LP Beach

Soleil / Crusader of Centy is an Action-Adventure Zelda clone Mega Drive / Genesis game developed by Nextech and was released in 1994.

The game is called Crusader of Centy in North America and Soleil in Europe. I'll be playing Soleil for this LP - gameplay is exactly the same, but Soleil apparently has a more accurate translation than Crusader of Centy.



Index.

Intro.
Soleil Town.
Training School - Beginners Course.
Dahlia Valley.
Anemone Beach.
Water Lily.

No one knows where, when or how these creatures came to be. Because plants and the animals, such as humans, had yet to exist in this world.









Monsters had not become extinct.




Our story begins when the monsters reappear and begin to increase their influence.

• Please pick a name for our (silent) hero. Up to ten characters.

Ooh, been waiting on this. I say we call our hero Silence just to hammer the point home.

I echo the Silence suggestion, but I have no context for this game so I am just going to wait while we learn more!

Tiebreaker between Lonk and Silence. Next vote will decide.

Tie broken on SA. Update coming tomorrow.

• The apples represent Lonk's health. The coin, as you probably expect, represents how much money, or Malins Lonk currently has.

Happy Birthday, Lonk! You are now 14 years old. I have a present for you.




but he lost his life in battle.... I really don't want you to have this sword but it is the law of this land for fourteen year old boys to follow their Fathers into battle.

Talk to Mum again.

Well, it wasn't a happy ending but you should try to continue your Father's good work.

• We've talked to everyone, lets go exploring.

Sound of fireworks.

Huh....? Fireworks? Is somebody going somewhere?

I've just remembered, Amon leaves today. Let's go and see him before he goes!

When it's my turn to go, I hope you won't forget to give me a send-off too.

Oh, Bull......! Becoming a Hero is not an easy task. You'll never become one if you don't train hard at the Rafflesia Training Ground.

Come on, hurry! I want to see Amon. I like him because he is brave and strong!



Talk to Mum again.

Inform his Highness that you have reached your 14th Birthday.

• We're now free to leave Lonk's house.

• Showing off the pause screen before we start exploring the town. Right now, the only thing we can do on this screen is save our game.

• Lonk's dog, Mac (Johnny in Crusader of Centy) lives in a kennel next to Lonk's house.

Be careful! It is easy to lose your life in the training ground too. But as well as treasure chests, there are coins hidden under the grass.

• And on the other side of Lonk's house is this lady.

The layout of Dahlia Valley is very complicated. There are monsters there too. It is not a place for children like you even if you do have a sword. Stay away from there.

• This lady lives at the end of the row.

I see you are now old enough to carry a sword, Lonk. Have you heard about the medals?



The training ground consists of beginners, intermediate and expert courses, where you can earn bronze, silver and gold medals respectively. Once you have achieved enough to earn all three medals, take them to the King and he will exchange them for the Holy Sword - the true sign of a Hero.

• Going immediately west past the row of houses leads to a fountain in the centre of town.

• Walking further on takes us to a house for sale.

• And even further on takes us to the town church.

Long ago, there was a terrible event here. People will no longer visit... Oh, Holy One, let your presence once again fill peoples' hearts!

• Usually Alice can be found in this room.

This is everyone's playground. Be friendly with each other.

• We'll check out the playground once we're done with the town.

• Immediately south of the church is a gold apple, which increases Lonk's maximum health by one. In addition to gold apples, Lonk automatically gets a health increase upon defeating a boss. We'll have to come back later to get this apple.

• Heading east, there are three roosters and a currently empty house.

Fountain of the heroes. Pick up your sword, boy, because now is the time to fight.








My sister is at Dahlia Valley and my nephew is at the training ground. Everyone is in a dangerous situation. I can't go home because I don't know how to throw my sword.

• There's a cow and an inn in the south east of town.

I used to practise my fighting techniques near the lake, north of Dahlia Valley. I don't think I can do that anymore because the area is being terrorised by a vicious rabbit. It's impossible to negotiate with him unless you can talk to him.

• Insert Monty Python and the Holy Grail joke of your choosing here.

• There isn't too much in the north of Soleil Town, a warrior walking between cannons in the north east, the entrance to the castle in the north, and a well in the north west.

