Anyone ever play BURAI? [REVIEW Added]

Started by termis, 01/25/2011, 05:46 AM

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termis

Just loaded it up, and so far it's looks like absolute crap.  I'm not really the one to look for a lot of flash in an RPG, but man, this one looks bad.

Anyway, anyone ever work through this one?  I've searched through the web in both English and Japanese for a guide/faq, and all I get is a simple guide ->here<- on the Mega CD version.

I'm not sure if I'm missing out much, but this seems to be the most underwhelming RPG game I've put on the PCE so far.  But considering it had a ton of ports (MSX, SFC, MD, PCE), I *guess* there's something redeeming about this franchise?

edit: found a faq ->here<- (in Korean though) which also explains some things about the actual gameplay. I'll see if the gameplay is interesting enough for me to continue on...

runinruder

I completed Burai and reviewed it for my old "useless thoughts" thread a few years back.  I need to play through it again to get screens before I can post my review on Duomazov, so I might do that pretty soon.  I do remember I didn't need any kind of guide to get through it.  I don't know if you'll find anything particularly interesting or helpful here, but this is exactly what I posted to useless thoughts after I beat the game (and probably what I'll be posting to Duomazov once I get screens):

I bought this game many years ago because the character designs on the cover looked really cool, and because it was cheap. When I received it and powered it up, the kick-ass opening cinemas made me think I'd stumbled upon a diamond in the rough. But just moments later, I laid my eyes upon the most primitive in-game graphics I'd ever had the "privilege" to be blinded by in a PCE game. Still, I can tolerate bad graphics. It was the ridiculously sized playfield (a mere one-fourth or so of the menu-and-stats-dominated screen) that I found particularly appalling. I concluded that the game was pretty much useless if I couldn't even see enough of the surrounding land to have any clue of where I was supposed to go. And so Burai stood rotting on my shelf for years. Since I've been on an RPG tear lately, I decided that I might as well play and finish it once and for all, if for no other reason than to finally clear it from my queue.

Well, the premise is reasonably interesting. You have to play through seven different mini-quests, with the little tales focusing on wacky characters who meet up for one final adventure during which they search for mighty weapons, hammer on a some villains, and make a "dramatic" charge through the last bad guy's castle.

And it all actually works because the game keeps things easy on the player. The mini-quests are short and straightforward: typically, you make your way to a nearby town, hang around the town to power up, and then venture out into the world to find a maze-like area (be it a tower or cavern or mountain path). You'll experience event scenes and fight bosses and mini-bosses along the way. Even when a given mini-quest diverges from that rudimentary pattern, affairs remain simple and fun. For instance, one young fellow needs to bust out of prison--not exactly a unique theme, but the rogue gets to free other "criminals" along the way, some of whom team up with him to pummel the guards.

The game does very little to annoy the player aside from the infamous playfield scrunch, and even that isn't so bad after a bit because the overworld proves to be quite linear and the (early) dungeons are far from tortuous. In just about every area, you'll find enemies who regularly drop restorative potions so that you don't have to make many "inn breaks" during the requisite leveling. Plus, the fighting is handled pretty quickly, and the random-battle rate is perfect (encounters are spaced out at nice intervals so they don't become annoying, and they happen at an amazingly consistent rate: you can pretty much tell when you'll be attacked just by listening to the music, because it will reach the same part of the tune nearly every time).

Speaking of the music, it does seem to suck horribly at first, but play on and you'll get to hear some surprisingly nice field and town themes. There's also one particularly cool rock number that accompanies certain "showdown time" event scenes (though the quality is odd in that the track sounds like it was recorded in a cavernous area, horrible acoustics).

These nice things make the game playable, but not necessarily memorable or anything. But then your characters finally get together and the overworld opens up, and the game rises to another level. The last stretch covers quite a bit more territory than the mini-quests that preceded it, but by the time you reach that point, you'll have a good handle on how the game works, and shouldn't have much trouble figuring out the lay of the land. Despite suddenly finding yourself with a whopping eight different characters to suit up, matters remain convenient: enemies drop lots of equipment articles, most of which can be sold off for tons of cash.

And matters become more interesting thanks to some really cool tasks that you need to complete, like butchering an ogre and then finishing off his persistent, "never say die" body parts. You never know when you might be assaulted by one of the many mini-bosses or find a secret weapon: you'll be jaunting along merrily, when all of a sudden a giant gorgon or octopus or mammoth (with minions in tow) decides to attack you, or you might be stumbling along in a desert when you suddenly find the "Great Sword" lying in the sands. Some of the last few dungeons are absolutely enormous, but unlike the huge labyrinths in broken shit like Last Armageddon, they never quite drag because Burai sticks to its roots of simplicity and convenience throughout.

