TWENTY-MINUTE-TALES 2:

THE DAMSDRAK DIAMOND

 

Level by Ian Smith (Marksdad)

 

Walkthrough by Phil Lambeth

 

 

You drop down onto a slope and splash into a pool occupied by two hungry crocodiles.  Quickly swim to your left and pull out to trigger a lingering flyby, which you should carefully watch.  When it's over, you can turn around and kill the crocs if you wish, which is rather like shooting fish in a barrel.  Note for later the closed underwater door in the far wall.

 

Step out onto dry land, loop around to the right and kill the two wild pigs that are running about.  Go W along the left wall of the temple and find a small medipack.  Draw your pistols and kill two crocodiles that show up.  Run past the front of the temple.  Ignore for the moment the spiked passage you saw in the flyby and head over to the N wall.  There is a large medipack on the sloped pillar, but you will find it quite impossible to pick up.  Instead, jump up to grab the edge of the slope and shimmy left as far as possible.  Pull up and take a rolling back flip with your finger on the right arrow key so that you curve to the right and land on the pillar against the wall.  You can see a jump switch in the distance in the W wall, so you may as well go for it now.

 

Line up with the jump switch, jump forward to the next slope and jump off without sliding to activate the jump switch.   If you lack a flair for adventure, you could simply take a standing jump from ground level to activate it.  A cut scene shows a door opening somewhere.  You fall into a small pool of water, so pick up the small medipack before climbing out.  Return to the sloped pillar with that elusive medipack and perform the same rolling back flip with a curve to access the pillar against the N wall.  Turn to your right and enter the crawl space.  In the room beyond is a closed door for later and a central trigger tile.  The tile raises a timed block outside, in front of the spike passage, so you need to hurry getting back out there.

 

Once outside, hop down, run forward to the raised block, jump on it and take a running jump into the passage to grab the monkey bars over the spikes.  Monkey swing to the end of the passage and release.   You land on another trigger tile, but this one doesn't appear to be timed.  Turn around, jump up to grab the ceiling, and monkey swing back across the spike field.  Drop to the ground, run forward and jump into the water.  Locate a small opening next to the closed gate in the NE corner and squeeze inside. 

 

Surface and pull out at the far end of the short passage.  Head E and pause for a small medipack in the left alcove.  Stand at the E edge and survey the territory.  You have a familiar task of using the facing slopes to make your way past the channel of deadly water to the other end.  You can't just hop down and start jumping, however, because of the central protuberance hanging down from the ceiling.  Simply jump left or right, slide down and grab the edge, and shimmy to the far end.  As you shimmy, you can't help but notice what appear to be squares for rising blocks in the water.  Pull up and start jumping back and forth, using the arrow keys to bring you to the final section of slopes.  You will soon be able to land on a stable surface.  The builder's intended way for the player to get across is to jump, slide and shimmy as described above.  However, when you get over the second "rising block" square, pull up, back flip to the slope behind you, slide a short distance and jump to grab the underside of that central protuberance mentioned above.  Turn toward the far end (E) and monkey swing over there.

 

Enter the next room and push the floor lever.  Unfortunately, the gate in front of you does not open, so you will need to get back the same way you came.  Almost the same way, that is.  Stand at the W edge and jump up to grab the monkey bars.  Monkey swing to the other end, then turn to your right or left.  From the edge of the monkey bar strip, release and grab the slope below.  Shimmy to the end, pull up and a couple of jumps will bring you to solid ground once again.

 

Jump back into the water hole W, swim to the pool and pull out S.  Loop around right toward the temple and find that the door on the right is now open.  Head W along the passage and turn right at the closed gate.  You may want to save your game here.  As you head N down the passage, a spike ball is triggered.  Instead of retreating, which would leave you trapped, take a suicidal sprint toward the spike ball and jump to the right or left (after reaching the slope) to avoid both the spike ball and the flame blowers in the alleys.  Draw your pistols and shoot two wild pigs, then get back onto the slope and trigger a second spike ball.  Jump down to safety, then walk up to the end of the slope and pull up inside the crawl space for SECRET #1 and a large medipack.

 

Get back down and continue N into the next room.   It's a deep room with three closed gates in the N wall.  Locate the pushable globe in the SW corner and move it onto the marked tile near the E wall.  A block rises next to you.  Use it to climb up onto the overhead ledge.  A skeleton awakens.  Quickly push the globe onto the marked tile at the other end of the ledge while the skeleton hacks away at you.  The middle gate, the one on your level, opens in the N wall.  Jump there while noting to your dismay that the skeleton follows.  Run to the ladder and climb up for a brief respite. 

