Stratos is an MSX 8K ROM game specifically made in order to compete MSXdev'04 challenge. It's an Arcade / maze game that joins action and strategy.

Story

My name is Oblong which means "wider than taller" in swahili language. I know each tree in this forest, each footpath of my village, each history of its people, each history...

So I remembered that the Chief had gone away on the hunt during one week leaving his wife alone in the hut... but I had to flee suddenly from the village because of the rinhos shortage.

Game

The objective is to obtain all the diamonds in each labyrinth and to leave it in a limited time.
You must be able to use the available elements.

The elements that you can find in the maze are:

Wall: Indestructible, it prevents the way.
Cracked wall: It prevents the way but it can be destroyed.
Grass: It supports the weight of the elements that undergo the gravity.
Ground: The elements will fall if they find it underneath.
Rocks: They prevent the way and they will fall by gravity.
Diamonds: You must get them all. It is affected by gravity.
Bombs: Tool to clear the way. It is affected by gravity in activated mode. You can get them at any time.

Arrows: They turn the screen 90º in the anti/clockwise direction.
Social amoebas: They kill by contact and they are duplicated with time.
Heart: Adds a life.
Exit: It opens gathering all the diamonds.
Character: Oblong N'gue. He left his village due to the shortage of rhinos. He will loose a life when an element falls over his head, he touches an enemy or the time finishes.

Controls

Oblong moves in all directions: Cursors / joystick
He pushes sliding elements: Space+right or Space+left. (Also clear the grass)
He activates the bombs: N+right or N+left.
Suicide: ESC.
Pause the game: STOP.
Music activate/deactivate: F4/F5.
50/60 Hz switch: Home. (during game start scene)

Info panel

Diamond: It indicates the number of diamonds to gather.
Sand clock: Remaining time.
Bomb: Number of bombs in a the firing chamber.
Heart: Number of remaining lives.