In this adventure game, you play as the demigod Hercules. You want to be a hero, but the Gods won't take you seriously because of your scrawniness, allergies, and numerous phobias. Fortunately, your cousin Eurystheus has given you a list of ten chores to prove yourself with. How hard could this list be?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
I didn't bother to map the entire labyrinth since I didn't have to. This is just the part that the walkthrough visits. (Looking at the source code, I see there's an entire optional puzzle to solve in the labyrinth if you do explore it!)
The red paths are for when you're following the red string.
The purple paths are for when you're following the directions found in the Troll Room.
Walkthrough
Main Road
> read list.
1. ʃlay the Nemean Lion.
2. Destroy the Lernean Hydra.
3. Capture the Ceryneian Hind of Artemis.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
5. Clean the Augean ʃtables.
6. ʃlay the ʃtymphalian Birds.
7. Capture the Cretan Bull.
8. ʃteal the Mares of Diomedes.
9. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta.
10. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon." (Footnote 1)
> footnote 1.(S's look like F's)
> i. x Benadryl.
> w.(no, too late to backtrack)
> e. e.
City Palace
E gives you a handgun, but warns it's unpredictable.
> x gun. x throne. x crown. x cousin.
> look behind throne.
> w. n.
Nemea.
> take knife. x it.(plastic)
> x lion. shoot gun at lion. take flag. x it.
> open bottle.(Author says to treat bottle like the tablets in it.)
> give bottle to lion.(It sleeps.)
> flay lion.(cant: allergic to fur)
> wear flag.
> flay lion.(+1. Gain a lion pelt. Gun, knife discarded.)
Note: You can now ATTACK SOMETHING WITH CLAWS.
> s. s.
Lerna
> footnote 2. take matches. x matches.
> x flowers.
> e.
Lake Lerna
> x hydra. x Iolaus.(He likes to burn things.)
> ask Iolaus about Hydra. ask Iolaus about matches.
> give matches to Iolaus.
> attack hydra with claws.(+1)
> x goo. take goo.(You'll find a use for it later.)
> ask Iolaus for matches.
> w. n. n. nw.
Stymphalia
> x birds.
> nw.
Keryneia
> footnote 3. x hind.
> take hind.
> give Benadryl to hind.(no, she moves too much)
> sleep.
Keryneia ?
You're now in a dream of Keryneia.
> take hind.(+1; Artemis tells you reality is shaped by dreams and you have more power than you think. You wake.)
Keryneia
> i. x pendant.(The metal absorbs flames.)
> sw.
Mount Erymanthos
> x pig. x snow.(Pig likes to charge the snow.)
> remove flag. wave it.(+1)
> wear flag. x ham. take ham.
> sw.
Elis
> x wares. w.
Augean Stables
> take mop. x mop.
> take hammer. x hammer.
You must have the matches, the hammer, and the frozen ham for this to work:
> hit ice with hammer.(+1; hammer and matches gone)
> take bacon. x it.
> look. x horses. x saddles.
> e. e. nw.
Stymphalia
> x trees. x birds.
> climb tree.(no)
> attack birds with claws.(too high)
> show bacon to birds.(need snare)
> remove flag.
> tie flag to trees.(making a hammock)
> put goo in hammock.
> put bacon in hammock.(+1)
Uh, you can take and re-wear the flag/hammock if you really want to, but it must have toxic hydra goo residue on it still, so let's not.
> x birds.
> mop birds.("clean the trolls! Crete, west south and east")
> se. s. s. se. se. w.
Labyrinth (at box)
Most of the stuff in the lost-and-found box is useless, unless you actually want to map out the maze in full. That's not necessary for solving the game, but there is a secret section hiding in there if you're keen on solving mazes.
Oh, and yes, anything you lose in the game ends up here.
> x bull. take bull.(+1)
> x box.
> x phaser. x compass. x shirt. x parachute.
> x coin. x GPS. x reel. x map. x string.
> take string and shirt. wear shirt.
> unroll string.(indicates south)
> s.
Labyrinth (south of box)
> unroll string.(it indicates east)
> e.
