When you begin the game, you will talk to the king. The king will tell of the people's need for a hero, and request that you rescue the soul of his daughter. He will then give you 200 gold with which to purchase supplies before you embark into the dungeon. After you are done speaking with the king, the command menu shows the following options:
Command
Translation
Description
おしろにゆく
Castle
Talk to the king (only really useful in the beginning)
When you enter any shop, you are presented with the option to Buy (かう), Sell (うる), or Leave (でる). If you wish to buy an item, you can purchase any of the regular items or spells listed on the items page from the Item Shop. The Weapon Shop sells the first four available weapons, and the Armor Shop sells the first three shields and the first four armors. If you wish to sell an item, you can sell any unused item in your inventory except for Bread or Holy Water. You will be offered a substantially reduced price from what you possibly paid for the item, and you can choose to accept (はい), or refuse (いいえ) the offer. When you have decided, you will be asked if you wish to sell anything more, yes (はい), or no (いいえ). You may also press to refuse or cancel out of any transaction.
Spending your first 200 gold wisely is important. Enemies on the first floor aren't very likely to succeed with hitting you, so you may wish to forgo any defensive item and spend the entire 200 on a Combat Spear. This method is not without risk, but if you happen to die so early in the game, it's not really such a big deal. With a Combat Spear, you can kill several enemies quite easily and rake in a good amount of gold before actually spending any of it on armor. Otherwise, you may wish to purchase the Copper Sword, and spend the remaining 80 gold on a Leather Shield and Leather Armor (for a combined AC of 15) as opposed to simply buying Chain Mail (with an AC of only 10).
Piles of trash and treasure always reset to their original positions whenever you leave a floor and return to it. You can use this fact to accumulate a lot of wealth over very little time. It is especially important to do this as much as possible on the first floor to build up your first few levels of experience, as well as being able to afford more trustworthy equipment before you descend to the lower levels.
The same is true of key items and treasures. If you have to make room in your inventory for other items, you may be forced to let go an important object. If you happen to do this, the item will return to it's original location, and you will be able to return there and collect it again, provided you have an empty slot in your inventory.
Once you have established a few levels of experience, and obtained a good combination of a weapon and armor, you are ready to descend to the lower levels of the dungeon. From this point forward, you should always attempt to keep a full stock of 9 breads as often as possible. 9 Holy Waters are also nice, but not always necessary as long as you have enough bread to help you survive a trip back to an inn. Keep as many Holy Waters on you as you can afford.
Throughout Deep Dungeon, you are far less likely to encounter a random enemy while moving than when you are standing still. Therefore, if you feel like you are in danger of dying, it is important that you keep moving to prevent an enemy encounter from occurring.
Save the game as often as possible. You are allowed to save the game at any time by accessing the save menu when you press . It is rare, but possible to encounter a strong enemy that can defeat you even with full hit points. Pick crucial moments to save your game, such as when you gain a level, or find a key item, or just before you descend to a lower floor.
There are a few key locations where you can collect an abundance of money in a relatively short period of time. The first such location is found on Floor 3. When you first arrive from Floor 2, face East, and proceed all the way to the door. Pass through the door and turn left to face North. Walk all the way up to the next door. There is a force enemy encounter on this location. Defeating this enemy will typically provide you with 80 to 100 pieces of gold. Beyond the door are five piles of trash and the ladder to Floor 4. Search the trash if you like and use the ladder. Immediately return to the floor above, and the forced enemy encounter right outside of the door will reset. Fight against him again and again until you need to take a break at an inn.
In Floor 4, there is a section in the lower left corner that resembles a cemetery. There is are two ladders here that lead down to Floor 5. Provided you have collected the boat, take the once closest to the corner. Walk along the wall to the East, and head North once space to the water. Board the boat and cross to the West. At the wall, head North again to disembark. Here you will find 16 piles of trash to search through, as well as 12 piles of treasure.
to refuse or cancel out of any transaction.
. It is rare, but possible to encounter a strong enemy that can defeat you even with full hit points. Pick crucial moments to save your game, such as when you gain a level, or find a key item, or just before you descend to a lower floor.