• The playground is fairly large, but there isn't actually a great deal to see and do here.

• I take Lonk on the slide regardless.

This square is for kids. Why don't you come and play with us?



The fortune-teller at the plaza is very good, but today she is not there.

• I also have Lonk hide in a hole.

Mermaids House. For a limited time, you can see a mermaid for free!!

• Apart from the slide, the only things of note are the Mermaids House and fortune-teller.

Would you like to increase your maximum Health Points? I will sell one to you, but it will cost you 800 Malins. Can you afford it?

• It'll be some time before we'll be able to afford 800 Malins.

House of Fortunes. Do you want to know your future?

• As Chai told us earlier, the fortune-teller isn't around right now, so we can't go in her tent right now.

Dahlia Valley. < This way to the Rafflesia Training Ground.

• Off to the castle first.

Isn't there a castle ahead? I'm waiting to say farewell to Amon.

It is every man's dream to become a Hero. I think Amon will be an excellent Hero.

Lonk, I think you should inform the King that it is your 14th Birthday.




Dahlia Valley is a weird place where monsters keep appearing. Before you go there, you must learn at the training ground how to throw your sword.




Thank you, your Highness. This sword will be of a great help to me.

Your journey will be a long one but I know you will succeed. Good luck.

Yes, your Highness.




This is the prison for monsters who entered the village. We use them for research purposes, but I'd rather wipe them out.

• We can't talk to the monsters here. There's a third cell out of shot to the right, but it's empty.

It's so busy! Hey, boy, don't go near the fireplace. It's dangerous.

• Lonk is 14, by law he is ready to pick up a sword and go into battle. He needs no such words of caution...

• ...oh.

• We can't explore this part of the castle yet.

Your Father was an extremely brave man. He saved this town with that sword many times. Enough reminiscing, you have come to report your 14th Birthday, have you not? I will grant you entrance to the Rafflesia Training Ground. Train hard, young boy.

Talk to the Adviser next to the King.

Rafflesia is a training ground where you can become a Hero. Do a good job.



I saw Amon leave! He looked awesome, but after all he is the Hero.

• And with this, we're off to start Lonk's adventure.

• This is the game map. Soleil Town is down to the south.

The King has instructed me to let you pass.







I am an expert sword thrower. You are very lucky, my boy! For just 20 malins, I will teach you the art of sword throwing..... But it looks like you don't have enough money. Come back when you have more.

• The school is divided into three sections.

• The Intermediate Course is on the left.

• The Beginner's Course is in the middle.

• And the Expert Course is on the right.

don't you?



Then I will explain. Your goal is to finish all three courses. At the end of each course there is a treasure chest, containing bronze, silver or gold. You must collect all three. Read the signs and choose the right course.



Yes.

What a wimp! If you keep hanging around there, you'll never be a Hero!

• Not the best screenshot, but it's possible to find Malins in the grass.

• You can completely avoid the second patch of grass, but there's no reason to do so.

• The sign is a hint for later in the course. Hitting the left switch fills the pit with spikes.

• The brown chests may contain apples to restore Lonk's health, the silver-brown chests contain Malins.

• The rope in the corner of the fence is elastic. These elastic ropes are more or less useless in this course, but are more important in the intermediate course.

You must learn to do the running jump but it's not possible to learn it here. It seems that we can only do the beginners course here. Let's take it easy, friend!

• I do a bit more gardening.

Monster Crossing > Be very, very careful!!

• This area isn't part of the course. The green caterpillar enemies roll around in a ball when hit; I knock them into the lava which kills them instantly, and smack the fire hedgehogs.

• This is a slight detour, we need to head upwards to the brown chests to continue, but collecting the money from the silver-brown chests takes us to 21 Malins. The green stuff on the ground forces Lonk to walk all the way back round, but apart from the flame spinner, there's no danger from collecting the extra 4 Malins.

• This is where the hint about lighting the fuse comes in.

• Hitting the fuse not only removes the barrier, it also makes some spikes appear and has flies coming from the trees.

• The flies themselves don't do any damage, but they will push Lonk around if they touch him – if Lonk gets pushed the wrong way, he'll end up on the spikes.