Troll Room
> mop blood.("key to hearts is up above the west south and east")
> w. s. e. u.
Labyrinth (key location)
> x key. take key.
"XYZZY" clued by capitalized letters in key's poem.
> xyzzy.(You pop to...)
Crete
> nw. nw. n. n. nw. ne.
Thrace
> x Diomedes.
> look in basket. x paper.
I'm not sure how you're supposed to guess the bull is important here unless you have prior knowledge about Diomedes mythology.
> show bull to Diomedes.
> ask Diomedes about bulls.(He leaves to fetch them.)
> take paper. read it.(long list of 24 safe codes, which are randomized every time you look at them)
> x safe.
> x calendar.(last month's Olympics winner was an Athenian Owl.)
> footnote 4. turn page.(not without reason)
> open desk. read folded note.
CAUTION: The numbers on the note are randomized every time you look at them too! Just look at the note once.
> spin safe to LAST-MONTHS-NUMBER.(The safe opens.)
> take mares.
Eep! They all throw fireballs at you, which you manage to dodge. Fortunately, you have a pendant that absorbs flames:
> put pendant on Podargos. take Podargos. take pendant.
> put it on Lampon. take Lampon. take pendant.
> put it on Xanthos. take Xanthos. take pendant.
> put it on Deinos. take Deinos.(+1)
You automatically put all the notes back. You also leave the pendant in the safe as payment.
> sw. se. s. s. se. e.
Amazonia
> show mares to warrior.(She takes them.)
You are in the presence of Queen Hippolyta. Her throne is made of vines, roses, moss, and glowing dirt.
> x queen. x girdle. ask queen for girdle.
She agrees to give it, but then Hera appears and zaps Hippolyta unconscious. The warrior now demands medicine or else.
> take dirt. take bowl.
> x bowl.(It has a coffee recipe.)
> put dirt in bowl.
> put moss in bowl.
> take vines. put vines in bowl.
> take roses. slash roses with claws.
> put rose powder in bowl.
> put Benadryl in bowl.(+1)
Hippolyta is restored, the bowl is gone, and the girdle is yours.
> w. nw. n. n. w. nw.
Erytheia
> x trees. x ranch. x monster. x cow.
> ask Geryon about Geryon.
> ask Geryon about cow.(worth at least 80000 drachma)
> g.(reduces price to 8000 drachma)
> g.(reduces price to 800 drachma)
> g.(no more reductions)
> sell girdle.(+1)
> x receipt. x list.
> se. e. s. e.
City Palace
> show list to king.
He rules two of your tasks invalid snd adds two new tasks to your list.
> x list.
> w. s. w.
Western Shore
> x sand. x ocean.
> w.
Garden of the Hesperides
> x dragon. x bone. x tree. x cave. x staircase.
> show bone to dragon.
> throw bone at staircase.(Ladon chases after it.)
> take apple.(+1)
> ne.
Shrine of the Oracle at Delphi
> x shrine.("DO NOT TOUCH")
> touch shrine.(They want something monstrous and something divine.)
> put apple on shrine.
> put receipt on shrine.
You have a vision of a misaligned floor tile in the palace.
> look. x ticket stub. take it.
> sw. e. e. n. e.
City Palace
> x tile.(You travel to...)
Underworld
> x river. x Charon. x boat.
> enter boat. give stub.
Gates of Hades
> x dog. x gate. x bone. x cage.
> take bone. put bone in cage.(Cerberus wants fresh meat!)
> take bone.
> put cow in cage.(Cerberus wants more meat!)
> put bull in cage.(+1)
Cerberus enters the cage. You carry it back to...)
City Palace
> show list to king.
*** Congratulations! You're an Honorary God on Mount Olympus. ***
Characters
Gods
Artemis appears when you catch her golden hind in a dream.
Hera is your spiteful stepmother. She usually prefers more subtle meddling, but she openly attacks Queen Hippolyta for offering her girdle so easily.
Zeus is your father. He invites you to live in his palace on Mount Olympus at game's end.
Humans (individuals)
King Eurystheus of Tiryns is your cousin. He gives you a temp job to prove yourself.
Iolaus is your slacker nephew who likes to burn and blow up things.
