A BEARABLE TALE

Once upon a time, Bentley Bear was rambling through the woods, daydreaming about poached salmon.  He stopped to take a nap in his favorite hollow tree trunk.  But when he awoke, he found himself inside a huge castle glittering with diamonds, emeralds, and pearls.

Though Bentley didn't know it at the time, he was trapped in Crystal Castles, home of Berthilda the Witch and her evil cronies.  To escape their spell, he must harvest the gems in the castles before Berthilda and her malicious gang send him into permanent hibernation.
 

FOLLOW THE TRACKS

How to Play Crystal Castles
* Insert the CRYSTAL CASTLES game program cartridge in your ATARI 2600 VCS as explained in your owner's guide, and turn on the POWER switch.
* Plug a joystick into the LEFT CONTROLLER.
* Press GAME SELECT to choose a starting game level - 1 through 8.
* Press your joystick button to begin the game.
* Use your joystick to guide Bentley through each castle.  He picks up magic gems simply by running over them.
* He must also avoid the deadly touch of the evil inhabitants of the castles by jumping over them.  Press the red joystick button, and Bentley jumps in the direction the joystick is pointing.
* Press GAME SELECT to return to the title screen; press GAME RESET or your joystick button to start the game again.
* Set the left difficulty switch to 'a' to play the hard version; push the switch to 'b' to play the easy version.
* The TV type switch has no function in this game.
 

THE BEAR ESSENTIALS

Game Play.
You begin CRYSTAL CASTLES at level 1 through 8, but Bentley can trample through level after level, as long as he survives his enemies.  Each level has four castles.  Bentley has five lives and must outmaneuver a maximum of seven creatures, depending on the castle.  At every 20,000 points, he wins an extra life.

The Magic Hat
Bentley can make himself temporarily invincible if he dons the magic hat by running or jumping over it.  Wherever a witch appears, so does the magic hat.  No enemy can pass through this headgear.  At game level 4 and above, the hat bounces up and down; at game level 9 and above, it turns into a crystal ball if Bentley doesn't grab it immediately.

The Inhabitants of Crystal Castles

Gem Eaters compete with Bentley for gems.  As long as Bentley isn't wearing the hat, he can turn them into dust by running over them just as they swallow their lunch.

Nasty Trees make a beeline for Bentley as they gobble up gems.  He can avoid these woody monsters by trapping them behind a wall or in a corner.

Crystal Balls also eat gems.  They chase Bentley just like Nasty Trees, but with a rolling motion.

A Pot of Honey helps Bentley win extra points in several castles.  Bentley should take a honey break as soon as possible or...

A Swarm of Bees flies down to protect the pot.  If Bentley waits too long, the swarm returns again and again to track him down.  If he takes too much time harvesting gems, the bees find him, whether or not the castle has a honey pot.

Ghosts and Skeletons move randomly, slowly, and over short distances.

The Witch's Cauldron turns Bentley into bear stew if he touches it.  He can avoid this deadly pot by jumping over it.

Berthilda the Witch has a touch that's fatal.  But Bentley can smash her if he's wearing the magic hat.  The only thing predictable about her is her favorite snack - large furry mammals, served witha bear-naise sauce.
 

SCORING

Harvest a Gem: 1 point for the first gem, 2 points for the second gem, and so on up to 99 points per gem

Harvest the Last Gem in the Castle: 1000 points for the first castle, increasing 100 points in every castle thereafter

Don the Magic Hat: 500 points

Eat the honey: 1000 points

Crush a Gem Eater: 500 points

Smash Berthilda the Witch: 3000 points

BONUS LIFE: At every 20,000 points, Bentley wins an extra life.
 

PAWS FOR SOME STRATEGY TIPS

* If Bentley harvests the last gem in the castles, he wins extra points.
* Elevators make perfect escape routes.  However, they only operate one at a time.
* Bentley is invincible while he's jumping.
* Bentley can temporarily stun Nasty Trees and Gem Eaters by jumping over them.  But this maneuver won't work if he's wearing the magic hat, or while the Gem Eaters are swallowing gems.
* When floating scores appear on the scene, creatures can't move through them; nor can the creatures move through each other.
 

ATARI
Printed in Taiwan
(C) 1985 Atari, Corp.
All rights reserved
 

CO19787-110 Rev. A

Designed by Peter C. Niday
Computer Graphics by Michael Kosaka
Audio by Robert Vieira
Arcade Game by Franz Lanzinger