H A R L E Q U I N

SCENARIO
In a far-off forgotten corner in the expanse of imagination there is a
fantastic world called Chimerica. A living, breathing amalgam of dreams
and distant memories, conceived for the sole purpose of exploration and
discovery. For years it thrived and flourished, fuelled by the greatest
energy of all - the innocent wonder of a child. Chimerica's sole
inhabitant was a young boy with the name Harlequin. He spent his early
years quenching his curiosity by exploring the many bizarre lands which
he called home. No locks barred his way and each new door led to a new
and uncharted territory ripe for his first footsteps.

But all children grow and Harlequin was no exception. Soon the fantastic
world in which he lived began to lose it's appeal. He had become
accustomed to the unusual and unexpected, and they became a mundane form
of everyday normality. His thoughts turned from those of a care-free
youngster to those of an adult. He left his childhood home in search of
riches, respect and a new life. In Harlequins absence Chimerica slowly
fell to a state of disrepair and the land entered an age of cold reality.
All those weird and wonderful chambers which Harlequin had explored as a
boy became infested by the powers of disbelief, taking the form of
creatures intent on the destruction of imagination, dreams and Chimerica
itself. So with the prospect of no salvation in sight of Chimerica's
sadness deepened until one day it's heart broke and everything was silent.

The years rolled by and dust settled thick on the desolate land of
Chimerica, then one day a hazy figure appeared on the distant horizon
across the dunes of the Dream Mile. His footsteps quickened as he
approached the old clocktower until he was in full flight, the sand
spraying in his wake. As he ran he squinted skywards stealing a glance
at the clock face, before stopping dead in his tracks. Behind his black
mask his eyes focussed on the unmoving clock hands. He strained to hear
the beating of the heart but there was only silence and a shiver of
realisation raced down his spine.

Harlequin had returned, older and with enough wisdom to know that all was
not well in his homeland. His final steps up to the base of the clock tower
were filled with a gnawing anguish and a reluctance to accept what he
already knew. He stood before the barred bolted door which led to the inner
clockworks of the tower. Chained to the portal hung a rust encrusted sign.

Harlequin wiped the thick grime with his diamond pattered sleeve and read
the words - " Closed - Due to Broken Heart". There and then Harlequin
decided that he must help his old friend. He was unsure of the risks and
dangers involved in this task but he wasn't about to sit back while
Chimerica crumbled. So with his fists clenched in determination Harlequin
set forth with all consuming purpose - to mend Chimerica's broken heart.

GAME PLAY
The world of Chimerica is unique. Each of the lands that make up Chimerica
are linked to each other, but the matrix is not linear. Some of the doors
will always lead to the same world, but in other instances, the world that
a door will lead to will be dependant upon how the switches are set.
Mapping it could be a Nightmare, but then, it is a dreamworld.

Harlequin has a certain amount of energy which is displayed as a vertical
bar at the bottom left hand corner of the screen which will be depleted
whenever he is hit with a projectile or touches an enemy.

PERCENTAGE SCORE
Each time you successfully solve a puzzle, move onto a new level, find a
piece of the heart or complete a part of the game, your percentage score
will increase. When you leave a level the percentage score will be
displayed on an intermission screen as well as any pieces of the heart
that you have found.

THE ULTIMATE AIM
You must find the four broken parts of Chimerica's heart, take them to a
level with bars, sheets and notes, and find the exit which has now become
a heart.

STANDARD JOYSTICK CONTROLS

        JOYSTICK                ACTION
        --------                ------
        Up                      Jump Up
        Up and right            Jump right
        Up and left             Jump left
        Down                    Crouch
        Down and right          Crawl right
        Down and left           Crawl left
        Right                   Run right
        Left                    Run left
        Fire                    Shoot hearts

KEYBOARD CONTROLS

SPACE - Pause / Unpause
H - Turns Space Hopper Off
F1 - Load a previously saved game position
F2 - Save a game position
F10 - Toggles music and sound effect in the game.

Those people with only half-meg will have to wait whilst either music or
sound effects are being loaded.

HARLEQUINS ACTIONS
Harlequin can run left or right and will accelerate in these directions,
which can be useful for attaining large jumps.

JUMPING
Harlequin retains any momentum he has when jumping, thus many varied heights
 and lengths of jump can be achieved. He can also change direction in mid air.

