Flight of the Amazon Queen (walkthrough)
For reasons to be found in the dense fog of time, I have never managed to play and complete this old Indiana Jones-style adventure... at least until a few hours ago.
Flight of the Amazon Queen turned out to be a lot of fun, full of gags, references to the legendary Lucas adventures, and even Star Wars. If you're looking for a challenging game with puzzles that might sometimes give you a hard time, then Joe King is the hero you're looking for...
But this is not a review, so let's move on to the solution of the game otherwise my pasta sauce will get cold (I've been needing to eat for at least ten minutes now!)... Oh, about pasta: thanks to XAM who lent me the game (I know it's irrelevant but I didn't know how else to introduce the fact).
THIS FLIGHT MUST NOT GO AHEAD
At the end of the presentation, our new hero, Joe King, a freelance pilot, will talk to his mechanic, Sparky, introducing your new mission: to pick up the famous model Faye Russel and then accompany her with your plane to the location of her new photo shoot, a task that differs quite a bit from what the collective imagination would define as an "adventure"...
However, entering the dressing room of the beautiful blonde, you'll discover something's amiss: in her place is your perennial antagonist, Mr. "Pain in the Neck" Anderson, who, with a sly move, will lock you in the room on the spot, telling you that he will be escorting Faye.
Okay, here your little mouse finally comes into play, and Joe King's tight clothes will fit you like a glove (as much as one can wear a glove... but who comes up with these sayings?).
Look around the room paying attention to everything that could be used to your advantage, move the curtain by pulling the cord on the left, snatch the wig and then collect the two white sheets. Tie them together and secure one end to the radiator, then descend through the trapdoor. Once in the storage closet, move the ladder leaning against the cabinet and climb up to reach the fake breasts and the toolbox on the top shelf, inside you will find a crowbar. Climb back up the sheets to the dressing room from which you started. Open the crate in the center of the screen with the crowbar, and in no time a very useful towel will pop out.
Go down again for the umpteenth time, pass through the door on the left, and you'll be in the hotel's lobby. Next to the exit door, behind which Sparky can be seen with his truck. You will immediately see two dubious individuals: two of Anderson's henchmen who will surely block you if you tried to leave... you need a diversion!
Talk to the concierge by choosing the phrases 2-2-2-3. By doing so, you will pass yourself off as a friend of Lola, the lead dancer, and in the end, you will be given the key to her dressing room. Pass the cabinet from which you took the fake breasts and the crowbar and approach the door on the right. Open it with the key, and Lola will finally arrive, talk to her bluntly (3-1-2), and after she takes a shower, hand her the towel. The girl will give you one of her dresses and with it the "diversion" you were looking for... you've got it, right?
After dressing as a woman (wig, rubber breasts, and dress), go back up the stairs to the lobby, walk past everyone and exit, heading straight to Sparky... It's done!
After a brief interlude, you'll find yourself on the back of a truck being chased by two of Anderson's goons. Move the straw, take the can of oil, and use it properly to run the crooks off the road.
Meanwhile, Anderson, at the airport with the bombshell Faye Russel, will be posing as you, ready to accompany the beautiful model using your plane: the Amazon Queen. Just at the right moment, you arrive and, after a couple of phrases and punches, everything will conclude in your favor.
THE AMAZON, THIS UNKNOWN
In the middle of the most important flight of your career, a very friendly storm with lightning included will blow up one of your plane's engines, forcing you to glide into the jungle below... really a great day!
Needless to say, the little accident will not make the beautiful Faye happy who, as one might expect, will start showering you with all kinds of insults. As soon as the cursor appears, examine the plane that will slowly start taking on water. Among the seats, you will find what remains of a Sparky comic book, while in the backpack on the ground (open it with the appropriate verb) there will be a knife and a lighter (it's without flint, keep that in mind). Talking to your trusted mechanic (3-1) will get you some sausages, a staple of any respectable breakfast, while discussing a bit with Russel you might learn a couple of new swear words.
Open the hatch of the vehicle and step outside, thus discovering that you have ended up in a piranha-infested swamp. Throw the sausages to the hungry little fish, take the propeller that will be floating a couple of meters from you and cut the stem of the water lily you are on using the knife. Now using the propeller as a paddle (USE paddle WITH water lily), you can safely reach the shore.
