Brain Lord (SNES, 1994)
Graphics-6.5 Sound-7.5 Control-7 Challenge-7 Story-6
Level Design-7/6* Frustration-7/7.5* Fun-7/6* Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*Parts of dungeon 4 and the last dark room in dungeon 5
+
Zelda-like AA gameplay w/ platforming and an overall puzzle focus (some permanent stat upgrades via found or bought items (DEF, AP, HP - can carry and use HP upgrades at will and they also heal you), towns with shops and inns, learn spells (found in dungeons) - can switch with l/r, some tool/ability gating)
Fairy mascots/familiars which level up by collecting orbs dropped by enemies (crimson/red 2 - automatically shoots fireballs, deceased/green 1 - trade its gained levels for reviving the player, power/green 2 - raise AP, lightning/gray 1, water/blue, anger/red 1 - does frequent low damage and keeps the enemy distracted (gets pretty strong if leveled up), foundation/gray 2 - raise DEF, light/red 3 - works like a spinning torch for dark rooms, life - slow regen (until lvl 7+ however you can move around so it's still good at lower levels); similar to soul blazer, can use 2 at once though it's the one closest to a dropped exp orb that gets grabs)
Return/puzzle reset feature (teleports you back to the beginning of the last room or sub area you entered for free)
Warp/fast travel item (warp gate - go to any visited location/town as well as back to previously visited save points in a dungeon)
Side quests (read the billboard in the inn/hotel and talk to NPCs)
Some good logic/riddle/timing/spatial awareness/math puzzles (pushable balls that slide until hitting a wall (Landstalker?) and ones that bounce back and forth after being pushed mixed with boulders moved one tile at a time, lure haunted balls onto switches while avoiding being hit by them and timing going into temporarily opened doors, drop into pits to the floor below (sometimes trial & error though) - DQ2 or Zelda 2?, some block puzzles have more than one solution)
Impressive amount of updated NPC dialogue and activity throughout (rival adventurers who move around the towns a bit and are also be encountered in the dungeons, provides some exposition/lore)
The game tells you which floor and dungeon you found a key on if checking it in the inventory+usually gives a hint about where to use it
Shopkeeper/merchant NPCs within the first three dungeons (weird but convenient, these stay until you either beat the dungeon boss or trigger some other event)
Fast resting at inns
Decent weapon variety (sword, axe - breaks item containers, bow, boomerang, morning star - this one can be swung in a circle over and over if you have really good timing which is pretty cool)
Some temporary buff items can be bought or found (+10 AP, +10 DEF, speed boost - only 2 of these in the whole game though sadly (there's also a single cape which increases movement speed but reduces DEF to 0 while worn - risk/reward dynamic)), Some interesting items (magic wallet - generates a bit of gold over time which isn't lost when dying)
Some mini-bosses
Control config
Some temporary vehicles (hover pads in dungeon 2 - can only be used in the room they're found in though)
Decent bosses (final boss (fourth one) has three phases and a minor puzzle aspect to it, single phases for the others though and only the third one has a puzzle aspect to it), can also trade an item for another in shops, some meaningful dialogue choices (get poisoned if you eat the cooked scorpion meat in dungeon 2 when offered to - not a big deal and more of a comic relief scene (the green NPC rival (Kashian) keeps screwing you over in different ways throughout the game)), some large and detailed sprites (bosses), reviving mirror item (saves you from dying once - Ys 2/Zelda 3), new shields are shown as unique sprites on your avatar (but not armor or helms), some cool spells (fireball - continuous AoE damage, slow, stop, flame ring - temporary spinning fireball shield, ghost - bouncing+homing laser), some interesting level gimmicks (anti-magic field rooms in dungeon 3 - much of the dungeon feels like the boss is toying with you as you go through it (via the plaque/sign messages and sometimes telepathically) though it's a bit underdeveloped), one very minor sequence break (jump skip before the fourth dungeon, one major skip using out of bounds glitches), blurs the line between town and hostile area at one point with an attack on the second town opening up an underground path to the final dungeon,
+/-
Save at the inn/hotel in town and at save points in dungeons (one save slot per game only), Some healing springs (1-2 per dungeon), Lose half your money to revive after death unless equipping the "deceased" fairy or a reviving mirror - get sent back to the previously used save point
