TerrisUS.com - Shadowgate (NES) Guide

May 20, 2004
Version 1.1
Shadowgate (NES)

terrisus (terrisus@aol.com)
www.terrisus.com

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Index:

Section 1: Introduction
Section 2: Controls
Section 3: Walkthrough
Section 4: Other notes
Section 5: Thanks
Section 6: Contact
Section 7: Legal
Section 8: Version History

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Section 1: Introduction

Hello, and welcome to my Shadowgate for NES Walkthrough.
While there are already a few walkthroughs available for this game, and while I'm sure they're all good as well, I wanted to do my own walkthrough for it, for a few reasons. First, because I really like the game, and just wanted to do a walkthrough for it (which is really reason enough probably). The other is that, hopefully, my walkthrough will give a different style from the others, and if people find my style preferable, that they'd want to use this walkthrough. Regardless of the reason though, this walkthrough should cover everything one needs to know in order to complete the game, so, at least it'll be good for that.
This is essentially going to be a straightforward walkthrough, where I'll be giving room by room instructions, in order, of the rooms you pass through, all the items you can get in that room, and anything else you can do there. Certainly there may be items that you don't really need, but, it never hurts to pick everything up. Also, you don't have to take the exact same path through the game that I'll be covering, but, if you get stuck, you'll be able to look through quickly and see what it is that you need to do at the point where you are.
Also, in the walkthrough, any time you move from one room to another, there's an empty line between the paragraphs. That should make it easier to read and figure out exactly where you are and where you're going. Hopefully everything should be fairly clear though. One more thing. Remember to save often. Nothing is more annoying than to be far along, accidentally do something wrong or have your torches run out, and to die and have to go back a while. It never hurts to save, so do so as often as you think of it.
So, that should be enough introductory information for now. I hope you find this Walkthrough useful, and enjoy your time with Shadowgate.

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Section 2: Controls

Shadowgate uses actions based on commands and menu selections. That is, if you wanted to use a sword on a creature, you'd select the Use command, select the Sword from your inventory, and select the thing you wanted to use it on. To move, you select the Move command from the menu, and then you can either click on the spot in the room you want to move through (such as a door), or, there's a map on the side of the screen with boxes indicating all the exits from the room, and you can click on those boxes as well. While it may sound a bit awkward at first, it really does work well.
Any menu commands in this walkthrough are listed starting with a capital letter (Move, Look, Open, etc.), and any time an inventory item is listed, the first time it's mentioned, it's menu name is listed in parenthesis. Other than that, all of the in-game controls should explain themselves well enough without me going over them.

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Section 3: Walkthrough

Upon starting a new game, you'll find yourself in front of a castle door, and the story introduction will be displayed to you, explaining why you are here and what you have to do.
Once you're done reading that, you're left on your own, in front of the door, to try to figure out what to do next. Open the skull above the doorway, revealing a key, then Take the key (Key 1). Open the door, and Move through it, into the next room.

You're now inside the castle. Once entering, you'll again have a brief message to read, and then are left on your own.
Take the two torches on the wall. Then, Use Key 1 on the door in front of you, and Move through it.

Take the two torches on the wall (one of which is a Torch that takes up a different space in your inventory, and is an actual item, not a normal torch).
Then, Open the book on the wall. Take the key (Key 2) from inside the book.
Now, Move back through the door behind you, into the room you were in before.

Use Key 2 on the door on the right, and then Move through it into a small closet.

Take the Sword (Sword) and Sling (Sling) from the shelves on the wall, and then Move back through the door behind you.

Move through the door in front of you, into the next room.

Open the rock on the wall in front of you that is a different color from the ones around it, to reveal a passageway. Then, Move through the opening, into the next room.

Take the Arrow (Arrow) on the wall in front of you. Then, Use the torch on the left wall to reveal a passageway. Move through the passage on the left wall, into the next room.

Move through the opening at the end of the bridge on the left, into the next room.

Use one of your lit torches on the top of the inventory screen, and then when it asks what you want to use it on, use it on the Torch in your inventory list that is listed separately from the other torches. You'll then throw the torch at the wraith in front of you, killing it.
Take the two torches on the wall, and Take the cloak (Cloak) hanging from the wall.
Open the door in front of you and Move through it, into the next room.

Take the torch on the wall. On the wall on the right is a small ledge with a number of items on it. Take the scroll (Scroll 1) from the wall. Then, Open the scroll from your inventory list to read it if you want, it will give you a clue you can use later on. Then, Take the bottle (Bottle 1) from the wall, and then Take the other bottle (Bottle 2) from the wall.
On the right wall is a sign that says EPOR. Look at the sign to read it. Look at it again to read it again, and you'll learn a spell (Epor).
Use the Epor spell from your inventory list to cast it, and it will make the rope on the floor stand up, giving you access to the passage on the ceiling. Then, Move through the opening into the next room.

