And all this time, here was me thinking the ending with you being consigned to oblivion meant you'd done something wrong... I've just read the intro to ROTS...
Some gamebooks do have more downbeat successful endings than you might expect, and this can cause confusion. Hopefully the CONGRATULATIONS message that I added recently (and belatedly) is making things clearer.
D-L-T Fri Nov 15 05:44:29 2013
As many preconditions as Return to G15-275 has for achieving the best ending, Hellfire is that much harder because, in addition to having to collect an immense number of requisite items (which are hidden away in various corners, some of which have their own pre-requisite items), in addition you need to know exactly when to use certain objects in your inventory.
Oh, and the number of "instant death" options is... many and varied.
Hardest.book.ever.
Regios Mon Dec 16 19:15:59 2013
I have to take off my hat for the maker of Hellfire. It is an awesome gamebook. That said, it is a living hell. I have tried to beat the online edition many times, but all of them have ended in total failure. Many times I have tried to undertake it, and many times I have given up, only to go back sometime in the future. And the lack of a solution makes it even more frustrating, because I can't even say 'To hell with everything! I will cheat my way to victory!'.
Regios Mon Dec 16 20:39:07 2013
Okay, so, I have tackled Hellfire a few more times already, but I am now wondering about something...
SPOILER
Near the beginning of the game, there is a chest, that contains an ogre and a few other items. One of them is a cursed helmet that harms me if I put it on. That said, I have read that the 'cursed' items are actually vital to get to the ending and survive the final battle with the Trinotaur. Is the helmet one of them?
END SPOILER
Also...
SPOILER
Later on, I find some boots that ALSO hurt me if I put them on. Do I need those too?
END SPOILER
Lastly:
SPOILER
Is there anything that I have to do, any items that I have to get, yes or yes, or I will screw myself for all of eternity? I have managed to reach the section with the portcullis, before ultimately falling to the symbol traps. I now know that the portcullis is a no-no, but still haven't managed to reach that far in my current tries.
END SPOILER
Phil Sadler Tue Dec 17 05:23:36 2013
Helmet:
SPOILER
you need it
END SPOILER
Boots:
SPOILER
you need them
END SPOILER
Other items:
SPOILER
You need a collection of 5 armours and 1 weapon if memory serves, and they'll all hurt you. Oh and a spell to power them up
END SPOILER
Regios Tue Dec 17 13:01:03 2013
After spending a hell of a lot of time wrestling with Hellfire, I have reached the end... But...
SPOILER
I don't know why, but by the way the text speaks right before the fight with the Trinotaur, I feel I may have missed something. Do I have to do something, or am I fated to let the Random Number God decide if I can defeat that beast of an enemy?
END SPOILER
Regios Tue Dec 17 14:58:07 2013
Disregard last message, FINALLY managed to beat Triny. It was not easy, though.
Gonna give a try to Riders of the Storm now. Hopefully I will succeed.
meschlum Sat Dec 21 20:49:02 2013
And a minor bug:
In parapgraph 27, you are asked to select a certain number of items to discard. Each discarded item increments a counter in a differnet paragraph, and returns you to 27.
Upon discarding the proper amount, the text of 27 changes, and you meet something which could tempt you to consume a Healing Potion, by Using it.
This sends you back to the item discard interface, and you can never leave it, ending the game.
Thanks for pointing out this ten year old bug, I've fixed it now. If you've saved the position that you were in when this happened, you should be able to carry on from where you were (although you might lose a healing potion).
gigs Sat Jan 4 17:59:22 2014
quiet hard!
ben Sun Jan 5 22:30:08 2014
Two things
1.) It seems impossible to get through the hellfire
2.) The adventure is ridiculously hard, you are often presented with effectively random choices of which one will insta-kill you. Its a bit sloppy and highly frustrating.
AlexV Sun Jan 12 00:12:31 2014
Brilliant but my character was going to be a brawn and no brained so I think I'll try opposite. THANKYOU, I love the detail!
Condutas Thu Jan 16 15:54:29 2014
And... humm...
SPOILER
"Continued" but at the same time... the end looks like I lost everything? Can someone actually tell me if the end is supposed too be me getting trapped in Oblivion forever?
END SPOILER
It took me over 4 nights and a lot of mapping too arrive at this point and I honestly dont know what I did wrong along the way... Can someone read the spoiler and explain what's wrong?