Diomedes is a proud metalworker in Thrace.
An Amazonian warrior greets you when you arrive in Amazonia.
Queen Hippolyta graciously gifts you her girdle. She also comes to your rescue at game's end.
The Oracle of Delphi is heard, but not seen, at her golden shrine.
Humans (groups)
The townsfolk of Tiryns seem depressed.
Eurystheus's advisors can be heard behind his throne, but they're gone when you attempt to look there.
Merchants haggle their wares in Elis.
Eurystheus's guards surround you when you show your completed amended list to your cousin. However, they are no match for the small army that arrives to defend you.
Creatures
A lion growls softly at you in Nemea.
The hydra, a nightmarish lizard with multiple heads and necks, lurks in Lake Lerna.
The Stymphalian birds are pterodactyl-like birds of prey.
The golden hind is a female deer blessed by Artemis. She prances about in Keryneia.
A feral pig plays in the snow on Mount Erymanthos.
Carnivorous horses live in the Augean Stables.
The Cretan bull is quite old and dull-eyed. It's in the labyrinth.
The mares of Diomedes (Podargos, Lampos, Xanthos, and Deinos) are small mechanical creatures that breathe fireballs. They're locked up in his safe.
Geryon is an ugly three-headed monster in Erytheia, but quite friendly and ready to do business with you.
A cow, small and thin, is carried by Geryon.
Ladon is a terrifying dragon in the Garden of the Hesperides that enjoys playing 'go fetch'.
Charon is the skeletal boatman that ferries souls across the river Styx.
Cerberus is the three-headed dog of the Underworld. He guards the gates of Hades.
Referenced
The Cyclopes of Hephaestus, Inc. are mentioned several times. They made your matches, made the bird-blood ad, left a message in the Troll Room, and made the safe. Hephaestus, Inc. itself made the pendant, the mop, and the lost-and-found box.
Tod Browning directed London After Midnight.
An Athenian Owl is pictured on the calendar.
Diomedes's mechanical bulls: he goes to fetch them, but you leave Thrace before he returns with them.
Dead adventurers are implied by bones you find.
Credits
From the Acknowlegements section of the HELP menus:
The first full (very very very) rough incarnation of Hercules! was written in 2016 or 2017 by me, Leo Weinreb, while attending the University of Chicago. It was the first game I ever designed.
That proto-version involved only two playtesters: Anton Bures, my father, and John "Chip" Lekberg, a friend from school. Since then the game has gotten smoother and kinder, exploded in scale and complexity, and been amended with crucial and thorough revisions.
These indispensible improvements are all thanks to a small but dedicated group of people who took time out of their busy daily lives to help me make my game the best it could possibly be: my dear parents Anton Bures and Jenya Weinreb, my friends Chip Lekberg, Emily Watzl, and Rhiannon Hoffman, and some absolutely brilliant volunteers from the Interactive Fiction Community Forum: Mike Carletta, Christopher Merriner, and Garry Francis, whose suggestions and playthrough edits were essential in allowing me to put forth a more polished finished product. I am eternally grateful to all of you. <3
Footnotes
Unusually, the footnotes in this game are fixed and can be read before they're referenced. But only the first six footnotes are legitimate; the rest are joke footnotes for players who try to read them all like this.
For some reason your cousin's capital S's always look like F's. I guess you'll just have to guess which one is correct...
> footnote 2.(re: initial appearance of matches in Lerna)
Not that you ever really used them. They were a late birthday present from your stepmother Hera, who knew you were afraid of fire... you get the sense she doesn't like you very much.
> footnote 3.(re: initial appearance of the golden hind in Keryneia.)
A hind is a deer. (A female deer.) This one's bathed in a ray. (A drop of golden sun.) I wouldn't want you to think you were wandering the land searching for a giant floating butt.
> footnote 4.(re: examining the calendar in Thrace)
You don't know who this month's Olympics winner is off-hand, of course. Unsurprisingly, you have no use for frivolous sporting events.
> footnote 5.(re: reading the note or paper more than once)
Weren't these numbers different the last time you read them? You blink. Yep, definitely different. You curse your dyslexia and try to focus on the note more intently.
