PUZZ 3D: Bavarian Castle, Neuschwanstein Walkthrough

Quote of the game: "
‘Sneak past’? You can’t sneak past crafty old Fafnir! …Besides,
where’s the sport in THAT?"

The object of the exploration
phase of Puzz-3D, Neuschwanstein, is to wander through the
rooms open to you looking for icons which will provide you with 2
to 4 sword pieces. Put them together in the right order to re-forge
Siegfried’s sword Notung and slay the dragon Fafnir. The catch is,
you can’t REALLY kill the dragon until you reach the Platinum level.
And why do we want to go around driving broken swords into dragons,
you ask? Apparently, before Wagner died, he put a curse on all the
tragic operas loved by King Ludwig II, and none of the characters
from the operas (even the Norns, who really need to see about suing
their prop man) will find lasting happiness until the curse is broken.
The problem is that the curse (in the form of a ring, naturally) is
guarded by the ill-tempered dragon Fafnir, and the aforesaid musical
icons haven’t the moxy to face him.

You can view bits of this
story (and some hilariously cheesy dialogue) along the way by finding
rings scattered through the various rooms. Some play a different clip
on each level, and I’ve listed those with the rings for that level.
The brief notation below each ring is intended as a reference. In
addition to the rings, there are 3 side-games, and though you don’t
get extra credit for finishing them, they’re fun to tinker with. I’ve
included the solution to the Painting puzzle, but only because it’s
a bit devilish if you have problems with a dark monitor (I urge you
to try it yourself first though, before resorting to this cheat).
The Leitmotiv and Throne puzzles may challenge new gamers, but all
it takes is a bit of persistence.

I’ve also provided hints
to the location of the sword pieces on each level, but if one location
is really driving you nuts you’ll find explicit directions at the
bottom of this walkthrough. Since putting all the sword pieces together
effectively finishes the game, view the rings first. It is by far
EASIER to put the castle-puzzle together 4 times (once for each level)
and retrieve your assembled sword on the next level up. I tried to
assemble all 32 sword pieces on the Platinum level, and they nearly
had to put me in a rubber room.

IMPORTANT: there seems
to be a glitch in the game in that, if you try to collect more sword
pieces BEFORE you retrieve the sword you assembled on the previous
level, you’ll always end up one piece short!

BRONZE KEY:
Quote of the level: "Steel cables, girls?"

Sword Pieces:
Courtyard: Check out that brickwork!
Bedroom: Why not wash up a bit?
Bedroom: Have you looked at the stained glass windows?

Rings:
Gold; COURTYARD, under the tree
–Norns: "Greetings, mortal!"
Silver; COURTYARD, midway up the courtyard stairs, look down and right
–Norns: "We meet again, mortal!"
Gold; BEDROOM, floor to the left of bedroom door (upon entering, turn
around and look down and left)
–Tristan, Isolde, and Venus: Well THIS wishy-washy wimp is taken!
Gold; BEDROOM, sill of the seat under the stained-glass bay window
–Tristan, Isolde, and Wotan: "What IS this ring obsession of
yours, Wotan?"

Painting puzzle
Location: straight ahead and slightly to the right upon entering the
King’s bedroom

SILVER KEY:
Quote of the level: "We need stronger props, girls!" "We’ll
just have to find room in the budget."

Sword Pieces:
From Bronze Level: Have a closer look at that couch in the alcove.
Alcove: Look at the tapestries right under your nose, too.
Grotto: Examine the little cafe table more closely.
Grotto: Stone walls are good places to check for petroglyphs.

Rings:
Gold; COURTYARD, under the tree
–Brunnhilde and Wotan: Brunnhilde’s punishment (is that a bronze
chamberpot on her head?)
Gold; BEDROOM, floor to the left of bedroom door (upon entering, turn
around and look down and left)
–Venus: "Men! DARLING men! Foolish men…"
Blue; TAPESTRY HALL, on the table with the candlestick (under the
Grail tapestry), slightly behind the candlestick
–Tristan and Isolde: "Not one couple makes it out of a Wagner
opera alive!" (THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO, anybody?)
Gold; TAPESTRY HALL, to right of door to grotto, in rings of little
tapestry
–Tristan, Isolde, and Siegfried: "So…how do we sneak past
the dragon?"
Black; GROTTO, first stop grotto, to left of door out of grotto, almost
invisible
–Venus: "My DARLING dragon…"
Gold; GROTTO, second stop grotto, floor of grotto beneath bright red
rock wall
–Tristan and Isolde: "It is NOT unguarded…"
Gold; GROTTO, third stop grotto, floor between cafe table and tiny
table, below bright green rock wall
–Norns: "…A frightful guardian…"

GOLD KEY:
Quote of the level: " ‘Gloomy?!’ Everybody always DIES!"