At this point, Sparky will ask you to buy him, if you get the chance, the latest issue of "Commander Rocket" (in the middle of the jungle!), in exchange, he might give you something useful. Follow the path upwards, listen to what the talking parrot has to say, and finally, you will roughly discover the plot of the story: a princess has been kidnapped and a certain Bob is looking for someone willing to find her. Now everything is clear... but who the heck is Bob? Okay, using the usual knife, cut the hanging vine, retrace your steps and continue downwards to the half-broken bridge. Fix its ropes using the plant you just picked up, cross it and take the only banana that has fallen from the tree (keep its position well in mind, you'll have to come back here later).
Meanwhile, at the site of the plane crash, Faye, unable to stay still, will decide to get rid of her French perfume by throwing it into the lake, then wandering off for a nice walk... You continue the exploration regardless of the fact, pass by Sparky again and proceed beyond the area where you had encountered the parrot. At a certain point, you will come to a passage blocked by a huge gorilla, unfortunately, the banana will prove useless to make him leave, so all you have left is your cunning (not much, haha). Talk to the beast (2-2-3-1), make him realize that gorillas only live in Africa and he will disappear... too bad the trick doesn't work in real life: I have just a few people I’d like to make disappear.
Continuing beyond the previously inaccessible area, you will find yourself on a peak from which you can see the entire island; it will consist of five zones: the airplane crash site, a Pygmy village, the port, the Floda factory (?), and the outer jungle. First, it would be better to visit the Pygmies, the place where the mysterious Bob practices his profession.
Talking a bit with the villagers you won't understand a darn thing they say, so all that will remain for you to do is enter the "open 24 hours" store. Talk to the manager (Bob, precisely) about what the parrot told you, accept the task of freeing Princess Azura from the clutches of the Floda, and maybe get him to tell you something more... At the end of it all, give the sausages to Bob and, with the money he will kindly throw at you, buy the vacuum cleaner at the bottom right. Then, rush to the beautiful native cleaning the shelves and make her acquaintance: Naomi, as she is called, is Bob's woman and, among other things, will say she is willing to do -almost- anything to have some perfume to use for her date that evening. Apart from this, she will let you know that in the jungle there will be missionaries through whom you could learn to speak Pygmy...
Return to the peak and this time choose the outer jungle (far right). Follow the path upwards, pass the log with the sloth (keep its location in mind) and after a few minutes, you will meet a quirky pair of explorers: Bud and Skip. Talk to them without hesitation and for the umpteenth time discover something to note: the first suffers from a rare allergy that has caused incredible boils on his skin, while the second is a "Commander Rocket" comic collector who will not hesitate to give you the latest issue if you prove you know the story (answer 3). As soon as you have the comic in your hands, give it a quick flip: in addition to splitting your sides laughing at the characterizations of Joe King, at the end, you will notice a second piece of coupon fall to the ground, joining the one found among the airplane seats you will have in your hands the plans useful for creating Commander Rocket's rocket.
Continue the path through the passage in the upper right, descend along the slope of earth and then turn right, momentarily leaving the fish trying to catch the insect alone; continue downwards and finally, you will meet the missionaries Naomi told you about. Jimmy, the priest, will tell you about the habits of various jungle animals (the three-toed sloth ones are particularly interesting!), while his wife, Mary Lou, will talk about an English-Pygmy dictionary and her need for a new nail file. After the chat, donate the banana to the monkey with the coconut to get it, cut it with the knife (the coconut, not the monkey!) and then go back one location: to the log blocked by the pink dinosaur.
Observing the fool closely, you'll immediately recognize him: it's still the gorilla who, for the occasion, thought to disguise himself so as not to stand out. Talk to him (3-4-1) and for the umpteenth time, you'll get the better of him by convincing him to take off the costume; the next step will be to make him disappear as you had done previously by choosing the phrases 2-3-1 (a fool with a capital F!).
Cross the hollow log and follow the road to the flower surrounded by bees, vacuum them up with the vacuum cleaner, and then without fear take the orchid, after that continue to the right and you will arrive near a huge rock with a strange drawing... At some point, Joe will tell you he hears footsteps and will hide behind a rock outcrop: in front of you will appear an Amazonian pressing some parts of the engraving in a certain order, opening a secret passage disappearing from sight. Repeat what you saw her do and, like any Indy worth his salt, you'll end up... in prison!
