Dark Law: Meaning of Death/Controls

Apart from the summary of field controls, this section deals with the game's battle system.

Field

 * : move
 * : examine, talk, select
 * : cancel
 * : menu

Battle

 * : movement
 * : action
 * : cancel action or movement
 * : use magic
 * : use item
 * + : hide (escape from battle)

Movement
Your movement range depends on your AP (in turn based on your Agility). AP is displayed in a metre below your active character, and decreases as you move, but based on your distance from your initial position, rather than the number of steps you take. It must be full for you to escape, and you need a fair amount to remain if you want to use magic or items, and a little if you want to attack.

Attacking
When you press the action button once, your character will freeze. Press again to end your turn, or  to cancel the action. If you have a target selected when you end your turn you'll attack it, otherwise you'll defend.

If you're using a melee weapon, targets are assigned automatically as you move, and you can see before you freeze whether you're going to hit anything. You can use the directional pad to select special attacks if you have the right skills: hold down a direction while you press to do so.

Ranged weapons are slightly different. You don't see targets flash as you move; instead, targets are only assigned while you're in the attack pose. You can turn on the spot to face in any of the four directions while frozen without using up AP. If your target doesn't start flashing, you can unfreeze and adjust your position. Note that when you're aiming horizontally, you'll have to adjust your vertical position to hit enemies on higher or lower levels, but that shouldn't be a problem if you check your aim before firing. Also, you can only hit visible enemies, which can be a problem when shooting vertically. Sometimes it helps to open the 'items' screen, which centers the display on the character, before entering the targeting pose; sometimes there'll simply be no way to hit an enemy, which can be irritating.

Using magic and items
After pressing or  you'll be presented with a list of available magic or items. Select the one you want to use, and press or  again to confirm it. You'll then have to choose a target. There are five targeting modes. Items are always "single", but spells vary.

Unlike attacking, you won't defend if you try to use a spell or an item without a target—you won't be allowed to activate it, so you'll have to find a target or cancel.
 * Single: the "hand" cursor indicates the target. It'll switch between valid targets as you press the directional buttons.
 * All: absolutely all targets are selected, even if they're not visible.
 * Area: the rotating target cursor indicates the centre, and all targets within the area will flash. You can move the cursor freely to find the best area.
 * Directional: an arrow at your feet indicates the direction of the spell; as with ranged weapons, you can choose any of the four directions, and you'll have to adjust your position to take the terrain into account. As always, your target(s) will flash.
 * Random: just like it sounds, a target is chosen at random.