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PC-8801 · 1984

The Death Trap

A LITTLE HELP ON THE MISSION

Walkthrough

A complete route through The Death Trap’s English adventure, with puzzle answers and story spoilers hidden until you want them.

Written for the build 124 English translation. The command sequence below reached the airplane ending in two recorded, uninterrupted playthroughs from New game. This guide keeps that command order and adds reading pauses and scene checkpoints. It covers one complete main-story route, not every optional response or the alternate boat ending. The formatted article has not been replayed as a separate new run.

Before you start

  • Type one command at a time and press Return. Arrows between commands mean “do the next command”; do not type the arrows or paste a whole sequence at once. N, S, E and W are typed directions.
  • Answer tool and puzzle questions separately. For example, CUT WINDOW and its tool answer are two submissions. Keep unusual commands exactly as printed.
  • Finish messages before entering commands. At [Space to continue], press and release Space to read the next page. At a later “Press any key” pause, use Space again. Wait for the Command prompt. A page advance is not a movement command.
  • Use your package’s tested emulator setup. The Player guide covers MAME, disk conversion and the Disk C change. This walkthrough does not supply game disks or firmware.
  • Keep separate save slots and the same working HFE disk. See saving and resuming in the Player guide before you save. A fresh disk conversion does not contain your earlier progress.

1. The base, airport and landing

Collect your equipment before leaving for the mission.

Show the opening commands and supplies route
  1. Advance the opening screens, choose New game with N, and wait for the gate’s Command prompt. Type SAY 3683. In the briefing room, answer the supplies question with B — the single letter used in the tested route.
  2. Continue with N → KISS JASMINE → N → GIVE CARD. Jasmine gives you a pendant and ring. After showing your card, advance the takeoff and destination messages separately with Space until the young soldier has finished speaking and the Command prompt returns.
  3. On the aircraft, use WEAR PARACHUTE → DROP BOX → JUMP. Put the parachute on before jumping, and drop the supply box first.
  4. After landing, type S. Finish the radio message with Space. Then use W → N → N → E → N → GET BOX. Do not skip GET BOX: landing near the supplies does not put them in your inventory.

2. Down to the river

Keep your equipment together as you make your way inland.

Show the zebra, cliff and canoe route
  1. From the recovered supplies, use S → W → N → RIDE ZEBRA → W → GET BOOMERANG → W.
  2. At the cliff, use TIE ROPE → DOWN. Advance the radio message with Space until you reach the riverbank and its canoe.
  3. Type GET WATER. When asked what to use, answer CANTEEN. This is a separate answer to the tool question.
  4. Board and travel with RIDE CANOE → S → S → EXIT CANOE. You should be at the quiet pool in the river.

3. The hut and the river fork

A conversation supplies the answer to a later obstacle.

Show the riddle answer and river-fork solution
  1. Go W → N → ENTER HUT. Type TALK MAN → SAY VENUS. The answer earns you the word HORUS.
  2. Leave with EXIT HUT → S → E → RIDE CANOE → S → S.
  3. Read both pages of the transport’s radio message. Press Space at [Space to continue], release it, then advance the remaining message when asked. When the fork and whirlpool are visible, type HORUS. The whirlpool vanishes.

4. Entering the ruins

There is useful equipment hidden below the jungle.

Show the route into the ruins and the flute pickup
  1. Use W → W → EXIT CANOE → S → E → S → S → ENTER RUINS → W.
  2. Examine and use the hole with LOOK HOLE → LIGHT BAT → GET FLUTE. LIGHT BAT is the exact command used here.
  3. Continue with EXIT → DOWN → READ LETTER. You should be looking at the ancient writing.

5. The tomb and jungle hideout

Examine the room before trying to open the way forward.

Show the ancient-writing solution and hideout supplies
  1. Use LOOK ROOM → PULL STONE → READ LETTER → SAY IBEN. The second reading follows the changed stone; keep that order.
  2. Type OPEN SARCOPHAGUS → ENTER SARCOPHAGUS → E. Read both radio pages, using Space at the page prompt and again to finish the message.
  3. Continue with E → ENTER BASE → OPEN BOOK → GET AX → GET ROPE. Opening the book reveals a note. Pick up the ax and rope explicitly before leaving.

6. Through the jungle and maze

Follow the directions exactly; the map’s appearance alone can be misleading.