You'll wake up behind bars alongside three other physically destroyed men. Talk to everyone, especially the old man who will be playing with puppets and the guy dressed in white, after obtaining the puppet with a baseball bat and discovering that the sum of the various IQs of the guys corresponds to that of Super Goofy, unexpectedly Faye Russel will arrive from the stairs, willing to free you only if you apologize for the messes you've made (by messes she means the plane crash)... Do it, and after a while, you can go back up to the throne room where the captain of the Amazonian guards will explain what's happening: as Bob already told you, their princess Azura has been kidnapped, and behind it all seems to be a company that produces Zouave trousers, the Floda. Naturally, the clothing is simply a cover, behind it all is a totally mad professor who, as happens more and more often, wants to conquer the world (no one knows how yet, although thanks to the usual interludes you should have figured it out by now). What you need to do now is to pop over to this little place and find out where the girl is being held captive... the fact that about fifty girls will be eternally grateful seems to me like it should be enough of a "reward", or am I wrong?
Taking the shortcut next to the entrance, return to the pinnacle and from here select the Pygmy village once again. Give Bob the orchid, so he can give it to his girlfriend, and he'll be willing to give you some money and a fishing net (you'll have to pick it up yourself, don't expect it to be added to the inventory). Return to Sparky, fish out the French perfume that Faye had thrown into the water (with the net, mind you), and then give your mechanic the copy of Commander Rocket to get one of his files.
Remember the banana tree beyond the half-broken bridge? Great, go back there, and you'll find another of those delicious fruits right under it, pick it up and then go back to the area around Bob, and more precisely to Naomi. Give her the perfume found in the pond, accept in exchange her hairdressing scissors, and then again to the missionaries from whom you'll trade Sparky's file for the English-Pygmy dictionary (keep in mind that if you haven't talked to Mary Lou about the matter Joe won't be willing to make the exchange!).
Back at the village, go talk to the shaman asking for a solution to the bubble problem. The old man will tell you that three ingredients are needed: sloth fur, milk, and something to give the whole thing "bite". Start by giving him the opened coconut and the bees in the vacuum cleaner, then visit a place you haven't explored yet: the Floda.
Entering through the main gate, simply take one of the flowers from the flowerbed and then disappear into the forest by selecting the outer jungle from the usual pinnacle. Choose the path upwards, and near the sloth half-hidden by fresh foliage (the screen before the explorers), use the flower on it and then the scissors to have the last component for the potion (great the scene where Joe waits for three hours... ok, I laughed alone). Bring it to the appropriate person, take the concoction thus created, and give it to Bud who will cover you with money. While you're at it, go to the pond where you saw the big fish and the flying insect, and thanks to the net catch the latter: you might need it later...
The last step before entering the Floda will be the usual Bob's store: thanks to all the coins you've saved up, it will now be no problem to buy the "Elevator Music" record on the central shelf.
BEHIND THE ZOUAVE TROUSERS, THERE'S SOMETHING BIG!
Talking to the Floda's secretary, claim to be the exterminator, and she, seeing that you have the vacuum cleaner with you, will let you through immediately (deluded, hahaha). Continue to the right until you reach the kitchen, peel the banana, and then hand it to the chef so he gets out of your way. Collect the dog food and the cheese crisps, then enter the passage to the right until you find yourself in the dormitory. Look through the mail bag to get your hands on a letter addressed to a certain Corporal John, open the locker, and grab the rubber doll.
Back in the hall (where the secretary is), go upwards, and you'll be in the library, the area you weren't supposed to disinfect for fear of finding some secret passage. After futilely moving statue arms, books, paintings, and whatnot (maybe look in the sofa for some spare change), you'll discover that simply placing Bob's record on the gramophone will give you access to the secret area of the complex...