SLOPE ACTIONS
Sloping landscapes can be overcome very easily as Harlequin can climb these be
facing into the slope and jumping forward, or slide down them by facing down
the slope.

SWINGING
Harlequin will find it useful to swing on ropes or hang on and travel down a
rope at some points during the game. He can chose to jump from these or simply
drop down. Push the joystick left or right to change the direction that
Harlequin is facing when swinging. Pull down on the joystick to make Harlequin
drop when swinging. Push up on the joystick to make Harlequin jump up, this is
done best at the end of the arc of a swing in order to reach certain platforms
for example.

HANGING
Hanging is similar to swinging but with no circular action to the movement.

SKIDDING
Some patches of ground are slippy, and Harlequin will skid along in the
direction he was moving. He can only overcome the movement by jumping off the
slippy area.

JACK IN THE BOX SPECIAL ITEMS
There are several Special Items which Harlequin can find hidden in "Jack in
the boxes" around a level. They can be opened by standing in front of them.
Each item only lasts a certain amount of time, so be careful! On some of the
bonus objects, a timer will appear at the bottom right of the screen
indicating how much time remains until the special item disappears.

UMBRELLA
This allows Harlequin to slow down his descent and land safely by floating
down a level and steering the umbrella left or right. When the umbrella is
activated a timer appears at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

SPACE HOPPER
This allows Harlequin to bounce around a level. He can use it to reach higher
platforms or crush his enemies if he lands on them. When the space hopper is
activated a timer appears at the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

ANGEL FISH
In this form, Harlequin is able to travel around underwater. When the angel
fish is activated a timer appears in the bottom right hand corner of the
screen. You cannot have two angel fish bonuses at the same time.

FIREWORKS
Up to four rockets can be collected which will then circle Harlequin and
protect him from enemies. These disappear after a while.

HEART
Gives extra firepower in the form of longer range missiles. Harlequin then
fires red hearts rather than his standard pink ones. These will disappear
after a certain time.

BURGER
Refills Harlequin's energy bar.

SPECIAL ITEM CONTROLS

ANGEL FISH
To transform from Harlequin into a Angel Fish - Pull the joystick down when
in water. To transform from an Angel Fish back into Harlequin, pull the
joystick down when the Angel Fish is partly out of the water with a platform
underneath. Left, Right, Up, and Down on the joystick moves the Angel Fish
around and the fire button shoots his hearts.

SPACE HOPPER
To activate pull the joystick down and press the fire button. To de-activate
press the H key or wait until the timer runs out. The Space Hopper is
controlled via the joystick. Pushing up on the joystick will make the Space
Hopper bounce higher, pulling down on the joystick will lessen the bounce.
Left or right on the joystick makes the Space Hopper bounce left or right.

UMBRELLA
To activate, push up on the joystick and press the fire button. To de-activate,
pull down on the joystick. Left or right on the joystick makes the Umbrella
move left or right.

CONTINUE PLAY TOKENS
Tokens in the form of tea cups, teddy bears and sticks of rock can be found
lying around the levels, also shooting certain pieces of background will cause
tokens to fall until they hit a platform. If collected the tokens begin to
fill the face of Harlequin at the bottom of the screen. When Harlequins face
is full he will not loose a life when all his energy has been depleted, But
the face will have emptied and will require re-filling. When you die, a screen
will appear saying `Continue? Yes/No`. Move the joystick to choose and press
fire to confirm.

SWITCHES
Switches play an important part in Harlequin, they perform various functions,
just what they do is up to you to discover. For example they may cause a
platform to appear, switch on something or build something on another level
or remove a blockage thus allowing access to another part of the map.

It is up to you to discover what each switch does.

CLUE SYSTEM
If Harlequin stands at certain places on a level a light bulb will appear
above his head, this indicates that there is a clue here if it is required.
Simply stand until still when the light bulb appears and a clue will scroll
down from the top of the screen. If you do not wish to see the clue simply
move away from the spot as soon as the light bulb appears.

LOAD AND SAVE
Because Harlequin is such a vast game which will take time and a lot of skill
to complete, we have included
a load and save facility. Press F1 to load in a
previously saved position and F2 to save your position.

Then
please follow onscreen instructions. There are six load/save positions
for you to use. For both load and save
you will be given the opportunity to
cancel or continue the load/save. Move the joystick left or right to select
either yes or no, and press fire to confirm. Moving the joystick up and
down will increment or decrement the
save/load positions.
