Return to Labyrinth: The Video Game

[Fragglemuppet]

Wow, that was terrific! Congradulations and thanks for all that work you put in, and we've still got another full walk-through! I'll be looking forward to reading it, but take your time!

 

[RedPiggy]

Thanks, it will take a bit longer to do Sarah's, since now I work and it leaves me exhausted, LOL. Glad you liked it though. It was really hard writing it after Sarah showed up, as now I have to write to make sure it fits in the story I've already written.

 

[RedPiggy]

Sarah's Walkthrough

SARAH’S BROKEN DREAMS

Sorry for the delay, but we finally get to Sarah’s walkthrough. This attempts to flesh out Sarah’s part in all this. It’s kind of like Silent Hill 2 Born of a Wish, which was a side-story added to like a Director’s cut or something, unlocked after beating the game or whatever. On the other hand, this is meant to be available from the beginning. The only catch is that it starts much later than Toby’s story. As Sarah is kind of neglected for awhile in the original story, I’m fleshing things out a bit and tweaking some of the order of events. For example, as of Volume 3, none of the initial cinema happens, aside from the scene with Toby from Toby’s walkthrough, at least up until it differs here.

I’m going to add the vids from Born of a Wish here, just for kicks. It also adds a neat dimension to what is to follow.
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
In Part 6, she realizes the guy really isn’t there (it’s not obvious from the dialogue). I also skipped part 7 because it’s kind of depressing.

Anyway …

The game starts out with the movie montage mentioned in the Introduction post earlier, or a player-made AMV from playing Toby’s walkthrough. Choose Sarah on the character select screen. A cinema will play to start the story.

Cinema:

Fade-in. Night. The Williams’ house is an upper-middle class two-story house in a green suburb. A white two-door sedan is seen pulling up in the driveway and Toby exits the passenger side while Sarah exits the driver’s side. Interior: The foyer of the Williams’ house is decorated with an expensive multicolored rug and a floral crystal chandelier. There is a portrait of Toby’s parents and a couple of mirrors on opposite sides of the area. Toby unlocks the front double doors and enters as Sarah follows. A large white and gray sheepdog bounds over to a smiling Sarah.

Sarah (is licked in the face by the dog as she kneels down to pet him): Pendragon, you old mutt! Good to see you too!

They continue to the right, heading to a kitchen with cherry cabinets, dark gray marble countertops, and cherry kitchen furniture. Appliances are stainless steel. Sarah starts searching the well-stocked refrigerator.

Sarah: Where’s Irene?

Toby (shrugs his shoulders, stares at the ceiling, his hands in his pockets): I dunno. They said they wouldn’t be back until after midnight. *glances at Sarah* Mom said not to pull out a bunch of stuff from the fridge, Sarah.

Sarah (stands up and glowers at Toby): Toby, Irene isn’t my mother. *turns back toward the fridge* C’mon, let your good old half-sister cook you up something nice. *pauses, surprised pleasantly* Ooh, salmon! *starts to take food out*

Toby (glares at Sarah, voice reverberating slightly): Sarah! I need you!

Sarah (turns around, crossly): Need, need, need! All you do is cry! I wish --.

Sarah abruptly wakes up in a plain bedroom. Observant players will note it is simply her bedroom from the movie, but stripped of all decorations and wallpaper and linens. The only things left are the bed, a couple of bookshelves, the dresser/vanity and the wooden shadow-box-like thing on the wall where she used to keep her stuffed toys. Sarah looks around, confused.

Sarah: Where am I? *gets out of bed* What a weird dream. *sighs* Did I spend the night at Dad’s? *gets her glasses off of the dresser, walks out of the bedroom and heads right down the hall and down the stairs*

Just as Sarah reaches the bottom of the stairs, Robert and Irene come home. Robert is Caucasian, with a slightly pronounced chin and large nose, and slightly wavy short brown graying hair. He has slightly bushy eyebrows and thin oval wire frame glasses. He would kind of remind you of Robin Williams if you were just glancing at him casually. Irene has dark red hair, pulled tightly up. While Robert looks somewhat casual, Irene is dressed impeccably in minimalist formal attire.

Irene (sighs): Sarah! *frowns* You’re an hour late.

Sarah (confused): Sorry?

