Not long ago, high school student and part-time adventurer Mike Jones jour- neyed to the South Seas and single-handedly put an end to the schemes of an evil alien named Zoda. He also managed to save his uncle, the famous archae- ologist Dr. Steve Jones, and seven space children from Zoda's clutches.

Mike has now returned to his home is Seattle where Dr. Jones is attempting to decipher a strange inscription that he found on the side of the space child- ren's escape pod. The cipher was written by Hirocon, the leader of the planet Argonia. WHen Zoda's forces attacked Argonia, Hirocon sent the children away so that they could escape from the wrath of this powerful villain. If Dr. Jones can decipher the inscription, it may clue Mike in on how he can destroy the evil aliens once and for all.

Dr. Jones believes that the answer to the puzzle lies somewhere in The Oxford Wonder World, a book that he received some time ago from a very wise old man. It includes stories of cavemen, Cleopatra, Leonardo da Vinci and many other people of the past. If Dr. Jones can uncover the mystery of the inscription, he might be able to find a connection between the stories in the book and the plight of the Argonians.

--From the NES Startropics II: Zoda's Revenge instruction manual.