Rudra no Hihou (Treasure of the Rudra)

[Duran]

Basically a thread where me and J-man can talk about this old SNES game that was never released in the states.

[The J Person]

You bet your ass I've been busy.
I'd be playing DoM if it were out...

Anyway, I figure if we need to repost something to discuss it, we can just drag it out of that other thread and eventually this'll be the place it goes. So, in general, about this game... there's something scary about how the difficulty level is increasing of late. At the same time, I have to admire the little hints and clues about the Mantras and the battle system that they keep dropping in hard-to-comprehend places. This is really a game that offers you a challenge, you know, and in a game that so much resembles Final Fantasy (it has frigging Cid), there is something to be said fo that. It's like they (for once) presume the player is intelligent, and expect you to figure stuff out on your own. I mean, you have been buying their products for years. You'd think you'd know. :rolleyes:

So yeah, Mantras are a big part of this game, and that's mainly because they're fun. But I figure I may as well also point out a useful item that's easy to overlook, because it's an enemy drop, and it's not easy to get. If you haven't gotten done with Sion's tournament yet, or just don't want to know, ignore everything under this line, because...

-=There are minor spoilers and a mini-FAQ below!=-


So there's an annoying little wannabe-Chocobo-thing (I forgot its name) in the forests of the so-called "heavens", that drops this nifty little equip called a Beze Wing. It's an accessory that'll raise your speed in battle by about 8 points; it's really nice to have. I spent the time to get four of them, but it wasn't easy, 'cause the little bastards run away. So I had to develop some tactics for getting rid of them quickly, while raising the odds of getting the item. Since they do run away at the slightest hint that you're a badass (read as "giving them a pounding"), it's best if you can get the second and third ones to ditch the battle and just kill the one that remains, if you can manage it. To that end, Sion with a broadsword on the first turn is enough to intimidate one of them; he has a lot of attack power going on and such. Don't feel bad, that's a good thing; the fewer enemies calculated in the odds, the better your chances of getting that shiny item. More importantly, finish up everyone else's first turns (by now there should be four characters in your party) by having them cast the Berserk status on Sion, Foxy, and Ture, in sequence. The fourth character won't be doing much attacking since he's a little wimp with a stick until you can afford that nice Fire Bow, so on the second turn when he's the only one you can control, just have him cast a strength up on the whole party or something. The remaining bugger should be dead before you even care; just pay attention to see if you got the item and you'll do okay for yourself. Do this as soon as you can leave Len, 'cause that stupid Danan will leave your party once you reach the glacier, and then your strategy will have a harder time of not sucking.

Here's the actual stats on the Beze Wing:
Type: Accessory
Speed +8
Def +2
Mag. Def +8
Elemental Defensive Attribute: Wind

Note that this will make you weak to lightning spells; by the time you reach the clock tower (after defeating Bahdra), you'll be getting hit hard and fast by that stuff, so you might want to have something else on hand if you can find something. Alternatively, cast one of those nice "Half Bolt" defensive wards on the party at the beginning of the battle; I haven't gotten far enough to see if there are other types of spellcasters in that tower, so the speed boost/ele def may well come in handy.
... that's about all I have to say on that for now.

[Duran]

Right now I have both Riza and Sion's at Day 8 and level 32 a piece.

I will say this much, One dungeon had PATEIE, a spell that increases you magic defense for 1 ally. I happened to find it in a chest just before the boss battle, and I will say, the damn thing came in handy, because that boss had some powerful spells.

One thing to also note, is on Riza's story you fight enemies called Drolls. They have a spell called "PULMORA" that steals your MP, and boy, they take your MP in bulk (We're talking between the 30-50 mark), which can really spoil any strategies that you had. If you happen to use the spell on them, you'll only be taking 2-3MP at a time...

Bezes are actually not that hard to kill, and the drop a lot of EXP which almost makes it worth it. Unfortunately, if they have low MP or if you cast a defence reducing spell on them, they'll run. But I found a trick to it:

Basically, I have Foxy and Ture cast "STRENGTH" on my damage dealers (Being Sion and Ture). In fact, I don't attack at all on the first turn. Once my characters are buffed, I start wailing on them, one at a time. I tend to get a good 2-3 of them at best.

[The J Person]

"PATEIE" is okay, but what works better for granting magic defense is, say, "JIDE". It's a weaker form of that spell that also targets all, and costs two MP less. "JIGANDE" is 7mp, and has the same effect, if you want to be cheap about it. In addition, for raising strength, "GAINA" is a good deal. It targets all your allies, and it's only 15mp. Both these spells can be modified with K or G and other stuff, so fool around. "GAINAKEJA" for example, costs 24mp and does the same thing as "GAINA".

I'm surprised to hear about "PULMORA", but I did know there were MP draining spells. "STEAL" is one of them, I think I mentioned it before. I have raised "STEAL" past the acceptable point at which it should be cast ("GGGGGGGSTEAL", 64 mp, eww), and I think I can safely say it doesn't pay to make it cost more than 1mp.

I still haven't found a way to revive all your party members at once... that's kind of a pain. But at least you can precast it, and if the one you target with it isn't dead, it'll restore a small amount of their HP. It still sucks, but that's a little nicer than having it go "oh he's not dead yet, let's waste your MP for no effect". Anyway, I'm outta here for now, but let's just say I screwed up on the Beze. I think I was too weak at the time, 'cause I got them down to low HP and they just ran away.

[Duran]

I think "STRENGTH" works best for me, so I can attack those who decide to stay and fight, and I usually end up getting all of them. At one point, I actually had a good 8-9 of those things because I just spent a good couple hours grinding my party up to 32, and all I can say is that its paying off nicely.

Based on what I've read/heard, each story is fairly short. You can beat it once you reach the 40's mark for each story.

As for spells, I normally go with "FULL," "CON," prefix'a and "RAD" suffix's, sometimes combining all 3. While the HP consumption is not too high, theyre effective in battle. And yeah, I've actually used "STEAL," and when I compared it to "PULMORA," the results were pretty much the same as they use the same amount of MP and steal about the same amount from the enemies.

[The J Person]

I intend at some point today to actually test out the potency of those 99mp spells I found... something is telling me they're going to be weaker than I expect. I've noticed some of the spells I've modified to have about 5mp higher cost than they did previously, are somewhat lacking in the effectiveness department.

Further rant upon additional testing by J.

[Duran]

You also have to keep resistance in mind.

I actually compared the holy spell "HEAVEN" to that of "CHUCKNORRIS." I had to find demons and ghosts that are dark element, and I found that "CHUCKNORRIS" does far more damage.