"Wow, new weapons!"
As they continued their exploration, Miyazaki soon arrived at the first fork in the road.
The object that was clearly an iron sword placed on a small platform immediately caught his attention.
"Aha, I've switched from a dagger to a short sword, three points more attack power, I'm invincible now."
This kind of gear setup, which prioritizes the highest stats, brought back memories of Fire Emblem for a moment.
Especially after changing weapons, the character's attack patterns actually change as well.
That's really amazing.
After switching to the short sword, I could clearly feel that the swing distance was much greater.
Before Miyazaki could finish his celebration, he immediately noticed that there seemed to be another piece of equipment on the road above the fork in the road.
It was a cloak.
What else is there to say? We absolutely have to get it!
Two minutes later.
"Calm down, calm down. It must be because my run-up distance wasn't long enough. I was just a little short just now."
Miyazaki took a deep breath, stared intently at the end of the platform, and pushed the joystick again to make the character run.
He's already wasted a lot of time at this crossroads.
But Miyazaki's attempt was destined to be futile once again.
The character once again missed jumping by just a hair's breadth.
"Okay, okay, I'll take another route first, and I'll deal with you later."
Miyazaki was truly convinced now.
I now want to take back all the praise I just gave GAMENOVA.
Why design such an extremely difficult and extreme jump for a platform jump?!
Isn't this just pure torture?
However, Miyazaki probably never imagined that the real torment was far from over.
Just as he passed through what appeared to be an ordinary door, a gigantic skeleton, twice his height, appeared at the far end of the screen.
Miyazaki instinctively decided to turn back the way he came.
No matter how you look at it, now is not the time to deal with this kind of boss.
No matter how tightly he clung to the door he had come from, it remained firmly shut, showing no intention of letting him leave.
"Dude, I don't want to fight the boss! Let me out!"
How could anyone design such a despicable mechanic where you can't leave once you enter a boss fight! They're animals!
Thankfully, I just learned a new ability called "dodge".
With a simple press of a button, he can quickly dodge backward within a few frames.
With this skill, defeating this boss might not be impossible.
Miyazaki took a deep breath and charged toward the giant skull.
"We can't rush things. We need to figure out its attack methods first before we can formulate a countermeasure."
He cautiously approached the skeleton and tentatively slashed out with his sword twice.
The skeleton certainly wouldn't just stand there and get beaten up.
From the moment Miyazaki approached, it also began to move.
It raised its bone club high, poised to smash it down.
"Wow, what a conscience! They even gave it a pre-animation animation!"
Without further ado, Miyazaki immediately pressed the dodge button, dodging back two body lengths to create a safe distance.
The bone club then crashed down, sending up a shower of rubble.
If that thing had hit me just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
But Miyazaki, who had never experienced the dangers of the world, never imagined that this B-skull would have other tricks up its sleeve.
Just as Miyazaki was about to continue pulling it for a while to test the perfect distance, the Boss suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out a fireball.
Bang!"
-69
The health bar dropped significantly, visible to the naked eye.
"How can it breathe fire?"
"Alright, alright, it just means we need to be on guard against one more move—"
But the more Miyazaki struggled with the issue, the more uneasy he felt.
This Boss----
He seems rather clever.
No, it's not just a little smart, it's fucking too smart!
Every time he uses dodge, that bastard always catches his brief recovery time and spits out a fireball; if you're even slightly slower, you can't dodge it.
If he tries to dodge the fireball by jumping, that bastard will immediately start charging up his staff, and if he's not properly positioned in mid-air, he'll be pinned to the ground with a single blow.
It was as if this thing could read his mind.
In particular, his character's abilities are far inferior to the Boss's.
This results in an alarmingly low margin for error in this boss battle.
A boss can make countless mistakes, but he cannot make any mistakes.
Isn't this just plain shameless!
Having grown accustomed to the ample time for turn-based deliberation in games like Fire Emblem, this was the first time Miyazaki, Miyazaki" little thief," had ever encountered a game like this.
The ultra-high pressure environment forced him to concentrate fully and not allow for the slightest lapse in attention.
Every dodge and every jump must be done with utmost care.
You must constantly observe the Boss's movements and not overlook any seemingly ordinary, minute actions.
Bang!"
In the end, Miyazaki was a step too slow, and the bone club slammed down on him, slamming him hard to the ground.
[Game Over]
"Phew, at least I'm familiar with the Boss's tactics now, so I shouldn't have any problems doing it again."
Miyazaki scratched his head and pressed the A button to continue.
However, the game returned directly to the title screen.
Looking at the empty save slot, Miyazaki suddenly felt like crying.
That's so damn unfair!
Permanent death?
What about all that effort I spent running through the map? Do I have to start all over again?
Even in a game as difficult as Fire Emblem, at least you have your own save file for each chapter!
Miyazaki sat listlessly in front of the television, suddenly wondering why he was so unlucky.
"Are all Gamenova games like this?"
Recalling the Fire Emblem games, which were full of pitfalls and where a single misstep could lead to total defeat, Miyazaki always felt that Gamenova was deliberately making this type of game to torment players.
"Sigh... what else can we do but play?"
Compared to that ridiculously overpowered boss, the 365 miles before the boss gate is nothing.
LeveIUP!
After the fourth restart, Miyazaki finally defeated that damn thing.
When the character leveled up, a close-up Close-Up of the freeze-frame and the moment the orb of light completely restored his health and mana, he clearly felt a sudden sense of relief throughout his body.
The toes, which had been almost worn down by picking at the tatami mat, suddenly stretched out.
Even my knuckles were a little sore from being so focused.
But looking at the suddenly open road behind the fallen Boss, Miyazaki suddenly felt that it was all worth it.
This feeling brought him back to the day he successfully completed the first chapter of Fire Emblem with all his characters alive.
"Cool!!!"
Absolutely right, that's exactly how it feels!
"Please, torture me even more! It's not enough! It's not enough!"
Miyazaki felt that he might never be able to live without this feeling for the rest of his life.
He suddenly waved his hand, venting his joy, but accidentally touched the Select button on the controller.
The next moment, a map window suddenly opened on the screen.
The areas I had just explored had been revealed, while the rest of the area was completely filled with solid colors.
The content in the upper right corner suddenly sent a chill down his spine and made his scalp tingle.
[2.1%]
That's the map's exploration progress.