Irene (heads to the kitchen): I’m sure you can pull yourself away from proofreading papers long enough to watch our house while we’re gone.

Sarah (still confused): But you’re back ….

Irene: No thanks to you. *opens the refrigerator and slams it shut* I can’t believe you stole food from your own parents. Don’t they pay you anything at that high school?

Sarah (glances at Robert): Dad?

Robert (smirks): Don’t pay her any mind, Sarah. Your mother --.

Sarah (growls): Step-mother.

Robert (chuckles, shaking his head): She’s had a busy day.

Sarah (crosses her arms in indignation): So have I!

Irene: Oh, please! You act like talking to a bunch of children about diagramming sentences is difficult!

The conversation stops for the moment, offering the player two thought bubbles. As in Toby’s walkthrough, the choices don’t have much to do with the story, but offers the opportunity to get used to choosing one’s responses.

Defensive Choice:

Sarah (angrily): You have no idea what I have to go through!

Sarcastic Choice:

Sarah (smirks, tapping her foot): You’re right – it’s not nearly as difficult as reading fashion magazines at the salon.

Irene (regardless of choice): Well, I suppose you’d tell me if you had a date.

Sarah (gawking at her): What does that have to do with anything?

Irene: You should be having dates at your age. You don’t want to end up a bitter, lonely old woman.

Sarah (blurts out): It’s different than being a married, lonely old woman?

Irene storms off.

Robert (putting a hand gently on Sarah’s shoulder): I’ll go talk to her. *opens the fridge and searches it*

Sarah (in awe): You were really going to talk to her, weren’t you?

Robert (sighs, closing the fridge, staring at it instead of her): Sarah – don’t be so defiant. You’re my only child. I wish I could’ve had a son --.

Sarah (offended): I’m so sorry to be such a disappointment, Father.

Robert (shakes his head): You’re not, Sarah! *voice rises slightly* I’m only saying that you’ve been given everything you’ve ever wanted! You wanted to join the Teen Theater Group at your high school. You were a headliner. You wanted to date Tim. You got him.

Sarah (looks away, defeated): He left me for someone else yesterday, Dad. *lips quivering* I went to that French restaurant with him. He left the restaurant with the waitress.

Robert (nods, sitting down at the kitchen table): Do you want to talk about it?

Sarah (sits down at the kitchen table opposite him, staring at the table): I feel broken, Dad.

Robert (nods, placing his hands on hers): I know, dear. I tried my very best to support your mother when she and I were married. I gave her my heart and soul – and she swooned over that Bowie-wannabe costar of hers and I didn’t even get the old “Dear John” treatment. *sighs* I learned about it from the newspaper. I felt … thrown away. *looks toward the living room* I know you aren’t fond of Irene. I just wish you could understand …. She needs me, Sarah. For once in my life, I found someone who appreciates what I can give her. *stands* Look – it’s a long drive to your apartment, Sarah. Why don’t you stay here for awhile? Being in a familiar environment may help. *leaves, his footsteps can be heard on the stairs*

End cinema.

Now the player can control Sarah. Both upstairs and downstairs can be investigated. Skipping all the exploration but the objectives will influence various aspects of the game, including the ending.

Downstairs-Kitchen: There is a pile of envelopes on the kitchen counter. If Sarah looks at them, she says, “Hey, one of these envelopes is for me.” A card pops up on the screen, in Labyrinth font, stating, “Dream a dream and see/The wonders that can be/When your room says, “This is me.” A pop-up message appears afterward and you have a mission objective: Make your room your own with five mementos. In other words, you must find five objects in the house and bring them to Sarah’s old room in order to progress to the next level.

Downstairs-Living Room: It is immaculate and filled with pictures, books, and knickknacks on various shelves and tables. Sarah (examining some bookshelves): I wonder if Dad kept that little red playbook around here somewhere. Sarah (examining a wedding photo above the fireplace): Why couldn’t Mom and Dad just work things out? Sarah (examining a DVD player by the large television set): I didn’t know there were home movies in here. The DVD player then turns on, and the TV plays this video on the screen. The video is an AMV with footage from Labyrinth and other movies featuring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly, suggesting that she gets back with him in adulthood. Sarah (examining a phone, picking it up and dialing): Tim? It’s me, Sarah. I’m at my parents’ if you need me. *pauses and whispers* Please need me.

