Seiken Psycho Calibur/Gameplay

Controls

 * : Use the direction pad to guide the player around the screen. The player can move in any of the four cardinal directions, but not in any diagonal direction.
 * : Press the A button to swing your sword. You will swing your sword in the direction that your player is currently facing.
 * : Press the B button to use whatever equipped item you have assigned to the right-most status box.
 * : Press the Start button to toggle between the action and the status screen.
 * : Press the Select button to pause the action mid-game.

Players
From the character select screen after the title screen, you have the ability to register a new player, delete an existing player, or change the character assigned to a particular player. While you cannot change a player's name mid-game, you can in fact change the character assigned to that player from the character select screen. The three characters differ in appearance only. There are no advantages or disadvantages to choosing any particular character. You may choose which ever look suits you. The player's ability is measured by a few stats:


 * The "P" gauge represents the player's power. It starts out with 8 bars, and will increase by one for every red tear drop that you collect.  When you take damage, it begins to drain, and if it is depleted, your game will be over.  At that time you can save the game and/or start back at Area 1.
 * The "F" gauge represents the player's force. It starts out empty, and will increase by one for every blue tear drop that you collect, up to a maximum of 20.  It will never deplete, and it's current level indicates what potential powers you may tap into with your sword.  If you summon the fairy Pipi, you can fire a limited number of projectiles from your sword based on the power you have selected from the status screen (shown in the left-most status box).
 * The red chips represent bread. As long as you have bread, your current health will increase by one for every six pieces you consume.  If you summon the fairy Popo, you will consume bread four times as quickly, thus speeding up your recovery.
 * Finally, the number of blue chips you have collected represents the amount of money you currently possess. You can carry up to a maximum of 255 blue chips at one time.

Status screen
When you press during the game, the screen will switch to the status screen. From here, you may see and set a number of things. Information that was previously on the bottom of your screen, including your force, power, money, and bread count, as well as the four status boxes, are shown at the top. Additionally, you can see which sword forces are available to you, what area you are currently in, the usable items that you have in your possession, and the automatic items which you have collected so far. On the status screen, you can control a selection cursor with the direction pad. The cursor can pass beyond the usable item box, and up to the sword force box, and the two fairy boxes above that.
 * In order to assign a usable item to highlight one of the eight items in the lowest box, and press.
 * In order to change which force to assign to your sword, move the cursor up to the sword force box, and press.
 * Once you rescue them, if you wish to summon either of the fairies, Pipi and Popo, you must move the cursor up to the fairies above the sword force box, and press . Once summoned, the fairies will fly around you, granting their individual powers to you, until they retire from the screen.  They will become unselectable for a period of time.  When enough time has passed, they will return to the two middle status boxes and you will be permitted to summon them once again.