Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz
More than 90 years have passed since the great wizard Megaboz cast the Curse
which destroyed Lord Dimwit Flathead the Excessive along with the other
members of the ruling family, the Twelve Flatheads. Now, the curse
threatens to bring down the Great Undergound Empire itself! Wurb Flathead,
the current occupant of the throne, has sent a clarion call to the remotest
corners of the Empire: half the riches of the kingdom to the person who can
allay the curse. From every province of Quendor, courageous adventurers,
scheming charlatans, and wildeyed crackpots have streamed into the Imperial
Capital of Flatheadia. You are one such treasure-seeker, a peasant from an
unheard-of village in an obscure province. However, you have an important
advantage: an ancestor of yours, a servant in Dimwit's court, witnessed
Megaboz casting the Curse, and obtained a small scrap of wizardly parchment
from the mage's pocket. This parchment scrap has been passed down from
generation to generation, and is now in your possession. Thanks to it, you
know what none of the other would-be cursebusters know; you alone know what
must be done to stop the Curse! By the time of your arrival at Flatheadia,
most of the treasure-seekers have given up and returned to their homelands.
In fact, you discover that most of the population, including all figures of
authority, have fled to distant provinces. And when you awake on the hard
floor of the castle on Curse Day, you find that even the looters and the
most persistent adventurers have departed. In fact, as you begin your
desperate quest to find the relics of the Empire you need to stop the Curse,
your only company is the court jester, who spins rhymes for your amusement.
Always appearing when you least expect him, the jester will confront you
with riddles and games, spring some deadly tricks, and give you helpful
nudges in the right direction. And throughout, he seems to be laughing at
some tremendous joke which you can't begin to fathom...
Zork Zero is the prequel to the Zork Trilogy, one of the most popular,
best-loved computer games ever written. Zork Zero takes you back to the age
of the Flatheads, where you can glimpse the Great Underground Empire during
its heyday, and witness its monumental fall.
Overview
Title |
Zork Zero: The Revenge of Megaboz |
Author |
Steve Meretzky |
Product Code |
IZ9 |
Release Information
Release Date (Serial Number) |
Release Number |
Z-Code Version |
881019 |
296 |
Graphic (6) ¹ |
890323 |
366 |
Graphic (6) ² |
890602 |
383 |
Graphic (6) |
890714 |
393 |
Graphic (6) ³ |
¹ Release found in the Mac version of The Lost Treasures of Infocom I.
² Release found in the Apple version of The Lost Treasures of Infocom I.
³ Release found in the PC version of The Lost Treasures of Infocom I.
Game Statistics
Rooms |
215 |
Words |
1624 |
Objects |
106 |
Opcodes |
23587 |
Zork Zero used the newer standard box format (much the same as the
standard "book-like" box but with a slipcase containing a cardboard tray
which contained all the package elements). It contained
the Flathead Calendar (883 GUE), a folded map (blueprints of Rockville
Estates with a yellow Post-It attached to it), and a scrap of parchment.
Last revised: Tue Feb 6 11:08:27 EST 1996 / Peter Scheyen <pete@csd.uwo.ca>