Castle Excellent/Walkthrough

As a Puzzle/Adventure game, Castle Excellent does not contain one strict solution to rescuing Princess Margarita. The fact is, there are a myriad of different solutions, each with different goals. Some aim to rescue the princess in the fastest time possible (the current record is 18 minutes and 2 seconds). Others aim to complete the game by visiting all 100 rooms in the castle at least one time, thereby completing the map. How you choose to play is entirely up to you.

Following the Walkthrough
As explained above, the walkthrough presented in this guide is just one possible solution, and it is aimed at being a rather simple solution to follow, avoiding most of the rooms that have a very difficult solution. Only one Fairy is rescued, not both. Since solutions can take so many different forms, it can be difficult to attempt your own solution and then fall back on the walkthrough half way in to the game. As a result, it is recommended that you follow the walkthrough in its entirety from the beginning.

Go your own way
If you choose to find your own solution to the game, here are some general strategies that you should try to employ when solving the puzzles encountered in the castle. Below, you will find a map of the game, which has been hidden by default to prevent spoilers.


 * Use keys wisely:This is the most important strategy, and it cannot be understated. There are many more doors in the castle than there are keys.  As a result, you should be very careful about how you utilize them.  More often than not, a room will have a multitude of entrances, but you only need to unlock one door in order to access a majority of the features in the room.  Unless you are stuck and have no recourse but to use a key, you should always try to backtrack from a room through the exit you can in from.
 * Lean on the keys that you have more of:Suppose you are faced with choosing between a pink door and a dark blue door, and you don't know what's on the other side. If you have four pink keys, and only one dark blue key, you should choose the pink door.  It may not ultimately be the right choice, but at least you will use up one pink key and still have three remaining, instead of using the only dark blue key that you have.
 * Try to draw a map:100 rooms is a lot of rooms to keep track of, but they are arranged in a 10x10 grid. It is difficult to solve the game when you know nothing about the contents of each room.  Every time you play the game, you should be able to explore progressively further into the castle, and begin to discover more and more features.
 * Almost every item has a purpose:Bricks, Blocks, and other movable objects are not placed in rooms to simply serve as blockades. They almost always have a function or a purpose, and very typically, they require some kind of manipulation that will enable Raphael to reach new platforms, or push some object where it ultimately belongs.  Try to determine what the goal of the room is before you set about rearranging blocks, and remember that you can always reset the position of the blocks if you make a mistake by leaving and reentering the room.
 * Be patient:Two things will slow your progress down in this game; elevators and Bishops. You have no control over the rate at which elevators rise and fall, or the rate at which Bishops patrol their pathways.  You will have to rely on elevators, and avoid Bishops throughout many of the tougher rooms.  Don't become agitated waiting for a Bishop to clear out of the way, or for a slow elevator to reach the level that you need.  Wait patiently for the right time to move.  If you rush and make a mistake, it will only take you longer to set yourself back up for what you were trying to accomplish in the first place.