• It is possible to kill the flies and potentially get a few extra Malins out of doing so.

• It's quite easy to avoid these spikes as the green stuff will only push Lonk right or left.

• Right now, Lonk moves fairly slowly, so there's very little risk of falling into one of these pits.

• Best way to avoid the green spiky rectangles is stay as close to the fence as possible; there's only one rectangle that goes down that low.

• This barrier will automatically disappear after a second or two.

• And it takes us to a seating area where Lonk gets the first medal.

• Which also shows up in the pause screen.

• All three courses finish at the seating area. By going either right or left, you can see the end of the intermediate and advanced courses.

• We've got enough Malins, so we make our way back to the sword thrower.

I am an expert sword thrower. You are very lucky, my boy! For just 20 malins, I will teach you the art of sword throwing. What do you say?

Yes.

• Now that Lonk can throw his sword, he's ready to take on Dahlia Valley.

• Eggs drop from these holes in the wall, which quickly hatch into turtles. They're easy to avoid here, but there are some parts where Lonk will have very little space to evade the turtles.

• Top of the stairs and to the left Lonk encounters...something blocking his path. You need to cut your way through, but if you take too long whatever it is grows back under Lonk and causes damage.

• More stairs and a dam are further to the left. We can't access the dam from here due to the stone blocking the way.

• Lonk has a close encounter with a turtle, and finds yet another staircase that leads to an oddly coloured wall and a springy flower across the water.

• Lonk can either climb the wall, or take the flower to advance.

• Leading to a new area with poison water and an new enemy, red birds that fly at Lonk. We'll be heading back to this area later in the update.

• Climbing another wall and heading left leads to another dam, a pair of blue blocks and something strange with a horn.

• Going right leads to the vicious rabbit. Which is apparently a hare. Regardless, while the rabbit/hare isn't interested in talking Lonk, it also doesn't make any move to attack.

• Retracing our steps and this time going to the left rather than up the stairs leads to another raised platform with poison water, three chests that may contain apples, and a double dam, again blocked off by stones. Since this dam is directly in front of Lonk, he can break it by throwing his sword at it.

• The flow of water carries Lonk down to this house...

• And the first boss of the game.

• The wolf is a fairly simple boss, he hits himself on the head with his hammer, creating a circle of stars and birds. This circle acts a shield, preventing Lonk from hitting or throwing his sword at the wolf, as well as causing damage on impact. As the wolf staggers around, the circle will expand, leaving gaps which Lonk can use to inflict damage. The wolf takes three hits to defeat.

• Lonk gets an automatic health increase upon beating a boss.

She also said that you were coming too. She knows everything doesn't she? You will meet her when you go to the playground. It was as though she is more than just a normal human.

• Speak to the Old Lady again.

Thank you so much. Give my regards to the fortune-teller at the playground. Feel free to stop by if you are ever wounded. You are always welcome here.

• The Old Lady will now heal Lonk upon talking to her. Unfortunately, as the game doesn't give you a short cut to her house, this is more or less useless.

• To the right of the Old Lady's house is a dam that carries Lonk back to the entrance.

• As you could probably tell from the Old Lady, Lonk's next task is to meet the Fortune-teller.

Wow! That fortune-teller is excellent. She can really tell your fortune!

• Pico's relocated from outside the castle.

• The fortune-teller's tent is now open.

• Throwing or hitting this particular rose with Lonk's sword causes these moles to pop up.

• You can whack the moles, but they'll come back after a short time.

• We can also attempt conversation with the flower, which goes about as well as you might expect.

You are the one that is going to change the world for better or for worse. Soon there will be a change in yourself. Something that will allow you to see what you were unable to see before. You must control your future. Though it may be difficult, you mustn't give up.








Humans have come a long way. If you can talk to me, you can talk to the other animals. I've just remembered, the fortune-teller said that she is going to Iris.

• That change the Fortune-teller mentioned is the ability to speak to certain flowers and animals. Lonk doesn't seem to be too pleased about this, given he apparently immediately decides to pursue said Fortune-teller.