Linear structure (NPC blocks you from going south early on, some optional dungeon puzzles and rooms)
Basic map feature via the x-ray glasses item (shows only the current floor layout with pits and room connections+your location, doesn't show locked doors or found NPCs/save points/chests, doesn't show where you have and haven't been on a floor)
5 mostly very long dungeons (hostile overworld areas otoh are mostly short and straightforward, dungeon 4 is kinda short)
Shields deteriorate (they also damage enemies when they hit them though - you use them like a swordsman would use a buckler and they actually stun enemies like a regular attack)
Can't move while attacking and can't ready a bow attack while moving (can ready a magic shot while moving), Can't attack nor move while blocking - interestingly you can either let your avatar block automatically (only works from the front) or hold the button down and turn while still which lets you aim while still, Can't jump to cancel an attack move animation
Touch damage from enemies
Have to jump to drop down to a lower platform - makes sure you don't fall but takes some getting used to
Reviving costs gold unless you use a "deceased" fairy which then costs one level for the fairy
Spells make you hold the button and charge up a meter to use them (binary - holding it down longer doesn't make the spell stronger and holding it shorter makes it not trigger)
Off screen enemy respawning (generally a good thing, mini-bosses sometimes don't respawn)
Consumables don't stack in the inventory (48 slots big though)
No strafe or dodge moves
Can't escape from boss battles
Forgiving hit detection for spike traps or when getting shot at with arrows
Some ability/tool gating (the axe is used to break some stone blocks in your way (and any item containers in the towns though this seems optional), light fairy is used as a torch for dark rooms, fire sword - melt ice blocks in dungeon 3, spike boots - don't slip (as much) on ice surfaces in the ice castle/dungeon 3 - optional but useful, ice & phaser spells - create bridges over lava in dungeon 4/over water in dungeon 5 respectively, Cape (+ to speed but 0 DEF) - optional but you'll probably take more damage from haunted steel ball traps and bouncing light balls in dungeon 2 without it, speed boost drink - decent alternative to the cape in the last dungeon), some randomness to the permanent AP & DEF stat gains from items (1-3; can be manipulated but it's a little tedious), the game is forgiving about falling into pits in the sense that you only lose 1 HP but you also get moved back to where you entered the room, can only sell jade/fairy gems to a jade merchant, would've been nice if the dungeon merchants sold most items you missed in the previous areas (the weapon shop in town does update after beating a dungeon though), no life bar refill after beating a boss (can warp back to town and rest though as long as you have a warp gate item), a spell charge is canceled if you get hit, the boomerangs are a bit OP while axes are a bit UP considering their short range and narrow arc, might've been better to have spells mapped to their own button so they could be used as a sub weapon while also using the regular weapon, a bit odd how you can suddenly buy 5+ spells in the second town (none in the first), betting mini-game at the arena (1 on 1 monster fights controlled by the CPU, gold prizes) - would've been better if you could skip the fight or partake in it somehow, can't melt ice blocks with the fireball spell or fairy (need the fire sword), can't reach certain NPCs, one fourth wall breaking puzzle (the key to this room is on the control pad), at one point you fetch an NPC rival adventurer to stand on a switch for you - potentially interesting but never re-used and fleshed out afterwards, (almost) silent protagonist, jumping is a bit faster than walking, the story doesn't introduce a main villain and real objective until after the third dungeon, no MP stat (infinite spellcasting), no real puzzles in the fourth dungeon, some unavoidable damage, no need to revisit previous areas or dungeons with gained tools/spells (sometimes need to backtrack within a dungeon or overworld area with a gained tool and at one point need to use a key in a previous overworld area), cutscenes use in-game graphics only
-
