Pandemonium!/Gameplay

Game structure
Pandemonium! is a straightforward platform game for multiple systems. The adventure is divided into 18 levels, to be faced in succession. Once a level has been completed, you can re-enter it any time you want, through the Mystic Map. Within the levels, you must proceed following a path, avoiding (or killing) the enemies you encounter and collecting items that will help you in your mission to reach the Wishing Engine, such as hearts to restore energy or extra lives. The path forward, although convoluted, is two-dimensional. On several occasions however, there are forks where you can choose between two paths. The goal, in each level, is to reach the finish line, where there is a special portal that takes you back to the Mystic Map, after which it will be possible to reach the next level. Each level is divided into some different areas.

The conventional way to eliminate enemies is to jump on them, however within the levels it is possible to find weapons that allow you to attack enemies more easily. However, there are also enemies that cannot be killed. Your life energy is shown at the top left of the screen. Every time you are hit by an enemy or something dangerous, you will lose a heart of life energy. By losing all your hearts, you will lose a life and have to restart the game from the beginning of the area of the level you are in. However, you immediately lose a life if you fall into the void. If you lose all your lives, it's game over. At the beginning of the game you have a maximum of two hearts of life energy, but it is possible to find items that allow you to add further hearts.

While you are on the Mystic Map, you can obtain a password to use later to restart the game from the point you reached. Furthermore, on the Map, you can choose which of the two characters to take action. In fact, each of them has a special ability. Nikki is able to perform a double jump that allows her to reach greater heights, while Fargus can perform somersaults with which he can eliminate enemies.

Items
In the levels of the game you can find many objects that will help you in your mission, namely:

COINS Collect 300 to get an extra life. Green coins are worth one, red ones are worth 5 and purple ones are worth 25. Furthermore, by collecting enough coins, you can access a bonus round at the end of the level.

DOUBLE TREASURE TIME By collecting this item, all the coins you collect in the next 10 seconds will have a double value.

HEART Restores a heart of vital energy.

GOLD RIMMED HEART Adds one heart to your maximum life energy, permanently. You can have a maximum of 7 energy hearts.

ANKH Worth an extra life.

SHIELD Makes you invulnerable for 10 seconds.

KEYS By collecting them, something within the level will change or begin to move, opening up otherwise inaccessible areas.

Weapons
To eliminate enemies, in addition to jumping on them (or using Fargus' somersaults) you can find weapons within the levels. Once collected, they can be used an unlimited number of times, but their power will fade as soon as you are hit by an enemy. Each weapon's attack moves in front of you in a straight line for a certain distance. In particular, the following weapons are present:

FIREBALL A firework that allows you to eliminate at a distance enemies who are hit by it.

PHOENIX FIREBALL Similar to the previous one, but the icon on the screen regenerates and you can return to collect it several times if you are hit by an enemy and lose your power.

SHRINK RAY This weapon shrinks enemies, making them tiny and easy to eliminate with simple contact. However, its effect does not last long: after a few seconds they grow back.

FREEZE RAY Allows you to freeze enemies, immobilizing them in place. While frozen, enemies can be eliminated with simple contact. You have to be quick though, because after a while they thaw.

Transformations
In some levels of the game there are special portals. By passing through it, your character will be transformed. Then passing through a similar portal, it will resume its usual appearance. The following transformations are present:

DRAGON A dragon capable of flying and breathing flames. Press psx: Up Dpad to fly and psx: Down Dpad to dive.

RHINO In this form you can run quickly and charge at enemies, killing them without taking damage.

FROG In this form you will be very agile and able to jump very high.

TURTLE A slow turtle, but with an excellent defense: by pressing psx: Down Dpad it can close himself in his shell and become invulnerable.

Bonus Rounds
If you collect enough coins within a level, after the finish line you will access a bonus level. In particular, by collecting at least 80% of the coins present, you will access the Speed Greed bonus level. If you collect at least 95% of them you will access the Full Tilt bonus level.

Speed Greed
In this bonus level you have to run as fast as possible, avoiding being reached by a red vortex that moves behind you. You have three chances in total to reach the finish line. There are plenty of coins and a couple of extra lives to collect along the path. However, you must be very careful to avoid the obstacles you encounter, jumping over them or passing under them. If you run into an obstacle you lose precious time and risk being reached by the vortex. Fortunately, there are also some elements to help you along, such as rollers that give you super boost and elastic platforms for taking long jumps. If you are reached by the vortex, you will lose one of your possibilities and will have to start the path again from the beginning, or from the last intermediate position you reached. Completing this bonus level is really tough, but luckily there is an extra life shortly after starting. If you manage to reach the finish line you will be rewarded with additional coins. At the end, regardless of whether you have reached the finish line or not, the percentage of bonuses collected will be shown.

Full Tilt
In this bonus level you will find yourself inside a giant pinball machine! Again you have three chances to complete the level, but it is definitely easier than Speed Greed and there is a greater chance of getting bonuses. Inside the pinball machine there are many coins to collect. You must move using the bouncing platforms to collect as many as possible. At the bottom there are the two flippers, which will violently throw you upwards if you land on them and, right in the center, a jet of hot air that allows you to reach the flippers. The only thing to watch out for is not to end up in the flames, between the flippers and the jet of hot air. Furthermore, inside the pinball machine there are mechanisms which, if activated, can open new areas and make additional coins appear. After having unlocked all the mechanisms and opened all the areas, you will hear an intermittent sound and the jet of hot air will be replaced by a column of water. By entering it, you will be catapulted into a room at the top of the pinball machine, where in addition to many coins you can get some extra lives! Hurry to get them before the time runs out, shown on the display behind you. Once the time expires, the bonus level will end. Also in this case, the percentage of bonuses collected will be shown at the end.