When I decided to play this game in earnest a few days ago, I pretty much promised myself that I wouldn't end up making it out to be some sort of Cinderella story. Then I found myself staying up really late, pressing onward to see what kind of weapon I'd find or boss I'd fight or event I'd experience next. The secrets and dungeons and crazy characters made sure that whenever I put the controller down, I did so begrudgingly. I'm not sure there's any better sign of a good RPG than that.
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termis

Sweet, that's like THE only review of this game in English -- Thanks a bunch.  I'll stick it out a bit and see how it goes.

NecroPhile

I didn't really play it and only screwed around long enough to grab some screenies, but my favorite part was "Begin2ing".  :D
Ultimate Forum Bully/Thief/Saboteur/Clone Warrior! BURN IN HELL NECROPHUCK!!!

termis

God, this game sucks.  I feel like I'm wasting my time so far, but I'll stick out through at least one character's chapter and see how it goes.

termis

Ever play part 2 of this franchise, runin? (or anyone else?) Does it game style change much?

runinruder

Quote from: termis on 01/26/2011, 11:26 AMEver play part 2 of this franchise, runin? (or anyone else?) Does it game style change much?
Yes, I've played through part 2.  As with part 1, I have a review typed up for it, but I have to go back and get some screens before I can post to Duomazov.  For now, I'll just paste the review here:

The (one) thing that really interested me about this game when I first played it ages ago was the colorful, action-packed combat. While the first Burai's battles were ultra-primitive, the ones here feature large animated enemies, loud and flashy party-demolishing attack spells, cool music, and backdrops that may not be great but certainly represent a step up from black nothingness. Even with all of the animations and effects, the fights proceed fairly quickly, as opposed to other graphical combat "masterpieces" like those in sloggy Monster Maker. And early on, you can avoid overworld fights altogether simply by avoiding the areas where monsters reside (like forests and deserts).

Whether you engage in combat or not, your overworld treks will be more enjoyable than they were in the previous game. There's no more scrunched playfield, thank goodness. And while they don't exactly rank among the PCE's best, Burai II's field graphics annihilate its predecessor's. You'll revisit many locations from the first game, but you might not even recognize some of them at first because they look so much better here.

The cinemas are interesting in that they have more of a "hand drawn" look to them than most of the anime-style stuff in PCE RPGs. They look kind of simplistic at times, but they're neat as a one-time sort of thing, and there are plenty of them, especially towards the end. The conclusion is pretty cool, with sort of an FFX vibe for a bit, haha.

This is a sequel that calls back to its roots in many ways, and usually improves on the way things were. Your old party members return, but they're a much more balanced lot now. They still have to take care of their own business before gradually coming together, but the game is split into episodes that are longer and larger in scope than the mini-quests from last time. You'll still get assaulted by mini-bosses, and there are still numerous secrets to stumble upon. The event scenes feature cinema-style art now as opposed to the abstract drawings in the first Burai, and there's more overt humor this time around, especially involving the furry duo, who engage in such antics as dancing and putting on concerts to raise cash.

Burai II is certainly a successful effort, but there are a few not-so-positive things to note:

-When you've assembled a good seven or eight characters for your party, random battles can take an extremely long time. Aside from time spent selecting actions for those characters and watching their magic-spell light shows, you'll have to take care of enemies who can often withstand lots of hits and deal attacks that do damage to each of your party members, one at a time. Still, I've seen worse, and this problem really plagues only a couple late episodes. In fact, the last area of all is actually packed with easy enemies who go down quickly.

-But while it isn't much of a challenge, the last area can take quite a long time to get through, and it doesn't let you save your game along the way. It's a cool final stretch, with lots of cinemas and bosses, and it provides plenty of healing spots, but there's always that risk of screwing up somewhere, and you'll have to set aside a lot of time to play through it all.

-The game occasionally freezes at the end of battles. Luckily, the old "tapping trick" worked every single time this happened. So just give your system a few taps or tosses and things should get back on track again. It never completely crashed on me like Monster Maker did many times.
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termis

Thanks again runin.  The main thing that really stands out of this series so far is the art.  Even for part 1, I can really see hand-drawing & painting which makes the cinema scenes stand out.

Arkhan Asylum

I like Burai.

