What turned up when we took it apart
Three endings, and the best one is not the obvious one
The game counts the days, one every 2048 frames (about 34 seconds), and the times you have continued after GAME OVER (0xC16E). On rescuing LADY KONG, p06:A837 chooses: with 366 days or more, too late («AMY could do nothing: KING KONG has just died»); otherwise, with 51 continues or more, AMY operates and he comes back to life; with fewer, a baby KONG turns up as well.
The texts are the ROM's (p06:AD44-AF40); the conditions come from the code and have not been played.
The level trick
With TAB and an F key held down when the game starts, you start with a higher level: F1 gives LEVEL 10, F2 20, F3 30, F4 40 and F5 50 (p01:67F3).
Seen in openMSX: TAB+F1, LEVEL 10; TAB+F4, 40; without the trick, 00.
Every enemy has its weapon
Not every weapon works against everyone (p09:BB14). The axe, with a strength of 25, only hurts GRIZZLY; the harpoon, only B F MAN and D F MAN. WHITEFIRE and WHITEOGRE only fall to the sword of light; CLUBMAN, to the ROD; BIGSPIDER, to the knife; REDSPIDER, to the club or the claw; TWINMIRES, only if you carry the おまもり charm. THE NASTY, BADPRIEST and BIGFLOWER take nothing from close combat.
It comes from the code; we have not played it.
The axe is not sold: BOWLER drops it
No shop sells it. BOWLER drops it every 16 kills if you do not carry it (p03:BBA9), except on screen 0x22, where it leaves someone who talks. Every enemy has its loot and its count (0xDFC0-0xDFDB): BATT leaves meat every 6, CAVEMAN ten fireballs every 10… And killing a few WATCHMEN on screen 0x6E opens a passage.
It comes from the code; we have not played it.
THE NOT moves the opposite way to you
THE NOT reads your keys and goes the other way (p02:91B4): you go up, it goes down. Until you hit it; then, at random. BOWLER, instead, goes where you go (p02:8986), and the worms move away from where Mitchel is facing.
It comes from the code; we have not played it.
Five bosses that are not sprites
BIGFLOWER, TWINMIRES, THE NASTY, BADPRIEST and REVOLVER are drawings that p00:4BD0 uploads to page 1 of the VRAM when entering their screen, and that the VDP copies with LMMM every time they move or open their mouth.
Checked against the openMSX dumps: 0 bytes different in the seven screens.
What the island hides
15 passages (tiles 0xC0-0xC3, p06:BE16) lead to another screen, several covered by rocks that only the てむさ spell removes. 37 pieces of scenery can be removed, each one by its event (p09:B3FD); removing the one on screen 0x0B makes the sword of light appear (p15:BD80). With the wooden key, screen 0x0D leads through to 0x70 (p01:7F87).
It is all marked on the map, from the tables.
The durian and the one who follows Mitchel
Using the durian in its place (p01:7D33) takes you to screen 0x5F, and from there a figure follows Mitchel repeating his steps 22 behind (p02:829A). While it is with you, the radio changes its message: «Good work, MITCHEL. We are on our way».
It comes from the code; we have not played it.
The dead do not come back
A dead enemy does not reappear while you stay within the 3 × 3 screens around (p00:590B), and a dead boss never comes back (0xDE00).
It comes from the code; we have not played it.