Show the elephant, maze and ravine crossing
  1. Use EXIT → S → S → S → S → GET FLOWER → PLAY FLUTE.
  2. Navigate the maze with E → N → E → S → E → S. You should reach the deep ravine.
  3. Type TIE ROPE. At [ With what ], answer ROPE. Then type THROW ROPE. The rope should reach the far side.
  4. When the game advises replacing the disk in Drive 2, mount your patched Disk C there, replacing Disk B. Leave the working HFE Disk A in Drive 1. Make this change before crossing.

7. Across the desert

Water and the newly dropped supplies make this crossing possible.

Show the desert directions and water stop
  1. Cross with E. Finish the radio message with Space before moving again.
  2. Use E → DRINK WATER → S → E → N → OPEN BOX. Drink in the desert when you feel faint, then recover the supplies from the box. Do not treat seeing the box as collecting its contents.

8. A night in the jungle

Wait for a safe opportunity to continue.

Show how to make camp and leave in the morning
  1. From the supplies, use S → W → S → E → S. Advance the nightfall message with Space.
  2. Make camp with GET BRANCH → FIRE BRANCH → SLEEP. The unusual wording FIRE BRANCH is intentional: use the exact command shown.
  3. In the morning, go E → S. You should be near the guarded hideout.

9. Into the guarded hideout

Use the gifts and tools you brought from home.

Show the distraction, window and escape passage
  1. Use S → OPEN PENDANT → THROW PENDANT → N → S → GET STONE → S → S. Keep the pendant distraction and the subsequent directions in that order.
  2. At the window, type CUT WINDOW. Answer the tool question with RING, then use ENTER WINDOW. Dr. Gitanes is inside.
  3. Finish the rescue message with Space until the small floor door is revealed. Type UNLOCK DOOR, answer WIRE, then use ENTER DOOR.
  4. Read the doctor’s two-page conversation. Press Space at the page prompt, release it, then finish the remaining message before entering another movement command.

10. Finding the second hideout

The rescue is not the end of the mission.

Show the radio clue and guarded-cave approach
  1. Use E → E → S → S → W → S → W. Read the radio message and its safe combination, then press Space to reach the guarded cave approach.
  2. Use THROW BOOMERANG → ENTER CAVE → S → W.
  3. Type CUT WIRING. When asked what to use, answer KNIFE. At the wire-color question, answer BLUE. Then go S.

11. The safe and the airfield

Retrieve what you came for, then bring the doctor to the escape route.

Show the combination, key and airfield directions
  1. Type OPEN SAFE. Answer its combination question with R3L9R3 on its own. Then use GET FILM.
  2. Use LOOK GUERRILLA → OPEN POCKET → GET KEY → LOOK ROOM. Finding the key and taking it are separate actions.
  3. Type UNLOCK DOOR → OPEN DOOR → W → TALK DOCTOR → S → W → W → N. You should reach the airfield and its half-open building.

12. The final escape

The last building contains one more confrontation.

Show the final encounter and airplane ending
  1. Use ENTER BUILDING. Read the entire two-page confrontation. Press Space at the page prompt and wait for the Command prompt before answering.
  2. Type LIE → THROW KNIFE → GET KEY. Wait for the result of each command. The dropped key must be collected.
  3. Leave with EXIT BUILDING → W → S → ENTER AIRPLANE.
  4. Read the reunion. Press Space when invited to continue to the animated ending. That completes this main-story airplane route.

If you get stuck

Show the supplies, water and rope checklist
  • Did you answer the opening supplies question with B, collect Jasmine’s gifts, and recover the first box with GET BOX after landing?
  • At the riverbank, did you answer GET WATER with CANTEEN? Seeing the river does not fill the canteen.
  • Did you pick up both the ax and replacement rope at the jungle hideout?
  • At the ravine, did you answer TIE ROPE with ROPE, throw it across, and mount patched Disk C in Drive 2 before crossing?
  • In the desert, did you drink when instructed and use OPEN BOX at the new supplies?
Show the prompt, disk and save checklist
  • If an expected action does not happen, check for a pending message or tool question. Finish that prompt before continuing the route. Do not blindly repeat a whole group of commands.
  • If the wrong disk is requested, check both drives. Drive 1 keeps working HFE A; Drive 2 holds B early and patched C later. Follow an explicit disk prompt before pressing the requested continue key.
  • If MAME rejects Disk A before the game boots, check that Drive 1 contains the converted HFE rather than the patched D88.
  • If native saves vanish after a restart, check that the HFE is writable and that you reopened the same saved working file.

Guide prepared November 2, 2026, from the recorded English main-story route, its scene checks and the packaged emulator instructions. Earlier separate save-and-cold-load tests support the saving advice; the uninterrupted ending runs did not use reloads. Other branches, audio and real hardware are outside this guide’s verification scope.