Taloons Great Adventure Mystery Dungeon

[Dudebro]

-=EDIT The first 11 posts of this topic were originally posted in ... ... ...Arcade Trash (http://retrouprising.com/video-games/ru-games/arcade-trash/t20/)=-

Well it's not recent and it's not popular but I had a semi epic battle over this game-
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Taloons Great Adventure Mystery Dungeon (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/7772/)
It's hard to tell from the high score board because the game is time consuming and one wrong move(or random bad luck) will kill your progress.
I finally stomped Bakingumbys score by 7k. To his credit I was struggling to pass him but I got a lucky run and was almost unstoppable(hit some bad luck).

I was hoping more people would try this game since it's so cool but I guess you're all afraid of my skills. You might like it Steven since it's set in the Dragon warrior universe and the main character is from DW4.

Other than that I have no recent things to talk about. I need to play more games.:wilt:

[Slime Slayer]

yeah, i played it a few times, but i get to 2 or third level and then i cant remember if its an enemy i couldnt figure out how to kill, or was getting paralysed, or i think it might have been that i kept getting put to sleep and couldnt wake up. something was frustrating me anyway so i moved on. i might give it another go though, how long of a session would it take to beat your score?

[Dudebro]

I forget how long it took me but it's easily about an hour to get close to my score. That may seem long to some people but the entire first dungeon doesn't even count once you beat it. It's 10 floors but it's simple once you understand the game more. The real dungeon doesn't pull any punches. All the weird DW enemies are in there and they love to use their special moves on you.

I bet I know what happened to you. You probably tried to kill a wizard/mage type without arrows or magic. Unless you're pretty strong(level 5 or more) you don't want to engage them with your weapon because they spam sleep. I've been killed by that plenty of times and it's very annoying. If you don't have a blaze scroll or arrows just skip them.

Another good thing to know is you lose all your items when you finish the trial dungeon so use them if you're near the end since there's no reason to hold on to them.

[Kong]

I had a semi epic battle over this game-
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Taloons Great Adventure Mystery Dungeon (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/7772/)
It's hard to tell from the high score board because the game is time consuming and one wrong move(or random bad luck) will kill your progress.
I just played for about 4 hours. I got the jewel in the 10th floor once but died a minute later. I got over 1,000 3 times and 1,500 once. It is a mix of luck and skill but I can't tell how much of each. When I had my best run - 1,500 gold and lots good items and experience I died because I ran out of food and couldn't find any bread. Kind of a cheap way to go.

[Dudebro]

I just played for about 4 hours. I got the jewel in the 10th floor once but died a minute later. I got over 1,000 3 times and 1,500 once. It is a mix of luck and skill but I can't tell how much of each. When I had my best run - 1,500 gold and lots good items and experience I died because I ran out of food and couldn't find any bread. Kind of a cheap way to go.
Dudebro, I'm going to take your Taloon trophy this week. Does this mean you finally got past the starter dungeon? If not then you have a ways to go before you can compete with my score, it's essentially floor 29 if I count the 10 floors in the starter dungeon. I would've gone further but the enemies amp up the difficulty after floor 20-25 or so. Also I got hit with poison(think it's called that, drains 1 point of str) several times and never got an antidote. I was basically as weak as level 1 and I had to use whatever I could find to kill enemies. I remember I ran from them on the last few stages and just got whatever gold I could without dieing.

Sometimes the random AI just screws you on one item, like food or antidote. It can really cripple a good run.
Sorry I'm not trash talking, I'm just happy someone else is playing this game.

[Slime Slayer]

Dudebro, I'm going to take your Taloon trophy this week.
not if i take it first, just got to level 10, and got the jewel then died (stupid wyvern)
a really nicely designed game though.

---------- Post added at 04:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 AM ----------

only 619 gold though.

[Dudebro]

not if i take it first, just got to level 10, and got the jewel then died (stupid wyvern)
a really nicely designed game though.

---------- Post added at 04:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:25 AM ----------

only 619 gold though.
No offense but you haven't even been in the real dungeon yet. Not sure if Kong has yet either. The starter one has easier enemies and no monster lairs -sudden room full of random monsters who are all aware of you instantly.

A good thing to know is if you die past the starter dungeon don't start over. If you die and go back to your house/store you can just set out again in the real dungeon, minus everything you picked up including gold, levels and weapons - clean slate. It's much better than playing that first dungeon again.
Another thing is when you get to the end of the starter dungeon you have to walk back down. Just run through it asap since none of the stuff carries over when you get out. It's a brutal game.

[Dudebro]

I'm sure of it. I welcome the new blood, I kind of lose interest when I have the high score in a game. This is the first time I've felt like playing it in months.

Btw I'd love to hear anything you guys figure out about the game. I tried looking it up online but it's an obscure title.
One thing I can't figure out is how to kill those roman looking golems. I can kill them with scrolls like any other enemy but my sword and arrows weren't doing damage. That's the bastard that ended my high score run.

Btw did you ever try this game?
http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/1135/
At first glance it's very simplistic but for a game gear game it's awesome. It's the same kind of game as Taloons but I think it's more challenging.

[Dojah]

Btw I'd love to hear anything you guys figure out about the game. I tried looking it up online but it's an obscure title.

A.K.A~Torneko No Daibouken Fushigi No Dungeon
http://db.gamefaqs.com/console/snes/file/torneko_no_daibouken_fushig_no_dungeon_a.txt

I think this should help.

[Slime Slayer]

never played it, maybe once the dust settles on torneko's we can battle this one out.

[Dudebro]

Thanks Dojah. Your link doesn't work but I searched that name and found it. Gamefaqs doesn't allow direct linking to their text files for some reason.

Thanks to Dojahs link I figured out what's up with the Stone Hulks-
False Statue
Used by: Stone Hulk
Effect: Seems like a harmless statue, until you are in melee range.
Comment: When you are able to encounter these, you'll constantly see fake
statues. Stay away from them if you don't want to risk it.I just found an important piece of info about this game from gamefaqs. If you die 21 times in the trial dungeon the king gives you a Metal Babble sword and shield to start off with. I'm pretty sure they're the best ones possible. The catch is you lose them when you leave the dungeon after getting the jewel chest. Think of it as way to bypass the tutorial dungeon. I just tried it and I breezed through the dungeon with no problems. I did get a lot of food and wands though so it might not be a cakewalk for everyone.
This is cheap and dieing 21 times is slightly tedious but the first dungeon doesn't count anyways, this helps get to the real deal faster. Personally I think it's awesome.

---------- Post added at 03:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:54 AM ----------

Wow I just got to level 10 of the real dungeon and it was an instant monster lair. I barely made it out of the room alive and in the next room I encountered a metal babble. It hit hard but I had health herbs. As most of us know they like to run away so I used my staff of sealing on him and it blocked his warp special. I got 500 exp and went up three levels and I found a instant level item on the ground.:bulgy-eyes:

Oh and of course I hit a pitfall before I can kill the 7 or so trick bags in that room. There goes several thousand gold.

Ok I doubled my score, beat that. I got to floor 19 again but this time I ran out of food. I was doing so awesome but I didn't get any bread for several floors. I got killed by entering a monster lair full of golems and stone hulks. I had a blast. Good luck guys.

[Kong]

yeah, i played it a few times, but i get to 2 or third level and then i cant remember if its an enemy i couldnt figure out how to kill, or was getting paralysed, or i think it might have been that i kept getting put to sleep and couldnt wake up. something was frustrating me anyway so i moved on. i might give it another go though, how long of a session would it take to beat your score?
Those are magicians. Avoid them until you have 30HP a sword, a sheild and maybe some arrows.

