Darby the Dragon Walkthrough

With
the claim that adventure games are dead being voiced by most mainstream
magazines at every opportunity, it’s nice to find there are adventure games
being made targeting future generations of gamers. If nothing else, Darby
the Dragon introduces the child to the basic elements of an adventure game:
a story with a definite goal, use of inventory items, and interaction with
other characters. To be honest, I quite enjoyed this game too (and at 29
I am a little over the age of the recommended player)! This is one game
I would recommend every parent buy their child of 5-10 if they want to expose
them to the world of adventure. This game has delightful cartoon graphics
of a standard Disney or DreamWorks would be proud. It has other activities
that can occupy the child’s interest as well including simple arcade games,
interactive storybooks, and cheerful, humorous songs. There are opportunities
to get hints from characters to solve puzzles, though most re straightforward
“use this item with this” type. Voice acing is perfect-treacly nice and
appropriate to the good-natured story. A nice feature is that the text in
the stories lights up a different color so the child can follow along. Besides
the essential items that Darby and his sister, Sparkle, must find, there
are numerous things to be looked at and clicked upon. The inventory reaches
six or seven items at times, though I don’t think children would find this
confusing. The child does not have to be able to read to play the game.
The interface features a picture of the save game and the child need only
choose from a nodding or head shaking dragon image to confirm they want
to save or load their game. The game has a Russian design team, further
confirming the former Soviet Union republics as likely places where adventure
games may still be developed for the PC. Another positive note is that this
game is bug free. It installed without difficulty (or a “play from the CD”
option is available) and ran without a single problem. Admittedly, this
is a short game, but other developers could take a page from the developers’
book in designing their games.

Introduction

The game begins in Dragondale.
Darby the Dragon finds a wand. He goes to show Sparkle, his sister. They
return to the castle (their home). As is the nature of siblings, they tousle
over the wand. Darby inadvertently wishes that his sister were small. Hey
presto-she shrinks! Unfortunately, the error cannot be rectified as the
wand is out of power.

Castle

Open the chest. Take the key.
Exit left.

Court of the King

The king, after hearing what
has happened, advises you to go to the castle library, get the book of dragon
spells, and take it to the wizard. Exit left.

Library

Darby and Sparkle’s mother is
here. Use the key to open the chest. Take the fire potion. Now, Darby can
breathe fire. Take the dragon spell book, the larger book at right. Read
each of the three tales to learn about the history of Dragondale. Return
to the court of the king.

Court of the King

Go out the window. You are presented
with a map of the village.

Village Map

Go to the path at the top left
of the village.

Road

A branch is blocking the road.
Use the fire to remove it. Continue along the path to the wizard’s cottage.

Wizard’s
Cottage

Touch the tree stump. It turns
into a chest. Use the key to open the chest. Take the coin. Go in the cottage.
Talk to Solwyn, the wizard. You return his wand and give him the spell book.
He agrees to return Sparkle to her original size if you can collect three
items for him: a bottle of magic water, a polka-dotted fruit, and a swamp
oyster. Exit right.

Road

A harpist and singer meets you
on the road, offering to sing a song. If you agree and pay them for it,
they will give you a hint about something in the game. Return to the village
map.

Village Map

Go to the village gate.

Village Gate

Exit to a crossroads.

Crossroads

Go straight ahead to the desert.

Cliff

You are atop a cliff looking
over a desert. Fly down to the house.

Dag’s
House

Ring the bell. Dag, the desert
elf, comes out of his house. He offers you a surprise in exchange for filling
his bucket with flowers of a certain color. When you have collected twelve,
he takes them and gives you a glass bottle. Return to the cliff.

Cliff

Fly to the oasis.

Oasis

Click on the mound. A chest appears.
Use the key to open it and take the coin. Fill the bottle with magic water.
Return to the cliff.

Cliff

Go to the mountain.

Mountain

Touch the rock at left. It turns
into a chest. Unlock it with the key and take the coin. Take the path to
the caves.

Troll Caves

The trolls sing to you. Before
they will allow you to climb up to the top of the mountain, you must bring
them goldenberries from a fairy ring. Return to the cliff.

Cliff

Exit right to the crossroads.

Crossroads

Take the right path to the forest.

Path

Talk with the bushes to get hints
about the game. Continue to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Fly down to the forest path.

Forest Path

A wagon blocks the way. Use the
fire to remove it. A hooded stranger arrives and asks for a coin. Give him
one. As you do, he reveals himself to be Solwyn! For your generosity, he
rewards you with a horn designed to wake any creature. Exit left.

Clearing

Pick up the jelly jar (it belongs
to Jethro the giant). Return to the forest path.

Forest Path

Exit right to the tower.

Giant’s Tower

Click on the stone at the bottom
of the tower. It opens to reveal a hidden chest. Use the key to open it
and take the coin. Fly up to the top of the tower.

Top of the Tower

Jethro is asleep. Use the horn
to wake him. Give him his empty jelly jar. He thanks you and gives you a
jar of jelly. Return to the bottom of the tower.

Giant’s Tower

Exit to the path.

Forest Path

Go to the clearing.

Clearing

Use the jelly jar to distract
the bees. Fly up the tree.

Top of the Tree

Pick the polka-dotted fruit.
Return to clearing.

Clearing

Return to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Go to the fairy ring.

Fairy
Ring

The young fairies sing to you.
Click on the door. The fairies’ mother comes out and asks you to find something
to feed her hungry daughters. Return to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Return to the crossroads.

Crossroads

Return to the village gate.

Village Gate

Enter the village.

Village Map

Go to Maggie’s Bakery.

Maggie’s Bakery

Aha! Maggie sells fairy bread.
Pay Maggie for a loaf of fairy bread. Go to the village map.

Village Map

Go to the village gate.

Village Gate

Exit to the crossroads.

Crossroads

Take the right path to the forest.

Path

Continue to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Go to the fairy ring.

Fairy Ring

Give the mother fairy the fairy
bread. She lets you pick some goldenberries. Return to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Return to the crossroads.

Crossroads

Go
straight ahead to the desert.

Cliff

Go to the mountain.

Mountain

Take the path to the caves.

Troll Caves

Give the trolls the goldenberries.
They let you up to the top of the mountain.

Top of the Mountain

The sad troll sings you his woeful
tale. Take his letter. Return to the troll caves.

Troll Caves

Return to the mountain

Mountain

Return to the cliff.

Cliff

Fly down to Dag’s house.

Dag’s House

Collected twelve more flowers
for him and he gives you two coins. Return to the cliff.

Cliff

Return to crossroads.

Crossroads

Take the right path to the forest.

Path

Continue to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Go to the swamp.

Swamp

Give the troll the letter from
his brother. He offers you his raft. Go to the end of the pier.

Pier

A frog demands three coins for
use of the raft! Pay him the three coins. Go on the raft. Go to the water
near the other side of the swamp. Scoop out a swamp oyster. Return to the
swamp.

Swamp

Return to the forest cliff.

Forest Cliff

Return to the crossroads.

Crossroads

Return to the village gate.

Village Gate

Enter the village.

Village Map

Go to the road.

Road

Continue along the path to the
wizard’s cottage.

Wizard’s Cottage

Solwyn takes the three ingredients.
He casts a spell and makes a potion for Sparkle. Everyone returns to the
castle.

Castle

Sparkle drinks the potion, returns
to her own size, and the expected happy ending results.

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