Which version of Zak McKracken do you suggest I play?

I agree, and also suggest the C64 version. It’s not just for nostalgia reasons, but it feels like it captures the original personalities intended by the artists.

Even though it’s one of my favorites, it can be frustratingly hard at times! There’s no shame in using a hint guide sometimes.

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I’d say, it is meant to be read before playing the game. You get an idea about the Zak universe and some minor hints among red herings. It’s a tabloid, so it doesn’t take its accuracy too seriously with actual ingame settings either.
It is probably the hint book you want to avoid for quite a while. Both are part of the GOG download.

That’s not the way the game is meant to be played. You can save your game anytime for a reason. Save your game just before you start flying. Have a blank page, fly as many flights you can and write down the connections and pricings. If bankrupt, load the savegame and repeat as necessary until you have a full plan. That’s the way most players probably did it back in the days.

Yes, that´s a way to draw the flight plan yourself. I also didn´t have a flightplan back in the day and I don´t think I ever ran out of money. The important thing to remember is that Annie hardly needs to fly at all, you should never really need her outside of London and Cairo.

Hmm… How much tough is this game?

Can you compare its difficulty with other popular PnC adventure games (excluding MM, which I didn’t play either)?

I have no way of telling. Both Maniac Mansion and Zak McKracken are a lot harder than Monkey Island though, and there are a few dead ends and ways to die.

There are also a few mazes.

You need to undestand the world and what you need to do. You can´t talk with anyone so there is not many occasion where you can get hints.

It´s really old school with all it´s trappings. Not in anyway unfair, though. But if you want a challenge, you will get it.

Also remember when you read the newspaper, you don´t get direct hints from it. Just ideas you can use on other occasions. Like the newspaper tells a story about something that happened with a thing, and in the game you will do something similar but with another thing.

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A summary of versions:

Number 1
Original version for C64 and DOS, resolution 160x200 (1988):

zak_mckracken
Screenshot from the C64 version

zakoldreal1
Screenshot from the DOS version, note the different and worse color palette, the same color for skin and wall


Number 2
Enhanced graphics (still EGA, 16 colors, resolution 320x200) for Amiga, Atari ST and DOS (1988):

zak_mckracken_usgold_5
Screenshot from the Atari ST (same as Amiga 500)

8117-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders-dos-screenshot-zak-s
Screenshot from the DOS version, note the less natural skin tone


Number 3
New enhanced graphics (VGA, 256 colors) for FM-Towns (1990):
501177-zak-mckracken-and-the-alien-mindbenders-fm-towns-screenshot

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The National Inquisitor was inside the Zak McKracken box. So it is Ok. There are a lot of hints in there.

More or less Monkey Island 2, but in Zak there are no “parts”. You can go everywhere, when you want.

I agree with what LogicDeLuxe said.

But you should get the newspaper from another source, those uploads on GOG (both English and German) are very low quality.

Some people have different taste (and with “different” I mean, of course, “no”) :slight_smile:

Have you played/seen MI1 EGA and/or MI1 VGA? It’s a similar decision.

In conclusion, LowLevel, begin to play Zak McKracken in any version you want.
Just do it.

But first listen to this for a while…

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People, what a delusion… This game is a piece of cake. According to the walkthrough I’m already at 40%.

That´s nice to know!

How many device pieces do you have already?

42

Jokes aside have you really started now?

Not yet. I’m still killing my eyes reading a badly-scanned and blurred newspaper.

Is it better or worse than this?

It’s it.

(20 characters yada yada that are now useless but I’m nostalgic)

I would link the scan from Tentakelvilla, but that´s in german.

Oh wait it´s not.

Download a bigger PDF from here

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Oh, thanks! Way better! Much appreciated.

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