Tombs & Treasure
Encyclopedia
Tombs & Treasure is an adventure game
originally developed by Nihon Falcom
in 1987 for the PC-8801, PC-9801
, FM-7
, and X1
Japanese systems. An English-language NES
version, published by Infocom
in 1989, was altered to be more story-based, and featured new music and role-playing
elements. Japanese enhanced remakes were released for the Saturn
and Windows
systems in 1998 and 1999, respectively.
The game takes place in the ancient Mayan
city of Chichen Itza
on the Yucatán Peninsula
. It alternates between using a three-quarters overhead view for travelling from ruin to ruin, and switching to a first-person perspective upon entering a specific location.
Professor Imes is a renowned archaeologist
who has been investigating an artifact known as the Sun Key, which potentially has the ability to unlock the greatest secrets of the lost Mayan civilization, and is rumored to be housed somewhere within Chichen Itza. However, on his latest expedition, he and his team mysteriously disappeared while exploring different temples between the dates of June 22 and July 14; only his guide, José, was able to escape unharmed and return with some artifacts that the team found, hoping they will help the player in his quest to find the professor. The three, after talking with the professor's secretary Anne, travel to Mexico and into the ancient city to look for clues.
Several actual sites of Chichen Itza are explored by the player, although their interiors and purposes are purposefully changed slightly in order to help create an atmosphere of fantasy and mystery-solving intrigue. Furthermore, each ruin is home to a demon
that is said to be under the control of a creature known only as Tentacula, although this is only speculation that is gathered from the professor's notes and what José has to say to the player at the start.
s and interacting objects with one another as they are found throughout the Mayan city. When travelling from temple to temple, the only available action is to walk using the D-pad. However, once a temple is entered, the player may start exploring much more thoroughly. Using a list of picture-based action keys ("Go", "Push", "Wash", etc.), the characters can interact with the environment, inspecting it for clues and manipulating it to unlock another area elsewhere. There are several items to collect, as well, whose purpose can be learned by looking at them. Interestingly, the game gives each of the three characters -- the boy, the girl, and José -- their own special attributes to let them all contribute to the quest. The boy is the player's in-game avatar and usually does the most hands-on work; the girl is talented music
ally; and José is very strong and able to move things the other two cannot.
However, some light turn-based combat
also faces the player when a demon is encountered inside a ruin. These encounters almost always happen in the very first room of a ruin, although there are some exceptions. Fighting is accomplished, simply enough, using the "Fight" command, although doing this means the player is using his bare hands. Equipping the sword is done before each fight by selecting "Use", and then highlighting the sword
in the inventory, first. Battles are strictly turn-based, with no means of healing, and are simply bashing away at the monster until one or the other is dead. However, it is possible to run away from the fight with the "Go" command, with the player being fully healed when he comes back to try the battle again later.
The game uses a simplistic experience point
system which gives the player additional levels (and hit points) both from winning battles, and from successfully solving puzzles throughout Chichen Itza. As such, the player is kept from advancing too far, too early, simply because he won't be strong enough yet to contend with the higher-level monsters he's sure to encounter. Although, occasionally the player may be defeated despite being strong enough.
The game also came packaged with a small guide which represented the professor's journal, it is written in an awkward cursive form and can be hard to understand, as well as speaking in riddles, but can often aid the player if read correctly.
While there are a few ruins which are strictly for show and cannot be entered, the vast majority can.
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
originally developed by Nihon Falcom
Falcom
is a Japanese computer game company. The company was founded in March 1981 by Masayuki Kato. Falcom has played a definite role in the growth and development of the Japanese personal computer software industry. The company released the first Japanese computer role-playing game in 1983 and followed...
in 1987 for the PC-8801, PC-9801
PC-9801
The NEC PC-9801, part of the PC-98 series, is a Japanese 16-bit microcomputer manufactured by NEC.- History :It first appeared in 1982, and employed an 8086 CPU. It ran at a clock speed of 5 MHz, with two µPD7220 display controllers , and shipped with 128 KB of RAM, expandable to 640 KB...
