With two endings and a map so big you need to find and activate teleportation crystals to find your way around it more easily, Robamimi isn't messing around with their escape game Gargoyles. In fact, they warn at the start of the game (the default language is already set to English!), you'll even want to keep a pen and paper nearby to keep track of clues! It's time to put on your Big Kid Pants, in other words, but your reward, if you can successfully explore this calm maze, is a great treasure. Your cursor will change when it passes over something you can click on to interact with, and the arrows that appear at the edges of the screen represent your ability to move around the area, though you should still explore on your own to find everything to click on. If you get stuck, clicking "hint" might give you a nudge in the right direction! Provided it, uh, doesn't wind up making you clutch your pearls. (Hey, I'm not going to judge. Do you know how little Japanese I speak? The pained, polite face the waitress at my favourite sushi place makes when I try to pronounce things may give you a clue. Respect, Robamimi.)
It's been a while since we've seen something from Robamimi as I write this, but clearly they haven't been idle. Gargoyles is a pretty substantial game, and its puzzles run the gamut from straightforward "use round item in round hole" variety to real head scratchers that will take some thought to work your way through. There are a lot of codes and patterns to memorize (or write down), so keeping track of everything is hard enough without being sure whether you're actually looking at something the right way to make use of it, though Gargoyles does fairly well at leading you without overwhelming you with information. The crystal teleporation is a nice touch, since it does get a little clicky otherwise backtracking through all the screens that eventually open up. With its chilled out, environmental soundtrack, Gargoyles is easy to get engrossed in, with an air of mystery and discovery as you uncover each new location. If you like an escape game with a whole lot of meat on its bones that you'll want to roll up your sleeves to tackle, Gargoyles is an easy recommendation, and a prime example of why Robamimi's fans keep coming back year after year.
Well, this is taking forever to load, but because it is Robamimi I expect it is well worth the wait.
This very much reminded me of the game Rhem. Very interest and complex. I had to use a walkthrough to get through some bits, though. Very well done game.
And, I am out! No hints! To be honest, I am not sure if I had the "perfect" ending, though I checked, and there is a different, not as perfect ending. Still, I always look forward to Robamimi's games. Thank you for a challenging two hours. :)
I've missed Robamimi! What a great adventure. The transporter was a nice addition.
Out with a perfect ending, and no hints besides the ones provided in-game. Very satisfying escape!!
I've got a sudden yearning to play the original Myst. The sound effects in this game strongly remind me of the Channelwood age.
I dont know how to do the key thing. I know it has something to do with the clue
I played this game a couple of days ago.. and yes, it is worth the year we've been waiting for a new Robamimi !
Hopefully we won't have to wait that long for the next one, I'm so impatient !
Walkthrough
The teleporters need to be "registered" (clicked on) before you can use them to come back to a room. Needless to say, you can't teleport to a room you've never visited. I've done my best to add reminders about the teleporters below, but no guarantees, so first time you see a teleporter, always make sure to click on it.
This is constructed around the in-game hints: if you get stuck, first try the in-game hint, and if that's not helping, find that spot below and start reading. (There's one instance of repeating hints; I've differentiated them by what you have in your inventory.)
first = 3
Make sure to "register" the first teleporter, then look around and collect some items.
Get the clue paper from the other side of the fence, and the yellow key from under the gargoyle picture. Also, might as well collect the broom.
Look at the treasure-chest style box on the table.
Put the key into the lock to reveal clockwise and counterclockwise arrows. Now, look at the paper and try to use the "first = 3" hint to figure out how and in what order to use the numbers.
Another hint is: where is the yellow arrow when you hit "reset"? Find that on the paper, and do what the paper says. Now where is the yellow arrow?
With the arrow at the 12:00 starting position, click the clockwise arrow three times, then counterclockwise once, then clockwise five times, then counterclockwise nine times.
Get the "magical stone".
Right
Put the magical stone into the pillar (opposite the table) and turn it to drain the water.
Climb down the ladder partway until you see some symbols.
Now, use the hint.
Look at the right half of each symbol to see 3947.
Use the code to open the box on the left side of the table. Get the matchbook.
Fire!
Use the matchbook to illuminate the downstairs area. Well, not directly; that'd burn your fingers.
Face the fence and click the gray square on the ground to the left. Lift it to reveal a candle.
Where is a switch?