Upstairs-Parents’ Room: It is the first door on the left after walking up the stairs on the left side of the living room. It is stark with white walls and black bed linens, and a black wooden armoire next to the Master Bathroom, which is locked. Irene (from inside the bathroom): For God’s sake, Sarah … go to the bathroom down the hall. I don’t need that long hair of yours clogging up our drain again. Sarah (trying to open the balcony door): Why does my heart race? Wasn’t there some stalker out there years ago?

Upstairs-Bathroom: First door on the right. It is simpler than the Master Bathroom, but with similar appliances. The shower is a shower-tub combo with a red-and-white-striped curtain hanging from a rod. Sarah (staring at the toilet): C’mon, Sarah. You’re not that stressed out. Sarah (examining the bathroom mirror): I really need to sleep more and work less.

Upstairs-Sarah’s Room: The plain room from the cinema is the last door on the left. Whenever Sarah stands near a location that will house an object, she will state, “Wasn’t there something there before?”

Items to be found:

Labyrinth: a wooden box with lots of holes in the top and a small metal ball that can be rolled into the holes or along the maze until reaching the end, found in the living room on the coffeetable. It goes on a shelf near the door to Sarah’s room.

Escher poster: the one that inspired the staircase room in the movie, found in the hall bathroom across from the mirror. It goes on a spot on the wall in Sarah’s room that obviously once held a poster there.

Scrapbook: It is found in the bookshelf in the living room upon inspection. It goes on another bookshelf.

Ludo plushie: Found on the sofa in the living room. It goes on that shadow-box thingie on the wall.

Music box: Found on Sarah’s bed only after the other items have been found. It goes on the dresser/vanity and triggers another cinema.

Cinema:

Sarah stares at the mirror, her reflection becoming Ballroom Sarah, who finds herself on a stage standing before an applauding audience. The camera goes through the mirror and towards the audience, stopping just in front of Jareth, who is dressed in black like the beginning of the movie, but the outfit isn’t as creepy. It’s more like a business suit than a gothic costume. Music starts to play, with Jareth eventually singing along after the first twenty seconds. The music is by a fan, but the lyrics and most of the staging is from the manga.

Jareth voice-over (singing): Shadows of a dream … fragments of imagination! Echoes of a silent scream … memories of a life that never happened.

Sarah watches in shock as Jareth casually dances out of the theater.

Jareth (singing): I saw the truth, inside your eyes! Feelings that … were left unspoken. You said the words, but they were lies – had I a heart, it would be broken!

The screen “cracks”, revealing the mirror is now cracked and Sarah’s reflection is returned to normal. She runs downstairs, with projections of Jareth on the walls beside her.

Jareth (pleading as he sings): All I ever was, means nothing! All I ever wanted slips away! All I ever had – descends to ruin. *pauses* And you are my destroyer!

Sarah gets to the bottom of the stairs, but the living room is now the French restaurant, and Sarah immediately is seated next to Tim, who looks like regular David Bowie. Jareth can be seen fuming at a bar nearby in the same dining area.

Jareth (singing): Shadows of a dream … fragments of imagination! Echoes of a silent scream … memories of a life that never happened. *gulps down a drink* What took a thousand years to build – you undid … in thirteen hours! You proved that you’re strong-willed. Is this how you would use that power?

The scene’s objects and extras fly out of the scene, leaving Sarah on the sofa, staring at a very real Jareth as he stands in front of her.

Jareth (singing): You took it all, away from me! An errant wish – an act of kindness! O foolish girl, why don’t you see? Because of you, I walk in blindness!

Sarah (stands up, curious but wary): Who are you? Have we met?

Jareth (smirks, bowing): Forgive me. I’m Jareth, Jareth Quinn. *stands* I appear at the Enigma Lain Theater. Mind if I come in?

Sarah (stares at him): Um … yes?

Jareth (paces around the living room, thinking to himself angrily): “My kingdom is as great”? Hmph! *turns to Sarah* Tell me about yourself, Sarah. Do you long for the stage?

Sarah (shakes head, chuckling): Oh, no. Those days are long behind me. I teach English Lit now at the local high school. *nods toward the kitchen* I think there’s some pie in the kitchen. You want some? I think it’s peach.