My score took 3 and a half hours. That is including using the 21 death trick, dieing twice on the big dungeon and breakfast for about an hour. So I would say even on a good run it will take you over 2 hours to beat my score.

@DB I had some of those instant monster lairs. I also had one level that the entire floor was one giant room. No hall. Just one big room that covered the entire map and it was a lair with tons of loot and monsters. It was floor 7. I had a real good run until then but I died pretty quick in it.

I doubled my score, beat that. I got to floor 19.When I boosted that I was going to take your score I had just got 8,000 and thought it would be easy to repeat but after lots of tries I couldn't. When you said you doubled it I thought I was in trouble but I just got over 27K. I had to eat moldy bread the whole way. I used lots of change canes. I could have kept going but I spawned in a giant monster lair and there was lots of new enemies. One of them hit me with a spell and I dropped a repel which should have saved me but the spell he hit me with was confuse so I wondered off the repel and died.

Any one use an outside yet? Do you get to keep any items?

Beating the trick bags is the trick the only way to get a really big score.

[Slime Slayer]

i cant wait to play again, not sure when ill have time, also out of curiosity why was this made its own topic?

---------- Post added at 11:31 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:04 PM ----------

so, i just finished the trial dungeon and i got it on pause, i got some stuff to do hopefully i can play again tonight. friggin awsome game.

[tanc24]

I'm not hooked on this game YET, but I've been lurking a little bit and learning the ropes.

I'm nowhere near 27,000 (or 10,000), but I appreciate you guys turning me on to a really fun game!

[Dudebro]

If you or anyone has any questions or comments about the game please share with the group.

[Kong]

I've played this game way more that I should. When my girlfriend goes to the bathroom or kitchen or whatever I play for a minute and then pause it before she comes back. I think she knows what is going on though because she always says "Talooooooons!" when she comes back.

I tried an experiment tonight to see how much is luck and how much is skill. I played while drinking rum. I can normally get over 10K every 2 or 3 tries. While drunk I was struggling to break 1K. I say that is +1 to skill.

The game is very unforgiving though. You can be playing for an hour and make one wrong move or have one unlucky turn and have to go back to the beginning.

I'll post some tips later.

[Slime Slayer]

yeah its alot of skill, i havent come accross a point where i was screwed by the game, its all about using what you have at the right times, and never waste anything, save your medical herbs and elixers for battles, and use your bangs/blazes when you need them, not just willy nilly.

[Dudebro]

I'd say this game is mostly skill. The only luck involved is what items you'll find and where. Like Steven said it's all about knowing when to use something.

Another thing that requires skill is knowing what to throw out or use when you run out of room. Sometimes tossing that extra antidote will screw you several floors later.

[Kong]

I got 38K last night but left it running so I could continue again without playing the baby dungeon. My computer got unplugged and I lost it.

The only reason why I died on that run was because I lost 5 levels to those puppets (worst character I have ran into yet) and so I got careless. I ran into a lair and threw a blinding herb at a stone hulk and ran. The stone hulk killed everyone in the lair which gave him mega experience and leveled up several times. I went to kill him, normally easy ( I had over 120HP ) but he killed me in two hits before I realized he was super hulk.

So be careful using blindings.

I hate how the text is white on transparent light blue. I can barely read it. Sometimes I can't. I guess that is a mistake the fan translators made.

I grew up on Fatal Labyrinth (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/6760/) » Genesis (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/genesis/) the 16-bit version of Dragon Crystal (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/1136/) » Sega (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/sega/) and Dragon Crystal (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/1135/) » Game Gear (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game-gear/). I'll add some DOS predecessors, Rouge and Nethack, this summer.

Taloons has much more reading than the others, and the horrible white on light text and the annoying trial dungeon but besides that it is by far best in it's genre.

Several tips.



Die 21 times in the first trial dungeon. You get a good sword and shield that makes it easier and all you want to do is get past it as fast as you can so you can play in the real dungeon. All stats, money, points, equipment reset when you get to the next dungeon. Holding A+B+END will speed this up.
After you beat the trial dungeon leave the game on and pause it when you need a break. If you submit a score or close the game then you have to repeat the trial dungeon again. Even if you left the game on pause for a week you could still submit your score.
You need to be level 3, 29HP, and have a sword, a shield and something to throw before waking up a magician.
Elixirs and medical herbs will boost your max HP if you use them when you are full health. Always do this at least until you get to 100 HP. You might want to save one for an emergency.
Strengths are the same, if you are not poisoned then strengths will increase you max. Always use antidotes to recover strength, not strengths.
If you only have one antidote don't use it right away. Save it until you have to use it because it will always bring you back to full strength even if you are down to just 1 point.
If you have a moldy bread or two and an antidote or if you have a belly ring then take your time. Farm. You can only do it for a couple minutes and then an earthquake will happen and force you to move on to the next level. If you are doing this then attack the purple sleeping birds, otherwise avoid them.
Levels 7-15 are very important because they are the only levels that spawn trick bags. You have to do good on these levels to get a great score.
If you have a clone staff, a bang and some confusions and muddles save them for a level 15 trick bag. Clone the trick bags and make them run away from you, they are useless if they steal from you before you kill them. If you do it right you will make a fortune. You can also do it level 7-14 but they are worth more in later levels.
Avoid close combat with mushrooms if you don't have an antidote or scale shield. Never fight puppets close if you can help it.
You shouldn't have to run away very often. You should always be strong enough to fight what is on the current floor. Your level should be at least as high as the floor.
Use a digital controller or keyboard. Analog sticks make you go in crazy directions.
Learn the controls. The run button can save you lots of real world time but can cause you to make mistakes so if you are having a hard time you should probably just walk. Walking in diagonals saves food. Turn the map on. Holding the Y button will help you face enemies. R moves diagonally. L shoots arrows. A+B recovers HP fast and calls enemies to you.
If you make it out of the dungeon with enough money you can build a bigger shop. After about 3 or 4 expansions you build a vault. The vault lets you store items for later use. I never got to use it but a first level vault will let you use an outside to put 10 items in storage and each time you start over you can bring one item with you. I assume the vault will get bigger with more expansions. I think this is kind of cheating but there is no real way for us to prevent or monitor it so anyone can do it and you should be aware of it. You have to make it out with over 500 gold, then over 1000 gold then over 2000 gold and then over 5000 gold to get it, I think.
The cloning staff and belly ring are the most valuable items you will find for reasons stated above.
When I start the game I usually do not equip a weapon until I am ready to fight a magician. Then I equip the best I have and hope it is not cursed. If it boosts my attack or defense to 3ish then I decide to keep it and add my Bikills and Uppers and Platting to it.
Platting keeps your shield from rusting. Very important. If you do not have one then you have to remove your shield when you see a Hork and this repeated wasted turn will probably mean you will not make it far. Mirror shields do not corrode and are good. Leather shields don't corrode but they require twice as much food, throw them away.
The Liclick (gray lizard people lickers) split in two when you attack them. Run for a corridor and fight them one at a time. If you have 40HP and aren't surrounded then they shouldn't be too hard.
The Wyvern (blue birds) and Stone Hulks are very strong. You should have 60HP before getting close.
Bomb Crags (look like Meatwad) will eventually stop moving. If you hit them once or twice more then they will explode hurting items and enemies and you. If you are close then they will leave you with 2HP. Arrows work good for the final blow, but remember to save some arrows for trick bags and Demoites. If you are above level 16 when you kill them with a sword then I don't think they explode.
Ice Sloths are pretty easy. If you have over 40HP then it should be ok to wake them.
Learn what items do.
Be careful with blindings and probably get rid of them when you run out of storage. They can cause one enemy to kill several other enemies but that will cause him to get very strong.
You can make some enemies attack others, example the archers will always shoot at you but if there is someone else in between you then they get hit.
Antidotes are very important, Save all of them.
Bread is very important unless you have a belly ring. Save it all even moldy bread.
Blaze is pretty good.
Use elixirs, strengths, medicals, bikills, uppers and plating right away as described above. No need to store them usually.
Bangs are good, save them.
Eavesdrop scrolls combined with a belly ring are good. Otherwise, kind of useless.
Clairvoyant scroll is almost useless. Use it right away, don't store it.
Identify scrolls are valuable. Try to always have a couple. I usually use it on rings first.
Outside scroll and safe are only useful if you are trying to get the vault mentioned above. Otherwise ditch them.
Torch is ok if you are doing the belly ring farm trick. Not worth storing. I did use one to kill a metal babble which gave me 500exp and a lucky herb.
Lucky herbs give you an extra level. Save it until you are having trouble and then use it right after gaining a level. If you use it right before gaining a level then you wasted it. The higher your level when using it the more valuable it is.
Uncurse scroll. Usually worth keeping one. Don't use it just because you have a curse. Only use it if you want to unequip a cursed item. A cursed dragon sword is probably better than any noncursed sword you will find so no need to remove the curse. I think it will remove all curses at once so if you are going to use it go ahead and equip all of your unidentified items and find out if they are cursed or not first.
Change staff is good. You can use it to change an unbeatable enemy into something else or you can change an easy enemy into something else to get more experience points. Hopefully you will turn it into a trick bag.
Prevention staff is not great. You do not wave it like other staffs. If it is in your inventory then you will not trip. When you run out of space throw it away.
Weapons. You are hoping to find a steel axe or dragon sword by the third floor but will probably get a copper sword. Be disappointed if you only have a gold sword or club or nothing at all. Don't use a bikill on gold or club, hold out for something better. Gold and club might not be worth the risk of curse.
Shields. Don't use leather. Scale shields protect against poison. A plating and a scale shield my be the best even though it is not the strongest. Mirror shields have plating already and are 1 stronger than scale. Next is steel and then dragon. Bronze is the weakest. If you only have a bronze then you should use it but save your uppers and plating for something better. Bronze might not be worth the risk of curse unless you are having trouble.
If you put on a ring without using an identify scroll on it then first check your stats to see if it boosted your strength by 3, if it did then it is a strength ring, keep it. If not then check if you are losing 1% of food ever 5 steps, if you are then it is a starve ring, throw it away. If not then check if you are losing 1% of food every 10 steps. If you are not then it is a belly ring. Keep it. You are lucky. The only other rings I have got are disarm and adornment. Adornment is useless unless you are about to use an outside scroll.
You can hold buttons down to repeat commands. You don't have to repeatedly tap attack.
Most enemies will follow you. Don't waste food walking out of your way towards them.
Save items with multiple charges, staffs and arrows, for later. Use single use items first to free space in inventory.
If you are getting too many items and have to throw them away then use magic to kill demonites, puppets and mushrooms and trick bags from a distance. You don't want them close to you.
Throwing staffs with zero charges left has the same effect as waving them.
Know when to improvise and abandon these tips.
Good luck!