After a good quarter-hour descent, you can finally start your tour, or rather, destruction! Start by opening the first door on the left and entering the warehouse just beyond; take a look at the box marked "Floda" and you'll get a beautiful can opener. Exit back into the corridor and go down to the first guard to whom you'll give the letter found in the dormitory. Corporal John, after reading it, will start crying like a baby (it was from his girlfriend who told him she had fallen in love with a doctor), and you will be able to open another two lovely doors. In the first, you'll discover a cabinet hiding a safe (useless for now), while in the second, a blackboard with a list of names to remember well (maybe jot them down). Exit and go further down a couple of times (yes, I saw the big guard, but for now, you don't have enough muscle to take him down... reminds me a lot of Indy 3), enter the door and, as soon as the commander starts asking you some questions, tell him that someone is waiting for him in the kitchen. Naturally, upon such a statement, the man will inquire more thoroughly asking you the name of the guy currently in the kitchen and you, strong from the table observed just a few minutes earlier, can respond without hesitation (3-4).
When the way is clear, rush into the adjacent little room and get your hands on the red book, open it with the scissors, and you'll have a useful key. Back in the corridor, go down the emergency exit stairs, and you'll be in a small laboratory. Take the antidote to the super soldier serum (notice the beard of Pirate Le' Chuck from Monkey Island... brilliant!), then immediately go back to the big guard like a wardrobe you had already noticed. Open the can of dog food with the can opener, garnish it all with the greenish antidote, and feed it to the big dummy in red. After calling him a momma's boy a couple of times, Mr. Muscle will challenge you to punch him, which, unexpectedly, will knock him out cold.
Enter Professor Frank Ironstein's office and look at the notepad on the table: on it, there will be the indentation caused by a pencil, as if someone had pressed too hard while taking some notes and then had taken those notes away. What you would need is a nice pencil like the one the secretary upstairs has... how about going up to swipe it under her nose? Retrace your steps through the corridors back to the library via the elevator, go to the woman and... voilà, as if by magic, she will have gone. Steal the pen and go back down to the professor's study. After the treatment on the block, numbers useful for opening the safe will appear, which, without wasting time, you'll reach quickly (remember, it's hidden behind a green locker, in the corridor where John was). Inside you'll find clippings about a phantom missile and a small iron key.
Now, let's deal with Azura. Go back to the laboratory where you picked up the antidote, climb the ladder on the right until you reach the prisons, and use the golden key in the door lock... Needless to say, the woman will be more than happy to get out of that place, and after some kissing/hugging, you'll be ready to escape. You'll then find yourself in front of the exit door, and at that moment, the doors will close, trapping you in the hall. Before the guards arrive, use the dummies to hide behind, wait for Henry to come out by entering the combination, and then talk to Azura asking if she saw anything: the woman will remember the combo, and you will thus be able to exit the place by manipulating the console...
After the princess has gone, leaving you in the Floda's courtyard, give the dog the rubber doll, open the shed door on the left and go down below. Unlock the lock on the crate in the middle of the room using the iron key, and inside the box, you'll find what you've always wanted: a "Commander Rocket" model rocket! Ok, now you're really ready to return to the Amazons and get into even more trouble than before.
I HAVE A WOODEN LEG AND A STEEL LUNG... MISSING THE CRYSTAL SKULL!
Returning to the hideout of the warrior women, you will be rewarded with a T-Rex call and discover something rather unpleasant: Prof. Frank Ironstein has followed you, and if you don't cooperate, he will instantly turn everyone into dinosaurs with his latest invention: the Dino-Ray!
Your mission will consist of finding the legendary Crystal Skull, the key to accessing the Isle of Mists, home to hundreds of dinosaurs from which Frank can take the DNA necessary for his experiments. Lowering your ears for the moment, all you can do is to oblige him by heading to the temple on the Secret Sloth Island to lay your hands on the artifact...
But who will accompany you to the said island since it's secret? Ok, one thing at a time. Go to the port, talk to Charon about the situation, and, offering him a lure in exchange for the trouble (give him the beetle), after a couple of minutes, you will have made the first step towards victory: you will be on the small beach in front of the temple the Prof. talked about, ready to enter a journey of no return (distant thunder sound)...
Ok, after entering the main hall of the small temple, take the passage and, continuing to go around until you return to the room you just left, destroy all the skeletons you find (by moving them or picking them up); collect the body parts that won't shatter, feed the cheese crisps to the small dino-mouse, and at the end of the round, you should have an arm, a leg, a ribcage, and a skull that you will insert into the niches on the appropriate wall. As soon as the skeleton image is complete, you can insert the limb you haven't used yet into the machine on the left and, by inserting a coin into the slot, try to hit the jackpot by lowering the lever.
