Game:

Repton 3 (1986)

Duration: 3:38

443 views

2

The seventh level of Africa and in my opinion the hardest level of Repton 3, and also the last one I solved. (I solved 8 before 7 because I originally bypassed 7 without solving it by using the fungus to connect the problem cage.) When I did solve it, I used the intended method, disconnecting and later reconnecting the cage nearest Repton's start. In this video I show that this is in fact not necessary.

I still begin by clearing some earth in the bottom-right, as otherwise the rock that falls off a safe will block this area off. The rock above the bottom cage is "skull-shuffled": Repton steps left and down in time to catch the rock and stop it falling off to the left. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE ON THE ORIGINAL BBC VERSION. (Oddly enough, it is possible on the original BBC versions of Repton and Repton 2, but not on the PC remakes of those games.) I then release the spirits, take the transporter, and run up to push the rock and block the second spirit off from the left area; that way I do not need to disconnect and later reconnect the cage in this area.

The top rock is pushed down past the spirit, stopping it from going back down and entering the cage nearest Repton's start. This part can be done on the BBC version. However, to complete the level this way without the skull shuffle, after this spirit cages you have to come back out, push this rock down, push the rock under the cage to the left, and push this rock under the cage (so that you have enough rocks to connect the bottom cage later). Here I am just aiming for the fastest time possible on the PC version, so I do not do this.

After getting the key, I get the crown before exiting the central area. This, combined with taking some earth to let the rocks fall, creates a wall to the right of the crown in which the monster from the egg on the transporter will later be trapped. I then release the bottom-left spirit, take the transporter to the top-left enclosed area, and chase the two spirits that are released when I exit this area. These spirits go down a side channel on the far right, allowing me to get ahead of them. (By the way, the spirit from the bottom-left will be in the central area at this point, so there is no risk of collision.)

I now unblock the bottom-right cage, and immediately take the cage diamond, stranding the last spirit so that after I connect the last cage, the spirit is still there and has not gone off to circle the level again. Finally, I take the last transporter, releasing the egg. I deliberately leave clearing the last diamonds from the bottom-right until after this, to give the egg time to hatch. This ensures that when I re-enter the central area for the final time, the monster will be directly under the top-left rock, so all I need do is stand under this rock and drop it on him. In fact there are a few different ways of dealing with this monster, and this particular way is one I did not discover until I was preparing this video, but I think it is the best way I have discovered.

This completion of this level beats my previous best time by a mammoth thirty-three seconds. The music is Johnny Clegg's "Scatterlings of Africa", and I almost wish I hadn't found such a good route, so that I could have fitted on more of the song.

Other Statistics