I also like Hydlide, so you may wanna ignore the fuck out of what I say.
This "max-level forum psycho" (:lol:) destroyed TWO PC Engine groups in rage: one by Aaron Lambert on Facebook "Because Chris 'Shadowland' Runyon!," then the other by Aaron Nanto "Because Le NightWolve!" Him and PCE Aarons don't have a good track record together... Both times he blamed the Aarons in a "Look-what-you-made-us-do?!" manner, never himself nor his deranged, destructive, toxic turbo troll gang!

runinruder

All right, I played through it again.  So here's my review of the brilliant Burai, with plenty of screens:

http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/search/label/Burai
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SignOfZeta

Gah, now I want to play this. Its been sitting on my shelf for years too. I'm too busy right now though (ie: I'm playing Phantasy Star IV).
IMG

termis

Quote from: SignOfZeta on 01/30/2011, 03:47 AMGah, now I want to play this. Its been sitting on my shelf for years too. I'm too busy right now though (ie: I'm playing Phantasy Star IV).
Trust me, PSIV is a much better playing experience.

But that said, I've stuck with this a bit, and have since warmed up to the game a bit.  It's very... old school and un-console-like in a way.  It really feels like I'm playing for the development of characters and everything else (story, exploration), is just a secondary sprinkle on top.  Because of this, the whole mini-sagas for each characters is a double-edged sword; it's neat in a way, but also you sort of feel like you lose out on all that grinding when you move on to a new character.

I'll stick it out a bit more, and *might* do a quick English faq on this one once I'm finished.  I'll see...

runinruder

#12
Ha, yeah, there are very few games that I'd walk away from Phantasy Star IV for, and Burai ain't one of them.

Replaying Burai for the review, I was reminded of just how horrible it seems at first.  But like Termis indicated, it has a way of growing on you if you stick with it.  Not all of the mini-quests were done well (the "kid and two parents" one is pretty much a disaster), but I had a lot of fun with the prison break, and there are things to appreciate about most of them, like the field music in the chick's quest.

But, and I can't stress this enough, the real meat of the game is the final stretch where the party is fully constructed.  There were so many surprises to experience the first time I played through it, from the mini-boss assaults to the hidden weapons to the mission and enemy types, that I was constantly looking forward to what cool new discovery I'd be making next.  (I guess if people read my review some of the surprises I talked about might not seem quite as cool or exciting to them when they play through it, since they'll know to expect them, but being vague wasn't going to help convey the effectiveness of the events.)  The full-party part takes a while, too.  It's not like the characters come together just for one last run at the main bad guy.  They have a lot of work to do before the final charge.

Termis, about losing out on the grinding--as I recall, your characters keep their stats, and as I started off the final quest with a ton of gold, I think all the money they had is put together when they meet up.  I know what you mean about feeling at the end of a mini-quest that the leveling work was kind of in vain, but it can pay off later.  And one little tip to make life easier--in the last quest, look for the enemy that often drops Dragon Mail when it's defeated.  It doesn't appear at the very beginning of the chapter, but I think it's some blue turtle type of thing that typically appears around certain rivers/lakes.  You can sell off the Dragon Mail for LOTS of gold.
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runinruder

Well, I replayed Burai II, so here is my review of it with plenty of screens:

http://www.thebrothersduomazov.com/2011/02/burai-ii.html
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ParanoiaDragon

What about the Poem of Angel/Angel's Poem/Tenshi no Uta games?  It seems like when I hear people talk about Telenet, that series is mentioned alongside Valis, Cosmic Fantasy, Gaiares, Exile, etc. as a favorite series, yet, I've never heard much about them.  I know the first game is on the SFC as well....it might even have a translation...though, I'm only interested in the Turbo version really.
IMG

runinruder

I've played through the PC Engine Tenshi no Utas multiple times, and they're both excellent.  Those are two more cases where I have reviews all typed up and ready to go, but I have to go back and get screens before I can post.

I haven't played the SFC Tenshi no Uta game yet, but I gather from reading about it that it is not the same game as either of the PCE releases, and Kaminari told me it's not as good as the PC Engine episodes.
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termis

Dude, you totally just burn through these things -- I just barely got to the prison-break scene (still within in the first half of part I), and you finished through both part I and II! 

I gotta say that part II looks much, MUCH better.  The bigger playing field alone makes that so much better.  Not doing something like what they did for the Mega CD version (expanding the play area) just seems so... I dunno... lazy.  For comparison: 

Mega CD: IMG       PCE CD: IMG

I'll post a review myself once I finish, but I just started a new job, so my pace will be at a much slower rate -- I reckon I'll finish sometime this month, though...  But so far, I can think of lot more negative stuff to write about than the positives.  That's not to say this game is a total write-off, but I do think it's one of the weaker JRPGs in the PCE catalog.