> footnote 6.(re: "who am I")
A scandal which caused Zeus's wife Hera, the queen of the Sky, to get really mad at Alcmene and you. (Though never her husband, which seems strange, since he was the one truly in the wrong.) You think perhaps this is the genesis of Hera's intense dislike of you to this day.
> footnote 7
You've never ever seen yellow-spotted lizards like these. Not even in the movie Holes.
> footnote 8
Whatever you throw at it, it seems like the monkey isn't coming down.
> footnote 9
Perhaps you need to consider that these actually are NOT the droids you're looking for.
> footnote 10
Okay, you've had your fun now, stop reading the footnotes.
> footnote 11
Seriously, I mean it!
> footnote 12
Anybody want a peanut?
> footnote 13
There is no such footnote.
> footnote 14
Really now, there is no such footnote.
> footnote 15
There is no such footnote.
> footnote 16
Okay, you get one final easter egg. Happy? After this moment you're really just wasting your own time, and I'm not to be held responsible for that. Enjoy the rest of the game!
And that really is the last footnote.
Inventory
In the approximate order you'll likely acquire them:
a list. Your'e carrying it.
Read it: it lists the ten tasks you need to complete. Note that some S's look like F's, which means if you can read a word two different ways, you should.
Because of personal anxieties, you must do the tasks in the order listed.
After completing all ten tasks, return to the palace and show the list to cousin Eurystheus. He'll rule that two of your tasks don't count and he'll add two new tasks to the list. Re-read your list.
After completing the twelfth task, you'll automatically return to the palace. Show the completed list to the king to win the game.
a bottle of Benadryl. You're carrying it.
Don't worry about opening the bottle or dealing with individual pills. Treat the bottle as the pills inside it.
In Nemea, give the bottle to the lion to make it sleep.
In Amazonia, put the bottle in the bowl as the "sleep from above" ingredient for making Amazon Coffee.
a gun. In the city palace, your cousin King Eurystheus gives this handgun to you when you first visit him there.
Try shooting the gun at anything (like the Nemean lion) to discover it's a toy gun with a flag inside. Take the flag.
You'll discard the toy gun when you obtain the lion pelt.
a knife. This plastic knife is at Nemea.
At Nemea, after giving Benadryl to the lion to make it sleep, and while wearing the flag to protect your nose from fur allergies, flay the lion with the knife to get a lion pelt. You'll discard the knife afterwards.
a flag. It emerges from the gun when you first shoot it at anything.
Wear the flag to protect your nose from airborne allergies like fur. You must be wearing the flag when flaying the sleeping lion with the knife.
At Mount Erymanthos, remove the flag and wave it to trick the charging pig to run into a frozen snowback, killing itself, and becoming a frozen ham. Wear the flag afterwards.
At Stymphalia, remove the flag and tie the flag to the trees there, making a hammock. Put the goo and bacon into the hammock to slay the birds.
You don't need to take the hammock or re-wear it, but you can if you want to.
a lion pelt. At Nemea, after giving Benadryl to the lion to make it sleep, and while wearing the flag to protect your nose from fur allergies, flay the lion with the knife to get a lion pelt.
Wear the pelt. Note that you can now ATTACK something WITH CLAWS.
At Lake Lerna, after giving the box of matches to Iolaus, attack the hydra with claws to kill it.
At Lake Lerna, give the matches to Iolaus. He'll burn the hydra with them while you attack it with claws (of the lion pelt).
After the hydra has been reduced into goo, ask Iolaus for the matches. He reluctantly gives them back.
In the Augean Stables, while carrying the matches, hit the frozen ham with the hammer. You'll shatter the ice off the ham, then automatically melt the ice with the matches. The flood of water cleans the stable. The matches are washed away.
a golden pendant. Obtain this in Keryneia by sleeping there then taking the hind in your dream. Artemis rewards you with the pendant; you're carrying it when you wake up.
Examine the pendant to learn that it absorbs flames.
In Thrace, after opening the safe, put the pendant on each of the mares to prevent them from spitting fireballs at you. Now you can take them.