[Dudebro]

Yeah I really hate the text too Kong. A good example is the start of the game, because of the green grass and stuff I can barely make out what they're saying. I'm not missing much but it's still annoying.

Those puppets/dolls are the worst enemy. From my experience most roguelikes have a similar creature. I know Dragon crystal has them and they are very hard to avoid.

Be very careful of pitfalls. I've had my game ruined a few times by falling out of a monster lair full of trick bags. I know one run I missed out on about 7k. It can also screw you by making you miss a bunch of exp and being gimped on the next floor.
Besides using a scroll to reveal the map(reveals traps) you can swing your weapon and uncover traps directly in front of you. Of course you shouldn't walk around swinging all the time. I noticed pitfalls are more common in monster lairs. I limit my walking around and check each tile for traps. It slows the action down but the alternative is game breaking.

About your tips-
1- This is very important if you wanna try for a high score. Killing yourself 21 times sounds tedious but it's much better than dieing on the trial dungeon and having to start over or wasting lots of effort on a part that doesn't count. Once you know the game you never need to worry about the trial dungeon.

2- This is good to know. I was wondering if my scores looked shady because I leave the game on for hours at a time. I do that with any game that allows me to.

4- Unless you have an abundance of elixers I wouldn't blow them on a few max hp. Medical herbs aren't as good so they can be sacrificed.

5- Yeah never waste a strength bonus to recover, wait for an antidote. Obviously if you are about to die you can use one and it may save your life.

6- I don't farm because money and items don't respawn. I think it's smarter to keep moving and get further with the food you have.

---------- Post added 01-27-2010 at 06:11 AM ---------- Previous post was 01-24-2010 at 09:51 PM ----------

http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h293/unyobroyo/Taloon2.jpg
So far every monster lair I've checked has pitfalls. Tonight I found three in one room, picture shows two of them. If you don't have a torch scroll I suggest attacking every step to be sure.

Btw I had such a great run tonight and I screwed it up. I found a babble shield on the second floor and a mb sword soon after. It was shield+5 and sword+3 when I died and I was tearing stuff up. I underestimated a group of monsters and they pwned me.

Besides those three pitfalls I mentioned above I hit about 4 more and really hurt my exp and money. I was level 18 on floor 22-23. If I didn't have such good gear I never would've made it so far. Pitfalls are fail.

[Slime Slayer]

i manage my best run yet today, floor 17 and 6222 gold, i just ran out of rescources and couldnt beat a leathal armour after missing 4 times in a row.
i picked up a babble shield on the first floor, and then a cursed steel axe, witch i was stuck with for about 10 levels. major problem was i couldnt find jack for weapons. i think my attack was 3 when i died.

[Dudebro]

Yeah sometimes the game just beats you down with arbitrary restrictions. The run I got 10k on I was down to 1 str and I never found an antidote. I only made it so far because I used everything I had to run away or distract/kill enemies.

[Kong]

A cursed stell axe isn't that bad. It is better than an uncursed gold sword or club and I think equal to an uncursed copper sword. Give it some bikills and you would be good.

[Slime Slayer]

A cursed stell axe isn't that bad. It is better than an uncursed gold sword or club and I think equal to an uncursed copper sword. Give it some bikills and you would be good.

i ended up throwing it away as soon as i got it uncursed, cause i wasnt sure if the curse effected anything besides the -1

[Dudebro]

Nah once you uncurse something it's totally normal(as far as I know).

---------- Post added 01-29-2010 at 02:49 AM ---------- Previous post was 01-28-2010 at 08:57 PM ----------

Btw I just found out that identifying an item doesn't show you if it's cursed. I identified a ring and it seemed fine until I put it on. I'm not sure but I think it knocked me down 4 strength.

[Kong]

Yeah identify didn't seem to work the way I expected it too. I think they are just so you can get the name of things and nothing else. Lame.

Curse simply means you can not unequip it. Uncurse means you can unequip. Cursed weapons and armor have -1 stats. A -1 dragon sword is still about 3 more than a regular copper sword. Which is to say, good.

[Dudebro]

Are you sure uncursed items retain the negative? I swear that goes away when you use the scroll.

[Slime Slayer]

plus itll tell you how many charges you have left.

---------- Post added at 03:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:27 AM ----------

im sure they retain the negative.

[Dudebro]

Damn I've been keeping the uncursed stuff and just assuming it's normal. I guess it doesn't really matter though since I just compare them from the stats screen anyways.

[Kong]

I enabled Battery Saves. Who thinks they will be the first to Master it?

[Winnebagel]

I enabled Battery Saves. Who thinks they will be the first to Master it?

Talking to you about it has made me want to play it. I never have. Now with saves, it might be reasonable. It's an enormous game right?