, FM-7
FM-7
FM-7 is a home computer released in 1982 in Japan.The Fujitsu FM-7 was Fujitsu's first entry into the Japanese home computer market, and for their debut computer, they chose to come out with a 6809-based personal computer very similar to Radio Shack's Color Computer.-Hardware:*Two MC 68B09 CPUs @...
, and X1
Sharp X1
The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
Japanese systems. An English-language NES
Nes
-Localities:In Norway:* Nes, Akershus, a municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway* Nes, Buskerud, a municipality in the county of Buskerud in Norway* Nes, Hedmark, a former municipality in the county of Hedmark in Norway...
version, published by Infocom
Infocom
Infocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
in 1989, was altered to be more story-based, and featured new music and role-playing
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
elements. Japanese enhanced remakes were released for the Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
systems in 1998 and 1999, respectively.
The game takes place in the ancient Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
city of Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza
Chichen Itza is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Municipality of Tinúm, Yucatán state, present-day Mexico....
on the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
. It alternates between using a three-quarters overhead view for travelling from ruin to ruin, and switching to a first-person perspective upon entering a specific location.
Story
At the start of the game, the player is allowed to name both the protagonist, a young brown-haired man, and the lead female, a green-haired lass who is the daughter of one Professor Imes; if no names are manually entered, the game will randomly choose from a pre-coded list of names for both characters.Professor Imes is a renowned archaeologist
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
who has been investigating an artifact known as the Sun Key, which potentially has the ability to unlock the greatest secrets of the lost Mayan civilization, and is rumored to be housed somewhere within Chichen Itza. However, on his latest expedition, he and his team mysteriously disappeared while exploring different temples between the dates of June 22 and July 14; only his guide, José, was able to escape unharmed and return with some artifacts that the team found, hoping they will help the player in his quest to find the professor. The three, after talking with the professor's secretary Anne, travel to Mexico and into the ancient city to look for clues.
Several actual sites of Chichen Itza are explored by the player, although their interiors and purposes are purposefully changed slightly in order to help create an atmosphere of fantasy and mystery-solving intrigue. Furthermore, each ruin is home to a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
that is said to be under the control of a creature known only as Tentacula, although this is only speculation that is gathered from the professor's notes and what José has to say to the player at the start.
Gameplay
Tombs & Treasure is predominantly about solving puzzlePuzzle
A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...
s and interacting objects with one another as they are found throughout the Mayan city. When travelling from temple to temple, the only available action is to walk using the D-pad. However, once a temple is entered, the player may start exploring much more thoroughly. Using a list of picture-based action keys ("Go", "Push", "Wash", etc.), the characters can interact with the environment, inspecting it for clues and manipulating it to unlock another area elsewhere. There are several items to collect, as well, whose purpose can be learned by looking at them. Interestingly, the game gives each of the three characters -- the boy, the girl, and José -- their own special attributes to let them all contribute to the quest. The boy is the player's in-game avatar and usually does the most hands-on work; the girl is talented music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
ally; and José is very strong and able to move things the other two cannot.
Combat
Combat, or fighting, is a purposeful violent conflict meant to establish dominance over the opposition, or to terminate the opposition forever, or drive the opposition away from a location where it is not wanted or needed....
also faces the player when a demon is encountered inside a ruin. These encounters almost always happen in the very first room of a ruin, although there are some exceptions. Fighting is accomplished, simply enough, using the "Fight" command, although doing this means the player is using his bare hands. Equipping the sword is done before each fight by selecting "Use", and then highlighting the sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
in the inventory, first. Battles are strictly turn-based, with no means of healing, and are simply bashing away at the monster until one or the other is dead. However, it is possible to run away from the fight with the "Go" command, with the player being fully healed when he comes back to try the battle again later.
The game uses a simplistic experience point
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
system which gives the player additional levels (and hit points) both from winning battles, and from successfully solving puzzles throughout Chichen Itza. As such, the player is kept from advancing too far, too early, simply because he won't be strong enough yet to contend with the higher-level monsters he's sure to encounter. Although, occasionally the player may be defeated despite being strong enough.
