Golden Tail

This is a game targeting the Amstrad CPC 464 (or later, although it only requires 64K of RAM).

The Shogun stole the golden tail and used its power to besiege Osaka Castle. He was unaware that the talisman would reveal his true nature, and his heart was evil…

The land rot and monsters were summoned, until Bishamon scattered the stone in 30 pieces, all over the doomed valley and the castle.

It is said that the golden tail can be restored, perhaps this time for good…

You play the ninja spy Kitsune, that is on a mission to collect all 30 pieces of the Golden Tail.

You can watch a short teaser video of the game.

Controls

The game can be controlled with the keyboard or a joystick.

The default keys are: cursor to move, jump and crouch, space to activate the magic.

Press ‘h’ to pause/resume the game. Press ESC to skip the intro and to end the game.

Keyboard Ghosting

If you’re playing the game using an emulator, your keyboard may have problems to register when three keys have been simultaneously pressed when using the default keys.

This issue is known as keyboard ghosting, and you may have problems to use the magic when jumping in diagonal.

Please redefine the keys to use, for example, ‘x’ for the magic instead of space (or just use the classic opqa & space).

Kõga Magic

Kitsune can perform Kõga Magic that will allow him to disappear from the action for a short period of time.

During the time he is invisible, he will move faster, jump higher and enemies or hazards like poisonous water won’t hurt him.

The magic can be used in different ways: without moving, running, jumping or even mid-jump when Kitsune is on the air. All these moves will have different results, so it is vital to understand the magic in order to finish the game.

Monsters

Flying skull : Tortured souls that roam the valley. They’re fast and deadly, but easy to avoid.

: Tortured souls that roam the valley. They’re fast and deadly, but easy to avoid. Walker : Deceased that slowly walk the land as if they were still alive.

: Deceased that slowly walk the land as if they were still alive. Vampire : Giant bats that can be found in the caves. Some will wander around, others wait for prey to attack.

: Giant bats that can be found in the caves. Some will wander around, others wait for prey to attack. Kappa : Imps that will try to lure people into the poisonous water to devour them.

: Imps that will try to lure people into the poisonous water to devour them. Oni Samurai : The elite soldiers of the Shogun, doomed to protect Osaka Castle forever. They will use their demonic arts to stop any intruder.

: The elite soldiers of the Shogun, doomed to protect Osaka Castle forever. They will use their demonic arts to stop any intruder. Yūrei: Ghosts of women that used to serve the Shogun. They can see the light of all living creatures and their touch is deadly.

Golden Tail Collector’s Edition

The game is available on cassette, 3” and 3.5” diskette. Please visit Golden Tail at Poly Play online shop for further information.

Downloads

This game is powered by cpcrslib by Artaburu and PSG Player by WYZ.

Thanks to José María Velo (@octopusjig) for his help testing the game.

Thanks to Fran Loscos (@Metr81) for his help reporting bugs and pushing the game to its limits.

Version 1.0.3 (2016-08-10): golden-tail.zip (CDT and DSK files inside)

If you don’t have the hardware, you can still play it in an emulator.