[Dudebro]

I enabled Battery Saves. Who thinks they will be the first to Master it?
Depends what is considered mastering this game. Do you just need to get the treasure box in the real dungeon or do you have to reach the bottom floor?


@WB- It sounds more intimidating than it really is. It's just floor after floor of monsters and items. The only hard part is having the patience to endure it.

It's funny that this sparked your interest. I was just thinking about this game a few days ago and I was wondering why more people didn't get into it. Let us know how it goes for you.

[Winnebagel]

@WB- It sounds more intimidating than it really is. It's just floor after floor of monsters and items. The only hard part is having the patience to endure it.

It's funny that this sparked your interest. I was just thinking about this game a few days ago and I was wondering why more people didn't get into it. Let us know how it goes for you.

Yeah, but it sounds so mysterious. It's like Taloons is mentioned with a hushed reverence somehow. I have talked to you and Kong a little about it, and it makes me want to play. Is RAM saves are an option, I will start on it soon. I'll let you guys know what happens.

By the way, how many floors are there?

[Dudebro]

Yeah, but it sounds so mysterious. It's like Taloons is mentioned with a hushed reverence somehow.I think that's because it came out of nowhere and hit us like a brick. Not only is it a very well made dungeon crawler but it's based on the DW universe and even stars a very familiar character. To me it's one of the most underrated games I've ever played, but I love these kind of games.

By the way, how many floors are there?When you start you have to beat the training dungeon, 10 floors and then you have to walk out. It's much easier than the real dungeon so don't let it concern you. Once you pass that the real dungeon can go to floor 99 I believe but you only technically have to get to the mid 20s to find the item Taloon has been searching for.

[Kong]

I just made it to floor 25 on my first try without dying or really trying.

I think mastering it would either be getting out with the Mystery Box.

[Dudebro]

I think mastering it would either be getting out with the Mystery Box.
I think there's something wrong with this sentence. Either you were going to add more or you tossed in an either you didn't need.

I agree that needing the box would be mastering it since it's the actual goal and ending of the game(sort of). Anything past the box is just gravy.

[Tails]

DB, show some of your squirrel muscle and master this.

[Dudebro]

I love this game but I don't feel like setting aside time to play it and do it well. I know Kong just said he almost beat it without trying but he's an android, it doesn't count.

[Tails]

Why? If you love it so much do it. That's what I'm doing with Pokemon.

[Dudebro]

This game requires more thought and patience than Pokemon, imo. I know you don't like it but you should try it and see why I don't feel like it atm.

[Slime Slayer]

This game requires more thought and patience than Pokemon
And luck also.

[Dudebro]

Well yeah, same goes for any dungeon crawler though.

[Kong]

I was going to say "either get the mystery box or get to level 99 and back out". But I removed the last half of the sentence because levels 38-99 are just repeats. I forgot to also delete the word "either".

The mystery box is the third and final box.

So I think you can beat it by getting to around level 35 and back out.

As you get farther into the game I think luck starts playing less of a role. I know I do better nearly every time I play.

[Shnarf]

I've just started playing Taloooooons! It's yet another awesome game of epic preportion on this immense website! Cheers for the recomendation Kong, can't see me challenging your highscore, but enjoying the game play.

I'm on floor 15 on the 2nd Chamber, but got shafted by a couple of the dancing dolls :(

[Dudebro]

It sounds like you're doing really good if you made it that far already. Did you play through the whole first dungeon or did you do the metal babble trick?

[Shnarf]

Question: Why throw the leather sheild away, it says under info makes you LESS hungry?

Yeah DB, just played through...took a good few atempts, made loads of mistakes I won't make again! Never knew that trick existed till checked this forum, think I'm going to play through everytime to get more practice...This is top notch hidden gem of a game, you don't play a game as good as this very often!! Thanks RU!!!! :D

[Dudebro]

I haven't played in a while, the in game info says it makes you less hungry? I seem to remember it making you more hungry and Kong posted it in his tips on page 1(Leather shields don't corrode but they require twice as much food, throw them away.). Have you tried it? It's probably a translation typo. Sorry I don't remember it's been a few months.

It's good practice to play through the first dungeon but it's also kind of wasting your time and effort since nothing carries over. I think it's better to practice on the real dungeon since it counts and you might get lucky and find some really good stuff early and just run with it.

Btw did you try the other dungeon crawlers?
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Dragon Crystal (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/1136/) - Sega master system
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Dragon Crystal (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/1135/) - Game gear
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Fatal Labyrinth (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/6760/)

The top two are hi score enabled but they're the same game with minor differences. The Game gear one has less variety in backgrounds and I think some items and enemies are removed. It's bare bones but it's good. Taloon is better overall but Dragon crystal is quick, simple and straightforward. It's hard because it has fewer options but it's just as fun as Taloon, imo.

[Kong]

Question: Why throw the leather shield away, it says under info makes you LESS hungry?I thought it made you more hungry. Less hungry would make more sense so I was probably wrong.

[Shnarf]

I thought it made you more hungry. Less hungry would make more sense so I was probably wrong.

Intentional disinformation! A good way to protect one's highscore?

It makes a significant difference and makes farming and leveling up alot easier, I'm normally a good few levels above the floor level!! Try next time your good lady goes to the toilet! Taloooons!!! I maybe wrong?

Yeah, a few of the RU team welcomed me and sent lists of games, Kong I think recommend Dragon Crystal! Not checked out Fatal Labyrinth yet., but definately will after my Taloonathon!!

---------- Post added at 07:01 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:32 AM ----------

Intentional disinformation! A good way to protect one's highscore?

It makes a significant difference and makes farming and leveling up alot easier, I'm normally a good few levels above the floor level!! Try next time your good lady goes to the toilet! Taloooons!!! I maybe wrong?

Yeah, a few of the RU team welcomed me and sent lists of games, Kong I think recommend Dragon Crystal! Not checked out Fatal Labyrinth yet., but definately will after my Taloonathon!!

was just kinding kong hope no offence takin

[Dudebro]

No I'm sure Kong wasn't offended by your joke. If you see anymore mistakes please let us know. Also if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[Shnarf]

56,810 so close, yet so far!! What an Epic Taloonathon!!! Crack bomb, Health down to 1 , Return, then hit by Invisable Enemy!

[Dudebro]

Good score Shnarf. Now I'm gonna have to play this again to see if I can catch you and Kong.

[Tails]

and then have the bull game affect DB?

IE Kong catches big boys, score goes up 30k.

[Dudebro]

That didn't make sense but ok I guess. Kong is a dynamo when he likes a game. I'm sure he's capable of hitting floor 99 but he doesn't wanna ruin the fun for everyone else.

[Tails]

Check arcade trash. He talked about this bull rush game Dojah/Tanc played, he set a nice score but it went up 30k+ when he thought he caught up to them.

I'm like that too, so many games I just don't try cuz they do not interest me. I sucked at Contra, now I can beat it.

[Dudebro]

So I just had an awesome run ruined by a sleep trap. I found a metal babble shield and sword before floor5. I got tons of bangs, blazes and food. I made it to floor 26 without encountering a monster lair and only seeing a few trick bags(these two were not part of the awesome). I got killed when I stepped into a room and hit a sleep trap right in front of a green dragon or a winged demon, I forget because I was watching the text and hoping to wake up. I had plenty of items to save myself.:(

[Slime Slayer]

Ouch DB, I was gonna take a run at it tonight also, but I kept getting error: game did not load. (And didnt feel like switching over to the other user on my computer cause I was DL'ing something)

[Dudebro]

After I posted that I died because of sleep again on my next attempt in the same game. I entered a monster lair and a magician slept me and I got a quick beat down. I just can't catch a break.