Some interface/control issues (no journal/quest log feature, can't push NPCs out of the way nor move through them, no run move?, can only buy one of each item at a time, no mid-air control when jumping, no regular item explanations in shops (the fairy jades/gems are explained however though the anger one isn't explained well until you buy it), can't skip dialogue on a per paragraph/text box basis (can speed it up but not enough), diagonal movement but 4-way attacks only, can't attack while jumping, can't see shield condition without going into the gear menu, kinda slow shop dialogue, the fairy that didn't grab a dropped exp orb gets nothing - faster fairies tend to get nearly all the exp if 2 are equipped (it sometimes leaves exp for the other one but considering the linear leveling curve it will get further and further ahead quickly (if you use one of the exploit spots for guaranteed drops you can pretty quickly level one up to the cap which is lvl 19 - otherwise leveling is kind of slow), some equally fast ones actually split the orbs evenly though), block/boulder pushing is kinda slow, magic shot can't hit the eye enemies while they're in the walls, very short invincibility time when touching spikes (not when hit by enemies), moving into a wall while on a moving platform makes you stick to the wall, diagonal movement is a bit slower, have to go into the menu to use keys - could've just shown a prompt instead, can't keep charging a spell while moving between rooms - it's canceled and doesn't go off, sometimes stiff movement (around NPCs and around corners if using diagonals), spell charge meter resets when jumping, no auto block on enemy arrows (does block melee attacks and laser attacks from the front), doesn't show enemy or mini-bosses' health bars (changing colors for main bosses), small hit box on the axe weapon, annoying how the remaining magic missiles stay on screen for so long after taking out an enemy and how they don't home in on the next enemy, the boomerang sometimes takes longer to return to your avatar, the dungeon maps load a bit slowly and screen transitions are somewhat slow as well, can't discard unused keys after having beaten the dungeons they're used in - doesn't happen a lot though, can't equip a fairy if you have 2 equipped - have to unequip one of them first, pause menu closes after equipping something instead of staying in the sub menu you were in, can't skip or speed up the betting mini-game monster fights, annoying bouncing off of walls in the ice castle/dungeon 3, sub menus don't wrap around, somewhat unforgiving hit detection around platform and moving platform edges near pits or when using a forward attack with the morning star against certain enemies, the shield forces you down to the ground to try and block certain attacks when trying to jump over them)
Repeated beeping when low on health
Some tedious aspects (solved puzzles don't stay solved and lit rooms don't stay lit (sometimes slows you down a bit when backtracking), some rooms where you have to redo a longer segment if you fall down, the light fairy spinning around you rather than staying ahead and its small area of effect until lvl 12+, the rearranging dark rooms in dungeon 4 - just have to walk back and forth until a path opens up and it's confusing until you realize this (you'd think the rock breaker axe would help here but nope), the dark rooms in dungeon 5 where the light fairy doesn't help - the spells you can use to see the paths take too long to charge up and don't show them efficiently (a "flash" spell like in Zelda 3 or the light fairy semi-working here would've been better, also can't warp out of them when finished or even use Return to get out!, the last one is especially annoying since there are enemies that pull you towards them so you have to keep checking the map to not get lost), mostly empty item containers in town, some enemies take too many hits to kill considering their patterns (stone statue in dungeon 1, green pigmen in the caves - these also tend to run away and despawn), some backtracking and dead space (mountain area before dungeon 4 isn't worth exploring and neither is the desert before dungeon 3) - most of the former can be avoided if you keep a couple of warp gates in your inventory but there is some moving back and forth to unlock doors in dungeon 2 onwards, no antidotes placed or dropped in dungeon 3, some overly large and empty pit rooms in dungeon 5 where you need to create a bunch of temporary bridges)
Some trial & error (stop and slow don't work against the flying enemies outside dungeon 4 nor on the flying balls in dungeon 5, some of the spots where you fall down to end up on the previous floor in dungeons 2 and 3 aren't hinted at, the one clue for the false wall path locations in the first dungeon kinda sucks (however the map/x-ray can help here if you pay attention), some fast moving traps, can't use the x-ray glasses/map feature in some hostile areas like the cave path, a few cheap enemy placements on platforms you're jumping to, last code puzzle in dungeon 2 is partially trial & error-based, the spike traps in dungeon 3 - no consistent visual hint here, ice block trap tiles in dungeon 3, several poisoned plaques/signs (!) in dungeon 3 - these usually give hints so you want to read them, finding the weapon shop in dungeon 3 - optional though)