However, I prefer the cutscene art for part I - at least compared to what I see in the runin's review shots.  Part I's art reminds me of manga art reminiscent of someone like... Leiji Matsumoto.  I dunno if he's the best example, but if I had to articulate, the art's kinda feminine in a way, but still meant for a general audience (that is, not a total shojo manga).  It's also gritty, looks hand-painted, and this style is pretty unique in the world JRPGs I've tried to date.  Some Japanese sites were also saying the artwork is very much like whoever did Saint Seiya, but I never read that series so I dunno.

Just some examples that highlight what I'm saying above:
IMG IMG IMG

runinruder

Quote from: termis on 02/07/2011, 07:18 AMThe bigger playing field alone makes that so much better.  Not doing something like what they did for the Mega CD version (expanding the play area) just seems so... I dunno... lazy.
The small playfield especially doesn't make sense considering that it opens up when you're in towns.  As if having a broader view of your surroundings is more important when you're jaunting along in a village than when you're trying to find your way around the world.

QuoteBut so far, I can think of lot more negative stuff to write about than the positives.  That's not to say this game is a total write-off, but I do think it's one of the weaker JRPGs in the PCE catalog.
I think it's in the "decent-to-good" range where most of the HuCard ones are.  Quite a few of the CD titles are stronger.  I definitely prefer it to truly horrible stuff (Astralius, Last Armageddon, Cosmic Fantasy 4 Chapter 1, etc.), but I also enjoyed it more than I did a lot of "fancier"/"bigger-name" titles (Sol Moonarge, LoH2, Fang of Alnam, Monster Maker, Alshark, etc.).  I might be the only one who would, though.


QuoteHowever, I prefer the cutscene art for part I - at least compared to what I see in the runin's review shots. 
Yeah, what struck me years ago when I first tried the games was how part 2 seemed to improve on just about everything but had inferior intermission art.  Burai 1's cutscenes are awesome in general and the character designs are wonderful.
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termis

Okay, so I finished the game today, so on with the review.

There isn't much info on this game in English other than runin's review, so I had a tough time getting started on the game.  Luckily, I found some info on a number of Korean sites, mostly on the MSX version, as the MSX had a decent following in Korea.

From what I gather, it seems Burai tried accomplishing what Final Fantasy VII would do years later when it first came out for the MSX, as in being this grand, high-production storytelling RPG.  For example, the original MSX version came out on a 15-disk package, with a 40-minute(!) intro scene.  The game is definitely tries to be an epic, as it involves things like the fight between light and darkness, intertwined stories amongst all the characters, huge plot twists, with lots and lots of text.  And there are 7 different quests, each lasting perhaps 2-3 hours each, before all the main characters come together for the second half of the game. 

IMG IMG IMG

Now, this all sounds pretty cool, but when you first start the game, the crummy in-game graphics will take you straight back to the early years of computer RPGs, complete with the super crunched up play-area.  This limited play area is frustrating to say the least (BTW, this limited-field thing seems to be very common in Japanese PC-derived RPGS).   The sprites are also tiny, battle fights have no background, is static, and there's zero nice factor at all. 

IMG IMG IMG
   
The music is also irritating, as many pieces loop way too often, and it gets super repetitive FAST (I think the overworld music looped every 20 seconds or so – with a short fade every single time, too).  Vast majority of pieces sound very bland, as I can only recall a few good pieces throughout the game.

The gameplay is all about character development, hence, expect a lot of grinding.  There are some extremely annoying thing about simple things like navigating through the menu.  For example, a common heal spell only heals about 20% of your health, so you have to cast it multiple times to completely heal one character.  Not a huge deal in itself, but you have to cycle through your spell list every single time you cast it as the cursor will flips back to the beginning of the menu -- certainly annoying when you have to cast it 5 times to completely heal one character.  I'm not sure if this game just wasn't designed for the gamepad in that sense; maybe Riverhill didn't bother optimizing the gameplay for a gamepad.  Also, simple things like just talking to villagers can be annoying as they constantly bump right back into you after your initial chat, forcing you to read the same thing like 3 times before you get away from them.