[Slime Slayer]

So we are allowed to use the sram for this now right? I know it's probably in several other places on the site but think someone could give me a quick rundown of how it's used. Specifically what key do I hit to engage it. Also I can't remember for sure but does'nt tallons wipe you of everything when you die? So the sram would just be convienent if you only have a half hour to play?
Because of sram has this game now become a race kind of? Because you could just load up one of your games where your already leveled up and stuff?

[Tails]

Save it like a normal game, then hit escape to turn off the emulator.

[Slime Slayer]

Thanks tails, this last game I played I could have gotten to lvl 99, I picked up an item called a belly ring (lol) and this made my belly permanently 100%, so I could have just stayed on whatever floor and farmed levels indefinitely, but that would be boring and stupid, so I ventured on and got killed on level 15 by 2 back to back exploding bomb crags, brought me from 75 to zero instantly.

[Dudebro]

Because of sram has this game now become a race kind of? Because you could just load up one of your games where your already leveled up and stuff?Only for the game master thing as far as I'm aware. If you mean enabling sram for high score then I doubt that's allowed considering it would be unfair.

Also are you sure the belly ring does that? I thought it just reduced your hunger overall?

[Slime Slayer]

Yeah man I was permanently at 100%

---------- Post added at 04:48 AM ---------- Previous post was at 04:35 AM ----------

Only for the game master thing as far as I'm aware. If you mean enabling sram for high score then I doubt that's allowed considering it would be unfair.

I didn't understand how the game functions before I posted that, I didn't realise you are reset to the bare bones each time you enter the dungeon.

[Dudebro]

Yeah man I was permanently at 100%
I'll have to be on the look for it. I hardly ever find uncursed rings so it might take a while though.

I didn't realise you are reset to the bare bones each time you enter the dungeon.
That's only in the beginning. If you expand your store and recover the safe you can store some items and bring them with you on your next trip.

[RU Joe]

I remember Taloon when he was a simple arms merchant in Dragon Warrior.
Awesome game, great story.

http://www.lordyuanshu.com/images/DWIV/Taloon%20Chapter/DWIVTaloonwakeup.png

[Dudebro]

Oddly enough I actually didn't really like him in that game. I thought his part was kind of annoying and boring to be honest.

[RU Joe]

Back then, any game that had more than just a few screens was magical.
And an adventure, to get the gold, save the kingdom from the forces of evil - hey, count me in.
What I mean is that we were happy to have them, even if they did have some laborious gameplay at times.
It was repetitive and boring when you had to take care of Taloon's store, and it went on so long that I was beginning to think the game had gone into some kind of a loop and I wouldn't be able to get out!
But we played it anyhow.

[Dudebro]

It's not the length of his part that bothered me it was his character. He's still annoying in this game but the story is minimal so it's not a big deal. I do find it funny that they picked him out of all the Dragon Warrior characters though.

Btw you don't have to tell me about why we played these games, I was there too remember? ;)

[Shnarf]

Unlucky DB,maybe I can give you tips I picked up..

On my personal best score, I got the belly ring, but if you farm a level to long an earthquake throws you to the level below.

I would compare my strategy to that of a tower defense game. Each floor your on has swarms of Enemys progressively getting harder they also throw in a round of trickbags or two on most floors. I recommend killing as many enemies as possible on each level. Time consuming but I'm pretty sure the way the game was designed to be played.

I generally run between rooms looking for red dots to show up. The real problems I had in the later levels was a lack of arrows and those cragg bombs,,, any good ways to deal with cragg bombs would be appreciated?

DB, I have a bit of free time and really wanna get into a game(s) with a good story and good longevity(series) what would you suggest bro?

[Slime Slayer]

On my personal best score, I got the belly ring, but if you farm a level to long an earthquake throws you to the level below.


Ahhh.. so much for the game being broken in that manner.

Side note, have you guys ever been hunting for a trick bag who had your gold, then fallen through a hole (or alternativly just going down the steps) and finding that trick bag on the floor below carrying the exact amount he stole?

[Shnarf]

Ahhh.. so much for the game being broken in that manner.

Side note, have you guys ever been hunting for a trick bag who had your gold, then fallen through a hole (or alternativly just going down the steps) and finding that trick bag on the floor below carrying the exact amount he stole?

Not yet, has that happened to you?

[Slime Slayer]

Yes, I normally stay on the level and hunt down any trick bags who stole my gold, but I fell through once and there he was, with my gold, now I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence and he happened to drop the exact amount he stole from me, or maybe it was the same bag.

[Shnarf]

Yes, I normally stay on the level and hunt down any trick bags who stole my gold, but I fell through once and there he was, with my gold, now I'm not sure if it was just a coincidence and he happened to drop the exact amount he stole from me, or maybe it was the same bag.

I reacon it was the same bag, must have been feeling guilty! Try getting a belly ring and systematically scowering every level like a crime scene investigation right up until the earthquake, you'll find far more trick bags and level up more, making mistakes or misfortune in the later levels less likely to be GAME OVER!

My major problem is those pesky cragg bombs, any ideas?

[Kugyince]

I wish I could find a game like this that I could keep going back to except without the whole dungeon crawling crap.

Maybe something like an Animal Crossing...

[Shnarf]

I wish I could find a game like this that I could keep going back to except without the whole dungeon crawling crap.

Maybe something like an Animal Crossing...

Take it you don't like RPG's either, Harvest Moon is similar to Animal Crossing I think?

[Kugyince]

Love RPGs, just hate the random dungeon crawling. Harvest Moon ends after 18 months game time.

[Slime Slayer]

Love RPGs, just hate the random dungeon crawling. Harvest Moon ends after 18 months game time.

What would you propose replace the dungeon crawling? Anything specific?

[Kugyince]

Was looking for a bit of a time sink but I'll just go master Breath of Fire 1 and 2 instead.

[Dudebro]

Unlucky DB,maybe I can give you tips I picked up..
Any tips and tricks are welcome.



I would compare my strategy to that of a tower defense game. Each floor your on has swarms of Enemys progressively getting harder they also throw in a round of trickbags or two on most floors. I recommend killing as many enemies as possible on each level. Time consuming but I'm pretty sure the way the game was designed to be played.Oh believe me I kill everything possible on every floor. I usually double back and check for stragglers or pick up items I might've missed so I tend to level well. I only got killed on my most recent run because of the bad luck of stepping on a sleep trap on the first tile of the room with really dangerous enemies. I had tons of items to save myself if I was awake. It was heartbreaking to see all my hard work ruined by that.

The real problems I had in the later levels was a lack of arrows and those cragg bombs,,, any good ways to deal with cragg bombs would be appreciated?Lack of arrows is a problem I run into all the time. I usually just save them as long as possible. Using them on anything besides a mage on early levels is a waste unless you're gonna die. If you really need more on later levels you could try milking those little archers, lilly w/e they're called. They occasionally miss their shots and arrows land on the ground(seemingly endless supply). You can also throw old swords and armor you don't need. It's not as good but it's an option.

I don't even bother with Bomb crags. I've yet to get any experience or items from them and they destroy items when they explode. I just hit them 2-3 times until they stop moving/attacking and then I walk away. When they stop being active they are one hit away from blowing up. I found that if you leave them alone and walk far away they disappear sometimes.