• Bull's standing outside the Mermaid's tent, despite his earlier claim that the plaza is for wimps. He'll run away into the tent as soon as he catches sight of Lonk, put a pumpkin on his head as a “disguise” and ignore all attempts to talk to him.

.

• Iris is quite some distance away. Lonk really should drop in his house and tell his mum where he's off to...

• Title drop!

Some of these sprites are quite charming. I like how the moles look tiredly resigned to their lives as whack-ees

• Last time Lonk paid a visit to a Fortune-teller who gave him the ability to speak to animals and certain flowers, at the cost of losing his ability to understand humans.

• While Lonk will gain a couple more abilities; most of his skills will come from “equipping” the various animals who will join Lonk during his adventure.

• Lonk can equip up to two animals at a time. Equipped animals follow Lonk on-screen. Most animals can guard Lonk from the front if you press the C button in addition to their other abilities. Johnny is an exception, pressing C causes him to remain in place where he is (as shown in the last screenshot), where he'll freeze any enemy that touches him. To be honest, this isn't a very useful ability as enemies tend to come at Lonk from the front, rather than the rear.

I would like to visit there.

You're human aren't you? How come you can understand me?

Hares are very cautious animals. They don't trust humans. If you had an animal who understood you, you might have a chance.

• Now Lonk can throw his sword, we can explore the upstairs of the castle.

I am a royal dog. I don't live in a kennel! This is my room!

• That's all there is to do in the town right now. Now Lonk needs to go through Dahlia Valley again.

If you want to go beyond here, you will need my help. But I won't help you because humans are such untrustworthy beings.



Oh yeah? You're only saying that because he is your Master.

Humans are animals too, just like us. It is only the language that separates us. It is fair to say a human who can speak our tongue is our friend, isn't it?

OK, OK. I'll help you.

• Can't convince the hare to help without Johnny.

• The hare helps Lonk jump onto the platform.

Now, jump! You will never be able to do it if you don't do it on your own.

• Jump once.

[*]



Where there's a will, there's a way... Isn't that what you humans say?

• Can't get through Hot Daisy without first going through Anemone Beach.

• Straight away we see a new enemy. Sea Snails can only be attacked when they aren't hiding under their shells. They aren't really a threat though, they simply run in straight lines when they aren't hiding.

• Lonk can find holes and coins in the sand as he walks around.

• Go far enough to the left, and you'll find the sea. Unfortunately, Lonk can't go in.

• Starfish are another new enemy, these move in fairly small circles. You can just see a tree on the cliff at the bottom of the screen; every so often, a coconut is thrown from some of these trees, damaging Lonk if he comes into contact with them.

• Heading south on the cliff leads to a money bag...

• And an apple.

• The cracked ground will collapse, but only if Lonk jumps on or near the cracks. You can safely walk over the cracks.

• The blue marks on the ground damage Lonk if he steps on them, so we do need to jump here to progress, causing the cracked ground to fall away.

• The next switch on the cliffs is too far away for Lonk to reach, so we need to take the steps back down to the beach to proceed.

• There's not a great deal to see on the beach itself.

• Lonk manages to hit the switch from the other side, which allows him to continue walking along the cliff, only to find...

• No, we don't get Sonic as a party member.

[*]

• The coin in this pit is a fake, if you try to pick it up, the pit fills with water. It doesn't cause any damage to Lonk though.

• Lonk can't throw his sword nearly far enough to hit the switch to access this golden apple...yet.

• Immediately to the left, we find Ramsey's Animals for Hire and a pair of eye shaped holes in the wall.

you.

• Despite Ramsey saying this, Lonk has to introduce himself.

it once. Would you like to hire me for 50 Malins?

Yes.

I'm so glad. I will return to Ramsey once I have done my duty, but don't feel bad.

• I hire Kitty; Soleil is easy enough that I won't need to use them, but I want to get all the animals for this LP.

• This house and pair of elephants are north of Ramsey's house.

it was my Dad who moved it there. Only my Dad is strong enough to move that rock.



to work.

• As the blue elephant hints, Lonk has jump a couple of times on the green square to get the door to open.

how it is done?

Yes.

OK, then. Lift that board.





Touch and repent.