Jareth (frowns): Thank you, no.

Sarah (shrugs): I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the Enigma Lain Theater.

Jareth (shrugs, smiling): It really isn’t a place. It goes where I do … and I go wherever my heart takes me. *pauses* Don’t you ever feel like something’s missing?

Sarah (walking toward the door, curtly): Look, Jareth – I’m happy that you were able to follow your dreams. For me, that’s all they ever were. I don’t know what you were hoping to find here, but I’m quite sure I can’t give it to you. *opens the front door expectantly*

Jareth (stares at her, thinking): She has changed, that much is certain. However, that defiant spirit is still there. *checks a watch* Oh, look at the time! I really should be going.

Sarah (nods): Good luck with your show, Jareth. I wish I could go see it.

Jareth (smiles)

Sarah cringes as she falls to the floor and disappears. Jareth looks horrified.
End cinema.

 

[The Count]

And down the rabbithole she goes. Wonderfully done, I applaud it all.

 

[Fragglemuppet]

Yeah, excelent so far! Am intrigued as to why Jareth looked horrified at the end.

 

[RedPiggy]

UNDERGROUND

Sarah awakens in the Stone Maze, Maze 2, which has been highly damaged. There are pits of certain death, crumbling walls, and a pair of Cleaners that make random sweeps through a maze. Certain areas that might be inaccessible at first could be reached after the Cleaners break through the obstructions.

There are lots of rocks that can be used as weapons once picked up. This is a throwback to the original games, where rocks were her primary weapons. They glitter unlike the normal stone rubble. You don’t have to use them, though it’s your only choice of weapon for a little while. If you do use them, after five uses, you earn a trophy unavailable in the main game: Old School.

Note: The Stone Maze is a set of seven square areas, two rows of three squares and one square on the bottom left in the first column. For ease of readability, from left to right, the top row is 5, 6, 7; the middle row is 2, 3, 4; and the bottom left square is 1. Each square has an entrance or exit to underground tunnels or both. Two puzzle doors were available, but at this point in time, they are deactivated, though entering the “wrong” door will still lead to Mazes 3 or 4. The mazes can be disconcerting, but one visual clue will be the eye of the storm seen in the sky, which is centered directly over the Labyrinth. The further you get through the Labyrinth, the bigger and clearer the eye becomes.

Maze 2 is a concentric maze of squares with no openings. Sarah will find a couple of locked doors at some point, but she cannot open them.

As she walks for about five minutes, Sarah will start to talk to herself, which temporarily takes the place of having allies point out stuff. She will comment on any items she gets near, but mostly, she will start griping.

Sarah (after five minutes of walking): What on Earth possessed me to agree to go to that guy’s show? It’s like he’s from another planet!

Sarah (after ten minutes of walking, sighs): Aren’t there any openings around here?

Sarah (after fifteen minutes of walking): And to think kids like adventure games where you walk for hours.

After she says this, a small cinema plays where a barn owl flies onto the top edge of a wall and watches her. A Cleaner comes bursting through the wall, causing Sarah to scream and start running. As soon as she gets to a corner of the path, she must turn the corner. The Cleaner can’t make a turn that quickly and barrels through the wall.

When the player regains control of Sarah, there will be now be holes anywhere the Cleaner can’t turn fast enough. Eventually, she reaches the outer path, where she can find doors to either Maze 1, Maze 5, or Maze 3. For now, let’s assume she enters Maze 1 on the south end of Maze 2.

In Maze 1, eventually she comes across several goblins talking. It will also be more like the Movie Stone Maze, with many more open spaces and those little concrete hands that point in different directions if you played Toby’s walkthrough first and moved the hand on the clock in Goblin City to do so.

Goblin 1 (playing cards with another goblin): What makes you think that?

Goblin 2: Dunno. Humans are smart. King might escape. King has Pathmaker.

Goblin 1: King has nothing. What good does Pathmaker do when Big Water Witch kill you anyway?

Sarah can start attacking the goblins if the player so desires. Otherwise, they just ignore her to play cards.

TO BE CONTINUED ….

