Sylviana: Ai Ippai no Boukensha/Gameplay

Controls

 * : Use the direction pad to guide Sylviana throughout the world, and through each dungeon. She can walk in any of the four cardinal directions, but she cannot walk diagonally.
 * : Press A to use an active item that you have chosen from the subscreen. Also press A to advance to the next line of text in an active conversation.
 * : Press B to cancel an active conversation.
 * : Press the Start button to begin a new game, continue a game that you saved, or to pause the action mid game.
 * : Press the Select button to view the subscreen, where you can view all of Sylviana's inventory and choose an active item.

Sylviana
You control Sylviana throughout the game, on her quest to obtain the medicine she needs to cure her mother of a mysterious disease. Sylviana is armed with a sword, and protected by a shield. She has a life meter which is always visible at the bottom of the screen. Sylviana will lose her life, and the game will end, if her life meter is reduced to zero. She will lose health whenever she makes contact with an enemy. She can regain health by finding or buying teas, or consuming bread.

Sylviana must fight her way past demons and monsters in order to achieve her objective. In order to do this, you must guide Sylviana into the paths of these enemies. Whenever Sylviana collides with an enemy, they exchange damage. You must do this until an enemy is defeated, or you must back away if you feel that Sylviana is at risk of dying. If Sylviana holds still, the enemies will often wander over to her position, provided there are no obstacles in the way. Damage is exchanged whether Sylviana is moving the direction of the enemy or not, so it's possible for enemies to kill themselves simply by walking into her.

In order to complete her quest, she must locate Dr. Doppler, who will tell her of the eight treasures that were stolen from him. Then she must track down these treasures, each of which are being held by eight bosses; four in the light world where Sylviana is from, and four in the mirror imaged demon world. Along the way, she must collect money to obtain items that will help her. There are no experience points or levels in this game, so the only way to increase her offensive and defensive strength is to purchase better equipment.

Sub-screen
The sub-screen shows a lot of information about Sylviana, including her current equipment, and her inventory of items. At the top of the screen are two save options.
 * Quick save allows you to save the current state of the game to memory. If you die and choose to continue, you will pick up at the point of your latest quick save.  However, quick save does not write to disk, so you will lose your quick save as soon as you turn the machine off.
 * Save: Use Save if you plan on turning the machine off, so that your current state is written to disk. This will allow you to load your progress back into memory when you return to the game later on.

Below the two save options are Sylviana's current weapon and shield. Below that are three inventory lists. The left list shows items which can be accumulated such as bread, as well as items whose effect is automatic like the Harp. In the middle box, are all of the items which you may only possess one of at a time. Most of these items affect your status and give you some temporary boost. In the right box are all of Doppler's treasures that you've collected so far.

Below this list is the section of information that remains on the screen at all time, including when you are playing the game. You can see; the amount of gold you currently possess, the item which is currently active (press to use it), and the number of keys you currently have (up to a maximum of 9). Below that, you can see your health meter. Keep your eye on this to make sure that Sylviana is not too close to death.