Climb all the way down the ladder and turn to the right once. Click the box on the wall and switch it to "on".
Don't forget to "register" the new teleporter.
blue + yellow = ?
Near the bottom of the ladder, find the rhombus gargoyle. Examine its fingernails.
yellow, blue/yellow, blue, yellow, blue/yellow, yellow/blue, yellow, blue, yellow/blue, yellow.
Turn to the right and find a wall safe with blue, green, and yellow buttons.
Blue plus yellow make green, obviously. So, right, middle, left, right, middle, middle, right, left, middle, right.
Get the barrel of gunpowder.
'ro'
Go down the hallway and examine the pictures of rock roses. Note their names, and note that they each have an on/off switch at the top. Combine all this with the hint (which also appears on a half-pillar in the middle of the hallway).
Turn on the switches for the rock roses that have "ro" in their names.
Get the green key from the half-pillar.
BOM!!!
Upstairs (you can use the ladder, or you can save a few steps with the teleporter), use the green key to open the box to the right of the pillar. Get a knife.
Look at the matchbook and think about the hint (which really ought to be spelled "boom", but how good is your Japanese? because mine is nonexistent). What you really need is some string for a fuse, but all you have is a broom and a knife.
Use the knife on the broom to get a string.
Combine the string and the gunpowder. Downstairs, put the gunpowder where the picture in the matchbook (and the humongous red X on the wall) indicate, then back away until you see the end of the string, ahem, sorry, fuse. Light the end.
puddles
(As you're going through the, um, improvised doorway, pick up the rhombus crown glinting on the left.)
Turn right to find the next teleporter (don't forget to "register" it), as well as the library. Look at the lock on the library door: "Derosa" and "Titubans"? Those sound familiar.
There's a note on the wall to the right of the door, "Please be careful about the puddles". And the buttons on the door lock have water droplets on them. OK, OK, I get it, the clue has to do with water puddles.
Go back to the beginning of the hallway, so you can just see the picture of the "Derosa" rock rose on your left. Note the puddles on the ground. Go down the hallway and keep noting the puddles until you get to the last rock rose picture.
left, right, right, left, left, right
(In case it's not obvious, use the clue to unlock the library door.)
footprint + white books
Examine the hexagram on the wall opposite the base of the stairs. Note that the library floor has a similar set of footprints, and there are six bookshelves.
On each shelf, there is one big white book that you can open. In each book, page one has a hexagram, and page two has a symbol. Note that symbol and its location. (In the book opposite the footprints, there's also stuff on pages 3 and 4, which'll be useful later.)
Starting with the bottom point of the star and going clockwise, click 4 times, 5 times, 0 times, once, twice, and three times. (This is assuming you haven't been randomly clicking. If you have, you're on your own, but it's really not that hard.)
Click the "open" button (or did it say "unlock"? I don't remember, and it isn't visible anymore... anyway, it should be obvious) to see that this whole wall opens to reveal a gargoyle and some sort of sign.
pot
Get the small pot from the stairs. Examine the pot to find a blue key. Use the key to open the treasure chest in the library (to the right of the door) and get the + crown.
X11X
For this one, you need to look at the library windows, one of the white books, and the sign above the + gargoyle. And then make a rather huge mental leap.
Pages 3 and 4 of the book opposite the footprints says to combine book + windows + frame. It also says to make sure you're looking at "Library" the right way round, not from the back; and it has a 3x3 grid of numbers.
Go out the library door and turn around. Note the pink and blue window panes. Look up those panes in the book: pink = 1, 5, 8; blue = 2, 6, 9. Now go look at the frame above the gargoyle: a big blue box, two small pink boxes, and a medium blue box.
Here comes the mental leap: the boxes mean that you need to take the largest blue digit, the smallest pink digit twice, and the medium blue digit. So, 9116.
Use the code to open the box to the left of the door. Get the purple key.
marks of that wall = the position of a book.
First of all, go up the stairs and use the purple key to open the door. Enter the study and find the next teleporter (don't forget to "register" it).
On the desk, there's a book with a whole bunch of hints, but they mostly make sense *after* you've used them. If you know what I mean.
Turn to the door (not the boarded-up doorway, but the door you came in). Notice the dark patch on the wallpaper. Use the knife to remove that patch.
There's a familiar-looking symbol under a bookshelf, then "up 2 right 5".
Go back to the library (transporter or stairs really makes no difference here) and find the bookshelf with that symbol.
