Control pad
This controls the movement of the hero on the playing field (up, down, left, right, and diagonal). While in a menu screen or shop, the control pad also moves the cursor.
Select button
Opens and closes the sub-screen where weapons, armors, spells, and items can be selected. Pressing the start button while the sub-screen is open brings up the system screen where the current game can be saved or a previous game loaded from memory.
Start button
Opens and closes the status screen.
A button
Casts the currently selected magic spell, selects items from the sub-screen, and confirms menu choices. Note that magic spells cannot be used until they have first been selected in the sub-menu.
B button
Attacks with the currently equipped sword, operates the currently selected item, drops a selected item from the sub-menu, and confirms/cancels menu choices. Once the hero has acquired a sword, holding the B button will power-up the sword until the charge gauge reaches maximum. Releasing the B button when a sword has been sufficiently charged will unleash that weapon's special attack.