Sword Pieces:
From Silver Level: Try the balcony at the far end of the Singer’s
Hall.
Singer’s Hall: Study the hall’s exquisite tapestries.
Singer’s Hall: Study the hall’s exquisite tapestries.
Singer’s Hall: Exhausted from studying tapestries? Sit down for awhile.

Rings:
Gold; COURTYARD, under the tree
–Siegfried and Brunnhilde: "I’m working on it!"
Gold; BEDROOM, floor to the left of bedroom door (upon entering, turn
around and look down and left)
–Tristan and Isolde: Man the shovels, boys–it’s getting deep in
here!
Blue; TAPESTRY HALL, on the table with the candlestick (under the
Grail tapestry), slightly behind the candlestick
–Wotan and Venus: Having a little tête-à-tête
Gold; SINGER’S HALL, right of balcony windows, base of left pillar
in alcove door
–Norns: "Amos? Linus? Doofus?"
Gold; SINGER’S HALL, singer’s hall, at stage, turn left, outer wall
windows, top of pillar which divides windows
–Wotan and Venus: Wotan’s throwing a party

Leitmotiv puzzle
Location: at the middle of the stage in the singer’s hall is a painting
of a tree; click on dark area below trunk
(Why solving this puzzle restores the blush of life to the cheeks
of doomed Isolde, I have no idea)

PLATINUM KEY:
Quote of the level: "Siegfried, you may be Wagner’s greatest
hero, but you’re a chump."

Note: to find the Chapel,
look behind you!

Sword Pieces:
From Gold Level: Relics are often hidden near altars.
Chapel: Nice floor inlay, isn’t it?
Throne Room: Study the far wall in more detail.
Balcony: Check out that view from the balcony!

Rings:
Gold; COURTYARD, under the tree
–Tristan, Isolde, and Brunnhilde: "Any news?"
Silver; CHAPEL, left of the altar, slightly behind the foreground
pillar
–A brief history of Neuschwanstein and the chapel
Blue; TAPESTRY HALL, on the table with the candlestick (under the
Grail tapestry), slightly behind the candlestick
–Tristan, Isolde, and Siegfried: "Wotan keeps talking about
a ring that is guarded by that foul dragon Fafnir…"
Gold; THRONE ROOM, on the floor to right of the horseman painting
–Norns: "I don’t want to do this anymore–it’s embarrassing!"
Silver; THRONE ROOM, on the marble banister of the throne dais
–Siegfried and Fafnir: Siggy’s having a bit of trouble with Fafnir
Silver; THRONE ROOM, first marble step off the throne dais
–Wotan and Fafnir: Fafnir gets cheeky with the King of the Gods.

Throne puzzle
Location: that big marble slab on the dais of the throne room

SOLUTIONS! (FOR SIR
ROBIN AND HIS ILK)

Bronze:
Courtyard: the foundation bricks on the building to the left
of the staircase
Bedroom: the top of the second washbasin, located just past the statue
of the saint
Bedroom: in the carvings to the right of the door leading into the
Tapestry Hall

Solution to the Isolde
painting:
White, Violet, Purple, Blue, Navy, Forest Green, Green, Dark Green,
Puce, Pea Soup, Olive
Cream, Tawny, Yellow, Brown, Orange, Dark Brown, Gray, Burnt Orange,
Red, Red-brown, Black

Silver:
From Bronze Level: the middle leg of the Alcove couch (in the gold
guilding)
Alcove: the bottom left corner of the tapestry straight ahead (to
the right of the angel figures)
Grotto: the table sits on a raised ledge–the icon is on the leading
edge of the ledge; viewable only from the first stop
Grotto: the right side of the huge boulder blocking the rear exit;
viewable only from the third stop

Gold:
From Silver Level: that shadowy area just above the 3 balcony windows
Singer’s Hall: outer wall–bottom left corner of the tapestry of the
bride in white and man in scarlet (on the stairs)
Singer’s Hall: corner of the outer wall and the stage–bottom left
corner of the FAR horse tapestry (cannot be reached from the stage)
Singer’s Hall: bench–look left, it’s on the base of the pillar behind
you

Platinum:
From Gold Level: chapel–first pillar to right of the altar (behind
the altar)
Throne Room: upper corner of the left wall and the rear wall, to the
left of the horseman painting
Balcony: on the outer railing overlooking the mountains
Chapel: first stop, on floor to the left

Screenshots