 

Back flip to the upper ledge and hear the sound of the upper gate behind you opening.  Push the globe forward while doing your best to ignore two awakened skeletons.  If they push you over the edge from this height, you'll fall to your death.  When you finally move the globe onto the marked tile, you hear the distant sound of a door opening down below.  Safety drop to the ledge below and drop down from there to the ground.  Enter the lower N opening and climb the ladder as you listen to something large and heavy tromping about overhead. 

 

Pull up into a truly hellacious room.  Jump over the lava to the first ladder and shift right around the corner.  Take a rolling back flip and grab the ladder behind you.  Shift left around the corner and climb down until you're near the lava so that you can take a rolling back flip to the next ladder and avoid the flame blower.  Climb up until you're just beneath the flames, then shift left around the corner and quickly climb up to avoid the flames shooting up from the floor.  Take a rolling back flip and grab the final ladder.  Climb up until you can see the ledge behind you, then back flip onto it.

 

Jump SE to the adjacent ledge, then SW to the next ledge, and climb the ladder.  Back flip to the upper ledge and kill that rampaging shivaI played this part two times.  The first time the shiva stood by passively upon my arrival, the second time it gleefully attacked me.  Kill it in either event.  Pick up the DAMSDRAK DIAMOND it drops, and the gate in the upper S wall opens.  Push the floor lever for a cut scene showing a gate opening elsewhere, then take a running jump into the S opening.  You'll slide down a slope and fall a long distance into some water, where the current will carry you past a crocodile toward a gate that opens upon your approach.  Swim out into a familiar pool and pull out S.  Turn around and kill the croc if you wish.

 

Return to the temple area and use that sloped pillar near the N wall to access the crawl space once again.  Crawl through and find that the gate beyond the trigger tile is now open.  Enter a new area.  The camera angle changes as you run forward.  Slide down into a lower area and kill two wild pigs.  Locate a small medipack behind a palm tree in the corner.  Go around to the far side of the central hole and climb down the ladder.  At the bottom, pull E into the crawl space and follow to a flyby that takes you through a lava room with multiple sloped pillars.  Save your game here.

 

You'll want to begin by jumping to the nearest pillar NE and jumping off so that you grab the edge of the second slope NE instead of sliding down the other side.  That may take a few tries, which is why I suggested that you save first.  If you stand at the edge and take a standing jump to the leftmost side of the NE pillar, slide down a short distance and jump off with a midair curve to the left, you're more likely to be successful.  Shimmy to the left side of the second slope, pull up, slide down and jump off with a left curve to the third slope.  Slide a bit and jump off into the NE alcove.  Activate the jump switch to open the exit gate.

 

You can't reach the exit from here, so climb up onto the block in the NE corner and jump up to grab the ceiling.  Follow the N wall while monkey swinging all the way to the NW corner.  Turn left there, but don't go all the way to the entrance opening or you'll drop down into the lava.  Turn left to follow the ceiling pattern until you're over the same slope you first jumped to.  Continue turning to your left until you're facing E, then release and jump off the slope toward the second slope dead ahead.  If you're lucky you'll grab the edge of the second slope.  If not, simply slide down and jump to the third slope in front of the flame blower.  If the flames are off you can continue jumping and land safely at the exit.  More likely than not, however, you'll need to grab the edge of either the second or the third (preferably the third) slope and wait patiently for the moment when you can pull up and cross the gauntlet without being set aflame.

 

When you arrive safely, turn around and take a long running jump SW to the tile with the small medipack, then jump back to the exit.  Follow the passage, and when you turn the corner you'll activate a field of spikes and awaken a skeleton.  What you need to do is pass the spike gauntlet by timing a run past each spike square to the adjoining safe square, all the while being harrassed by that skeleton.  When you get safely to the other side, turn left and go up the steps as the skeleton gives chase.  Pause to activate the jump switch on your left to open the exit gate at the top of the steps.  In the next room push the floor lever, then look W to see a familiar trench filled with deadly water.  However, those raised blocks now give you a clear and quick path across to the other side.  Better yet, the skeleton won't follow when you take a standing jump down to the first block.

 

Take standing jumps from block to block and from there to the ladder.  Climb up, run forward and jump into the W water hole.  Swim back to the pool and pull out S.  Go to the temple and enter the right doorway in the W wall.  The gate ahead is now open, so run past the harmless spike ball into the W passage and follow to the finish trigger.