H A R L E Q U I N

SCENARIO

In a far-off forgotten corner in the expanse of imagination there is a fantastic world called Chimerica. A living, breathing amalgam of dreams and distant memories, conceived for the sole purpose of exploration and discovery. For years it thrived and flourished, fuelled by the greatest energy of all - the innocent wonder of a child. Chimerica's sole inhabitant was a young boy with the name Harlequin. He spent his early years quenching his curiosity by exploring the many bizarre lands which he called home. No locks barred his way and each new door led to a new and uncharted territory ripe for his first footsteps.

But all children grow and Harlequin was no exception. Soon the fantastic world in which he lived began to lose it's appeal. He had become accustomed to the unusual and unexpected, and they became a mundane form of everyday normality. His thoughts turned from those of a care-free youngster to those of an adult. He left his childhood home in search of riches, respect and a new life. In Harlequins absence Chimerica slowly fell to a state of disrepair and the land entered an age of cold reality. All those weird and wonderful chambers which Harlequin had explored as a boy became infested by the powers of disbelief, taking the form of creatures intent on the destruction of imagination, dreams and Chimerica itself. So with the prospect of no salvation in sight of Chimerica's sadness deepened until one day it's heart broke and everything was silent.

The years rolled by and dust settled thick on the desolate land of Chimerica, then one day a hazy figure appeared on the distant horizon across the dunes of the Dream Mile. His footsteps quickened as he approached the old clocktower until he was in full flight, the sand spraying in his wake. As he ran he squinted skywards stealing a glance at the clock face, before stopping dead in his tracks. Behind his black mask his eyes focussed on the unmoving clock hands. He strained to hear the beating of the heart but there was only silence and a shiver of realisation raced down his spine.

Harlequin had returned, older and with enough wisdom to know that all was not well in his homeland. His final steps up to the base of the clock tower were filled with a gnawing anguish and a reluctance to accept what he already knew. He stood before the barred bolted door which led to the inner clockworks of the tower. Chained to the portal hung a rust encrusted sign.

Harlequin wiped the thick grime with his diamond pattered sleeve and read the words - " Closed - Due to Broken Heart". There and then Harlequin decided that he must help his old friend. He was unsure of the risks and dangers involved in this task but he wasn't about to sit back while Chimerica crumbled. So with his fists clenched in determination Harlequin set forth with all consuming purpose - to mend Chimerica's broken heart.
GAME PLAY

The world of Chimerica is unique. Each of the lands that make up Chimerica are linked to each other, but the matrix is not linear. Some of the doors will always lead to the same world, but in other instances, the world that a door will lead to will be dependant upon how the switches are set. Mapping it could be a Nightmare, but then, it is a dreamworld.

Harlequin has a certain amount of energy which is displayed as a vertical bar at the bottom left hand corner of the screen which will be depleted whenever he is hit with a projectile or touches an enemy.
PERCENTAGE SCORE

Each time you successfully solve a puzzle, move onto a new level, find a piece of the heart or complete a part of the game, your percentage score will increase. When you leave a level the percentage score will be displayed on an intermission screen as well as any pieces of the heart that you have found.
THE ULTIMATE AIM

You must find the four broken parts of Chimerica's heart, take them to a level with bars, sheets and notes, and find the exit which has now become a heart.
STANDARD JOYSTICK CONTROLS

        JOYSTICK                ACTION
        --------                ------
        Up                      Jump Up
        Up and right            Jump right
        Up and left             Jump left
        Down                    Crouch
        Down and right          Crawl right
        Down and left           Crawl left
        Right                   Run right
        Left                    Run left
        Fire                    Shoot hearts

KEYBOARD CONTROLS

SPACE - Pause / Unpause
H - Turns Space Hopper Off
F1 - Load a previously saved game position
F2 - Save a game position
F10 - Toggles music and sound effect in the game.

