and traps are reactivated by passing through rooms again.Not all items you find are useful. In fact, most are completely useless.
There are two cauldrons: one at the beginning of the game and one in the area that requires the ability to fly.
When you lose a life, you resume the action from the same place where Blinky died.
There is no way to gain extra lives or regain energy.
Items stay in the same location every game.
Toilet paper rolls allow you to use the toilets to quickly transport yourself from one place to another in the castle.
ASSESSMENT
As with other Zeppelin Games titles, the Atari computer version was created in Graphics 7 mode, with three magnitudes of one color. The fluid movements of the protagonist are also particularly striking - so detailed that he even closed his eyes when walking.However, aside from the melody on the title screen, the sound is mostly functional. Also, reaching some platforms can be tricky for novice players. For better or worse, the game has certain bugs that allow the character to land on unlikely edges.
OTHER DATA OF INTEREST
Blinky's Scary School is also available for Commodore 64, Atari ST, Amiga and ZX Spectrum.Copeland and Gilmore were part of Zeppelin Games in projects such asDraconus, Ninja Commando,Zybex, Space Hawk,Fantastic Soccer and World Soccer
You can access thefull mapfrom Blinkys Scary at this link.
In 2008, Crozza released a free download remakeon their website
Alexis "Frognum" Zamorano (Chile) shares a videowith the end of the game, where the texts translated into Spanish can be seen.
This review has been prepared taking as referencethe excellent walkthroughby Alejandro Cobelli.
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