DB, I have a bit of free time and really wanna get into a game(s) with a good story and good longevity(series) what would you suggest bro?Tough call really. I assume you mean a good RPG series? Would it matter if the series doesn't carry over into the sequels? Tenser mentioned the Breath of Fire series, that's a good one to try. You might enjoy the Shadowrun games as well.
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Breath Of Fire (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/592/)
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Breath Of Fire II (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/593/)
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Shadowrun (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/3497/)
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Shadowrun (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/3500/)


@Tenser- Have you ever played Arcana for Snes? It's not the best RPG ever made but it's different and fun, imo.
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Arcana (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/209/)

How about Inindo way of the Ninja? I've suggested it on RU in the past but no one seemed to notice or care. I think you'd like it but I could be wrong-
Retro Uprising - Arcade - Inindo Way Of The Ninja (http://retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/1815/)

[Slime Slayer]

I noticed and seconded the motion, I havent played it since it's release so I might be a little foggy on how good it actually was.

[Kong]

If you like Taloons then I would suggest
Gain Ground. It isn't really similar at all yet I think if you like one you would like the other.
Also Shining in the Darkness is a Dungeon Crawler and is the first in the fantastic Shining Force series which are tactical RPGs.
And if you like them then I would suggest Countdown to Doomsday which I think is one of the best tactical RPGs.

[Shnarf]

Tried Buck Rogers,Countdown yo Doomsday! not tried shining yet! Loved the robot that used to make that cool neemeneeme noise in Buck Rogers, is the robot in it later on???

[Dudebro]

I've been playing this again to master it and so far I've had some really bad luck. I've barely seen any trick bags, keep getting hit with sleep at the worst possible times, lost my good items I tried to save in storage and I haven't come anywhere close to Kongs ridiculous high score.

I did encounter a couple cool things though. I saw my first single room, monster liar, floor and I encountered several metal babbles(and gained many levels from them).

[Slime Slayer]

I forgot how much fun this game is, I just got DQ 6 for DS last night, so far so good.

[Kong]

I still have my save. I plan on mastering it eventually. Was thinking about making it a Game Club game soon.

I have my shop and storage locker maxed out.

The trick bags don't help you master the game, only get a high score. Because the trick bags only appear on the first few levels I don't think you can get very much of a higher score than I have. You can still add a lot to it but after level 10 or so you don't get very much money at all.

The dolls that de-level you and steal your strength or what cause me the most trouble.

[Dudebro]

I have my shop and storage locker maxed out. I was gonna ask about this since your high score screenshot shows you had a few hundred thousand gold overall. I'm at the point where I can store 30 items and carry three inside at a time. Next upgrade costs 50k, at the rate I'm going that'll be 5 or so trips inside.

The trick bags don't help you master the game, only get a high score. Because the trick bags only appear on the first few levels I don't think you can get very much of a higher score than I have. You can still add a lot to it but after level 10 or so you don't get very much money at all.I know they don't help master I was just commenting on how scarce they've been since I started playing again. I don't think I've seen more than 4-5 in one run so far. On top of that I haven't seen any clone rods(that I know of). If I was going for high score I'd be very frustrated.

Btw what is the actual max floor you've reached? I was getting close to 1k per money bag and I barely hit floor 30. I think your score could be beaten even without trick bags if someone got lucky enough with regular drops.

The dolls that de-level you and steal your strength or what cause me the most trouble.I was experimenting with them and I think I found a solution. Whenever I used a seal rod on them they just attacked. If I didn't they deleveled me, sometimes multiple times. Could be a coincidence but I think seal rods stop any specials, like metal babbles warp and the dolls jig.

[Kong]

I was gonna ask about this since your high score screenshot shows you had a few hundred thousand gold overall. That was before SRAM was enabled so I had to restart after that score. Also I don't think I used the vault for the score. The vault has never actually helped me YET.

Btw what is the actual max floor you've reached? I don't remember. I think around 40. It's been a while since I played.

[Dudebro]

Storing Outside scrolls and really good items seems to be the logical use of the vault. Not having any Outside scrolls in storage lessens the impact of the vault imo. Without that option you're just storing stuff to use and lose, unless you get lucky.

I'm including a pic of my vault to show you what I got so far. The spot in the bottom corner of the bar is the best for reading the text.
Also including two pics of horrible starts the game gave me in the same run. If I didn't have Return scrolls I never would've made it out. After that it was smooth sailing until I hit floor 21, a single giant monster liar full of dolls and those eyeballs that confuse you. I had two outside scrolls and good stuff, I bailed.

[Dudebro]

I found a pic I forgot to post. My character was starving since I had no food so I started eating all the herbs I had on me because they give 5% to belly, which I didn't know until recently. Most had expected results like blind or confusion but muddle surprised me. Apparently it makes Taloon hallucinate and see himself as monsters, bad trip man.

[Seahawk]

Taloon's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon (http://www.retrouprising.com/game-menu/game/7772/)

I DID IT

I GOT THE HAPPINESS BOX AND LIVED

TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY

http://www.third.arcadeox.com/g/users/10/10191/super-nintendo_scores/taloons-great-adventure-mystery-dungeon-1330055259.png

[Dudebro]

Good job first one to beat it on RU. How much money did you have, what floor did you find it on?

[Seahawk]

It was on floor 27. I had a little more than 24k went I exited.

Also the game did not save my game so it does not appear in my score table ::). So I also lost my Abacus and Metal Babble shield (strongest equipment in game).:weep:.

[Dudebro]

Did you run from stuff a lot towards the end or were you able to pwn? I usually get the best gear/items possible but bad luck strikes and takes it all away.

[Seahawk]

It was all luck really, which is more or less the point of the game.

On the first 6 six floors I found the Metal Babble shield and plating scroll, the Abacus sword, and 4 strength ups. Also I think I ran into 5 monster lairs on the way down.

Going downwards, conflict was unavoidable many times. I had to put down two green dragons (3000 xp each so not exactly a bad deal). The main reason I lived is because I was holding onto a seal, slow, chaos, and expel staff, also having 69 wood arrows. Using them all lucked me out.

After grabbing the box it was run like hell upwards until floor 15 or so when the status affecting monsters stopped spawning. Then you can explore for extra credit.

Having the happiness box blocks outside scrolls from working. Not cool. But it also stops hunger from decreasing.

It's all luck :\. Not my idea of an ideal contest game honestly.

[Dudebro]

It's not all luck. Someone with no skill and no idea what they're doing will get smoked. You need to understand what to use when and how to handle situations.

[Kong]

Congrats on being the first Seahawk.

So you can't submit your score if you beat the game, good to know.

I don't think I've ever found the Abacus Sword.

There is a lot luck but it is not all luck at all. A skilled player will have a bad run and die early. An unskilled player can have a decent run. But only a skilled player will ever have a great run that can take the high score.

[Dudebro]

I consider myself skilled at this game and I died while having the Abacus, MB shield(both rated up a lot) and a full inventory because of bad luck(stepped in a monster liar and got put to sleep). But I also have saved myself from death by knowing how to dodge enemies, use items correctly and other stuff.

Btw did you guys try a muddle herb yet? Eat it don't throw it.

[Seahawk]

So you can't submit your score if you beat the game, good to know.

You could. The high score table shows up immediately after exiting the dungeon as usual. However for the mastery consideration you'd have to cram in "Found the Happiness Box! Returned safely" on a single screen which may be impossible.

I lost the score and the equipment but too bad I suppose. I think the ending is more definitive because the credits will roll during the ending scene.

I don't think I've ever found the Abacus Sword.

This was only my second time finding it.

There is a lot luck but it is not all luck at all. A skilled player will have a bad run and die early. An unskilled player can have a decent run. But only a skilled player will ever have a great run that can take the high score.

How did you manage 60k? That seems unbelievably high.

[Dudebro]

Kong got that score by skipping the box and leaving the game running for like three days, if I remember right. I also think he used the thing where you use the clone staff on the money bag enemies.

[Seahawk]

Bump for game strategy discussion for contest.

[Kong]

@Seahawk. Sorry, There is a third dungeon. You need to get the Mystery Box to master the game, not the Happiness Box. Next time you play you should start on the third and final dungeon though. Which probably means you have more point opportunities than the rest of us.