Slowdown here and there when using 2 fairies (heavy slowdown if also using the magic missile spell/flame ring/ghost spells)
Some enemies are dumb in that if you align yourself diagonally (like in Ys) then they don't attack when in range
Some platforms above the ground level of a room/sub area are weird in that it looks like you can reach on top of them while in mid-air but then you can't and slide down instead
No melee attack combos and only one alternate attack method to learn
Mostly non-interactive environment/doodads in town
The game outright tells you the solution to some puzzles (switch puzzles in dungeon 2-floor 1, one switch puzzle in dungeon 3)
Some minor translation misses
Weird looking human sprites and sometimes odd color choices (garish grass in the first town for example), Some effects look so-so (fire sword attack and when melting ice blocks)
While there are gear sets (helm, armor, shield, a cape for one of them) there's no bonus for wearing all parts of a set
A few invisible walls (around water in the first hostile area)
Tougher enemies don't necessarily drop more gold
Cheap volcanic eruption traps in dungeon 4, no item stash in town, the magic shield spell doesn't last long enough to be of much use, most enemies let out the same scream when hit, can't grab enemy drops/loot with the boomerang or any of the fairies (the latter can grab exp orbs so why not?), can carry a few too many healing items at once+OP life/regen fairy, third boss is pretty easy as soon as you figure out its weakness (stop spell) and some parts of dungeon 5 are easy as well, some spells aren't worth getting after the third dungeon (slow, impulse, lightning, bound; spells never level up and you can't for example use stop and then switch to slow while it's in effect), don't get to fight alongside the NPC rival/friendly adventurers or play as them, the final sword is kinda weak (better to use the second boomerang or morning star against the final boss)
Notes:
-Part of the Mystic Ark/7th Saga franchise
-Can get a guaranteed exp orb in one room in the second dungeon (hover pad room) and on the road to Toronto
Level Design-7/6* Frustration-7/7.5* Fun-7/6* Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*Parts of dungeon 4 and the last dark room in dungeon 5
+
Zelda-like AA gameplay w/ platforming and an overall puzzle focus (some permanent stat upgrades via found or bought items (DEF, AP, HP - can carry and use HP upgrades at will and they also heal you), towns with shops and inns, learn spells (found in dungeons) - can switch with l/r, some tool/ability gating)
Fairy mascots/familiars which level up by collecting orbs dropped by enemies (crimson/red 2 - automatically shoots fireballs, deceased/green 1 - trade its gained levels for reviving the player, power/green 2 - raise AP, lightning/gray 1, water/blue, anger/red 1 - does frequent low damage and keeps the enemy distracted (gets pretty strong if leveled up), foundation/gray 2 - raise DEF, light/red 3 - works like a spinning torch for dark rooms, life - slow regen (until lvl 7+ however you can move around so it's still good at lower levels); similar to soul blazer, can use 2 at once though it's the one closest to a dropped exp orb that gets grabs)
Return/puzzle reset feature (teleports you back to the beginning of the last room or sub area you entered for free)
Warp/fast travel item (warp gate - go to any visited location/town as well as back to previously visited save points in a dungeon)
Side quests (read the billboard in the inn/hotel and talk to NPCs)
Some good logic/riddle/timing/spatial awareness/math puzzles (pushable balls that slide until hitting a wall (Landstalker?) and ones that bounce back and forth after being pushed mixed with boulders moved one tile at a time, lure haunted balls onto switches while avoiding being hit by them and timing going into temporarily opened doors, drop into pits to the floor below (sometimes trial & error though) - DQ2 or Zelda 2?, some block puzzles have more than one solution)
Impressive amount of updated NPC dialogue and activity throughout (rival adventurers who move around the towns a bit and are also be encountered in the dungeons, provides some exposition/lore)
The game tells you which floor and dungeon you found a key on if checking it in the inventory+usually gives a hint about where to use it
Shopkeeper/merchant NPCs within the first three dungeons (weird but convenient, these stay until you either beat the dungeon boss or trigger some other event)