The game also came packaged with a small guide which represented the professor's journal, it is written in an awkward cursive form and can be hard to understand, as well as speaking in riddles, but can often aid the player if read correctly.
While there are a few ruins which are strictly for show and cannot be entered, the vast majority can.
- The Nunnery: a small building in which three mysterious statues and the mystical Ixmol Jewel are found. The Ixmol Jewel is the only means of saving the player's progressPassword (video games)In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
in the game, making it very important to collect. It also has a secret entrance in a hidden maze-like forest, where the player must feel around to get through, if it is accessed, the player is given a riddle from a mayan god
- The Tomb of the High Priest: At first, it seems just to be an empty room, but if José moves a wall, a sarcophagusSarcophagusA sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
is found in a hidden room. Scorper is found here. (Scorper is usually the first defeatable monster.)
- El Castillo Pyramid: SpanishSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
for "the castle", this ruin functions in the game as a treasure vault that requires a special key to open. Two-Beak is found here. (Two-Beak can actually be defeated at the beginning but will normally take the player a few tries.)
- The Court of ColumnColumnA column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a vertical structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. For the purpose of wind or earthquake engineering, columns may be designed to resist lateral forces...
s: A collection of columns which hides several secrets among their spires. El Slug is found here.
- El Caracol: Spanish for "the snail" due to its shape. In actuality, this was an observatoryObservatoryAn observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial or celestial events. Astronomy, climatology/meteorology, geology, oceanography and volcanology are examples of disciplines for which observatories have been constructed...
used by the Mayans to calculate their calendar via study of the stars. In the game, it primarily serves as a means of redirecting the SunSunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
's rays to solve certain puzzles. The Snake Master is found here.
- The Well of Paradise: One of Chichen Itza's sacred cenoteCenoteA cenote is a deep natural pit, or sinkhole, characteristic of Mexico and Central America, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock that exposes groundwater underneath...
s, which the player-characters can use to wash dirty items to regain their usage.
- The Well of Sacrifice: The other cenote available for exploration. In ancient times, the Mayans threw human sacrifices into the well to please their gods. Its purpose in the game is not so different.
- The Temple of the Warriors: A beautiful jaguarJaguarThe jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
statue embedded with a blue jewelSapphireSapphire is a gemstone variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide , when it is a color other than red or dark pink; in which case the gem would instead be called a ruby, considered to be a different gemstone. Trace amounts of other elements such as iron, titanium, or chromium can give...
is found here, as well as an ancient trinket called the Sun Necklace, which can tell the time of day. Cadaver is found here.
- The Ball Court: The Mayans were well-known for their specific type of ballgameMesoamerican ballgameThe Mesoamerican ballgame or Tlatchtli in Náhuatl was a sport with ritual associations played since 1,000 B.C. by the pre-Columbian peoples of Ancient Mexico and Central America...
they played in great arenas. However, it holds a much darker secret in the game.
Miscellanea
- In addition to possessing unique skills, each of the characters was capable of having separate reactions to various moments throughout the game. In one notable sequence, if the boy tries to look in a jar in El Castillo Pyramid, he will bump his head and get called an idiot by the girl; and vice versa for the girl. If José then looks in the jar, both the boy and the girl take turns calling him an idiot until he finally says, "Hey, cut me some slack, Jack!"
- El Castillo Pyramid is also mentioned as being known as the Temple of KukulcanGukumatzQ'uq'umatz was a deity of the Postclassic K'iche Maya. Q'uq'umatz was the feathered serpent god of the Popol Vuh who created humanity together with the god Tepeu...
in the game. This is true; Kukulcan is the Maya equivalent of the Aztec god QuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatlQuetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered serpent". The worship of a feathered serpent deity is first documented in Teotihuacan in the first century BCE or first century CE...
, and in real life, one of his "Jaguar Thrones" can be found inside. - Tombs & Treasure is the only game published by Infocom for a game console.