Now, even with all these annoyances, the game does grow on you.  One of the primary enjoyment factors of an old-school RPG is watching your character grow from a super wimp to an ass-kicking character, and you get to see this multiple times for a big cast of characters in chapter 1, and once more after they regroup in chapter 2.  And you have some control in how your character develops as well, as you can focus their growth areas such as magic, strength, search skills, etc.   Because of this "development", there's some grinding involved in the game.

Going along with the grand storyline, the developers put some real effort into the storytelling presentation, with character designs by Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno (who have been involved in some big-time animes of that era).  Very, very cool 70-80s Japanese manga style artwork, which I don't see much of in PCE titles.  Many drawings seems to be hand-drawn as well.

IMG IMG IMG

IMG IMG IMG
         
Now, because Burai isn't a cookie-cutter console JRPG, I'd say the gaijin-protection is higher than most PCE RPGs.  The gameplay itself isn't so difficult once you figure it out, but figuring it out will take longer most other JRPGs, especially if you're doing everything by trial and error.  I was fortunate enough to find a pretty extensive faq in a language I can read (Korean), and the faq had a lot of good info which I definitely wouldn't have figured out for myself.  I'll see if I can whip up something in English for those who are interested in trying out the game for themselves. 

PCE was the only console to receive the sequel this game, so I'll have a go at it sometime...

Compilation of my other reviews:
Aurora Quest: Otaku no Seiza in Another World
Ane-san
Babel
Bakushō Yoshimoto Shinkigeki
Blood Gear
Cosmic Fantasy 1
Cosmic Fantasy 3
Dragon Knight III
Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes
Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes II
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari
KO Seiki: Beast Sanjūshi
Kūsōkagaku Sekai: Gulliver Boy
Nekketsu Legend Baseballer
Tengai Makyō: Itōryōdan
Valis I~IV
Xak I & II
Xak III

anRPGlegend

DAAAMN!!! We need BOTH THESE GAMES TRANSLATED!!!! thank you runin!!! you are a legend in the TurboGrafx/PC Engine world!!! Blessings!

gbapalyer

i started burai I yesterday and played it two hours.
i finished the first chapter with mai mai.

so far it was not to hard...i believe leveling is only for stats and weapons?
does the game get any tougher or more complicated in later chapters?

only problem is where to go next and the dungeons are huge (first tower?).
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

SuperDeadite

If you want to be technical I believe the FM Towns versions are Marty compatible, so that's another "console" version out there.  Never bothered to pick them up, but I may just out of curiosity sake.
Stronger Than Your Average Deadite

gbapalyer

i finished chapter 3 yesterday. so far the game is great and not too hard to figure out where to go next.
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

kazekirifx

I recently obtained the original PC-88 version, and while I found the PCE and MCD versions to be quite underwhelming, I must say I am very impressed by the PC-88 version. This pushes the hell out of the PC-88's limitations, and puts on an impressive show of graphics and sound. I'll skip the other versions. The original is the way it was meant to be played.

gbapalyer

Quote from: kazekirifx on 05/24/2013, 02:16 AMI recently obtained the original PC-88 version, and while I found the PCE and MCD versions to be quite underwhelming, I must say I am very impressed by the PC-88 version. This pushes the hell out of the PC-88's limitations, and puts on an impressive show of graphics and sound. I'll skip the other versions. The original is the way it was meant to be played.
what do i need to play on a pc98 and where to get it from?
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

gbapalyer

played another 4 hours today. finished the prison break scenario recently.
awesome game. :)
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

termis

Quote from: gbapalyer on 05/23/2013, 01:10 AMso far it was not to hard...i believe leveling is only for stats and weapons?
does the game get any tougher or more complicated in later chapters?
It's been a couple years, but from what I recall, developing your stats and all that is important, but you also have to read the right books, which gives you new spells (and sometimes nothing, and sometimes certain stats?? Can't remember very well now).  Some of these spells really will make your life a lot easier - especially the multi-attack ones.

The details of which books to read are in the faq I sent you earlier.  Just a link here for other users if they ever want to tackle this game (in original Korean - machine translation should be better than nothing)
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3134813/burai.docx

gbapalyer

@termis: how can i sell things?

i finally beat the last scenario and all 8 heroes are together now...is it long till the end of the game?
should i buy the best weapons and armor in every town for each character the same?
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

termis

Selling things - there's a sell command IIRC, I can't remember without looking at the screenshots, though...  

The last scene with all the 8 heroes probably comprises the last 1/2 to 1/3 of the game IIRC.  That is, you have a plenty of gaming left.