The huge skeletal gate will open, and once you go downstairs, a woman's spirit will appear and start talking to you, posing a too easy riddle (1-3), at the end of which three passages will open before you. Start by visiting the one on the right; pass through the bright door in the center of the next room, and you will be on a stone bridge from which you can glimpse an Ironstein guard in the distance. By calling her, she will run away, and you will only have to reach the door at the other end of the bridge and meet, in the adjacent room, three lovely zombies forced to remain alive until their husband, an ancient King contained in a sarcophagus behind them, will have passed away. Talking to them, try to convince them to open the tomb to check the actual state of the hubby (2-1-2-2), and as soon as his bandage will come out, start pulling it to "undress" him. Ask the ladies to take a second look (2-2), and the bitter surprise will force them to leave in a hurry. Now it's your turn: open the lid to take the crown amid the dust, cut the vine with the knife, and then move the coffin to reveal a secret passage that you will visit immediately.
A dozen meters later, you'll be at the foot of a huge tree. Remove the resin from its trunk with the knife, take some of it, and continue left until you reach that kind of fountain. Move the jet by moving the face of the statue, collect the blue stone previously covered by the waves, and continue left into the passage (leave the lever alone, at least for the moment). Inside what looks like a birdcage, you will find the guard you saw flee from the stone bridge. The poor thing will ask you to free her since you should be on the same side, in exchange, she will reveal where she hid the crystal skull...
Continue always to the left, use the puppet to take the disc from the smoking statue, and then return to the resin tree. Here, pull the lever next to the grate, and in no time you will find yourself in the hall where the spirit appeared (from now on, I'll call it the Spirit Hall). This time, take the central passage; arriving at the balcony, insert the disc into the wooden peg, attach one end of the vine found in the King's sarcophagus, and, going down below (from the hall, you'll have to take the passage on the right), tie the other end to the second wheel lower down. Start everything using the baseball bat; once the huge stone has risen, pass under it. Take the pickaxe left in the cave, go back and close everything with the usual baseball bat that you will use on the pulley.
From the Spirit Hall, enter the central door, pass through the dark portal above the balcony, and, in yet another cave, first use the pickaxe on the stalactite to get a small flint stone, and then on the hole on the left to open a path to a previously hidden room, which, for now, won't be of much use to you.
From the Hall, now go left, continue decisively until the passage guarded by the huge albino snake, and here unleash your "McGuyver vein": combine the skeletal arm with the mummy's bandage (you'll have some left over), load the lighter with the flint stone, and, thanks to it, light the torch you've constructed. Throwing the torch in the face of the snake, you'll clear the way, and the search can continue. Descend the stairs and proceed towards the passage on the right, examine the corpse in the corner: on the poor guard, you'll find an ID card and half of a strange statuette. Pass to the right and then to the left until the area in front of a mural flanked by a couple of waterfalls. On the left, there will be a stick stuck in the rock: pull it out (epic scene!) and then, back in the location to the right (the staircase with the two red lizard statues), pass down to the right... Right above a pool full of lava, you'll find the guard who asked for your help. After unsuccessfully trying to move the lever to raise her cage, observe the rope under it and, while chatting about this and that, ask her to untie it (3-2). Pull the lever for the second time, and the fool will be free but, instead of helping you, she decides to flee without even saying thank you: she's made her first and last mistake!
