Yoda Stories
Guides

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General

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Walking Around

To move Luke around the Desktop Adventures world, press and hold your left mouse button and Luke will walk in the direction of the arrow showing on your cursor. As you hold down the button and move the cursor around the window, Luke will follow.
You can also use the arrow keys or numeric keypad to control Luke's movement.

As you play the game, you will come across many objects you can interact with. To activate floor switches, just stand on top of them. To activate wall-switches and to open unlocked doors, simply bump into them. To walk into a house, hut, cave, etc., simply move Luke into the opening and he will enter. To walk into adjacent areas of the game world, move Luke to the edge of the display window and keep walking. Luke will cross into the next area if there is one.

Health

As Luke battles through the game, the creatures and enemies he encounters will inflict damage, and his Health Monitor will gradually turn from green to yellow to red and finally to black. Green means Luke is in good shape, yellow signals caution, and red means Luke's health is dangerously low. Watch out: when the monitor is all black, the game is over! But don't worry, you can find first aid kits, bacta fluid, mushrooms, and other medicines scattered throughout the galaxy. To heal Luke, left-click on a remedy icon in your inventory, then left-click on Luke or on the Health Monitor. There's also a medical droid in each spaceport who will restore Luke's health completely whenever he's seriously hurt.

(TIP: If your health declines too quickly for comfort, pull down the Options menu and adjust the Combat Difficulty slider to an easier setting.)

The Terrain Locator

One of the most important things to find at the start of each game is the Terrain Locator, showing you a map of the current world and offering hints to puzzles. It will always be hidden in a zone adjacent to the starting spaceport. Examine it by clicking on the locator icon in your inventory or by pressing L.

Terrain Locator Symbols

The map shows you the entire world Luke is exploring, with his current position marked by a blinking red circle. To return to the game, left-click anywhere that doesn't show a special map symbol, or press L again, or right-click anywehre at all. By using the locator, you can keep track of your progress as well as plan your next move.

As you travel through the game world, the areas you visit will brighten. When you arrive in special areas, the map will mark them with special symbols. Below are the symbols you'll see and what they represent:

The Spaceport - This is Luke's home base for whichever planet he's on. After talking with Yoda, you'll start your adventure here. Be sure to talk to everyone you encounter - usually there's a trader nearby, willing to barter some helpful items for junk. You'll also find the medical droid, 2-1B, who'll be glad to patch you up when you're hurt.

Puzzles - You will have to solve several puzzles to finish each game. Their locations are marked by jigsaw puzzle piece symbols. Until a puzzle is solved, the symbol is outlined. Once a solution is found, the symbol is highlighted.

Blockades - A blockade is a puzzle that bars your way to some areas of the game world until you find a solution. Each blockade shows on the map as a solid wall until you breach it; After that, an opening appears.

Gateways - You'll often see areas on the map that are isolated from the rest of the world. You can't reach them by hiking, but for each one there's a special connection. You must solve a puzzle to activate each gateway. Until you do, its symbol is outlined. Once a gateway becomes usable, the symbol is highlighted.

Teleport Stations - Scattered throughout the map are devices that enable Luke to jump quickly from area to area. Once Luke has the Terrain Locator in his possession, stepping on a Teleport Station will automatically bring up the map, with all active destinations visible and highlighted. Just left-click on the symbol for any station, and you're there! If you're lucky, stations will be well-spaced to teleport you from one end of the world to the other... But sometimes they're not quite where you'd like them to be. On smaller worlds, there may not be any stations at all.

The Final Chapter - This symbol represents the area where the final showdown, whatever that may be, will take place. You may come across it before you actually have what you need to win, so make sure you're ready when you decide to try for the final prize.

Map Clues
One of the handiest features of the map is its clue system. Once you've discovered an area, go to the map and left-click on any of the special map symbols. A hint balloon will appear, telling you what you need to solve that particular puzzle. Depending on the puzzle, some hints will be vague, while others will tell you exactly what item you need.

The Compass

The arrow cluster to the left of the Ready Weapon Box is Luke's Compass. Luke can travel in the direction of the green arrows to reach unseen but nearby areas of the game world. If an arrow is dimmed, then there is no connecting terrain in that direction.

(TIP: Sometimes Luke can't enter a different area even when the connecting arrow is green. This usually means some unseen obstacle at the destination is in the way - this can be a rock, tree, or even an enemy. Just move along the border and try again in a different spot.)

