Tombs & Treasure
System: NES
Release Date: June 1991
Developer: Compile
Publisher: Infocom
Genre: Adventure
You’re on a Mesoamerican adventure in Tombs & Treasure! Prof. Imes has been studying the Mayan civilization for his entire career and it has all finally come together. The Sun Key is the missing piece to the puzzle. With it, all of the treasure of the ancients can be uncovered. But any adventure is not without peril and Prof. Imes went missing during his expedition. His worried daughter is a friend of yours and together, you decide to pick up the search where he left off. Can you solve the puzzles in your way and become rich beyond your wildest dreams?
You begin by naming yourself and the professor’s daughter, if you’d like, and then appear in the professors Laboratory. There is a row of action buttons that scroll left and right. On the table are some things you can Look at and Take, like the sword. When you’re done jotting notes for the future, you Go backward out of the room and meet Jose. After getting some more hints on what you’re supposed to do, you leave the Lab forever and find yourself on the overworld. This is a decent sized map with a number of different buildings and points of interest you will visit. The Nunnery is directly north of the laboratory and is the home of the Ixmol Jewel, which you can Use to give you a password to save your progress.
Moving to the Tomb of Hi-Priest, you get into your first battle with a guardian. These bouts just require you to mash the Fight icon until one of you are dead. As long as you’re in the right building, you should be able to win without trouble. If you’re about to die, you can Go back the way you came and be healed. You are not strong enough to Push, the wall, but if you Change to Jose, he is. Throughout the rest of the game, you’ll be using all of the actions already mentioned, as well as Putting, Pulling, Smashing, Moving, Washing, and Joining.
You really want the manual, as it gives you some hints you need to move forward. As long as you’re paying attention to dialogue and taking notes when you see potential hints, you should be able to get through without getting stuck. There are a couple spots that can get you into a death situation, like the Akbar Stone chamber. If you go in one way without opening up another exit, you’re trapped and forced to reset.
Overall, this isn’t a very difficult or long adventure. I completed it in two hours and only needed an outside hint once. If you find yourself wondering what to do next, I suggest using the Change command, as your companions will say something if their skills are needed. Finding the Sun Key gives you the twist ending and sends you about your day,.
Graphics: 3.0
Outside of the overworld sprites, the graphics are really nice. If they were animated, this could have hit full marks.
Sound: 3.0
The music is solid and there aren’t any dumb sound effects.
Gameplay: 3.0
Follow the hints and press the right button at the right time to move on.
Difficulty: 2.5
There are some scenarios that leave you trapped. If you didn’t get a password recently and can’t time travel, you’re screwed.
Fun Factor: 3.0
This was a fun little adventure that I didn’t really expect, though it is very step by step.
Overall Rating: 2.9
Tombs & Treasure earns a B. This is a fine adventure title that we don’t get a ton of on the system. Give it a try if this is your genre.