Take the two torches on the wall. Then, Take the broom (Broom) against the left wall.
Move through the door behind you, into the next room.

Open the first coffin on the right, revealing a mummy. Use one of your lit torches on the mummy, to reveal a scepter. Take the scepter (Scepter).
Move through the door behind you, into the next room.

Open the door on the right, and Move into the next room.

Open the door in front of you, and Move into the next room.

There are five stones on the ground (Stone, each one takes up a separate spot in your inventory), although you only will need one, you can take as many as you want.
Then, select Move and click the small space behind the waterfall to go behind the waterfall.

Hit the rock on the back wall to reveal an opening.
Take the bag (Bag 1) in the opening, and it will go into your inventory. Open Bag 1 to reveal the contents. Take all of the items inside (Whitegem, Red Gem, Blue Gem) to move them into your inventory.
Move through the opening behind you, back into the other room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Open the door on the left, and Move through it.

Take the two torches on the wall. Use the Whitegem on the opening in the wall, to reveal a sphere. Take the sphere (Sphere). Open the door in front of you and Move through it.

Take the shield (Shield) on the ground. Immediately after picking it up, the dragon will breathe fire at you, but you'll use the shield to protect yourself. There are seven other items in the room you can get, but, after picking any one of them up, the dragon will breathe more fire on you. After four times of getting items, your shield will be burnt, and you will die. So, you'll only be able to get three of the items on the ground. The items in the room are a torch on the wall, a spear (Spear), a hammer (Hammer), a helmet (Helmet), two skulls (Skull, each of which takes up a separate spot in your inventory), and a bone (Bone). The items you need to get in this room are the Spear and the Hammer. You don't need to get any of the other items in the room, so, take whichever other one you want or just leave the rest alone. Once you're done, Move through the door behind you, back into the other room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Move through the door on the right, into the next room.

Use the Sphere on the pond to freeze the water. Take the key (Key 3) from the skeleton's hand. Use one of your lit torches on the ice to cause the sphere to come back to the surface. Take the sphere (Sphere) again. Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Move through the door in front of you, into the next room.

Move through the case on the back left, into the next room.

Go down the opening, into the next room.

Open the space on the back wall that looks like the outline of a door to reveal a door. Move through it into the next room.

Use the Blue Gem on the opening on the floor, to reveal a wizard who will give you some information, and will leave behind a scroll. Take the scroll (Scroll 2). Open the scroll from your inventory to read it, and you'll learn a spell (Humana), and the scroll will disappear. Move through the door on the right, back into the next room.

Move up the opening, into the next room.

Use the Hammer from your inventory on the mirror in the middle to reveal a door.
Use Key 3 from your inventory on the door to unlock it. Use the Cloak from your inventory on yourself to put it on, and then Move through the door into the next room.

Use the Sphere from your inventory on the flames on the ground to put them out. Then, Open the door in front of you and Move through it, into the next room.

Try to Move through the opening on the other side of the bridge, and a troll will appear. Use the Spear from your inventory on the troll to kill him. Then, Move through the opening on the other side of the bridge, into the next room.

Use a Stone from your inventory on the Sling in your inventory to put the Stone into the Sling. Then, Use the Sling from your inventory on the cyclops to stun him. Use the Sword from your inventory to kill him.
Use the lever on the well to bring up the bucket. Open the bucket to see what's inside. Take the gauntlet (Gauntlet) from the bucket.
Open the door on the back wall and Move through it, into the next room.

Take the torch on the wall. Move through the first door on the left, into the next room.

Take the skull (Skull) on top of the book case. Take the map (Map) on the right wall.
Open the desk drawer to see what is inside. Take all of the items inside (Key 5, Glasses, Scroll 3, Scroll 4). Open Scroll 3 from your inventory to read it, and learn a spell (Terrakk), and the scroll will go away. Open Scroll 4 from your inventory to read it, and learn a spell (Illumina), and the scroll will go away.
Use the Glasses from your inventory on yourself to put them on. Open the book on the desk to read it, and learn a spell (Motari). Use the Red Gem from your inventory on the space on the wall to make the book case slide aside, revealing a passage. Move through the opening, into the next room.