You are the first person to the final dungeon though so still - Congratulations!

Because it is SRAM enabled your last score should show up next time you die.

How did you manage 60k? That seems unbelievably high.Maximize the trick bags.

Kong got that score by skipping the box and leaving the game running for like three days, if I remember right. I also think he used the thing where you use the clone staff on the money bag enemies. I don't think I reached the box.

I left it running for 3 days because it was before SRAM was enabled.

I'm not sure if I had a clone staff or not. But the best way to get points is cloning trick bags.


Btw did you guys try a muddle herb yet? Eat it don't throw it.I haven't tried it but I saw your screenshot. Is there any benefit?

[Seahawk]

@Seahawk. Sorry, There is a third dungeon. You need to get the Mystery Box to master the game, not the Happiness Box. Next time you play you should start on the third and final dungeon though. Which probably means you have more point opportunities than the rest of us.

No. As I said it did not save. Both the score and the act of clearing the dungeon were lost. Worse still, it cleared out my dungeon data, so I could not play it again from the auto-save checkpoint.

I don't know if it was a glitch, or bad timing during submitting the score during the ending (because the game is terminated immediately), or just plain bad luck, but I will have to get the Happiness Box and safely escape again.

The next dungeon has the Mystery Box on floor 30. I don't know if the credits will roll for that event though.

[Dudebro]

The third dungeon is technically a bonus dungeon, should it be required for mastery? From what I read beating the second gives you a credit roll and everything.

All muddle does is make enemies look like Taloon and items look like flowers, and give you a small amount of food.

[Kong]

Oh, weird. If it turns out that it never let's you save after the Happiness Box then we will just have to call that beating the game.

I'll leave your master up for now until we find out if it is possible to get the Mystery Box or not.

If the third dungeon is purely just a bonus level then it is not required. I haven't got that far yet and there isn't a video so it is hard to judge.

[Seahawk]

I'm sure it will save, it was just bad coding practices by the developers i.e. erasing dungeon data and then not writing end game scores and flags until the ending is over.

[Dudebro]

It's not official but the walkthrough on Gamefaqs lists the third as the bonus dungeon and it walks through it after it lists the credits. I'm fine with whatever just bringing it up to be clear.

[Seahawk]

Some sexy time going on here in the bar:
http://www.retrouprising.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2393&stc=1&d=1330152624
http://www.retrouprising.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2394&stc=1&d=1330152646
http://www.retrouprising.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2395&stc=1&d=1330152680

[Mareeps]

I decided to join in on this, but I'm playing in full mode.

[520outlaw]

im joining on this 2 but do we have 2 play on full or what???

[thetedster]

the mystery box is possible, I beat this when I was a kid...

It's... kind of easy... but I did spend maybe a month mastering it

[Kong]

Yeah, it was a question of if you can do it here. Sounds like our emulator might erase your data if you get the happiness box.

[Dudebro]

@520Outlaw- Nah fullmode doesn't let you submit scores or mastery. Brawl is only using it because when he does other stuff, like chat, it slows down score mode for him.

@thetedster- You actually had this game as a kid? I'm surprised to hear that it seems really obscure.


@Kong- Do you remember exactly what you have to do to be able to store stuff? I know it requires like 4-5 upgrades to the shop but if I read the in game chat right(it's hard to see) you need to also bring the safe back once.

Of course I had two excellent runs before I was able to store anything. The first one I was 300 shy of the third place score and had to use outside. I had a metal babble shield +8 or so and a Dragon sword upgraded to some good number. The very next run I found this early, it was infuriating.

[Slime Slayer]

@thetedster- You actually had this game as a kid? I'm surprised to hear that it seems really obscure.
It wasnt released in N.A.

[Seahawk]

Yeah, it was a question of if you can do it here. Sounds like our emulator might erase your data if you get the happiness box.

The emulator isn't erasing data. The emulator isn't doing anything wrong.

It's bad coding by the game makers combined with the fact that when you submit a score it is equivalent to turning off the game system.

The developers remembered to erase the dungeon data as usual when you exit, but for the special case of successfully returning with the happiness box, they forgot to save the high score data. I'm assuming the data gets saved after the ending is over, but every other time the data is saved immediately when exiting the dungeon so there's no reason they should have done it differently for the ending.

This is bad because there is now a large time frame where the game data is not saved, and there would be no way to recover it if the player turns off the console or there is a power outage, etc.

This is what happens when you submit a score with F12 - the game execution is ceased, and the data is lost. This is where your planned feature of being able to continue playing after submitting a score would be handy.

[Kong]

To get the vault you just need to upgrade your shop several times. The safe lets you put 10 items in the vault even if you die. The outside lets you quit and put all your items in the safe.

[Dudebro]

The safe lets you put 10 items in the vault even if you die.
You mean if you have a full inventory, plus the safe, when you die it will keep all those items on you to pick from and put in the safe?

[Kong]

I don't remember. Maybe the safe lets you keep everything. I know the vault has a limit and you have to choose what you will save in it.

[Dudebro]

The text was hard to read but I'm pretty certain the wife said if you bring back the safe it will allow you to store stuff once the shop is upgraded, the second bigger part completed.

@SH- Did you get that far and find yourself unable to store stuff? Did you ever bring the safe back to town?

[thetedster]

I played this via emulator when possible, before hand I had purchased a famicom and had ordered snes games online when it was possible, and beforehand when Nintendo Power had a company that would make them available via telephone.

I was a little spoiled with retro gaming.

[Seahawk]

@SH- Did you get that far and find yourself unable to store stuff? Did you ever bring the safe back to town?

When you die, you lose half your money and all your items.
As far as I can tell having the safe lets you keep another half of your money for shop expansion, i.e. you keep 3/4 of your money.
It's only good for advancing your shop faster, it doesn't let you keep items if you die. So after you have the largest shop, it is useless.

When you successfully leave a dungeon, you bring back everything. It seems that when you bring back enough for a shop expansion, you do not get the prompt to put items in the vault, so you lose everything automatically. I think every time I successfully escaped coincided with a shop expansion, so that's why I never was able to store anything. I have the biggest shop now so I get asked to store things every time now.

I'm starting to think the devs were on crack or something some days during development, with all these oversights....

[Kong]

Anyone know if the original Super Famicom cart had the same hard to read text?

[Slime Slayer]

Anyone know if the original Super Famicom cart had the same hard to read text?
It did have the same white letters, but I'm thinking it didnt effect the Japanese characters the same way it makes the english ones hard to read.

[Seahawk]

I did it again. (http://www.retrouprising.com/contests/open-contests/game-masters-submissions/t9794/p50/#post219441)

Some things to know.

The bug feature with storing stuff is confirmed.
If you finish the dungeon and then trigger the next store event or the ending, you will not get the chance to store any items, you will lose it all.

Check out what I'm losing =(
http://www.retrouprising.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=2398&stc=1&d=1330409436

When you submit the ending, wait for THE END to be displayed, otherwise you will lose both your clear save data and the dungeon data amd you will have to get the box again to access the extra dungeon.

[Barra]

Just started playing this one and learning the ropes. So frustrating when your having a good run with items etc but you never find ANY bread.

---------- Post added at 08:47 PM ---------- Previous post was at 06:02 PM ----------

Cant seem to work this game out. Got to floor 10 of the main dungeon, I was level 10 or 11 but incredibly weak against the armored dudes and wyverns. my strength was 1/9 as I didnt see one antidote or strength the whole way.
I only had 1100 gold. How do you kill those trick bags?
My top score is my gold from the trial dungeon, 2300.

