THE CASTLE

Level by Lucas Malmgren (August 2003)

Walkthrough by Harry Laudie

[Note] This level is rather dark and there are no flares. I would save, use a flare to look around, and then reload to get the flare back. The binoculars are also helpful but only in the more open areas, not for seeing what is at your feet. [End note]

Start in front of the main gate with water on both sides. Dive in and swim around the area noticing openings in the upper North-West and North-East corners of the moat. In a hole in the West side floor you can pick up shotgun shells. Swim back to where you started and pull up to kill a crocodile. You may have to jump in a few times to lure him from hiding under the castle, but if you do not, he annoys you later. Swim into the North-West opening and continue swimming North. At the end you find shotgun shells on the floor. Turn right to surface and pull up. Notice the closed trap door. You can jump to a ledge on your right but the door there needs a key. The tops of the walls have spikes so you cannot climb them. Dive in the other side and swim East. Notice a closed underwater door in the North wall. Swim into the South-East corner and pick up puzzle piece Alpha. A crocodile arrives so lure him back to the starting point so you can kill him. Dive back in and notice a crawl space at the bottom of the East pillar. Follow it to the end and go up and swim North to get a large medipack and then swim back for air. Dive in again and this time swim South. When you some to a junction, go right and right again into an alcove to pull an underwater switch on the ceiling. This opens a trap door. Swim North and pull into that trap door and kill a scorpion. Dive into more water and swim a short tunnel to pull up into a room.

The gate in the corner is closed so climb the blue block in the corner near the water. You have to make a very frustrating jump to the block in the other corner. What seemed to work was to run/jump at the middle of the small block using a left curve and grab to just catch the corner edge of the corner block. When up, monkey swing to the high block, release and grab to pull up into a room. There are three switches at the back wall, a trapdoor, a rising block and a jump switch at the end of a monkey swing. Move the switches as down-up-down and a block rises. Get there and monkey swing to the switch and pull it as you drop to the floor. Put the switches as up-down-down and the block at the back wall descends to reveal a button. Press it and the trap door drops. Put the switches back to down-up-down and climb the blocks to jump and grab to the East into the upper room. Go to the North wall, press a button and get a cut scene of the main gate raising. Get into the crawl space and turn around. Exit to climb down the wall and near the bottom back flip to an opening. Following the opening to a slide. Slide and jump at the bottom to avoid the ball following you. You will be back later so it is best to get rid of the ball now.

Swim to the main gate and walk in. The black door to the right needs a crowbar that you do not yet. The door at the back is also closed. Climb the stairs to the top and watch out for the gap. Jump and pull up to the roof. Go to the South-East corner and drop to the outside wall that you can climb. Climb down, shimmy left onto a ledge and pick up puzzle piece beta. Climb back to the roof or go back through the main gate and use the stairs. Go the South-East corner of the roof and get to an outside ledge. You can see an object below you. Stand one step from the edge, hop back and grab and you end up on the ledge below. Pick up the Golden Skull and secret #1. You could actually jump from the roof into the courtyard but you would be stuck there. Dive into the water and through the crawl space back into the room with the blue blocks. Thankfully another block has risen so you can easily get into the room above. Go into the crawl space and climb down the wall to back flip into that opening again. Save the game at the top of the slide. Slide down and at the bottom jump to land on the opposite side. Go up the ramp and combine the Alpha and Beta pieces to make the Alphabet Key and use it. You get a cut scene of a gate rising in the main gate area. Walk back to the slide as another ball falls in front of you. Slide into the water and go to that gate.

Go through the gate and step on a pad and the other gate opens. Enter the courtyard and get a flyby of the area showing some interesting things. Go East and step on a pad to open the gate into the blue block room. Go West and step on a pad to open the gate in front of you. Also kill two scorpions that have reached you by now. Enter and the door closes behind you. Hop the block to the right and run/jump to grab the South wall. Climb above the jump switch and use it. Back to the block and run/jump to the grab the South wall again. This time do not climb but hang and use hand-over-hand to pull yourself up until you are even with the alcove bottom. Then shimmy left and climb into it. Notice the hole in the corner. Turn around and monkey swing to the jump switch on the North-East wall. Pull it and drop and go to the South where a block has dropped. Pull the switch there and get a cut scene of spikes on the walls. Also the door has open so you can get out. Go to the door, exit and come back in. Use the grab and shimmy to get back into the South alcove. Drop into the deeper hole to pickup a Golden Skull and secret#2 (although it did not seem to register as a secret and there was no secret sound, I believe that it was one). Exit and go East to see a block has risen next to the walls but it cannot be used yet.

