God of Thunder

God of Thunder (Commonly shortened to GoT) is a 2D platform/Top-down puzzle game created by Ron Davis and published by Software Creations in 1993. The game chronicles the quest of Thor, son of Odin and god of thunder as he tries to reclaim Midgard for his father. Midgard, the beloved land of Odin's, was stolen from the god during his "Odinsleep" by Loki (The god of mischief) with the help of Jormungand (The Midgard Serpent) and Nognir (Prince of the Underworld). To help in his quest, Thor was given the mythical hammer Mjolnir by Odin. This hammer will return to the hand of whoever throws it.

As Thor progresses, he must solve puzzles set before him by Jormungand, Nognir, and then Loki. He also has to fight his way through the countryside, past city guards, and into the lairs of the gods. Along with puzzles and action, role-playing elements are included. Thor slowly gains more powers as he progresses, and his hammer and armor can become stronger over time. Through the entire game, Odin watches over him, and Thor will find himself being yelled at by the king of the gods if Mjolnir fells an innocent person.

The game features tongue-in-cheek humor. A bridge repairman parodies Star Trek when he responds to a request for a dental bridge with "Dammit, Thor! I'm bridge and TV repairman, not a dentist!" Other examples of humor include countless references to sliding and non-stick surfaces in the second chapter, No Stick Nognir. The joke comes from Nognir's use of all of the male citizens in his area as slaves to mine Teflor (A take on Teflon). Stores also feature catchy slogans, such as "Andy's Armor Repair. You scuff 'em, We buff 'em."

Story
Chapter One begins with Thor standing near a lake in the middle of a forest. A nearby oracle passes on a message of Odin. After clearing out the nearby forest, Thor finds the entrance to a cave system. Inside, he meets an old man who is too busy hunting for something to talk. Undeterred, Thor carries on, and he soon finds himself back outside. After fighting through several more clearings, Thor finds two things: The Enchanted Apple and the town of Spegville. Jormangund rules the town, however, and his guards destroyed the bridge heading to Jormangund. Thor is unable to find any way of solving his problem at first. However, when a woman, overcome by her guilt, tells the Thunder God of a doll she stole, things begin to happen. The doll belongs to a hermit on the outskirts of town, who is the same old man that was in the caves. When he receives the doll, he tells Thor to contact Relg, a bridge and TV repairman in Spegville. Thor does this, and the bridge is up and running.

Before leaving town, Thor stops at the magic store. In exchange for all of Thor’s magical energies, the shopkeeper gives Thor a key to a house. Inside the house, Thor finds the Power of Lightning. With his new powers, Thor continues his journey to Jormangund. The God of Thunder uses a shrub he found in an underground cave to bribe a rock troll into letting Thor have a key. He keeps on traveling, and after beating some of Jormangund’s toughest puzzles, Thor finds himself in a rocky maze. The maze slows him down, but he soon emerges from it outside of Jormangund’s island. The two battle, and Thor, utilizing Mjolnir’s ability to return to its thrower’s hand, hits Jormangund on the weak spot on the back of his head, killing the serpent. Victorious, Thor heads off on Bifrost to his next challenge.

Chapter Two starts with Thor in the middle of a forest of giant mushrooms. Along with the usual assortment of enemies, Thor also has to deal with moving mushrooms. However, after navigating his way through several mazes, Thor finds the Power of Wind. He continues his journey, and he soon comes to the Big House in the town of Milgrund. He bribes his way out of it and into the village, where the guards try to hunt him down. All of the able-bodied men are in the Teflor mines performing slave labor for Nognir. Thor does manage to find an armor repairman who buffs his armor, allowing him entrance to a nearby restaurant. A man inside named Beltregard tells Thor to seek out the Fire god Surtur, who can show Thor the location of the mythical hypno-stone. Thor sneaks into the mines, and finds a helpful prisoner who uncovered a hole earlier. Thor goes inside of it and finds a man who says that the entrance to Surtur’s lair is at the top of a Teflor slope. Thor returns to town and finds a hidden treasure trove with a key and the Winged Boots. Thor has the boots modified so that he can climb up the slope. Thor cannot find a use for the key, however, until he finds a locked room in the back of an abandoned house. The room is pitch black, and Thor walks into a shovel as he tries to find his way around. With the shovel and shoes, Thor returns to the entrance to Surtur’s lair, where he digs up the entrance. Inside, Surtur tells him where the hypno-stone is buried. Thor returns to town, digs it up, and hypnotizes his way past the guard at the edge of town. He then makes his way into the Nognir’s lair where the two fight. The prince of the underworld is no match for the God of Thunder, however, and Thor is soon back on Bifrost.

