Trolls

"TROLLS is packed with loads of action, collectables and surprises. It's a game you won't want to stop playing and it's just like having your very own coin-op arcade machine.
Hour upon hour of awesome console action on 32 excellent levels. Special enhanced CD32 title with 13 full CD soundtracks with stunning graphics and gameplay. End of level bonus rounds, hidden rooms, inter-level warping, 100's of collectable items and sprites. Make TROLLS the game you must not miss!!
Leading Reviewers say:
"I'm amazed at the quality, in fact I'm Gobsmacked, if you think Zool, Sonic and Magic Pockets are cool, fast and absorbing, you haven't seen anything yet" -Joystick magazine 93%"

Trolls was developed in multiple versions for A500 class, AGA and CD32 versions. The 1200 version was also packaged as a pack-in game with Nigel Mansell's World Championship in the Commodore Amiga 1200 Race N Chase pack. The CD32 game adds CD game music. and makes use of extra joypad buttons for multiple jump options. The CD game also has enhanced backgrounds over the AGA floppy game which also acknowledge Oscar who didn't exist yet at the time the floppy game was released.

What to say about Trolls. It's a platforming game spread over seven themed areas consisting of three levels each. in each level you are required to collect a minimum number of troll babies in order to exit the stage. The level design makes them appear like mazes requiring you to explore in every direction in order to find everything. Some levels have far more than the needed amount so you can work on finding best routes through each level. There are many others collectables to find by popping balloons which consist of powerups or score items as well as letters that can lead to a bonus or bogus stage at the end of the level. A bogus stage requires finding specific items before exiting the level within a time limit. Failing to do so costs a life. A Bonus stage simply requires collecting all you can in the time limit and getting out. Failing to get out in time results in losing all the items so no score bonus.

You can find a yo-yo which can help you destroy enemies or use it to swing across platform but it rarely works like intended. The Red Elephant works as a checkpoint and rabbits found in bonus stages award continues. Find the air bubble collectable is important in the soda stages. The themed levels are very colourful and well drawn but can get very busy making it difficult to distinguish, background, foreground platforms, enemies and collectables.

I'm not a big fan of platform games in general and even less so of these maze like got to collect am all ones. But the game is well drawn and presented much like the other two Flair cartoon style games which incidentally were also packaged in other Amiga 1200 bundles. The game plays a little sluggish and the collision detection can be annoying where enemies can hurt you even when bouncing on them as well as them being all to easy to run into especially the small ones that crawl across the floor making the game frustrating at times. Having checkpoints helps and some levels even have multiple warps to move you to the next level. The bonus levels soon become annoying and I dont lose sleep if I miss them, but I do try to show as many bonus letter locations as I can and collect far more trolls than needed.

As one of the first AGA games, it serves as a glimpse of the graphic power of the then new 1200/CD32 and if you got it as a pack in I think you would have been happy with it. I wouldn't try to impress your Mario or Sonic owning friends with it though. I do think the levels are in a weird order and perhaps candyland should have been first with fable last leading to the end screen. Note fable has four areas and the forth is a long one. Fortunately(or unfortunately????) its all to easy to accidently jump into a warp to bypass it.

00:00:00 Intro / Title Music
00:02:22 Toy Land 1
00:06:42 Toy Land 2
00:10:38 Toy Land 3
00:14:22 Bonus Stage
00:15:15 Media Land 1
00:19:18 Media Land 2
00:23:07 Media Land 3
00:28:28 Bonus Stage
00:29:18 Sodapop Land 1
00:36:10 Sodapop Land 2
00:41:50 Sodapop Land 3
00:48:50 Bonus Stage
00:49:44 Fairground Land 1
00:54:15 Fairground Land 2
00:58:30 Fairground Land 3
01:02:26 Bonus Stage
01:03:22 Fable Land 1
01:08:33 Fable Land 2
01:11:00 Fable Land 3
01:13:45 Fable Land 4
01:21:45 Bonus Stage
01:22:34 Boardgame Land 1
01:26:35 Boardgame Land 2
01:31:00 Boardgame Land 3
01:35:35 Bonus Stage
01:36:10 Candy Land 1
01:40:45 Candy Land 2
01:44:30 Candy Land 3
01:49:56 Bonus Stage
01:53:18 Ending