Paganitzu

The Good
If you happen to have obtained Softdisk’s Big Blue Disk #44, you might have stumbled upon an overlooked top-down puzzle game called Chagunitzu by Keith Schuler. Since completion, Keith formed a new company called Trilobyte (No, it wasn’t the same one responsible for The 7th Guest) where he worked on a sequel called Paganitzu and marketed it through Apogee.

Three long years have passed since Alabama Smith made headlines when he explored the ruined Aztec pyramid known as Chagunitzu. Sadly, with the likes of Bart Simpson and Oprah Winfrey becoming flavor of the month, the last time he saw himself in the papers was from a newspaper article that reported he had given birth to twins. (No doubt their names were Dakota and Montana, but I digress.) To put himself back on the map, Alabama travels to Paganitzu, a temple in southern Mexico that piqued his interest. The texts he read earlier told of two mysterious items that reside in the temple, granting special powers to whoever possessed them.

The game comprises three episodes, with the first two focusing on retrieving these items. In the third, Alabama has to stop an evil spirit named Omigosh which he unleashes at the end of episode one. Each of the three episodes has twenty levels, and the object of these levels is to collect all the keys (gems in episode three) and figure out a way to reach the exit, usually blocked by boulders which have to be moved. Alabama must also deal with creatures such as spiders, lizards, and fire spirits, as well as statues and snakes that shoot lasers at him when he’s in their line of sight. If Alabama touches a creature or gets fried, he loses a life.

Episode one plays more like Boulder Dash; not only can he push boulders to clear a path for himself, he can also use them to kill spiders and collect the gems they leave behind. Episode three, on the other hand, is quite an improvement over the first two. Not only does Alabama appear as a spirit himself, but enemies don’t pose a threat to him, and statues behave differently depending on the level he’s on.

Pressing the [F1] or [Esc] key during the game brings up the game menu. As well as saving and restoring games, you can access online help (nothing to do with the Internet), turn sound on or off, restart from level one, go back to the title screen, or resume gameplay. Five save slots are available, and these are ideal for keeping track of your progress and allowing you to restore if you screw up.

As I said above, this is the sequel to Chagunitzu, and anyone who has played that game should feel right at home here. As well as using the same assets for both graphics and sound, Schuler has incorporated cut-scenes, but these cut-scenes are superior to the ones in early Apogee games such as Duke Nukem and Crystal Caves, containing works of art, more text, and animations. Each episode begins with a recap of what happened in the previous ones. Having said that, it pays to explore the level fully, even if you have some time left; you might run into an inscription that will help you with a puzzle or communicate with a spirit. Another thing I like is the humor. At the end of episode three, Alabama exclaims “Oh my gosh, it’s Omigosh!” and the Commander Keen reference that tricks players into thinking they just lost a life.

The Bad
There are no flaws; Schuler tested the game multiple times before he released it to the public.

The Bottom Line
Paganitzu is a top-down puzzle game in which you must move boulders to clear a path to the exit while collecting keys or gems. There are also creatures to deal with, most of them killing you upon contact. Unlike its predecessor, the game is divided into three episodes that boast excellent cut-scenes, and these contain excellent graphics and animations. Humor is also thrown in as well. Two thumbs up, way up!