top of page
< Back

​​Aztec (Apple II/Multi, 1982)

​​Aztec (Apple II/Multi, 1982)

Subgenre: Maze Platformer/Proto-Platform Adventure (no permanent tools or abilities gained besides two weapons you can find - start with some dynamite sticks), Open World/Non-linear


Other: Randomized world, Flip Screen/Multi-Screen, Better controls in the Atari 8-bit ver., You start with the one tool used for progression rather than finding it

Item inventory (switch between machete, gun or unarmed)
Hidden items in the piles of bones and debris (weapons, ammo, health, the idol - goal of the game; some piles are trapped with bombs (placed or falling) and the game warns you with a "look out!" message)
Dynamite can blow up walls/floors/stairs and if placed near a ledge it drops down to the floor below (it's possible to get stuck by destroying crucial parts of the layout, there's also an exploit letting you make a placed stick move to the same spot on the next screen by going there before it blows up). If you find a box with dynamite sticks in it then you can keep going back to it to replenish your supply
Horizontally looping world - Superman, Defender
Have to escape after finding the idol
Running and climbing
Time limit on the point value of the idol
Fight stance/fight mode with different moves (later used in games like Prince of Persia, Usagi Yojimbo, Little Big Adventure)
Save feature
No fall damage however you do get knocked out from falling and you take longer to get back up depending on the length of the fall (you also get briefly knocked over if on the same floor as a dynamite explosion)
No map
Can stand on some enemies and walk along with them when they move
Enemies can move between screens
Ammo boxes never run out
Rising water trap in some rooms (can't swim and you die within a couple of seconds if underwater)


Playthrough - Video Review



Influenced by: Possibly Donkey Kong series, Raiders of the Lost Ark (movie and/or game), Castle Wolfenstein, Adventure, Rogue


Influenced: Possibly HERO, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Below the Root, Prince of Persia, Spelunker, Impossible Mission II

bottom of page