Fast resting at inns
Decent weapon variety (sword, axe - breaks item containers, bow, boomerang, morning star - this one can be swung in a circle over and over if you have really good timing which is pretty cool)
Some temporary buff items can be bought or found (+10 AP, +10 DEF, speed boost - only 2 of these in the whole game though sadly (there's also a single cape which increases movement speed but reduces DEF to 0 while worn - risk/reward dynamic)), Some interesting items (magic wallet - generates a bit of gold over time which isn't lost when dying)
Some mini-bosses
Control config
Some temporary vehicles (hover pads in dungeon 2 - can only be used in the room they're found in though)
Decent bosses (final boss (fourth one) has three phases and a minor puzzle aspect to it, single phases for the others though and only the third one has a puzzle aspect to it), can also trade an item for another in shops, some meaningful dialogue choices (get poisoned if you eat the cooked scorpion meat in dungeon 2 when offered to - not a big deal and more of a comic relief scene (the green NPC rival (Kashian) keeps screwing you over in different ways throughout the game)), some large and detailed sprites (bosses), reviving mirror item (saves you from dying once - Ys 2/Zelda 3), new shields are shown as unique sprites on your avatar (but not armor or helms), some cool spells (fireball - continuous AoE damage, slow, stop, flame ring - temporary spinning fireball shield, ghost - bouncing+homing laser), some interesting level gimmicks (anti-magic field rooms in dungeon 3 - much of the dungeon feels like the boss is toying with you as you go through it (via the plaque/sign messages and sometimes telepathically) though it's a bit underdeveloped), one very minor sequence break (jump skip before the fourth dungeon, one major skip using out of bounds glitches), blurs the line between town and hostile area at one point with an attack on the second town opening up an underground path to the final dungeon,
+/-
Save at the inn/hotel in town and at save points in dungeons (one save slot per game only), Some healing springs (1-2 per dungeon), Lose half your money to revive after death unless equipping the "deceased" fairy or a reviving mirror - get sent back to the previously used save point
Linear structure (NPC blocks you from going south early on, some optional dungeon puzzles and rooms)
Basic map feature via the x-ray glasses item (shows only the current floor layout with pits and room connections+your location, doesn't show locked doors or found NPCs/save points/chests, doesn't show where you have and haven't been on a floor)
5 mostly very long dungeons (hostile overworld areas otoh are mostly short and straightforward, dungeon 4 is kinda short)
Shields deteriorate (they also damage enemies when they hit them though - you use them like a swordsman would use a buckler and they actually stun enemies like a regular attack)
Can't move while attacking and can't ready a bow attack while moving (can ready a magic shot while moving), Can't attack nor move while blocking - interestingly you can either let your avatar block automatically (only works from the front) or hold the button down and turn while still which lets you aim while still, Can't jump to cancel an attack move animation
Touch damage from enemies
Have to jump to drop down to a lower platform - makes sure you don't fall but takes some getting used to
Reviving costs gold unless you use a "deceased" fairy which then costs one level for the fairy
Spells make you hold the button and charge up a meter to use them (binary - holding it down longer doesn't make the spell stronger and holding it shorter makes it not trigger)
Off screen enemy respawning (generally a good thing, mini-bosses sometimes don't respawn)
Consumables don't stack in the inventory (48 slots big though)
No strafe or dodge moves
Can't escape from boss battles
Forgiving hit detection for spike traps or when getting shot at with arrows