Talking To People

To talk to characters in the game, simply move Luke until he bumps into them. If a character has something to say, a dialogue balloon will appear. Scroll the text by clicking on the up & down arrows. When you have read everything, click on the dot to close the balloon.

Picking Up & Using Items

The galaxy is full of useful things. To pick up an item, simply walk into it. The item will start to flash, and your pointer will turn into a hand. Left-click on the item, and it will pop into your inventory.

The items you collect can be used to open doors, activate vehicles, trade for other items, and so on. To use an item, locate its icon in your inventory and left-click on it. Your cursor will become that item. Then move your cursor to the spot where you wish to use the item and left-click again. If you're using the correct item in the correct location, something will happen. Remember: Actions don't work at a distance. You must stand as close as possible to the location where you want to use an item to get results.

Readying & Wielding Weapons

Luke will travel to many hostile environments, and he'll need to defend himself. His lightsaber is always available and will be in his inventory at the start of each game. You can also find other, more powerful weapons. To ready a weapon for action, left-click on its icon in your inventory, then either left-click on Luke or the Ready Weapon Display between the Compass and Health Monitor. To wield a weapon, aim Luke with your mouse in the direction you wish to attack, and right-click or press the spacebar. Be careful - Luke can attack in all directions with his lightsaber, but only vertically and horizontally with ranged weapons.

The lightsaber is only effective at short range, but it never runs out of energy. Other weapons have longer ranges, but they eventually run out of power. As you use these weapons, you'll see the Blue Power Bar to the left of the Ready Weapon Display start to decline. When the current weapon is spent, it will be replaced by another weapon of the same type if one is available in your inventory. Otherwise, your lightsaber will be readied automatically.

Thermal Detonators are unique. You can use them anywhere in the visible playing area. To "throw" a Thermal Detonator, left-click on it in your inventory, then click again wherever on the screen you want to do some serious damage.

The FORCE

As a young Jedi, Luke is attuned to the Force, an "energy field generated by all living things, binding the galaxy together". The Force is very powerful, but tricky and uncertain.

Luke can "learn" the ways of the Force by seeking out his old friend Obi-wan Kenobi in special places where the Force is strongest. There's always at least one in each world. Once Luke ahs the Force he can use it to stun enemies, pick up some objects he can't otherwise reach, occasionally push and pull objects at a distance, and sometimes influence weak minds to assist him.

Ready and use the Force as you would a weapon, by aiming at a target and right-clicking.

Each time you win a game, your score is posted in the victory display. This is Luke's Force Factor, and it depends on four elements:
1. How quickly you finished
2. How many areas of the owrld you visited
3. How many puzzles you had to solve to reach the end
4. How difficult it was to defeat your adversaries
Fast play yields higher scores than slow play. Large worlds yield higher scores than small worlds. Hard combat yields higher scores than easy. To give you something to shoot for, the maximum possible Force Factor is 1000. Should you succeed in achieving perfection, consider yourself a true Jedi Master!

Starting the Game

Your journey to complete Jedi Master Yoda's rigorous training begins on the hot and humid planet Dagobah. It is a safe place where you can get used to the controls of the game and pick up your good companion R2-D2, who will offer advice on anything you click his icon onto from your inventory.

At the start of every new game, Luke will have to receive his latest mission from Yoda, who can be found somewhere among the handful of screens of Dagobah. Sometimes he is in his home and sometimes he is among the marshes, but he is never too hard to track down.

Yoda will provide you with the briefing of your mission, and offer you the first item you need to get started on your way. With everything set, it is now up to Luke to enter his X-Wing and take off for his destination, where he will begin his latest Desktop Adventure!

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Controls

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Menu Commands

File
New World - Builds a new world with a new story. This command discards the current world.
Replay Story - Builds a new world but keeps the current mission. Useful if you lose a game or get stuck and want to try the same story again. This command discards the current world.
Load World Loads a previously saved world. This command discards the current world.
Save World - Saves the current world. Type in the file name and choose a folder to save into. The default is the folder where Yoda Stories is stored.
Exit - Closes and exits the game. This command discards the current world, unless saved.

