Anyone who thinks this game is too hard needs a smack from the "grow up" stick. This is not run-and-gun. This
Lengthy dungeon-crawl with item customization and levelling up (of character and items). Some snappy dialogue. Japanese voice-overs left intact.
The bad:
Somewhat repetitive by the end, but show me a game that isn't.
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You know, all the kvetching about how hard this game is, how you die and lose everything and blah blah blah.....I almost didn't pick this game up because of it.
What a mistake that would've been.
Look, yes, you lose your stuff when you die, but there are lots of ways to preserve a lot of it.
First of all, if you have a particular talisman ('scroll' ), you can warp out of the dungeon any old time. The talisman can be PURCHASED AT A STORE IN TOWN after you've cleared the first two dungeons. So, provided you make sure you have one of these handy scrolls in your inventory when you enter a dungeon, you are guaranteed to survive with your gear. If anything, the first two dungeons are the toughest as a result of not being able to buy this scroll, but the rest of the game is pretty much a breeze, provided you play it cautiously, and make sure you are very buffed up level-wise.
Second, you have access (after the first dungeon) to a storehouse where you can keep all the extra gear you want. If you make repeated runs through the same dungeon (which gets easier every time since you are always levelling up), you can build up a good inventory of extra equipment for those occasions when you find yourself dead.
Third, unless you play like a complete idiot, not paying attention to having enough healing items, or letting yourself get surrounded, you are not going to find this game that difficult. Healing your character involves, wait for it, it's complicated.....STANDING AROUND while the hit points are restored. Sheesh.
Fourth, if you can't seem to get the hang of warping out when in trouble, you can always stick one of the warp talismans on to your gear, so that if you die, the gear will still warp out without you. So, you can feel free to take more chances, knowing that at least the gear will survive for another run.
Finally, what you absolutely need to do is level up at every opportunity, and make sure you have good gear. This is straight out of page 1 of the RPG player's survival guide, and it's just as true here, since you will for a while anyway, be flying without a safety net to bail you out of bad situations.
The problem people are having with the 'difficulty' of this game is due to something I've said many times before: they never really learned how to play an RPG properly, since on-the-fly saving makes death a triviality. This game restores death to it's rightful place: a serious consequence of acting like a moron in a dangerous place. So, don't act like a moron, take death seriously, and play this game as though YOU are the one in the dark dungeon with monsters everywhere...bet you wouldn't just start running from dark room to dark room without checking. Heck, I bet you don't even like going into your own house's basement after dark. This game is meant to be played with extreme caution. Doing so will result in a rewarding 25-35 hours of dungeon-crawling. Izuna rocks. 'nuff said.