Take the bellows (Bellows) and poker (Poker) from against the wall, and the cup (Cup) from over the fireplace.
Use the Terrakk spell from your inventory to cast it, and then Open the globe to see what's inside. Take the items inside (Key 6, Bottle 5). Move through the door behind you, back into the other room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Move through the second door on the left, into the next room.

Take the horseshoe (Hrseshoe) over the door. Take the bottles on the left wall (Bottle 2, Bottle 2, Bottle 3, Bottle 4, Testtube). Use the small ring on the rock on the ground to open it, revealing a hidden bottle. Take the bottle (Water).
Move through the door in front of you, into the next room.

Use the Gauntlet from your inventory on yourself to put it on. Then, Take the flute (Flute) from the fountain. Use the Flute from your inventory to play it, and a hole will appear in the tree. Take the ring (Ring) from the hole in the tree.
Move through the door behind you, back into the other room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Open the door in front of you, and then Move through it into the next room.

Use one of your lit torches on the rug on the ground to burn it away, revealing a key. Take the key (Key 4). Take the crest (Crest) and mirror (Mirror) from the back wall.
Use Key 5 on the top right door to unlock it, and Move through it into the next room.

In this room is a large sphinx. Try to move up the stairs on the right, and it will stop you. It will then ask you riddles, and you must give it the item that is the answer to the riddle. The riddles he asks you are random, you'll have to answer one each time you want to pass it. I'll list all of the riddles that I can, if I missed any, please let me know.
Q: "You look at me, I look back, your right hand raises, I my left. You speak, but I in vain."
A: Mirror
Q: "Long neck, no hands, 100 legs, cannot stand. Born of forest nest, against a wall I rest"
A: Broom
Q: "It has towns, but no houses. Forests, but no trees. Rivers, but no fish."
A: Map
Q: "I've no eyes, but once did see, thoughts had I but now I'm white, and empty."
A: Skull
Q: "I'm a fire's friend, my body swells with wind. With my nose I blow, how the embers glow!!"
A: Bellows
Q: "First burnt and beaten, drowned and pierced with nails, then stepped on by long-faced animals."
A: Hrseshoe
If you get a riddle wrong, it will send you back to the room with the coffins where you got the Staff. Once you get a riddle right, Move up the stairs to the right, into the next room.

Take the scroll (Scroll 5) on the desk, and Open it to read it. Take the star (Star) that is on the map on the back wall. Then, Open the map on the wall and take the object behind it (Rod).
Move up the ladder into the next room.

Use the Arrow from your inventory on the girl on the floor to kill her (she's really a wolf, don't worry). Then, Take the blade (Blade) on the floor.
Move back down the ladder, into the next room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Move through the door behind you, into the next room.

Use Key 6 on the top left door to unlock it, and Move through it into the next room.

Try to Take the horn on the ground and a dog will appear. Use the Water from your inventory on the dog to make it go away. Then, Take the horn (Horn) on the ground. Move up the ladder on the left, into the next room.

Use the Star from your inventory on the wyvern to kill it, then take the object (Talisman) in front of you. Move down the ladder, back into the next room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Use Key 4 on the bottom door to unlock it, and Move through it into the next room.

Take the two torches on the wall, then Move through the door on the left.

Use the Rod on the hole on the balcony, and lightning will strike it, causing a hand to appear from the ground holding an item. Take the item (Wand) from the hand.
Move down the stairs to the left, to the next area.

Take the bag (Bag 3) from the ledge. Open the bag from your inventory, and Take the items inside (Big Coin, Goldcoin, Goldcoin, Goldcoin). Then, Move back up the stairs behind you.

Move through the door behind you, back into the next room.

Move through the door behind you, back into the other room.

Move through the door behind you, into the next room.

Move through the passage behind you, into the next room.

Move through the door behind you, into the next room.

Move down the hole in the floor, into the next room.

Move through the passage behind you, into the next room.

You're now in the room with the two bridges. Use the Bottle 2 from your inventory on yourself, and then Move through the opening across the bridge on the right.

Use the Wand from your inventory on the snake, and it will turn into a staff. Take the staff (Staff).
Hopefully Bottle 2 hasn't worn off at this point. If you got a message saying it did, Use Bottle 2 on self again. Move through the door behind you, back into the other room.

Move through the opening at the end of the bridge on the left.

Move through the door on the left, into the next room.

Move up the passage on the ceiling, into the next room.

Move through the mirror in the middle, into the next room.

Move through the door in front of you, into the next room.

Try to Move through the door across the bridge, and the troll will appear. Use the spell Humana to become invisible, and you'll go through the door beyond the bridge into the next room.

Move through the door in front of you, into the next room.

Move through the bottom door, into the next room.