Some ability/tool gating (the axe is used to break some stone blocks in your way (and any item containers in the towns though this seems optional), light fairy is used as a torch for dark rooms, fire sword - melt ice blocks in dungeon 3, spike boots - don't slip (as much) on ice surfaces in the ice castle/dungeon 3 - optional but useful, ice & phaser spells - create bridges over lava in dungeon 4/over water in dungeon 5 respectively, Cape (+ to speed but 0 DEF) - optional but you'll probably take more damage from haunted steel ball traps and bouncing light balls in dungeon 2 without it, speed boost drink - decent alternative to the cape in the last dungeon), some randomness to the permanent AP & DEF stat gains from items (1-3; can be manipulated but it's a little tedious), the game is forgiving about falling into pits in the sense that you only lose 1 HP but you also get moved back to where you entered the room, can only sell jade/fairy gems to a jade merchant, would've been nice if the dungeon merchants sold most items you missed in the previous areas (the weapon shop in town does update after beating a dungeon though), no life bar refill after beating a boss (can warp back to town and rest though as long as you have a warp gate item), a spell charge is canceled if you get hit, the boomerangs are a bit OP while axes are a bit UP considering their short range and narrow arc, might've been better to have spells mapped to their own button so they could be used as a sub weapon while also using the regular weapon, a bit odd how you can suddenly buy 5+ spells in the second town (none in the first), betting mini-game at the arena (1 on 1 monster fights controlled by the CPU, gold prizes) - would've been better if you could skip the fight or partake in it somehow, can't melt ice blocks with the fireball spell or fairy (need the fire sword), can't reach certain NPCs, one fourth wall breaking puzzle (the key to this room is on the control pad), at one point you fetch an NPC rival adventurer to stand on a switch for you - potentially interesting but never re-used and fleshed out afterwards, (almost) silent protagonist, jumping is a bit faster than walking, the story doesn't introduce a main villain and real objective until after the third dungeon, no MP stat (infinite spellcasting), no real puzzles in the fourth dungeon, some unavoidable damage, no need to revisit previous areas or dungeons with gained tools/spells (sometimes need to backtrack within a dungeon or overworld area with a gained tool and at one point need to use a key in a previous overworld area), cutscenes use in-game graphics only
-
Some interface/control issues (no journal/quest log feature, can't push NPCs out of the way nor move through them, no run move?, can only buy one of each item at a time, no mid-air control when jumping, no regular item explanations in shops (the fairy jades/gems are explained however though the anger one isn't explained well until you buy it), can't skip dialogue on a per paragraph/text box basis (can speed it up but not enough), diagonal movement but 4-way attacks only, can't attack while jumping, can't see shield condition without going into the gear menu, kinda slow shop dialogue, the fairy that didn't grab a dropped exp orb gets nothing - faster fairies tend to get nearly all the exp if 2 are equipped (it sometimes leaves exp for the other one but considering the linear leveling curve it will get further and further ahead quickly (if you use one of the exploit spots for guaranteed drops you can pretty quickly level one up to the cap which is lvl 19 - otherwise leveling is kind of slow), some equally fast ones actually split the orbs evenly though), block/boulder pushing is kinda slow, magic shot can't hit the eye enemies while they're in the walls, very short invincibility time when touching spikes (not when hit by enemies), moving into a wall while on a moving platform makes you stick to the wall, diagonal movement is a bit slower, have to go into the menu to use keys - could've just shown a prompt instead, can't keep charging a spell while moving between rooms - it's canceled and doesn't go off, sometimes stiff movement (around NPCs and around corners if using diagonals), spell charge meter resets when jumping, no auto block on enemy arrows (does block melee attacks and laser attacks from the front), doesn't show enemy or mini-bosses' health bars (changing colors for main bosses), small hit box on the axe weapon, annoying how the remaining magic missiles stay on screen for so long after taking out an enemy and how they don't home in on the next enemy, the boomerang sometimes takes longer to return to your avatar, the dungeon maps load a bit slowly and screen transitions are somewhat slow as well, can't discard unused keys after having beaten the dungeons they're used in - doesn't happen a lot though, can't equip a fairy if you have 2 equipped - have to unequip one of them first, pause menu closes after equipping something instead of staying in the sub menu you were in, can't skip or speed up the betting mini-game monster fights, annoying bouncing off of walls in the ice castle/dungeon 3, sub menus don't wrap around, somewhat unforgiving hit detection around platform and moving platform edges near pits or when using a forward attack with the morning star against certain enemies, the shield forces you down to the ground to try and block certain attacks when trying to jump over them)