When you take the fourth mare, you'll automatically put the pendant into the safe to repay Diomedes for the mares.
a frozen ham. Turn the pig at Mount Erymanthos into a frozen ham by waving your flag. The charging pig hits a frozen snowbank and becomes an ice-covered frozen ham.
In the Augean Stables, while carrying the matches, hit the frozen ham with the hammer. You'll shatter the ice off the ham, then automatically melt the ice with the matches. The flood of water cleans the stable. Horses eat the ham, leaving only a strip of bacon behind.
a mop. It's in the Augean Stables.
In the troll room (inside the Cretan labyrinth), mop the bloodstains (with the mop) to learn that the "key to hearts is up above the west south and east".
a hammer. It's on a shelf in the Augean Stables.
In the Augean Stables, while carrying the matches, hit the frozen ham with the hammer. You'll shatter the ice off the ham, then automatically melt the ice with the matches. The flood of water cleans the stable. The hammer is washed away.
a strip of bacon. In the Augean Stables, while carrying the box of matches, hit the frozen ham with the hammer. Horses eat the un-iced ham, leaving only a strip of bacon behind.
At Stymphalia, first tie the flag to the trees to make a hammock. Then put both the goo and the bacon into the hammock to slay the birds.
some toxic-looking purple goo. It's what's left of the hydra at Lake Lerna after you kill it. To do that, first give the box of matches to Iolaus, then attack the hydra with the claws (of the lion pelt).
At Stymphalia, first tie the flag to the trees to make a hammock. Then put both the goo and the bacon into the hammock to slay the birds.
the Cretan Bull (being led along by a piece of rope attached to the beast). It's in the entrance to the labyrinth.
In Thrace, you may wish to show the bull to Diomedes. And you must ask Diomedes about bulls to get him to leave.
At the Gates of Hades, put both the cow and the bull into the cage to convince Cerberus to enter the cage.
some red rolled-up string. It's in the lost-and-found box in the entrance to the labyrinth.
Take it and unroll it. Go the direction indicated by the string. At each new location, unroll the string and go where it indicates until you reach the troll room.
The string "dulls" when you find the skeleton key.
a broken phaser, a compass, a free T-shirt, a parachute, an old coin of Hades, a GPS tracking device, a movie reel, and a map. They're all in the lost-and-found box in the entrance to the labyrinth.
They're all junk. You can ignore them. But feel free to take the t-shirt and wear it if you like.
Actually... if you want to explore the labyrinth in full, you can use all this junk to help you map it, by dropping items in different rooms to make them distinctive.
the skeleton key. It's in a secret part of the labyrinth, west-south-east-up from the troll room. The directions are revealed in the troll room when you mop the blood (with the mop) there.
Read the key: the capitalized letters in the key's poem spell XYZZY. Say XYZZY to teleport out of the labyrinth, back to Crete.
The key unlocks, uh, a grate in the labyrinth that leads to an optional puzzle area which I, um, never saw.
a piece of paper. It's in the wastebasket in Thrace.
It's a long list of backup codes for the safe, but unfortunately, none of them will work.
CAUTION: Every number on the paper is randomized every time you read it!
You'll automatically put the paper back in the basket after you've taken all four mares.
a folded note. It's in the desk in Thrace.
First, ask Deimedes about bulls to get him to leave; now you can open his desk.
The note is about Diomedes being unable to remember the safe number. The number he says is last month's is the correct one; note that his calendar is still showing last month.
CAUTION: Every number on the note is randomized every time you read it, including the correct number!
You'll automatically put the note back in the desk after you've taken all four mares.
some mares of Diomedes. These mechanical animals are in the locked safe in Thrace. Ask Diomedes about bulls to get him to leave, then spin the safe mechanism to 3366 to unlock it; see piece of paper and folded note.
Podargos the mare breathes golden fireballs.
Lampon the mare breathes scarlet fireballs.
Xanthos the mare breathes orange fireballs.
Deinos the mare breathes yellow fireballs.
To negate the fireballs, put the golden pendant on each of the mares before you take them. The pendant absorbs their flames.
