Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe/Gameplay

Ax Battler has several modes, each with different controls and features. The first you face is the Town in the form of a castle.

Status Screen
While in a Town or on the Overworld, press SMS Start or SMS 2 to open the menu and then choose "status" to see the status screen.
 * Vases is both your magic power and the currency of the game.
 * the Special Attack box shows what Special Attacks you have learned.
 * the Magic box shows your magic type. Use SMS Up (Dpad) or SMS Down (Dpad) to choose. The number indicates both the power of the magic and the number of vases required.

Town
At the town level you can explore and talk to people, or use shops or other services. There are no enemies in the town, with the exception of the training dojos (which have signs marked "TR") where you go to learn new moves; simply defeat the enemy there to earn the new move.

Overworld
This has the same interface as the Town. Enemies can strike at random and are invisible until they attack. Different terrains and regions hold different enemies. All encounters are random except for bridges, where you will fight an enemy each time you attempt to cross.

Battle
Once you have a random encounter you will enter a Battle. You must use your sword, special attacks, or magic to deplete all of the enemy's health bars. You can move to the left and right, but only to a degree. Once you win you receive a certain number of vases depending on their difficulty. They only need to hit you once, however, to end the battle in their favor. You can only change your magic on Overworld or in a Town. If you die you return to the nearest Inn.

Dungeon
Dungeons control much the same as battles, except you are free to move around the whole area, and there are various platforms. Also, rather than human enemies with visible health bars you instead fight smaller enemies such as bats and ghosts. They have no health bars and cannot be fought on the Overworld. You can use your normal and special attacks as usual. You can only change your magic on Overworld or in a Town. Unlike a Battle, if you take damage you can just keep going. If you die you return to the nearest Inn.

Special Attacks
Special Attacks must be learned at the training dojos in each town. You cannot perform these Special Attacks until you have learned them.
 * High Jump: SMS Up (Dpad) + SMS 2
 * Upper Swing: SMS Down (Dpad) + SMS 1
 * Jump Swing: SMS 2 + SMS 1
 * Super Swing: SMS Up (Dpad) + SMS 1
 * Jump Attack: SMS 2 + SMS Down (Dpad) + SMS 1