Options
Combat Difficulty - Adjusts the effects of combat. Easier settings weaken Luke's opponents, while harder settings strengthen them. The game defaults to MEDIUM.
Game Speed - Adjusts how fast Luke and other characters move. On higher settings action is faster, but may be harder to control. The game defaults to NORMAL.
World Control - Adjust world size. Smaller worlds tend to be less complex and quicker to finish. You must build a new world for changes to this setting to take effect. The game defaults to MEDIUM.
Statistics - Displays a small window showing your high score, last score, games won, and games lost.
Sound On/Off & Music On/Off - Toggles game audio.
Pause - Pauses and unpauses the game.

Window
Hide Me! - Quickly minimizes Yoda Stories. Handy when you hear your boss approaching.

Help
How To Play - Used to launch a help file, but this functionality has been removed from modern versions of Windows.
Using Help - Used to bring up general directions on how to use Help files, but again, this has been removed from modern versions of Windows.
About - Shows information about Yoda Stories.

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Missions

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Yoda Stories features about 15 missions, with randomized puzzles each time you play. Hover your cursor over the mission names below for more information.
If the text goes past the edge of the screen, scroll down using your mouse wheel or the arrow keys.

Desert Planets






Snow Planets






Forest Planets






Yoda's Tests

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Easter Eggs

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NOTE: While many guides and online sources imply the existence of cheat codes that can be entered by pausing the game and typing in certain words, not a single one of these seems to function - at least not when performed on Version 1.00 of the game.

Snowman
On extremely rare occasions on snowy worlds, Luke might come across a snowman standing alone on the icy plains.
Bumping into this snowman will awaken its festive fury, starting a fight with the cold-hearted fiend.

It takes 9 Lightsaber Strikes or 7 Blaster Shots to take down, after which you will receive full health & the snowman will split into four copies.

Once its snowclones are defeated, they will leave behind a huge payload of Thermal Detonators that are yours for the taking.

Corvette
On extremely rare occasions, Luke might come across a bright-red Corvette, which he can actually drive!

IMAGE OF CRASH

...Though he won't get very far.

(The car itself is a reference Corvette Summer, a 1978 movie starring Mark Hamill who played Luke Skywalker.)

Abductors from Planet Xantar
At the end of the Cloning Machine mission, leave all the switches up and enter the door to the top right of the room. Here, you will meet a peculiar-looking fellow who insists on taking you on an interstellar road trip...

IMAGE OF INDY

...And take you to see the grand return of a long-time Desktop Adventures star!

Unfortunately, when Luke convinces the Alien to return their new friend back to his world, they leave in such a hurry they completely leave him stranded on Planet Xantar, where he will wander for all eternity... Or however long it takes for the player decides to build a new world.

(This easter egg is a direct sequel to a similar secret from Indiana Jones and his Desktop Adventures.)

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Game Boy Color Port

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The Game Boy Color port of Yoda Stories is largely identical to the PC version, especially if you were to play it with the arrow keys, even featuring some very high-quality (for the Game Boy Color) digitizations of the PC game's sound effects.

The Main Differences:
1. The complete exclusion of Dagobah, with a text scroll introducing your mission objectives & starting item instead.
2. The addition of a dedicated inventory screen for holding & selecting your weapons & items.
3. No random generation / selection of puzzles and missions, with the game being limited to 15 pre-made levels (Which makes the GBC Yoda Stories the only Desktop Adventure to which a walkthrough would apply!)
4. A simple 3-character password system for saving your progress.
5. A lack of Thermal Detonators.
6. You do not seem to get the "upgrades" that you get when you finish 5, 10 and 15 missions in the PC Version.

Perhaps the most unfortunate and intrusive change of all is the addition of a very grating rendition of the Star Wars theme that will repeat for the entire duration of play. From the title screen to the darkest cave, from Yoda's dialogue to the end of the very last mission, the same song will loop ad nauseum and without end, drowning out almost all of the game's sound effects along the way.

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Level Select
↑ ↑ B ↓ A
When you select New Game, a Level Select screen will come up.

Game Speed Modifier
↓ ← ↓ →
Similar to the Game Speed setting from the PC version, this will determine how fast characters move.
The lower the number, the higher the speed.

Every Cheat Code website under the sun also implies the existence of a Special Mode code, but with absolutely no indication as to what its intended effect is, let alone if it functions at all:
← ← → ↑ ↓