Congratulations. The ending seems downbeat, but it is the correct one. If you click on 'CONTINUED...' you go straight into the sequel, Riders Of The Storm.
Condutas Fri Jan 17 01:45:17 2014
Well then... Lets see here what I find out...
Bugs: page 119 in online version, if you drink a potion, then you will lose the ability too grab one object from the 3 choose you get after destroying the pit fiend
SPOILER
Dispel Darkness can be used 2 times in the adventure online but only once in the book. There are indeed 2 good places too use it soo... yeah
END SPOILER
SPOILER
page 27 on the book, when you have too drop 6 items from your back. In the book, you can drop gold coins /health potions. In the online version, you cannot
END SPOILER
Didn't found anything else working wrong...
Now about the game, my review...
Took me 15 deaths (and a lot of them just experiences with 10 skill chars) until I finally grow tired of the online version and went for the book. With that 15 deaths on the online version I got
SPOILER
Find out the starting dispell ilusion + unid spell + How too pass the hellfire (which is around middle the book)
END SPOILER
Yes, all those 15 deaths only gave me that knowledge of the game, with 100% sure I would need that too beat the game. Having a game hard is one thing, making the chooses and variables soo hidden that you actually have too play the book version too learn the right path is going overboad.
With the book, I totally learn much more things, like stuff that would be almost impossible for me too found in the online version, like
SPOILER
spiked boots + pair of cat’s claws for a needed section of the right path
END SPOILER
After 17 deaths (15 deaths in the online game + 17 deaths using the book version, making it the 33th try) I finally made it too the last place.
And here is probably the only part of the book I loved: the way the puzzles were working, especially with the
SPOILER
time spell, reveal invisible and dispell
END SPOILER
have been a awesome ideia you had, that made the game incredibly funny. Kudos for you with that!
Again going a little more negative, knowing that Trinitour would require
SPOILER
items in order too fight him and I didn't even had the first one
END SPOILER
made this a total pain in the a_ss, forcing me +7 deaths and runs until I got
SPOILER
the 4 armos + weapon + special chalice too power it up + chaos cross
END SPOILER
All in all, a book way WAY too hard, I would risk too say near impossible for the online version, someway easier (not saying by a lot) in the normal book print version. I hope that, if you ever do another book, have a little less variables for a true path of victory.
Did I liked? sure did, kicked me in the balls but made up for almost 5 nights of trial error.
Thanks very much for the review, it's always interesting to read these.
I've fixed the bug at reference 119. I've checked that you can definitely drop potions at reference 27, and the fact that you can't drop gold coins there isn't really a bug, it's commonplace for the online version to have slight differences from the original like this. Thanks for bringing these things to my attention.
There are gamebooks of all difficulties on this site, so I wouldn't say that any are 'too hard' or 'too easy', it's all subjective and depends on how much of a challenge the player wants to have. I don't know if you've noticed, but I have recently added a difficulty rating to each, so you at least know what you are getting into beforehand.
If this is the first gamebook that you've played here, you've chosen a tough one to begin with. I would always have said that Hellfire was the hardest gamebook on this site, though statistics of actual play (on which the difficulty ratings are based) indicate it to be second - behind its own sequel, Riders Of The Storm.
Anas Tue Mar 4 11:10:42 2014
the fighter
fighter Tue Mar 4 12:42:52 2014
wahahahahaha,i'm death,but this game is so cool,
MaxtheCommenter Thu Apr 10 23:05:54 2014
A great read.
patrichua Sat Apr 19 09:28:11 2014
tough one!!
good Sat Aug 30 02:38:03 2014
good game
Clive55 Wed Sep 3 10:04:00 2014
Had to revisit this little gem a couple of days ago. This was the first online story I'd come across since the old Steve Jackson/Ian Livingstone page-flipping actual dice-rolling days of my youth and I find myself as fond of it (and the author) as I was the printed versions that inspired a site like this all those years ago.
Being the type who's curious about every nook-and-cranny, I LOVED this kind of story. Phil, even 3 years later or more, I have to salute you once again for a great story that was in keeping with so many of the details that had us fans captivated with the paperbook versions of the 80s. This story really was in tune with the magick of those days, and I salute you.