Go back to the main gate area and get onto the roof. From there jump North-East down to the wall. Go East and jump to that block. Another short block has risen beside it. However, get on the East wall and pull the timed switch there. Roll and start jumping the slopes on the wall. You reach a mid flat point but turn right and keep jumping until you grab a wall and start to climb the tower. At the top is a timed trap door. Carefully but quickly hop in backward to the North side. That way you fall on a slope and can jump to the corner for a large medipack. If you miss do not grab the jump switch but just fall into the room below. If you do make it and decide to press the button behind you, it closes the trap door in the corner. You have to climb through spikes to use the jump switch to open the trap door in the floor. I do not think it made any difference not to use the switches. Either way, you end up dropping into a room.

Pick up the shotgun and go to the South-West corner and press the button to open the door. Go inside and use the jump switch and two balls fall on the Earth and Fire symbols. Go outside to South-East and see that the door has opened. If the overhead scene seems stuck, just save and reload to fix it. Pull out the four items from the room. Press the button at the end and the middle door in the West wall opens. Now push the items into this room to the four proper directions of North, South, East, and West. When correct a blue arc appears. When all four are done the door at the South opens. Go there and pick up the Snake Xia. The last door opens and a knight walks out after you. Go to the room he came from to pull a jump switch to open the exit gate. Lead him to the wooden barricade in the North and wait for him to break it. After he has broken it, go inside and wait for him to break two more wooden barricades before you drop into a trench-like room. Look around for four switches with symbols and some gates. Press Earth and Fire and hear some gates opening. Go to the gates and enter the opening for a Golden Skull, shotgun shells and secret #3. Go back and press Water and Air and return to find the other gates open. Go down the tunnel and hear a trap door open above your head. Climb up and you are at the back of the moat. Jump South-East around the corner to use the Snake Xia to open the gate.

Climb the small block in the corner and turn to jump to a block in the East to press a button. Jump to the West column and then to a column in the corner. Climb down and press a button. Climb back up and monkey swing to the jump switch. You hear some spikes activating. Go outside and jump and grab the south wall. There were spikes here earlier. Turn right and press the button on the wall. The trap door drops in the tower so go back in and jump to the highest column. Turn East to grab a climbable wall and climb to the roof. Pick up a small medipack and a skeleton awakens. Go to the South wall and turn around. Drop and grab and move until you are over a jump switch. Release and pull it to get a cut scene of the gate on the next tower opening. Go there but stop before the block with the snow. Jump over it to land a slope and slide backwards to grab and shimmy left to pull up. Jump over the slope and grab the wall and climb into the tower.

There is a trap door in the ceiling and blocks in the corner. Jump down close to the door since the back of the room has spikes in it. Turn around and shoot both wooden barricades. The alcove with the medipack has spikes. Do a stand jump with grab to get into the left alcove. Press the button and the trap door drops. Jump out and do a running jump to the short block. Jump to the tall block and pull up into the trap door. Glowing in the dark is the Blue Crystal. Pick it up and hear spikes. Get down to the safe part of the floor and get the large medipack since that area is now safe. Run and jump to the short block and the gate opens so you can get out. Now jump into the moat, swim South back to the main gate and go through the gates back to the courtyard. Use the Blue Crystal in the receptacle to the left of the gate in the building in front of you. The trap door behind you in the courtyard opens. Go inside and pick up the crowbar. Now go back to the main gate and use the crowbar to open the black door in the corner. Go inside and pickup the Tower Key. Go back to the building and open the gate.

Go behind the North-West column to press button and a block will descend near the top of a column to the South. Go back to the door to climb a sloped block. Jump around the slopes and land on a flat corner block. Jump to the climbable wall to the West but do not climb. Shimmy left around the corner and stay near the edge so that Lara does not get into the climbing position. Climb hand-over-hand to the top and shimmy left by you fingernails to the West wall. Then release and drop to a column. Turn around and jump South to a column. Press the button and a trap door drops. Jump to the climbable wall and climb up. You can pick up shotgun shells from the middle raised blocks and two skeletons awake. Go to North-East corner and pick up a Silver Eagle from the outside corner. You really need a flare to see it. Go left and stand on the ledge projecting from the building. Look North and see the wall with a sloped ledge. You may need extra health but run and jump to land on the wall to the right of the sloped section. Use the Silver Eagle in the receptacle in the block next to the sloped section.

Dive into the water and swim North through the open underwater gate. Look West and see one wall tile is upside down Swim through it and pick up the Music Scroll. Exit and swim to the North-West to surface into a room with a piano and music stand. Use the Music Scroll and the back gate opens. Go through the gate and go left to a large room with some fancy tiles. If you look at the fancy tiles carefully you will notice that they spell THE END. There seems to be no actual end trigger.

14-dec-2005