Game #210: Zyll (1984)

Until a couple of weeks ago, when I chose to play Zyll from our 1984 chronology list, I had never heard of it. I suspect that it remains virtually unknown today.

Zyll was written by Scott Edwards and Marshal Linder and published by IBM for IBM’s short-lived PCjr. The game runs on any IBM PC compatible. Edwards and Linder were IBM employees who wrote the game during their office hours. They submitted the game to IBM’s employee submissions program and were one of only seven who were accepted.

The game’s premise is standard fantasy fare. An evil wizard, the notorious Zyll, has stolen the Great Treasures from your homeland, and used the power of the Black Orb to transform your beautiful country into a wasteland. You follow Zyll, via magical transportation, to a place near Castle Mitain, Zyll’s lair. Your mission is to capture the mystical Black Orb, take back the stolen Great Treasures, and transport back to restore your land to beauty.

Zyll is a very polished, well written, and innovative game for its time. It really is shocking that it was lost in the realm of obscurity and that I was not aware of this little gem. What makes Zyll so innovative? It has THREE different modes of play: Competitive Mode, Cooperative Mode, and Solitaire Mode. The game supports a second player! Hence the split screen as depicted above. You can either work cooperatively or compete against one another. The first player uses the function keys while the second player uses the number pad on the right of the keyboard. This prevents each player from interfering with each other and, along with the split screen, provides for clever, innovative play. The game has tremendous replay value as well because none of the objects in the game are fixed but instead dispersed randomly. I had to resort to playing in Solitaire Mode which allows for individual play.

The other facet of the game that stands out is that the game is played in real-time. There are wandering monsters outside of the castle and there are dungeon denizens that patrol or guard specific areas of the Castle and all of these opponents will follow you! If you stand for too long in one area while you contemplate what to do next, check your inventory, or try to map by hand, a wandering monster will likely appear to molest you. This creates a certain level of constant anxiety during gameplay reminiscent of Dungeons of Daggorath.

I give Zyll a high difficulty rating. The game has a number of interesting nuances and as a computer role-playing game archaeologist, I felt like I had to spend more than the normal amount of time with it.

When you first begin the game, you get to choose whether you want to play a Warrior, Thief, or Wizard. Each class provides a completely different playing experience. I, of course, had to try them all. One of the things that makes Zyll very difficult is that there are a lot of different items and treasures that you can find. You have to be able to discern which of those treasures are the Great Treasures that you need to take back with you, and which are merely expensive baubles. I mention this, because if you choose the Warrior class, it is definitely the hardiest. You will be able to stand toe to toe with many of the wandering monsters and you can absorb more hits as well. However, because of your need for armor and shield, your encumbrance is higher. This limits what you can carry, and you’ll find that playing a Warrior is an inventory management nightmare in this game. You are constantly having to choose between what to carry and what to drop.

If you choose the Wizard, the class is the weakest and slowest of the three classes AND you begin with no magic. There are scrolls and books scattered throughout the map that allow you to learn spells. The Wizard ends up being the most powerful of the three classes once all of the spells are learned. It is very satisfying to throw fireball after fireball and defeat Zyll in his tower. If you choose the Wizard however you will find it is very difficult to survive and you have to play the “long game” and do a lot of exploring in order to acquire all of the spells that you need.

The Thief ended up being my preferred method of play for a couple of reasons. First: there are many locked doors and locked gates. If you’re a Warrior, you have to find all of the different keys hidden around the map in order to gain access to other areas. If you’re a Wizard, you have to acquire the Open Locks spell in order to gain access. The Thief, however, can pick any lock that he comes across giving him carte blanche access to the entire map. Secondly, the Thief is weak but fast. Faster than all of the opponents you’ll come across. So, make it a point to run from everything. You won’t have to worry about filling any of your equipment slots with keys.

The map for Zyll is quite huge and can be divided up into seven different sections. There is the area outside of the castle that did not harbor any treasures however you find the entrance to the Mines after diligently mapping the outside environs. Remember that there is no specific walkthrough because all of the items are randomly placed about the map with each new game. Your ultimate goal is to find four of the five Great Treasures and reunite them with the Black Orb. Once you do so it will trigger the ending. You may find either a Great Treasure OR the Black Orb in the Mines.

The mines will ultimately lead you to the catacombs which are nothing more than a very confusing maze. Be prepared to drop items in order to correctly map this area. Users have claimed that nothing useful is found in the Catacombs but this is not true! I found one of the Great Treasures I needed hidden in the Catacombs.

From the Catacombs you can reach the Caverns. The Caverns can contain either Great Treasures or the Black Orb and they also lead to two major new sections: the underground waterway (which you’ll need the rowboat for) and the Castle Cellars. From the Cellars you can find several ways, both hidden and obvious, to access the first and second levels of the Castle. There are also two different Sorcerer Towers on accessed off of the second castle level and each tower has multiple levels.

Be prepared to have to move about the entire map at least three times as you search for items and hidden locations. The game will test your patience in this fashion.

The wandering monsters located throughout the different map sections are quite deadly and many are relegated to patrolling certain areas of the map. For example, a headless skeleton and a demon rat will plague you in the Cellar sections of the map whereas Zyll himself will pursue you through the Tower sections of the map.

The five Great Treasures that you’ll need to find are as follows:

• the Broadsword – best weapon in the game
• the Jeweled Crown – will reveal all hidden passages
• the Magic Shield – aids greatly in your defense
• the Ruby Pendant – if you drop it, and pick it up again, it randomly teleports you. Irritating
• the Scepter – in my mind, the most beneficial of the Great Treasures as it operates as a light source

Zyll runs in real-time. There is a running game clock on the screen that reminds you of this. There are torches that you can find but each torch only lasts for 30 minutes before going out. You can find Brass and Copper Lamps as well which last longer, but they can run out on you too. But if you find the Scepter and keep it in your inventory, you no longer have to worry about a light source.

I played Zyll through Dos Box and I spent roughly 10 – 12 hours with the game. I wanted to take my time to map by hand and I wanted to play each of the three classes. A lot of time was spent trying to determine just what to do to get a “win” and how to differentiate what is important and what isn’t with all of the items that you find. So, inventory management does become an issue. You accrue points for everything you do. You get points for the monsters you defeat, you get a point for every new location you explore on the map, you get points for the different valuables you uncover (if you keep them on your person) and you get 100 points apiece for each Great Treasure, which is a lot. When you find a Great Treasure, the computer emits a beep and your score increases by 100. These are two big clues that you’ve found something special. The Great Treasures were much harder to find than most of the valuables. The game being in real-time makes mapping very challenging, but it is an absolute necessity.

I really enjoyed this offering and find it hard to believe that this game made its way into obscurity. The 2-player cooperative and competitive modes were very innovative.

The writing and the descriptions in the game are reminiscent of Zork from Infocom. The real-time game mechanics, combat, point scoring, creativity, and plot were all top notch. The game was very challenging and it has tremendous replay value. If you have not played this game I highly recommend it.

Next up on the docket is Stuart Smith’s Adventure Construction set and the adventure River of Light found within.

Until next time…