Not wanting to leave any quest unfinished ... even this one ... I decided to 'cheat': I accessed the quest through the editor to find (a) the white & magic swords, (b) the magic shield, (c) the blue ring, and (d) the blue candle.

Once I found where they were, I went for those items. The candle won't come up during the first three Levels. Without that, there's no blue ring or magic shield, and without those, there's no frikkin' chance in hell.

FYI: it's not easy finding the white sword. My personal opinion is: make the white sword relatively easy, and the magic sword relatively hard (but still fair).

Fortunately, it wasn't hard to get to the candle; once I had that, and saved enough money (I did NOT look up where any hidden money stashes were), I got the two items I feel necessary for completion, and finished Levels 3 and (an easier) 4. As I also got all 5 HCs (4 of which are way too close to each other, I should add), I was able to upgrade to the magic sword.

Even with the blue ring, magic sword, and magic shield, Levels 5 through 8 are no walk in the park (which, to be fair, is probably a good thing). I think Level 8 is missing a map, but otherwise, no 'unfairness' issues.

I think too much of Level 9 dumps you back to start, though again, this is personal taste.


I did finish this quest this morning, but I never would have done so without looking up stuff; as such, I have no guilty conscience about marking 'could not complete'. Whatever the quest was that others completed before me, it wasn't this one.

I'm looking forward to seeing red and blue octoroks again; it'll be like when George Bailey realized he wasn't in Pottersville anymore.

If the overworld (and certain early dungeon rooms) were toned down, or if 'necessary' items were accessible earlier, I could give this quest a chance. As I played it, I cannot do so.

Sorry.