SHADOW OF THE BEAST III DOCS
============================

The story so far..

Shadow Of The Beast:

As a small child, Aarbron was enslaved by the Priests of te Beast Lord.  He
was tormented for years and subjected to an evil programme of will-sapping
drugs.  He eventually had no purpose of his own and totally belonged to
Maletoth, The Beast Lord.  He became the Beast Messenger, a creature
possesing great strength and agility, and he soon forgot his human
ancestry.  Time passed and Aarbron performed his duties well, he was a good
slave.  Then, one fateful day, he was passing time watching ritual
sacrifices when the man shackled to the alter woke dim and distant
memories.  Perplexed, Aarbron moved closer and looked long and hard at the
face of the man about to be slaughtered...  The sacrificial knife plunged
down and Aarbron remembered with horror that the man he now looked on was
his father!  As he watched the life blood flow from his body to splash red
on the cold floor of the temple, the memories of his short childhood and
the truth of who he really was became clear to him.  He looked around him
at the priests of the Beast Lord and felt hatred.  He swore vengeance on
Maletoth and his aid Zelek.  Running away from the temple, cold tears
stinging his anguished face, Aarbron vowed to avenge the death of his
father and make them pay for his own years of torment...  He knew he had a
long and difficult battle ahead of him...

Shadow Of The Beast II:

Aarbron fought bravely and battled hard but failed to destroy either Zelek
or Maletoth.  However, he had destroyed many armies of Beast followers and
was rewarded by having some of his humanity returned.  The power of the
Beast was diminished...  but Maletoth remained a dark threat.  Aarbron
drank from a pool of cool clear water.  As the refeshing liquid passed his
lips, the pool darkened and grew cloudy.  A dull light from its depths
illuminated a vision that transfixed Aarbrons gaze:  He saw a small
ramshackle house, lonely and vunerable in the storm that raged around it.
High on a craggy cliff overlooking the house stood Maletoth...  commanding
the storm.  Lifting his arms to the rolling sky he began to metamorphose
into his beast form...  a horrific winged demon.  With a cry of triumph he
lept off the cliff and glided efforlessly through the maelstrom to land
with dark grace on the roof of the little house.  Inside, a frightened
mother moved to protect her baby as the clawed hand of Maletoth smashed its
way through the flimsy roof and reached down.  A baby's cry, a mother's
scream and Maletoth flew from the roof and into the darkness...  the
frightened child in his talons.  A faint whisper escaped from Aarbrons
lips...  'Sister!' He heard Maletoth speak to him above the storm:  'She is
perfect to take your place by my side...  on Kara-Moon' His evil laughter
mingled with the thunder as the menacing vision slowly dissapeared to be
replaced by a bright rind of ripples.  Was Aarbron to be haunted forever by
Maletoth?  He knew he must journey to Kara-Moon and face unknown terrors in
order to rescue his sister.

Shadow Of The Beast III:

Zelek was dead...  Aarbron collapsed to the ground and slept.  As he
dreamed, an apparition appeared before him in the form of a wizened man.
The man smiled.  "You have done well, Aarbron.  Zelek was indeed a
powerfull enemy, to defeat him took great courage and strength.  The world
is now a safer place, thanks to your valour.  But your battle is not yet
over.  Maletoth, although abated is still a power to be reckoned with.  To
be free of his curse forever he must be destroyed.  I am Rekann.  Once
magician to the King, I maintained the balance between light and dark, good
and evil.  Sadly, I was lapse.  I should have seen Maletoth's power growing
and sensed his presence, but he was clever...  very clever.  I had no hope,
his attack was swift.  Before I could retaliate he had imprisoned me in
this Cage Of Constraint.  But now, your defeat of Zelek has weakened
Maletoth sufficiently to allow me to contact you.  His dark hold on the
world is loosening.  We must strike while we can.  To banish Maletoth
forever you must seek out these four items:  The Skull Of Louq-Garou, The
Quintessence Of Being, Pendek's Mace and the Crystals Of Hodag.  Only when
you have these four entities will you be strong enough to face Maletoth.
Awake now, Aarbron.  Awake to face your greatest challenge yet...  but fear
not for i shall be with you to guide you along the way.  Awake Aarbron...
your transport awaits." Aarbron stirred.  He lay quietly on the ground,
contemplating his dream.  He felt different, he felt good.  Looking down he
saw that his body had changed, he had regained his human form.  Maletoth's
curse had left him, he was free!


           ----------------------------------------------------


From the distance, Aarbron heard the throbbing hum of aircraft engines.  He
watched, fascinated, as an old plane flew into view and landed close by.
Aarbron waited...  Nothing happened.  He approached the now silent aircraft
and, as he neared it, the door opened.  Aarbron jumped back, but again
nothing happened.  He looked inside...  no-one was aboard.  He climbed in
and the door slamed shut.  The engine fired up and the plane took off.
Aarbron made himself comfortable.  The plane was heading north,...  towards
Maletoth.


The Game:

You control Aabron as he searches the far reaches of Kara-Moon to find the
four items he needs to defeat Maletoth.  But the search won't be easy;
Maletoth's minions infest the four regions and they will do anything and
everything to prevent Aarbron reaching their master.  And this time it's
not simply a case of fighting a way to Maletoth, for the path is strewn
with complex, inticate puzzles, switches, jet platforms, strange machinery
and deadly traps.  You begin the game armed with Shurikans but along the
way you may collect Grenades, Keys, Hammers and Gold to help you in your
deadly task.


Selection Screen:

Push your joystick left and right to rotate the level disks.  Press fire
when the required level is above Aarbron.  You may only access two levels
at any one time:  initially Levels 1 and 2 are avaliable to you, however,
complete either and level 3 will also become accessible.


Whats On-Screen:

LEFT   -   TURN/RUN LEFT
RIGHT  -   TURN/RUN RIGHT
UP     -   JUMP
DOWN   -   CROUCH
FIRE   -   USE CURRENT OBJECT

Controls:

F1     -   SCROLL THROUGH INVENTORY
F10    -   QUIT
ESC    -   SUICIDE (LOSE A LIFE)
P      -   PAUSE
HELP   -   RESTART FROM LAST LOAD

End.........