Retracing your steps, perhaps using the shortcut upwards, reach the stalactite cave again, enter the passage opened with the pickaxe, and you'll be in a kind of gold chamber, in front of you will see a kind of stone chest, while on the other side of a kind of stream, you'll notice a second gem, this time green in color. Force the chest open with the stick: a funeral mask as beautiful as it is dirty will pop out. Clean it with the remainder of the bandage and, back in front of the two big red lizards, use it to deflect the laser and open the passage. Passing through the arch, you'll arrive in the previously unreachable area of the treasure room: where the green gem is. Stick the resin to your baseball bat and use it to grab the stone... Now go back to the hall and from there to the right up to the passage behind the sarcophagus. Collect more resin from the tree, continue always to the left, and in the niche of the smoking statue (the one with the disc, remember?), you'll witness a horrifying spectacle: Ian, the guard who dared to deceive you, will have fallen into a trap and will be lying squashed a few steps from you... examine her body, and you'll get the second part of the statuette found on the other corpse. Combine the two parts using the resin and then rush into the location of the two waterfalls with the relief in the center (left of the red lizards... from the Hall to the left and then straight ahead or down there!). Insert the green and blue gems under the eyes of the warrior and, as soon as the waterfalls stop, continue to the right. In front of the statue strangely similar to the key you recreated with resin and the two pieces of rock, insert the latter and descend along the passage to the series of planks where your little dino-mouse friend will be biting his nails. Continue to give him chips and follow him each time: at the end, you'll arrive in the throne room and from there, continuing to the right, to a strange hall full of symbols. Clean the floor with the vacuum cleaner and then sharpen your eyesight: you must press the only symbol on the wall that is not present on the floor... the one you're looking for looks like "EI", with the E facing left (as if it were 3I, in short). If it's not there in the first screen of buttons, press one at random and you'll notice that a second screen takes the place of the first... Anyway, in the end, you should manage to open the passage to the right and reach the vaulted room where the skull is kept.
For the second time, the ghost will appear before you, saying that before you take the artifact, you must prove to be of the lineage of the great King found in the sarcophagus, simply give him the crown, and you're all set. Once the crystal skull is also in your capacious pockets, it would be a good idea to find a way out. Return to the throne room and read the inscriptions in the bottom right; press the two mosaics to the right and left of the central part, then sit on the throne descended from the ceiling... Boom!
Excuse me, to the Valley of the Fogs?
Instead of keeping his promise to let your two friends go, the professor will lock you up in his prison, explaining in detail his intentions (inevitably!). As soon as he leaves, pick up the cup and use it on the door to attract someone's attention. Soon, Faye and Anderson (strangely on your side now) will arrive who, after a nonsensical scene, will let you out, telling you that they, to not betray the Prof.'s trust, will go to the dinosaur island on Ironstein's airship. Unfortunately, you'll have to get there on your own...
Return to Bob, in the village. Tell him you want to buy alcohol and, as soon as he asks for your ID, give him the one from the dead guard. Thanks to the "Commander Rocket" rocket plans and the notes you found in the safe, you know that the correct amount of propellant to put in the handheld missile is a quarter of a gallon, so all that's left is to find a place high enough to take off... how about the pinnacle from which you've always kept an eye on the entire island? After a blink of an eye, like a new Rocketeer, or rather, Commander Rocket, you'll crash-land on the Isle of Mists...
As soon as you recover, you'll see Faye arrive who will give you a quick summary of the situation and ask you to follow her. Do so and, as soon as you lose sight of her, proceed towards the head of the huge brachiosaur blocking your path; continue upwards to a bush full of red flowers, take a couple and, showing them to the beast, try to get it out of the way by making it move somewhere else. Continue your journey and, as soon as you reach the carcass with the Raptor snacking, use the T-Rex call to make it run away... Now all that's left is to continue to the right and find a way to stop the mad doctor!
The showdown! Armed with the Dino-pistol, Ironstein will force you to insert the crystal skull inside a strange human-like statue, which will come to life and reveal itself to be the most powerful weapon on the face of the earth: an automaton with incredible powers, now directly at your service... In anger, Frank will shoot you with the Dino-pistol, but the robot, faster, will step in front of you, deflecting the ray onto the Prof.. Unfortunately, the crystal structure of the android will greatly increase the power of the gun, hitting Ironstein and providing him with incredible powers and an appearance very similar to that of Godzilla... In contrast, the robot will begin to grow and become a sort of Ultraman.
The two will start fighting in the finest Japanese tradition, all while you, armed with a gun, try to find a solution. Trying to shoot the giant dinosaur (or your friends if you really want to go all out), you'll immediately notice that the monster can deflect the dinosaurizing ray. Ask Faye to turn the mirror towards you and then give Sparky the funeral mask. Aim at the monster one more time, and after a series of rather complicated refractions, everything will end in your favor, or at least it seems so...
Well done, you've earned a place in the Olympus of adventurers and the heart of a princess, what more could you want?