Chapter Three finds Thor in a desert. He immediately begins hunting for a way to Loki. He finds a key after some searching, and, after making his way through several puzzles and mazes, he finds the Amulet of Protection. After finding that, he finds himself in an extremely large maze. He has to keep track of multiple variables while trying to find a way through. Eventually, however, Thor succeeds. Past the maze is Ken’s House of Wonders. It is a multi-story maze filled with traps, treasures, and foes. Although the layout is confusing, Thor manages to find the door leading to the far side. Once outside, Thor finds the power of Thunder. With his amazing new abilities, Thor has an easy time fighting his way through the desert to the outskirts of Blechton. When he arrives there, however, Thor discovers the town was renamed Lokisburg in honor of its now controller. Inside the town, Thor talks to all of the residents. Although none are able to help him, he does find some keys. In one house, however, an old woman calls the guards on him. In jail, Thor uses his strength to move to the other cells. He talks to the other prisoners. One says she will let him into the Rebellion if he recovers her stolen bracelet. Another says he found a hole, which Thor enters. He ends up outside the village. Back inside the town, he heads to the guard-shack, where he uses his magic to kill the enemies. He takes the bracelet and allows himself to be arrested again. Back in the jail, he learns the password to the rebellion. The rebels supply him with the name of a person who can help him. The man is named Woody, and he sells tools. Thor uses an electric saw powered by Odin to access a tunnel under the city. He finds a Mystical Mushroom there, which he trades for the key to Loki’s castle. Thor then enters the citadel, and works his way past the countless deathtraps to find himself face-to-face with the God of Mischief. After a long confrontation where both use magic to try to kill each other, Thor’s lightning strikes down Loki, and Midgard is once again in the hands of Odin.

Powers and equipment


The following is a complete list of non-quest items obtainable in God of Thunder:


 * Enchanted Apple You've found the enchanted apple. It will heal your wounds. Hold down [ctrl] to use.


 * The Enchanted Apple allows Thor to convert mana into health. Although the rate of mana consumption is greater than the rate of health gain, the apple can keep Thor going when no health is around.


 * Power of Lightning You’ve found the power of Lightning! Use it when you become surrounded by enemies to destroy them all!


 * The Power of Lightning grants Thor the ability to destroy any enemies adjacent to him at the cost of a small amount of mana.


 * Power of Wind You have found the Power of the Wind! Use this to blast enemies around corners.


 * The Power of Wind lets Thor unleash a tornado on the area. Although he cannot control where it goes, Thor is not damaged by it and he can turn it off at will. The power consumes mana at a steady rate. It kills most enemies it comes in contact with.


 * Winged Boots You have found: Winged Boots! Use these to run like the wind!


 * The Winged Boots grant Thor exceptional speed. They exact a heavy toll on his mana reserves, however, even if he is not moving.


 * Amulet of Protection You have obtained the Amulet of Protection. This will shield you from many lesser damages. Take heed, my son. The Amulet is not effective against stronger forces.


 * The Amulet of Protection absorbs minor damage to Thor while it is in use. The Amulet drains Thor's mana reserves while it surrounds him with a bubble of protection.


 * Power of Thunder You have found the Power of Thunder! This will damage all enemies in sight!


 * The Power of Thunder is Thor's most powerful weapon. For a large sum of mana, Thor can damage everyone, friend and foe alike, on the screen. The Thunder also causes the screen to shake.