It's the one to the left of the doorway to the stairs.
Click the fifth book on the second shelf from the bottom. It says "the lack of clue will become apparent by water", and it has a picture of some familiar-looking, albeit faded, wallpaper and a drop of water. Subsequent pages have 6 squiggly symbols in varying shapes and types of borders.
Since it's really hitting you over the head with this water business, go back to the hallway with the rubble, turn right, and find the gap in the floor with the water. Fill your little pot.
Go back to the study and use the water on that patch of wall where you removed the wallpaper. Note the new clue.
In the library, look at page 14 of the brown book.
The symbol is kinda like a J and its mirror image, with a short horizontal line between them. The border is two circles.
Put the symbol into the box in the study, then look in the top hole and note the six-pointed flower. The petals alternate between black and white, with the top one being black.
page 14 There is a door at the passage.
Go back to the hallway with the rock roses, and use the six-pointed flower clue to open the door opposite the Hyaliana picture.
mode A Use the lever.
Go into the courtyard. There's a teleporter to the left.
Find the contraption to the left of the door. It has an A/B switch, a big lever, and a 3x3 grid.
Leaving the switch at the "A" position, pull the lever repeatedly, and note which squares light up.
Follow the boardwalk to the other door. Use the clue from the machine to unlock the door.
Top left, center middle, left middle, bottom right
4902 & 8901 >> X90X
In the storeroom, look at the chalkboard and note with "Hit & Blow" and numbers.
To make sense of this, I have one word for you: Mastermind. If that doesn't ring a bell, how about Bulls and Cows? If neither of those are helping, (1) either you're too young or I'm too old, and (2) look them up. (Search for "Mastermind board game" so you don't get other meanings of the word.)
This is an old code-breaking game, where one player comes up with a four-digit code that the other player has to guess. On each turn, the guesser gives a number, and the other player tells him how many digits are both the right number and in the right location (what Robamimi is calling "hits"), and how many are the right number but not in the right location ("blows"). The notepaper gives 5 guesses and their results; the last guess is almost correct with 3 hits.
4902 is 3 hits, so either 490_ is correct or _902 is correct. However, 4567 = 1 blow means that the 4 can't be correct, so we're looking for a first digit to go with _902. The 2 blows in the first guess, 0123, are accounted for by the 0 and 2, so neither 1 nor 3 can occur in the answer. Similarly, we know that _90_ accounts for the 2 hits in 8901, so 8 can't be correct, and the 0 is the 1 blow in 0563 so neither 5 or 6 will work. This leaves 7 as the only remaining digit, and the full code is 7902.
Use the code to open the box in the storeroom. Get the nail puller.
use wood slab
Go up to the study and use the nail puller on the boarded-up doorway. Get a nail and a board.
In the hallway, use the board to cross the gap with water in it. Get the heart crown.
over20 = left, under20 = right
In the storeroom, there was a clue: a small circle and a big circle, with a 20 between them. At the end of the hallway that you can now get to thanks to the wooden board, there's a "water level control device" with two wheels and a number indicator that look suspiciously similar to the clue.
The small wheel subtracts 3, while the big wheel adds 7. Use the two wheels to set the number indicator to 20.
Turn the big wheel five times, so the number reads 35, then turn the small wheel 5 times. Or you can alternate turns, it doesn't really matter, as long as you don't try to start with the small wheel, because the number indicator doesn't do negative numbers.
broom + nail
Well, first, do what the hint says: bring up your broom (which is really just a stick at this point, because you removed the string that was holding the bristles), zoom in on the end, and put the nail into the hole.
Next, really the only thing to try is the press the other button on the water level control device, the one on the bottom right that's all blue rather than half white and half blue. Predictably, this floods the place, so the courtyard is now inaccessible... but maybe the doorway into nothingness in the study won't be quite so dangerous now?
Go to the study, and indeed, those floating leaf thingies have floated right up to the door, so you can now walk across to the other door. And what's that glinting on the wall to the right of the door?
Use your broom handle + nail contraption to get the glinty object, which turns out to be the pink key.
Use the key to open the door, which finally takes you to the four gargoyles that you saw at the beginning of the game, but couldn't get to. Don't forget about registering the teleporter.
pull down a shutter.
When you hit the "flood" button, a metal door came down in the hallway. Maybe go look at it?
It has a code on it: bottom, top, top, middle, middle.