Repeated beeping when low on health
Some tedious aspects (solved puzzles don't stay solved and lit rooms don't stay lit (sometimes slows you down a bit when backtracking), some rooms where you have to redo a longer segment if you fall down, the light fairy spinning around you rather than staying ahead and its small area of effect until lvl 12+, the rearranging dark rooms in dungeon 4 - just have to walk back and forth until a path opens up and it's confusing until you realize this (you'd think the rock breaker axe would help here but nope), the dark rooms in dungeon 5 where the light fairy doesn't help - the spells you can use to see the paths take too long to charge up and don't show them efficiently (a "flash" spell like in Zelda 3 or the light fairy semi-working here would've been better, also can't warp out of them when finished or even use Return to get out!, the last one is especially annoying since there are enemies that pull you towards them so you have to keep checking the map to not get lost), mostly empty item containers in town, some enemies take too many hits to kill considering their patterns (stone statue in dungeon 1, green pigmen in the caves - these also tend to run away and despawn), some backtracking and dead space (mountain area before dungeon 4 isn't worth exploring and neither is the desert before dungeon 3) - most of the former can be avoided if you keep a couple of warp gates in your inventory but there is some moving back and forth to unlock doors in dungeon 2 onwards, no antidotes placed or dropped in dungeon 3, some overly large and empty pit rooms in dungeon 5 where you need to create a bunch of temporary bridges)
Some trial & error (stop and slow don't work against the flying enemies outside dungeon 4 nor on the flying balls in dungeon 5, some of the spots where you fall down to end up on the previous floor in dungeons 2 and 3 aren't hinted at, the one clue for the false wall path locations in the first dungeon kinda sucks (however the map/x-ray can help here if you pay attention), some fast moving traps, can't use the x-ray glasses/map feature in some hostile areas like the cave path, a few cheap enemy placements on platforms you're jumping to, last code puzzle in dungeon 2 is partially trial & error-based, the spike traps in dungeon 3 - no consistent visual hint here, ice block trap tiles in dungeon 3, several poisoned plaques/signs (!) in dungeon 3 - these usually give hints so you want to read them, finding the weapon shop in dungeon 3 - optional though)
Slowdown here and there when using 2 fairies (heavy slowdown if also using the magic missile spell/flame ring/ghost spells)
Some enemies are dumb in that if you align yourself diagonally (like in Ys) then they don't attack when in range
Some platforms above the ground level of a room/sub area are weird in that it looks like you can reach on top of them while in mid-air but then you can't and slide down instead
No melee attack combos and only one alternate attack method to learn
Mostly non-interactive environment/doodads in town
The game outright tells you the solution to some puzzles (switch puzzles in dungeon 2-floor 1, one switch puzzle in dungeon 3)
Some minor translation misses
Weird looking human sprites and sometimes odd color choices (garish grass in the first town for example), Some effects look so-so (fire sword attack and when melting ice blocks)
While there are gear sets (helm, armor, shield, a cape for one of them) there's no bonus for wearing all parts of a set
A few invisible walls (around water in the first hostile area)
Tougher enemies don't necessarily drop more gold
Cheap volcanic eruption traps in dungeon 4, no item stash in town, the magic shield spell doesn't last long enough to be of much use, most enemies let out the same scream when hit, can't grab enemy drops/loot with the boomerang or any of the fairies (the latter can grab exp orbs so why not?), can carry a few too many healing items at once+OP life/regen fairy, third boss is pretty easy as soon as you figure out its weakness (stop spell) and some parts of dungeon 5 are easy as well, some spells aren't worth getting after the third dungeon (slow, impulse, lightning, bound; spells never level up and you can't for example use stop and then switch to slow while it's in effect), don't get to fight alongside the NPC rival/friendly adventurers or play as them, the final sword is kinda weak (better to use the second boomerang or morning star against the final boss)
Notes:
-Part of the Mystic Ark/7th Saga franchise
-Can get a guaranteed exp orb in one room in the second dungeon (hover pad room) and on the road to Toronto