Lame cunts with only half-meg will have to wait whilst either music or sound effects are being loaded.
HARLEQUINS ACTIONS

Harlequin can run left or right and will accelerate in these directions, which can be useful for attaining large jumps.
JUMPING

Harlequin retains any momentum he has when jumping, thus many varied heights and lengths of jump can be achieved. He can also change direction in mid air.
SLOPE ACTIONS

Sloping landscapes can be overcome very easily as Harlequin can climb these be facing into the slope and jumping forward, or slide down them by facing down the slope.
SWINGING

Harlequin will find it useful to swing on ropes or hang on and travel down a rope at some points during the game. He can chose to jump from these or simply drop down. Push the joystick left or right to change the direction that Harlequin is facing when swinging. Pull down on the joystick to make Harlequin drop when swinging. Push up on the joystick to make Harlequin jump up, this is done best at the end of the arc of a swing in order to reach certain platforms for example.
HANGING

Hanging is similar to swinging but with no circular action to the movement.
SKIDDING

Some patches of ground are slippy, and Harlequin will skid along in the direction he was moving. He can only overcome the movement by jumping off the slippy area.
JACK IN THE BOX SPECIAL ITEMS

There are several Special Items which Harlequin can find hidden in "Jack in the boxes" around a level. They can be opened by standing in front of them. Each item only lasts a certain amount of time, so be careful! On some of the bonus objects, a timer will appear at the bottom right of the screen indicating how much time remains until the special item disappears.
UMBRELLA

This allows Harlequin to slow down his descent and land safely by floating down a level and steering the umbrella left or right. When the umbrella is activated a timer appears at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
SPACE HOPPER

This allows Harlequin to bounce around a level. He can use it to reach higher platforms or crush his enemies if he lands on them. When the space hopper is activated a timer appears at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.
ANGEL FISH

In this form, Harlequin is able to travel around underwater. When the angel fish is activated a timer appears in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. You cannot have two angel fish bonuses at the same time.
FIREWORKS

Up to four rockets can be collected which will then circle Harlequin and protect him from enemies. These disappear after a while.
HEART

Gives extra firepower in the form of longer range missiles. Harlequin then fires red hearts rather than his standard pink ones. These will disappear after a certain time.
BURGER

Refills Harlequin's energy bar.
SPECIAL ITEM CONTROLS
ANGEL FISH

To transform from Harlequin into a Angel Fish - Pull the joystick down when in water. To transform from an Angel Fish back into Harlequin, pull the joystick down when the Angel Fish is partly out of the water with a platform underneath. Left, Right, Up, and Down on the joystick moves the Angel Fish around and the fire button shoots his hearts.
SPACE HOPPER

To activate pull the joystick down and press the fire button. To de-activate press the H key or wait until the timer runs out. The Space Hopper is controlled via the joystick. Pushing up on the joystick will make the Space Hopper bounce higher, pulling down on the joystick will lessen the bounce. Left or right on the joystick makes the Space Hopper bounce left or right.
UMBRELLA

To activate, push up on the joystick and press the fire button. To de-activate, pull down on the joystick. Left or right on the joystick makes the Umbrella move left or right.
CONTINUE PLAY TOKENS

Tokens in the form of tea cups, teddy bears and sticks of rock can be found lying around the levels, also shooting certain pieces of background will cause tokens to fall until they hit a platform. If collected the tokens begin to fill the face of Harlequin at the bottom of the screen. When Harlequins face is full he will not loose a life when all his energy has been depleted, But the face will have emptied and will require re-filling. When you die, a screen will appear saying `Continue? Yes/No`. Move the joystick to choose and press fire to confirm.
SWITCHES

Switches play an important part in Harlequin, they perform various functions, just what they do is up to you to discover. For example they may cause a platform to appear, switch on something or build something on another level or remove a blockage thus allowing access to another part of the map.

It is up to you to discover what each switch does.
CLUE SYSTEM

If Harlequin stands at certain places on a level a light bulb will appear above his head, this indicates that there is a clue here if it is required. Simply stand until still when the light bulb appears and a clue will scroll down from the top of the screen. If you do not wish to see the clue simply move away from the spot as soon as the light bulb appears.
LOAD AND SAVE

Because Harlequin is such a vast game which will take time and a lot of skill to complete, we have included a load and save facility. Press F1 to load in a previously saved position and F2 to save your position. Then please follow onscreen instructions. There are six load/save positions for you to use. For both load and save you will be given the opportunity to cancel or continue the load/save. Move the joystick left or right to select either yes or no, and press fire to confirm. Moving the joystick up and down will increment or decrement the save/load positions.
