Rogue Hearts Dungeon [PS2/JPN]

» Press START on the title screen and a DATA SELECT screen pops up. Choose one of the four data slots and then select either a male character in blue armor or a female character in a red robe with blue chest plate. Next, enter the name in either katakana or English. We named the warrior "Bologna" and started the adventure.

» The game is based on the Rogue Unix mainframe game from the 80s but the visual impact is much improved over the earlier work. Players start the quest inside a randomly generated dungeon which changes every time you play. You might notice the monotonous organ music that plays in the background while exploring.

» Only the d-pad is used for control. The L-Analog does nothing. The button commands are:

O-Button: Attack
L1-Trigger: Shoot Arrow
L2-Trigger: Torch

» If you shoot arrows at a wall, they'll fall to the ground where they may be recovered and placed back in your quiver.

» Gold pieces and potions lie around on the dungeon floor waiting for someone to pick them up.

» As you travel around, an overhead map of the dungeon slowly appears on the left side of the screen to show the areas that you have already explored.

» HP recovers by itself automatically as long as you are moving. If you stand still, it'll stay still as well. When walking around, your Condition meter slowly drops. To recover it, eat some bread.

» Only a certain number of items may be carried by the hero. If you reach the holding limit, you won't be able to pick up any more items found in the dungeon.

» The game is fairly challenging in that as you level up, the monsters in the later levels that you encounter are stronger and more formidable. Monsters are usually sleeping when you find them but if you walk near them, they'll wake up and immediately go on the attack. If you're surrounded inside the first level when your HP is a middling 14, you're as good as toast since the monsters will attack in concert and whittle away all of you HP in a few seconds. If you kill enough monsters, you'll level up and HP goes up to 24. Level up again and you hit 33 HP. Next up, 42. The HP count appears to go up in 9s and 10s.

» There's a creature that blows ice and encases you in an ice structure. To break out of it, attack the ice for liberation.

» Monsters will attack each other if next to each other. There's no discrimination or sides in Rogue Hearts Dungeon.

» Some potions that you pick up are poisonous and will cause you to lose 1 HP per move. Antidotes are the only solution.

» Although the game looks a free flowing action game, it is actually built on a turn-based structure. Every move that you make is metered. For example, take one single step forward when an active monster is in the same room and he'll move one step. He won't move again until you take your next step. If you stay immobile, it cannot move because the game is entirely turn-based. This goes for attacks as well. Sword slices are metered and you can strike once, the monster counterattacks, and only then can you strike the next blow.

» The first dungeon should be completed in about 1/2 hour and you'll earn about 6000 points when all of your treasure and items are converted.

» The next dungeon features a brown color scheme whereas the first dungeon was grassy green. You start with the default armor and weapon at the start of every new dungeon. Your level is also reset back to 1. If you die, the game ends abruptly and you'll have to start over again or reload a data save file.

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