 

[RedPiggy]

EEP! Better update before it dies on page 2, LOL

A FRIEND IN NEED

Sarah reaches a dead end in Maze 1 and can’t leave the Labyrinth. A double door similar to the one Hoggle opened for her in the movie is locked. Trying to open it three times will activate a short cinema.

Cinema:

Sarah (shakes the door handles in frustration and kicks the door)

Voice: My, you’re always on the go, aren’t you, dear?

Sarah (notices a bright blue worm with yellow underbelly staring at her from the stone wall right next to the door): Did you say something?

Worm (nods sadly): An’ always ‘alf-listening to others, I see. *sighs*

Sarah (curt, trying to open the door again): You know nothing about me.

Worm (chuckles): That makes two of us, don’t it, dearie? Why don’t you join me an’ the missus for a nice cup of tea? It’s imported from a kingdom of giant hairy creatures. Th’ universe is a right big place. Have a nice cup of tea. You’ll see what I mean.

Sarah (shakes her head): I’m not going to do this. I have to get back home.

Worm: Heh! Last time it was that dreadful castle!

Sarah (glances at him, confused): What castle? *looks around and sees the storm clouds hovering over a stone castle in the distance, sighing* Ah, the Quest for the McGuffin begins. Or is it the Red Herring? *chuckles as she begins to walk away from the Worm* Don’t worry, Sarah … it’s only a model.

End cinema.

Going back to Maze 2, Sarah can go either to Maze 5 to the north or end up in Maze 3. For now, we will look at Maze 3. It is roughly unchanged from Toby’s walkthrough. However, Sarah can pick up new items and this maze has a character interaction.

Maze 3

Items:
Crystal Ball (summary of Volume 1 of RTL)
Pipes x 3
Sword
Jar of Bees x 3
Kettle of fish (a bucket filled with red fish – herring, get it? … that will serve to restore health)

In the only open area of the maze, Sarah finds a Dwarf and a Yeti scrambling around as pipes burst, with noxious water spewing out of them. Approach and a small cinema will begin.

Hoggle (spots Sarah): Help!

Ludo (is trying to summon boulders to obstruct the water, but keeps getting interrupted by fresh breaks)

Positive Character Interaction:
Sarah (looks determined): How can I help?

Hoggle (screaming): STOP THE PIPES!

Ludo (groaning): Make … better!

Negative Character Interaction:
Sarah (balks): I’m not going anywhere near there! *leaves*

Hoggle (angrily): GET BACK HERE AND LEND A HAND!

Ludo: Help … fwiends!

No matter which one you chose, if you approached this event, you’re stuck with a puzzle. Sarah must stop the dangerous spewing without getting wet (because you’d stink forever … oh, and it reduces your health). The first phase of the puzzle is to make it easier for Ludo to summon boulders to block water from certain areas. There are valves and half-broken pipes. Turn the valves and manipulate or replace pipes and Ludo will start to howl, which summons some boulders. Once the area is accessible, you have to rearrange the pipes to stop the water flow from a whole section. There are four sections, one for each cardinal direction. Only if you succeed in stopping the water in one section will Ludo move on to the next one. Rinse, repeat. If you have audio assistance on, Hoggle will yell at you, giving you hints as to how to do it.

When you’re done, a cinema will start, which will be the same no matter how you reacted.

Cinema:

Sarah (sighs with relief, is disturbed by the creatures and the chaos and runs off)

Hoggle (not noticing Sarah has left): Well, I suppose that fixes it, then.

Ludo (nods, glances around): Sawah?

Hoggle (looks around, becomes saddened): She didn’t even say nothin’.

Ludo (places a hand on Hoggle’s shoulder): Sawah … Sawah help.

Hoggle (shrugs him off): Remains ta be seen, th’ way I looks at it.

End cinema.

Positive Scenery Influence: The pipes in the Stone Maze will no longer be harmful.

Negative Scenery Influence: The pipes in the Stone Maze will continue to be harmful.

TO BE CONTINUED ….

 

[The Count]

Thanks for posting, made me cheer to read something from your endless a-maze-ments.

 

[The Count]

Gotta bring this one back to da top o' the heap.
Looking forward to whatever's next, especially how the scene with the Four Guards gets handled.

 

[RedPiggy]

Unfortunately, financial issues kinda mean I'll be working some on the weekends, which just ruins the relaxation I need to find my muse.