Sylviana: Ai Ippai no Boukensha/Light World - West half

A: Your home
You will begin the game at location (A), your home. At any time throughout the game, you may enter your home and talk with your mother (who is laid up in bed) to fully restore your health.

All of the nearby screens are occupied by the two weakest outdoor enemies in the game. However, you should not underestimate them; though weak, they can still reduce your health fairly quickly and put you in danger if you are not close to a source of health.

Every time you arrive in a screen, whether you've previously defeated the monsters or not, the screen will contain four of one particular monster. Their location is random, and if a screen is split by something like mountains or a river, it is possible for all four to be on your side, on the opposite side, or to be split up between the sides. For this reason, you should always exit and return to a screen until the configuration of the enemies is to your advantage (i.e. more of them start away from you if you are trying to avoid combat).

Your two closest destinations are the cave closest to your home (2), and the town along the north coast (B). Although the nearby cave is closer, you should visit the town first, as well as the cave that lies beyond the town.

B: The first town
This town is representative of all three towns in the game. There is a tea house where you may go to fully restore your health (like an inn in any traditional RPG). There is a weapon shop where you may buy more powerful swords. In this case, you must save up 990 gold to purchase your first upgrade. There is a shield shop where you can purchase better protective gear. However, the only shield for sale here is the same as the one you start the game with, so save your 10 gold for something else.

Lastly, there is an item shop that sells the same four items that are sold in every town's item shop. Bread will restore some of your health, so it's very wise to carry as much of this as possible, especially when you are exploring new regions. Poppy is the antidote to thorn poisoning, which causes you to walk very slowly. Having one or two of these at the very least is always a good idea. The 3rd Eye can be used to detect traps in treasure sacks or chests. However, antidotes are cheaper, and developing a habit of saving before investigating treasure chests will help you save your money. Finally, you shouldn't need to purchase a key until much later in the game. Early on, you will find plenty of them in treasure chests.

This town will be your base of operations for some time. Before you head off to any cave, it would be a good idea to try and gather enough money for a supply of five or six loaves of bread. If you have the patience, you can try to save up for the Bronze Sword, but you should be alright for now without one. When you feel you are ready, exit the town, head to the west, and then up to the cave in the north west corner of the land.

1: Dr. Doppler's cave
Despite the change in scenery, exploring a dungeon is just like exploring the outdoors. Each room will contain four of the same monster, although the distribution of those monsters throughout the room will be random. Therefore, you should try to exit and return to a room as many times as necessary until the arrangement of those monsters presents the level of threat you are prepared to deal with.

In this initial cave, start by walking east to the next screen on the right. You can follow this path to a small chamber containing a few open treasure chests, and one closed one. In fact, every closed treasure chest that you find will be surrounded by a few open chests, so don't be concerned about the number of empty chests you encounter. The one closed chest contains a Tulip. You can use this flower to instantly warp back to your mother's home. There are only a few of these, and you can only carry one, so save it for a good occasion.

Return back to the entrance of the cave, and head south to the room below. You will see another closed chest. Examine this one to find a Key, which you will need momentarily. Take either of the paths that lead up and to the right, and follow the path to the lower portion of the room with the Tulip. Continue along the path to the room below. Walk up to the door to automatically unlock it with the key you found.

Inside the small room is Dr. Doppler. He knows that you have come seeking medicine, but he is unable (or unwilling) to help you until someone manages to return his eight treasures that the demons have stolen from him. Thus you must embark on a quest to retrieve those items for him in order to obtain his help. Head back out of the dungeon to return to the Light World.