And you should indeed start equipping the best armor and weapon for each characters - finding out which weapon/armor is best for each character is a real bitch without that faq guide as you get ZERO clues before committing to the purchase, and you just end up going around in circles with each item.

esteban

ASIDE: I didn't play this game too much before shelving it (years and years ago)...but I must admit, re-reading this old thread, I am intrigued by the whole "assembling a party piece-meal" concept...it's, it's, it's DELAYED GRATIFICATION...

...that doesn't mean I'm going to play it anytime soon, however. :pcgs:
IMGIMG IMG  |  IMG  |  IMG IMG

gbapalyer

@termis: the sell command, is it directly available in shops? only thing i see is buy items and if i refuse i can leave the shop...

if you could translate the second part of the korean faq, that would be awesome. ;)
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

gbapalyer

@termis: could you please reread part 2 of the korean guide and write down in short which places to visit in which order and maybe what to do?

like

Part 2: All 8 Heroes together

1. Town of Ganma
2. Town of Galga
3. Cave South of Town of Galga (?, is that correct, but what to do there?)

and so on.

it is really difficult to figure out now what to do and where to go next.
i leveled 2 hours now and bought some equipment and magic books.
could every character learn every magic spell from the books?

i think the dessert is the wrong direction to visit? enemies there are really strong...
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

termis

You'll have to wait just a bit as I'm on a roadtrip in NZ for one more week, followed by a month straight of business trips!  I'll see if I can make some time in the hotel during my business trips, but no promises...

Basically, chapter 2 consists of you having to find the 8 'special' weapons/armors for each individuals.   There's no set order you need to find these items, and you can do them in any order, so if you're really stuck on one, move on to the next one and try to come back to it later. 

The items listed below are the strongest weapon/armor/shield combination for each character, and the bolded ones are the 'special' weapon you need for each individual (note the Chinese characters/kanji listed below might look slightly different as Koreans and Japanese use slightly different versions of Chinese characters...).

- Hayate 靑爆劍, スピンクス, ポセイドンシルド
- Lilian ビムソド, 紅麗鎧, 圓月万阻盾
- Lomar 綠刺劍, スピンクス, ポセイドンシルド
- Sakyo ビムソド, 白氷鎧, 圓月万阻盾
- Gonza 藍烈釜, スピンクス, ポセイドンシルド
- Alec 紫雷杖, ユニコン, クロスシルド
- Maimai ウイルチエン, 赤宝鎧, オロラシルド
- Kuku 黃念棒, ユニコン, オロラシルド

And on the question of books - no they're not the same - different books will have different effects for characters.  Some will read a particular book and get nothing out of it, while as another read the same book and they'll get a nice spell or something.

gbapalyer

@termis: and the powerful weapons are to find in dungeons? like the one in the cave under the second city or the mountain path above that city?
in the first cave there are several red things on the wall, while approaching them, maimai talks about something. do you know what those mean? where can i get strongest shields and armor? from shops?
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

termis

I can't recall which events you're referring to in the game as it's been many moons since I've beaten game, but... yes, some of the special items are had through completing dungeons, and some through going through some battles (i.e. kuku's weapon's is through fighting at the town of Gomez). 

Also, I just read real quickly on the faq that you can sell off your items at the towns of Ganma and pointer - shops have a hand shape symbol - these are places where you can sell your excess items (and I recall some weapons you pick up from some battles, you can get a LOT of gold for it.)

Also, another hint - there are hidden shops in Ganma and Pointer which sell some strong weapon and/or armor.  You can only access if all your characters have enough curiosity (may be written as 好奇心 in the game, though I'm not sure on that one...) developed.  If you don't these shops will have no door on them - and you will need to develop this 'skill' before you have access to these shops.

gbapalyer

is there any hint on how to develop the specific characteristics?

problem now is to get enough gold to buy good equipment or magic books.
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

gbapalyer

played another 2 hours yesterday and i finally found the first armor (mai mai) in the cave under the second town. there was a red face of a giant in the wall
which told me to search for his body parts inside the dephts of the cave. after i found them i had to talk to him again and fight him two times.
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

gbapalyer

i had a run yesterday.

4 more holy equipments in two hours.
total playtime is 17 hours now.

will get the last 3 today if everything goes well.
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)

gbapalyer

iam through the game (26 hours).

final boss was totally easy.

overall a great, straight forward japanese rpg. figuring out the menues and the gameplay itself is the hardest part, but not that bad.
everybody could easily enjoy the game without knowing any word of japanese.
today i start playing Burai II.
Currently playing:   (Started  . Feb. 2013)