I'm checking back in to report some findings I made when I decided to play all the home computer ports of Robin Hood Legend Quest I could find. Well, all except Atari ST, as I haven't gotten Pasti to work with anything but the Union Demo so far, but I think that version has the same revamped graphics as the Amiga version that make the game look like a knock-off of Gods anyway. I have a strong suspicion that the ZX Spectrum version was the first port made, though, as it's called "The Amazing Adventures of Robin Hood" in-game, suggesting that CodeMasters went through TWO title changes before sticking with "Legend Quest". It's like how the original Super Robin Hood for the Amstrad CPC was only called "Robin Hood" in-game.
It was a little interesting to see some of the changes made to accommodate the way the game engine was recreated on those computers, but I think it would get boring for everyone to try to list them all, and they're hardly worth checking out. You know how some Dizzy fans advise against playing Dizzy games on the NES? Well, I would advise against playing this Robin Hood on anything
but the NES, as despite how clumsy the controls were then, the home computer versions are even worse! They tend to simplify the game design more than they expand on it, and there are more ways to get trapped into taking a hit because you can't handle the goofy controls just right. And I can't find any ports that have in-game music! Boring! I don't know why they thought we would be happy listening to an endless series of "Kapow"s.
So what I really played them for was comparing secrets. I wanted to make sure that the secret passage to skip to the second half of the game was preserved in all the other releases, and it turns out it was! The Commodore 64 version even made it more convenient:
Now the passage opens right there on the same floor, behind the key under the falling spike ball, and it skips you ahead past another room!
This must have been done because the C64 has to load the upper floors separately, creating a point of no return here.
I also found it useful to play the Spectrum and C64 versions because they actually have indications that you've touched a secret spot. (Had too many problems with the Amiga emulation to bother for long, and the CPC version is just a Lazy Spectrum Port.) And all the other secrets that still applied in the ports were still there. But then I found a secret spot on the ZX Spectrum that I had never known about! I found that same spot also made a sound on Commodore 64, and sure enough, when I watched the "secret passage" addresses 0660-0662 while jumping there in the NES version, there was a bit set in 0662. But I had no idea what had changed after touching the spot.
So I started doing what I should have done before and played through the NES game again while watching the 0660 area for when I touched something that set a bit. Just by luck when I was jumping off the lift in the halfway point room, I saw 0662 change again, indicating a secret in the corner beside the ladder.
And this same secret spot was there on Spectrum and 64, but it still took me a long time to figure out what had changed:
It adds two more barrels so that if you haven't already gone after the shield up above, you can go back and climb on the barrels to help you shoot the guard in the back!
After some repeated study I also finally noticed what jumping under the first gargoyle in the last room containing goblets did.
The tunnel opens up more so that you can just run through rather than having to slide on your knees. I guess the change in convenience of that one part was too subtle for me to notice until today. And that's why I was able to reach the end of the game with all FFs for 0660-0662 after combing the rooms despite only knowing of 15 out of 17 secret passages. I'm pretty sure it's only 17, because the other 7 bits were filled in with regular visible keys. It could be they set bits there because 7 keys have passage-opening type effects rather than the usual lifts and doors.
So download an updated map now!
http://www.box.net/shared/j25kdf0f12