• These rocks are to the right of the elephants. As far as I'm aware, they don't do anything.

nothing we can do. We may cause some damage by moving it. I can't allow that!




rock.

• South of the rocks are these two houses.

• That's everyone in the village, Lonk can't talk to the cheetah.

There must be an animal there. You look strong, why don't you move the rock and take a look?

• You can't throw items at enemies in this game.

• The switch to the right doesn't seem to do anything. The switch to the left (which needs to be jumped on, rather than slashed) removes the blue block above it.

• Heading to the right, another new enemy shows up, prawns that throw pellets at Lonk from the sea.

• The stairs just lead to a few areas with grass.

• These guys are just minding their own business. Like with the moles in the playground, you can smack them and they'll disappear temporarily. If Lonk is standing on them when they pop back up, they'll cause damage.

• This switch removes the blue block barring Lonk's way at the start of the level. When hitting a switch that changes something, smoke appears on the ground to guide the player to whatever's changed.

• The prawns can be pretty nasty, if Lonk's in their area, they'll constantly jump in and out of the water, firing everytime they jump out. You can throw Lonk's sword at them though.

• Backtrack to the starting area, hit the red switch to remove the blue block next to it...

• Only to find that the next area of land is too far away for Lonk to jump. This is where this level's gimmick comes in.

• At regular intervals a strong wind will blow, alternating between left and right. If Lonk jumps the same way the wind is blowing, it will increase his jump distance. If Lonk walks or jumps against the wind, his speed / distance will be hampered. This can be a pain when avoiding the prawn projectiles.

• If Lonk isn't by a wall when the wind blows, it's easy to get blown into the sea here.

• A little further up the path and Lonk gets to contend with a prawn as well as the wind.

• This is a detour. It's not quite as bad as it might look, the wind can't knock Lonk off of these platforms. It is still quite possible to overshoot the platforms though.

• You get a bag of money for this.

• The second row of two blue blocks were removed by those two switches Lonk activated earlier. The left red switch removes the other two blocks

• The right red switch creates this mini island, bridging Lonk's way forward.

• Leading to some snails and a short cut back to the starting area.

• A bit further up, we get some grass containing a few apples, and a bridge.

• This board isn't needed, since Lonk can jump the gap in the first bridge with the wind.

• I forgot the board was more or less useless and take it with me.

• In Crusader of Centy, I think it was possible to get this gold apple early; if you throw Lonk's sword and then move away, the sword will go through impassable objects on it's return to Lonk. I tried a few times, got the sword to fly right through the centre of the switch, but it refused to activate.

• Retracing our steps back to the bridge, more grass, snails and prawns.

• At the very top, there's another board which is also not needed.

• There are three platforms to get across here, with some apple grass on the other side.

• This board is needed, regardless of whether you go left (detour) or up (end of level)

• Some diagonal jumping required here.

• Another bag of money as a reward. Jumping on the switch causes most of the ground to fall into the sea.

• Lonk can be pushed off the boards by the wind.

• The yellow jelly thing acts like a normal platform, except that it moves and the wind will knock Lonk off. Jump on the stairs and head up to meet...

• The Octopus is a two phase boss. In his first phase, he just fires a single ice shot downwards at regular intervals. The spikes on the floor will damage Lonk, but it's easy to avoid both those and the Octopus' attacks.

• After four hits, Octopus changes to his second form; he starts firing off ice shots far more frequently and in all directions. In both phases, you just need to throw your sword to damage the Octopus. After another four hits...

• Leave the area, and Lonk is automatically returned to the animal village.

I heard that you beat that octopus. Considering you are just a young boy, you're pretty good. If you want to be able to run as fast as I can, you should go to the village of Iris.

Medium Lily is in Iris; a village just beyond Hot Daisy. Under normal circumstances it is difficult to get there.

My dad showed you how to lift things, didn't he? I was wondering why he showed you, but now I know. After all, you were the one who beat that octopus.




Just ignore my husband. He's just saying that, but actually he is very grateful indeed.

• Monkey's line in the US version is “That was very reckless of you! If you did not defeat the octopus this village would have been history!”

I heard you defeated the big bad one! I knew you could do it.