Move through the door on the right, into the next room.

Use the Scepter from your inventory on the empty hand of the skeleton, and an opening will appear on the right. Use the Ring from your inventory on the opening, and the throne will move aside, revealing a passage.
Move through the passage, into the next room.

Take the four torches from the wall. Move through the passage in front of you, into the next room.

Use the spell Illumina from your inventory to cast it, and Move through the door on the right.

Use the spell Motari from your inventory to cast it, and the statue in the middle of the room will go away. Move through the door on the other end of the path, into the next room.

In this room, there are three levers on the right. Use the lever on the right, then Use the lever in the middle, and then Use the lever on the right, and the cylinder will lift, revealing an orb. Take the orb (Orb). Move back through the door behind you, into the next room.

Move through the path behind you, back into the next room.

Use the Illumina spell from your inventory to cast it, and Move through the door on the left.

Open the well. Then, Use the Big Coin from your inventory on the open well to toss it in. Move into the open well to go down it, into the next room.

Use the hammer on the side of the gong, and when it asks what you want to use it on, select the gong, and you will ring the gong, causing a raft to appear. Use a Gold Coin from your inventory on the person on the raft, then Move onto the raft to cross the river.

Use the Talisman from your inventory on the left opening to place it into the opening. Then, Use the Horn from your inventory to blow it, and the door will open.
Move through the door on the left, into the next room.

Use the Blade from your inventory on the Staff in your inventory to put it on the Staff. Then, use the Orb from your inventory on the staff in your inventory to put that on the Staff, completing it.
Now, use the staff from your inventory on the behemoth to kill it.

Congratulations, you have beaten the game!

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Section 4: Other notes

Shadowgate for NES uses battery-backed saves, allowing you three save files. The thing with battery-backed saves is, the battery does die eventually. So, if for some reason your game doesn't save, it's probably because the battery's dead. Batteries can last varying amounts of time, mine still saves fine, but other people have had batteries die on them. While I'm not going to give a complete guide on replacing a battery, the basic information is, Shadowgate (as with most NES/SNES games with battery saves) uses a CR2032 battery to save with. These batteries are actually very common, you should be able to pick them up at practically any store that sells batteries. That's the easy part though. The harder parts are, opening the game and actually replacing the battery. While you can probably try to pry open the game cart by other methods, the proper method is with a 3.8mm Gamebit. This is much harder to track down, your best bet is probably going to be online specialty retailers or something, since you're not going to find them at most normal stores. The other part is actually replacing the battery, which is very difficult since the battery is actually soldered to the game. So, to do that, you're going to need to remove the old battery from the solder, and get the new battery in there.
So, that's really all the information on that which I'm going to give, since that's really about the extent of my knowledge on the subject, and I don't want anyone to try soldering a battery, have it explode and hurt them (heat and batteries isn't really a good mix), and blame me. So, keep in mind I'm just providing the basic information on why your game isn't saving and what you would need to go about fixing that, I'm not giving actual technical advice on that. So, if you do decide to try to deal with this, it's at your own risk. There are other documents out there which go into more detail on the subject though, so if you are going to try that, you should be able to find people who will give you some better information.
That said, you probably can beat Shadowgate in one sitting without having to worry about saving if you want. While it would be more work than normal, it certainly is possible. So, even if your game doesn't save anymore, it's not that bad, you'll just have to try harder at beating it.

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Section 5: Thanks

I would like to thank the companies involved in making this game for making it.
I would like to thank my local video rental store years ago for having only a small selection of games to rent, so I ended up renting every single game they had (including this one) many times.
I would like to thank Gamefaqs and IGN for hosting this walkthrough.
I would also like to thank you, for choosing to view my walkthrough.

As of right now that's all for the thanks section. If anyone submits anything I missed, I'll add their name down here as well.

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Section 6: Contact

If you'd like to contact me for any reason at all, either with some information, problems you have, or just to say you liked my guide and found it helpful, feel free to write to me, at:
terrisus@aol.com
and put Shadowgate FAQ (or something like that) as the subject.

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Section 7: Legal

This FAQ was entirely created by TerrisUS (terrisus@aol.com). It may not be displayed, distributed, or altered without my agreement.
The following websites have permission to host this guide:
http://www.terrisus.com
http://www.gamefaqs.com
http://faqs.ign.com
That said, if you'd like to display or distribute this guide, I'd probably be more than happy to let you, just please ask me first. See Section 6 for contact information.

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Section 8: Version History

1.0: December 06, 2003: Initial version submitted
1.1: May 20, 2004: Just a minor update to the Other Notes section. Also added this Version History section.

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