Go back to the gargoyles and use the code to open the treasure chest. Get the spherical crown.
ladder room [#1 - you still have the crowns]
Go back to the ladder room (if needed, use the water level control device to unflood the place first). Put the rhombus crown onto the gargoyle and get the crystal.
dark small room
Go to the room at the base of the stairs next to the library. Put the + crown on the gargoyle and get the crystal.
Victoria cruziana
(I have no idea what the clue is trying to say.) Go to the courtyard and use the green leaves to get to the gargoyle. Put the heart crown on it and get the crystal.
pot, storage
Go to the storeroom and put the spherical crown on the gargoyle and get the crystal.
Hey! Who locked the door?
It was the gargoyle.
Put the pot into the gargoyle's hands so it doesn't realize you've taken the crystal. Now you should be able to leave.
ladder room [#2 - you have 4 crystals]
Look at the drain covers in front of the gargoyle.
South, west, east, north
Go to the gargoyle room and put a crystal in each gargoyle's hand. Turn them in the directions indicated by the drain covers.
Get the button from the hatch indicated by the arrow.
give a tree water of the source of water.
Put the button from the 4 gargoyles into the empty spot on the water level control device. Then, since there isn't anything better to do, press the button.
Go to the courtyard and go down to the right. Get the stone ball from the Luna gargoyle.
Go to the storeroom and replace your pot with the stone ball.
Go back to the Luna gargoyle, turn right, and look at the puddle at the base of the four big pipes. Fill the pot.
Go to the tree (the starting room) and pour the water at the base of said tree. Use the knife to get the fruit.
The book at the study room.
Go to the study and look at the book on the desk. In particular, look at pages 9 and 10.
"The guard of Luna's shrine seems to like fruit.", and a picture of a gargoyle holding a fruit that looks conveniently similar to the one you just picked off the tree.
Go do as the book says.
Put the fruit into the Luna gargoyle's hands.
Get the red key.
pipes + wall + the book written numbers at the library
Use the red key to open the wall safe to the right of the Luna shrine, at the low spot of the (drained) courtyard. Get the hexagonal box.
Note the symbols at the bases of the pipes, and the 3x3 grid of symbols on the wall.
Use the same numbers as you did earlier for the pink and blue code, but this time find the ones that correspond to the symbols on the pipes.
Top center, middle center, bottom right, top left = 4573
Use the code to open the hexagonal box and get the white key.
[For the empty-handed ending, exit at this point by using the white key to open the big double doors in the gargoyles room. Otherwise, keep going.]
modeB The book written numbers at the library
Look at the code at the back of the wall safe that you opened with the red key (at the low spot of the courtyard). Use the number grid from the book once again to translate the numbers into locations on a 3x3 grid.
bottom right, lever, top left, middle left, lever, lever, top center, top right, lever
Go to the contraption next to the courtyard door and switch it to mode B. Enter the code from the back of the wall safe. Get the "ninja rope with grappling hook".
use the ninja rope with grappling hook
Find the view of the Luna gargoyle that has an upward-pointing navigation arrow. Look up to see a big eye bolt. Use the grappling hook on the eye bolt, then climb the rope. Get the treasure (a crystal flask) from the chest.
Well done!
This is your cue to leave. Go to the gargoyles room and use the white key on the big double doors.
Wow...this is currently rated even higher on JiG than Neutral's magnum opus, Elements. DMom2K made me a bit nervous with the comparison to Rhem (which made Myst seem like child's play), but this one felt just challenging enough. Thank heaven for those teleporters and the occasional in-game hint! Fantastic game.
Yeeees! I thought that Robamimi finished her activities...
and now I'm so excited (it seems to me a huge one), and don't want to wait, but unfortunately a have to (just a few hours I hope)!
What a delightful game. It took several hours. I have a notebook that I write all my clues for games that I play. I filled many pages with this game.
And the translation "oops" was hilarious. :D
I may start it again just to have the background sound which was very soothing.
Had to use the guide twice, once for the "huge mental leap" and once because I hadn't had to squint or pixel hunt before that point. Overall though I really liked this, it had just the right amount of challenge without anything seeming too obvious or too obscure.
I think it has been a year since our last Robamimi escape? I am so relieved;they are definitely one of the very best. I was afraid the were gone gone gone.