At Amazonia, show the mares to the warrior. She'll take them and lead you to her queen, Hippolyta.
a clay bowl. Find it by taking some glowing dirt in Amazonia.
Read the bowl to learn how to make Amazon Coffee. The recipe is a bit cryptic, though.
Put the dirt into the bowl as the "element of earth" ingredient for making Amazon Coffee.
some moss. It's part of the throne in Amazonia.
Put the moss into the bowl as the "element of life" ingredient for making Amazon Coffee.
some vines. They're part of the throne in Amazonia.
Put the vines into the bowl as the "tree's strength" ingredient for making Amazon Coffee.
some roses. They're part of the throne in Amazonia.
Slash the roses with claws (of the lion pelt) to make rose powder.
Put the rose powder into the bowl as the "powder of love" ingredient for making Amazon Coffee.
a girdle. In Amazonia, Hippolyta gives her girdle to you when you cure her after Hera's attack. To cure Hippolyta, make Amazon Coffee; see clay bowl.
In Erytheia, Geryon has a cow for sale for 80000 drachma. Ask Geryon repeatedly about the cow until he reduces the price to 800 drachma, then sell the girdle to buy the cow.
a cow (being led along by a piece of rope attached to the beast). In Erytheia, Geryon has the cow for sale for 80000 drachma. Ask Geryon repeatedly about the cow until he reduces the price to 800 drachma, then sell the girdle to buy the cow.
At the Gates of Hades, put both the cow and the bull into the cage to convince Cerberus to enter the cage.
a receipt. Geryon gives this receipt to you when you buy his cow.
At the shrine of the Oracle of Delphi, put both the apple and the receipt on the shrine as payment; take the ticket stub in exchange.
The receipt is the "something monstrous" that the Oracle wants.
a chewed bone. It's in the Garden of the Hesperides.
Show the bone to the dragon, then throw the bone at the staircase. The dragon will chase after it and you'll never see the dragon again.
A second chewed bone is at the Gates of Hades. If you try to put the bone into the cage, you learn that Cerberus wants fresh meat instead!
an apple. Several apples are on the apple tree in the Garden of the Hersperides. Take one after getting rid of the dragon Ladon; see chewed bone.
At the shrine of the Oracle of Delphi, put both the apple and the receipt on the shrine as payment; take the ticket stub in exchange.
The apple is the "something divine" that the Oracle wants.
a ticket stub. It appears on the shrine of the Oracle at Delphi after you put both the apple and the receipt on the shrine as payment.
In the Underworld, give the ticket stub to Charon; he'll then ferry you across the River Styx to the Gates of Hades.
a small doggie cage containing Cerberus. Both cage and dog are at the Gates of Hades. Put both the cow and the bull into the cage to convince Cerberus to enter the cage.
The cage will conveniently shrink to a size you can carry. You'll automatically take the shrunken cage back to the city palace. All that's left to do is show the completed amended list to the king, and you've won.
There's also a few other items hidden in the labyrinth that I never found, but they're optional.
Score
The response to SCORE is:
You have so far scored your-score out of a possible 12, in several turns, earning you the rank of your-rank.
Points are awarded by completing the tasks on your to-do list, one point per task:
Slay (or Flay) the Nemean Lion.
Destroy the Lernean Hydra.
Capture the Ceryneian Hind of Artemis.
Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
Clean the Augean Stables.
Slay (or Flay) the Stymphalian Birds.
Capture the Cretan Bull.
Steal the Mares of Diomedes.
Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta.
Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon.
Steal an apple from the Garden of the Hesperides.
Capture and bring back Cerberus from the Underworld.
The possible ranks are:
Nerdy Cousin.(0 points)
Lion Tamer.(1 point)
Hydra Decapitator.(2 points)
Dream Catcher.(3 points)
Boar Toreador.(4 points)
Janitorial Juggernaut.(5 points)
Pigeon Poisoner.(6 points)
Bull Whisperer.(7 points)
Trojan Hacker.(8 points)
Medicinal Magician.(9 points)
Superb Salesman.(10 points)
Dragon Player.(11 points)
Legendary Hero.(12 points)
Honorary God and Legendary Hero.(12 points and winning the game)