Quest items
The following items are required in order to complete certain objectives. Most have no power, and all leave Thor's inventory when they are used.


 * Child's Doll You’ve found a child’s doll. Put it under your shirt…and P-L-E-A-S-E don’t let anyone see you carrying it!


 * The Child's Doll, which is also referred to as Miss Muffy, is found in a house on the east side of Spegville. The doll must be given to the hermit on the west side of the village in order to trigger the opening of Relg's TV repair. Miss Muffy and the old man appear later in the game, but Miss Muffy cannot be picked up. If Thor tries to use the item, Odin will say "WILL YOU PUT THAT AWAY! What would Hercules think if he saw you playing with that?"


 * Shrub You’ve found a Shrub. And does it ever smell BAD!


 * Found in the middle of a cave, the poisonous shrub must be given to a rock troll in order for Thor to pass through a narrow trail. Although the troll will let Thor go by, the other rock trolls will still attack the thunder god. If he tries to use the shrub, Thor will die from the poison.


 * Shovel You have found a Shovel. . .with your face.


 * The Shovel, which is found in the dark back room of an abandoned house, is the only Quest Item that can be used for non-quest purposes. With the shovel, Thor can dig up ground anywhere he pleases. Ground dug up will create a golden apple, magic, jewels, or nothing. The shovel opens up the entrance to Surtur's lair and is used to dig up the Hypno-stone. When Thor finds the Hypno-stone, he drops the shovel.


 * Hypno-Stone You found the hypno-stone. With it, you can control weaker minds. You’d better drop the shovel, you won’t be needing it anymore.


 * Mr. Blakter, the deceased magician lost the hypno-stone. Through the help of Surtur, Thor digs it up and uses it to get out of Milgrund. The guard at the gate takes the hypno-stone, however.


 * Ilidia's Bracelet You Found a Bracelet. It was probably taken from a prisoner.


 * Ilidia's Bracelet is found in the guard shack of Lokisburg. After visiting the prison for the first time, Ilidia tells him to retrieve it for her. When he does, she tells him the password to get into the Rebellion's headquarters.


 * Electric Saw This just might be your lucky day! I think I have one of those left . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ah, yes, here it is, But I don’t know where you’re going to plug it in.


 * The Electric saw, when powered by Odin's "Omnipotent Odin-ness" is able to cut open a loose sewer grate in the prison. Without the aid of Odin, the saw does nothing. It is also the only tool still in stock in Woody's Tool Chest.


 * Mystic Mushroom You found A Mystic Mushroom. It could probably be used to cast magic spells . . . But not by you.

You chant the ancient spell you heard as a child. Fleegad...Hepturk...Seepwon...Zraxik...Hike! Nothin’.
 * The Mystic Mushroom is found in the sewers beneath the Lokisburg sewers. Thor uses it to trade for the skeleton key. As Odin says when Thor first finds it, the Thunder God is unable to use it. When he uses the item, the following happens:


 * Skeleton Key You found a Skeleton Key. This opens the last door to the Hall of Loki!


 * The Skeleton Key is in Martha's Magic Mall in Lokisburg. Martha will trade it to Thor in exchange for the Mystic Mushroom. The key is used to get past the last lock of Loki's Castle.

Mythology in God of Thunder

 * Thor is the protagonist of the game
 * Odin often helps Thor out during the course of the game
 * Mjolnir, Thor's hammer, is the main weapon in the game.
 * Loki, the God of Mischief, is the main villain of the game.
 * Valkyries bring Thor back to life when he dies.
 * Bifröst, the Rainbow Bridge, transports Thor between chapters.
 * Jormungand, the Serpent, is the first boss of the game.
 * Surtur, the God of Fire, appears briefly in Chapter Two.
 * Hercules is mentioned by Odin, even though Hercules is from Greek mythology
 * Midgard is stolen from Odin, starting Thor's quest to retrieve it.
 * Trolls guard a key in chapter one.