Nara Teshen
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About Nara Teshen
Nara Teshen is a cinematic platformer in the tradition of the 1989 classics: every step, jump and shot is a full animation, and every move has to be planned. The colony ship Bennu is on its final approach to Alpha Frontier, a world inside a nebula, with thousands of colonists asleep in its bays. Nara Teshen of the Imperial Guard is its only escort. A hidden cell of Black Guard loyalists who came aboard as crew has seized the ship and is charging the drive to drag the Bennu back to Tox space. When the drive is charged, the ship jumps and is never found again. The clock is the drive: fourteen minutes.
The ship is three decks of rooms seen from the side, one screen at a time: the cargo hold, the service shafts, and the drive core with the bridge. A small map in the top bar shows the rooms of the deck, the ones you have seen, the lift and the checkpoints. Nara walks a step at a time and stops at every edge, runs, and jumps: a standing jump clears two tiles, a running jump three. Jumping up beside a ledge one floor higher climbs onto it. Falls hurt: one floor is safe, two floors knock her down and cost health, three are fatal.
The decks fight back. Piston spikes rise as you come near and are fatal to run onto, though single steps cross them, shutter blades snap shut on a beat, loose gratings drop out from under your feet, pressure plates open and slam doors, and laser grids block the way unless you slide under them. Terminals along the way show what happened aboard as Nara passes them.
The hijackers carry blaster rifles. Nara has a pistol and draws it by herself when one of them is in her line. Every enemy shot is announced: half a second of aim with a glint at the muzzle, then a bolt you can see coming. Duck under chest-high bolts, jump or slide through knee-high ones, and fire while the shooter is open. Walls and shut doors stop bolts, low crates stop knee-high ones, and a hit knocks the target back, off an edge if there is one behind. Their leader, the ship's false first officer Vask, fights from cover with bursts and takes more hits.
Red ampoules restore health and a large one raises your maximum; a spoiled blue one burns. Dying sends you back to the last checkpoint of the deck, or to its start before the first one, but the clock keeps running. The score counts the rooms you reach, the lifts you ride, decks cleared without a scratch, hijackers stopped and ampoules found, and a win adds the time left on the clock and the health you kept.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Nara not stop instantly?
Every move is a full animation, as in the classic cinematic platformers. A run takes a few steps to stop and a jump commits you once you press it. Tap for single steps near edges: a step always stops at the edge, and only a new tap there steps down.
How far can I jump?
A standing jump clears a gap of two tiles. A running jump clears three if you press Up on the lit strip before the edge. Next to a ledge one floor higher, Up climbs onto it. There is no catching ledges in the air.
Why did I die from a fall?
Dropping one floor is safe. Two floors knock Nara down and cost one point of health, and three floors are fatal. Look for a lower floor to step down onto first.
How do I win a gunfight?
Every enemy shot comes after half a second of aim with a glint at the muzzle, and the bolt travels so you can see it. Duck under chest-high bolts with Down, jump or slide through knee-high ones, and fire with Shift while the shooter is open. Walls and shut doors stop bolts, crates stop knee-high ones, and a hit near an edge can knock a hijacker off it.
Does dying reset the clock?
No. Dying sends you back to the last checkpoint you reached on the deck, or to the start of the deck before the first one, with full health and the rooms as they were when you got there. The clock is the drive charging and keeps running. It stops only when the hijackers' leader falls.
How is the score calculated?
Each new room you reach is worth 50 points and each lift you ride 150. A deck cleared without losing health adds 300, each hijacker stopped 100 and each ampoule 50. A win adds 2 points for every second left on the clock and 100 for every point of health you kept.