Has Robamimi edited the game to remove the profanity? I didn't encounter it when playing, and it's not mentioned in Reka's walkthrough, which is organized by in-game hint text.
Nice game except for the pink / blue puzzle....
Yes, I was going to ask about that, too, but by the time I finished the walkthrough, it was way past my bedtime - I didn't even really proofread past the first half or so.
I suppose it's possible that the hint in question only shows up if you do things in a different order, but I really did try to see every hint, and I didn't see any unfortunate translation problems. Could someone who has seen it before re-play the game and see if it has been changed?
In re profanity -- just a guess: maybe there was a typo in the hint, "pull down a shutter"?
I'm not sure what the note about profanity is referring to, since I didn't encounter any hints apart from the ones in the walkthrough either, but that hint definitely read "shutter" when I played.
The content warning is in regards to what the rope is called at the end of the game. :) (Think "F" rope.) I have not replayed to see if this was fixed.
I just replayed, and I'm convinced that the profanity has been replaced with the word "ninja". That's how the rope is identified when you acquire it, and that's what it says in the in-game hint about it.
While I was at it, I also verified that there are only the two endings:
empty-handed and with treasure. Refilling the pot with the "water of the source" doesn't change anything.
Good stuff--especially for a free browser game. I agree with the comparisons to Rhem, a series which I love. But I also agree with those who found the pink/blue puzzle too much of a stretch.
The pink/blue windows. Not a fun puzzle. I didn't get it. I had to use walkthrough for the answer. Even then I didn't get it.
I guess I'm one of the few for which the pink/blue puzzle was natural to me (enough that the correct code was the first thing I tried). I did use Reka's walkthrough for the first puzzle (which is quite the rough way to start an escape game!) and for an easily missed item later on:
The pink key, which didn't glimmer the first time I glanced at that direction.
And also to check the two endings. The in-game hints were not very helpful, since you solve most puzzles and use most items in the same order you find them.
Oh and also you can do this without taking any notes, provided you have sufficiently good memory for that one puzzle in the library. For those who are curious about the symbols:
The symbols on the books and hexagram are called Genji-mon and come in a set of 54. One good way to remember six symbols is to focus on the negative space.
For what it's worth, I also had no trouble with the pink/blue puzzle — and, like you, never saw a glimmer and had to use the walkthrough there.
Why the ":S" rating?
Was there questionable content I missed? Does the elixir of life count as "drug use?"
Never mind, I see the italicized explanation now. Either I didn't see the mistranslation or it was fixed!
How come Robamimi's English proficiency seems to have worsened? Her English wasn't that broken in the past.
Yes, the profanity has been removed now, as I found the description and the change mentioned on a couple of other websites. And it was the ninja rope and grappling hook that was the object in question. So the rating can be changed now.
This also explains Robamimi's paragraph above the game.
I'm having trouble opening the door to the garden. I put in the correct six pointed star pattern and nothing happens. Have I missed something? (using el capitan & chrome).
@ Jim Moore: Are you sure you're inputting the correct star pattern?
the pattern on the box changes
depending on the setting on the box (the symbol and outline combination). So you have to figure out the correct combination before you know the correct pattern.
If you're absolutely sure you have the correct pattern... maybe try reloading? I think the game is autosaved....
Enjoying this so far, although loons in an enclosed garden are giving me a chuckle!
I reloaded and triple checked the symbols to no avail but
Before reading the Walkthrough I tried using the water on the tree. It didn't work and the bowl still showed full. Later, I got the
p14 clue
from the walkthrough. The star symbol box provided the correct symbol but the door wouldn't work until I
filled the bowl again and splashed the wall to expose the page number.
The bowl still shows full but the door's open.
Thanks for your help! Fantastic game!
Jim Moore, there is at least one other place where the game enforces a "you don't know that yet" rule:
in the library, the book two shelves up and five books over isn't viewable/clickable until after you've seen the clue about it upstairs in the study.
I didn't really understand what happened in the ending where I get the treasure.
So, the elixir leaked out into the water. Was there still any left for me? What was it doing to the weird cartoon bears and stuff? Why was I still happy about it?
Very nice game. Parts of it remind me very much of Neutral's recent game Elements (which I liked even better).
@Reka
RE: The "Victoria cruziana" clue... Those green leaves are Victoria cruziana water lilies.
Great walkthrough @Reka, thanks!
Also, Google
Victoria Cruziana
so pretty :)
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