[Dudebro]

You gotta watch those mushroom dudes. If you allow them to attack you multiple times you will lose strength. Sometimes you just won't find any antidotes or strength seeds.

Same with the bags, don't let them touch you. If they touch you and it doesn't miss they'll steal money and when you kill them you'll only get your money back, no extra. Kill them before they hit you and you'll get a good amount. Clone them for even better results.

[RevJ]

I think the random nature of rogue-likes is what makes them so addictive. Sometimes it all comes together well and you can run around kicking monster butt, other times you have be more tactical.

One of the armors (scale I think) protects against poison, which can be handy if you don't have an antidote. Arrows work well against creatures that you don't want to have come too close (like trick-bags, those mushroom things, and wyverns). Wands can also do wonders at a distance.

I don't let much go to waste - reading a torch scroll will still show up traps, weak weapons and shields can still be thrown at the enemy, blindness and eyesight herbs can still be eaten to stave off hunger etc.

I use the keyboard, knowing how that works helps too, eg Z+X to heal (if you can afford getting hungrier), C to change direction, D to travel diagonally. Moving diag helps to move around using less food and speeds up the game.

[Barra]

Thanks for the tips Rev!.Im so addicted to this game right now.
Made it to floor 14. ~8000 gold. Have got the hang of killing the trick bags
I was going well with awsome weapons, but my strength was 5/13. NO antidotes the whole game and 2 strengths. Level 14 was a monsters lair, 2 armor dudes, 2 wyverns, a liclick and 3 gremlim things attacking me at the same time, needless to say I didnt stand a chance. This game is nasty sometimes.

[Kong]

For a really good run you usually need
the food ring
Arrows for the trick bags.
Scale shield for the mushrooms.
Mirror shield for the troll guys.

[Slime Slayer]

Arrows for the trick bags.

You can just hunt them down again can't you? They will be carrying the gold they stole from you I thought.

[Kong]

Yes, but if you kill them before they steal then they will turn into free bags of gold.

I don't think you can't get a high score without killing a bunch of trick bags before they steal from you.

[Barra]

Thanks for the tip.
Closed the game last night, went back in today to continue game, but not even the highscore table has saved. Oh well start again.

[RevJ]

Thanks for the tip.
Closed the game last night, went back in today to continue game, but not even the highscore table has saved. Oh well start again.

That's a bit odd. There are 3 save slots, maybe (hopefully) you clicked on the wrong one?

[Barra]

I didnt save at all this time, arent there auto-saves?
Doesnt matter too much, Ill spend some time on it tomorrow and (hopefully) beat my score. :D

[Slime Slayer]

Okay so excuse me if this has already been covered, but I rocked a few games of Taloons last night, and when I flipped the power switch after I died, my earlier game was still there. Can I use the same save, since if I'm not mistaken you get set back to square one when you die. Also, based on Barra's comment it's sounds like saves have been enabled for score mode for this game? Can we treat the game as if we were going for a mastery in an RPG, spread our game out over several sessions I mean, and then just submit at any time?

[D.B. Cooper]

I'm not an expert but it's my understanding that to get credit for a score, you need to play from the beginning with no saves. That way your gameplay can be verified. Saving is only for getting a cleared/masters.

[Kong]

Cooper is wrong. If SRAM (cartridge based save) is available you can use it for scores or clears.

@Barra, how did you close the game? If you close the webpage first then your progress is not saved. If you want your save to be recorded then you must exit the game by pressing escape then enter in the game window.

[D.B. Cooper]

Oops. That will teach me to repond to questions I don't really know the answer to.

@ Kong - That suprises me. How do you verify that a person hasn't leached or used banned play tactics before the save? Maybe you can watch the entire playthrough even if saves are used?

[Kong]

The answer is, we don't.
From the rules - Retro Uprising - FAQ (http://www.retrouprising.com/faq.php)
If a game supports SRAM, also called Battery Saves, Cart Saves or In-Game Saves, (example most RPGs such as Zelda) then you may use them. This is different than Save States. To create a Cart Save you must first use the game's original built in save feature and then close the game by pressing Escape followed Enter. To load the game just start it normally and then use the original game's built in continue feature. This rule is primarily to allow mastering of long RPGs. We will be less strict with the above rules in games that have SRAM enabled. If you have questions about a specific game, feel free to ask.

[Slime Slayer]

So we can die as much as we want correct?

[Kong]

Correct

[RevJ]

So we can die as much as we want correct?

What happens in this game is you go into the dungeon, and you either die or make it back out safely. Either way the game presents you with a Gold score for the high-score table, and this is what gets used for the purposes of RU scoring.

However, if you make it out safely you get to keep your gold and/or items for the purposes of building your store and achieving other tasks in the game. (If you die whilst carrying a safe you keep half your gold).

The missus then pinches all your gold (hmmmm, quite realistic that bit) and the next time you set off into the dungeon you start with a 'score' of 0 Gold again.

So you want to keep the using the same save slot and pick up where you left off each time. As far as I can tell, the only way to get a large high score (ie 'Gold' score) is to collect lots of Gold in a single dungeon mission. Because if you die or even if you get out safely, your gold score resets to nil for the next trip.

---------- Post added at 10:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:25 AM ----------

LOL, Kong got in first with a somewhat more succinct answer

[Barra]

@Kong - Pretty sure I pressed escape and closed it as I normally would. Will make sure to do this next time.

---------- Post added 11-18-2012 at 03:55 PM ---------- Previous post was 11-17-2012 at 11:55 PM ----------

Just had an awsome run cut way too short. Was level 19 with 115hp, metal babble +5 sword and +1 armor, a luck herb in reserve, belly ring and strength +3 ring. At start of floor 20 a bomb exploded after one hit, leaving me with 2hp then before I could act an invisible enemy attacked me. This game is so frustrating but yet to addictive.

[Slime Slayer]

I had a run where I spawned between a slime and a big slug on the first floor, missed three times and got killed lol.

[Barra]

Hah yeah it can be brutal like that sometimes!

[Slime Slayer]

So after so many floors do you go back to town?

[Barra]

Nope. Only way to get back is to either die, use an outside scroll, or get the box of happiness (floor 27??) and ascend all the way back to the top.

[Barra]

Anyone ever come across this? 3 different exits on the same floor.

edit: Nevermind, they were actually mimics! :redface: First time Ive seen them imitate stairs. Ha!

[Slime Slayer]

Anyone ever come across this? 3 different exits on the same floor.

edit: Nevermind, they were actually mimics! :redface: First time Ive seen them imitate stairs. Ha!

Crazy, never seen that.

So to clarify, (sorry I'm a slowpoke) the way we are setting scores in this is just by making a straight up run through the dungeon. We don't go back to town and sell our loot or anything? Also, we are allowed to bring 2 items into the dungeon with us right?

[RevJ]

Crazy, never seen that.

So to clarify, (sorry I'm a slowpoke) the way we are setting scores in this is just by making a straight up run through the dungeon. We don't go back to town and sell our loot or anything? Also, we are allowed to bring 2 items into the dungeon with us right?

You get a score when you die in the dungeon or escape successfully. Then it shows the high score screen. Your wife takes your gold / sells your loot to build up your store, which is separate to your score from dungeon-looting. As your store grows you get a vault in which you can keep stuff to take later.

The best way to get a high score is to explore deeper into the dungeon and grow your store. You want to find the Box of Happiness if you can. Then for that big scoring run, take a couple of good items from your vault, don't get killed, and make that awesome straight-up run deep into the dungeon.

Looking at the screenshots of high scores, you can see some people are getting a high score but not submitting until later (perhaps on a run where they got killed on a lower score). This way they can perhaps keep some items for the vault while still prove they got the high score. If you press F12 straight away I think you skip the chance to add loot to your vault.

There's also a bonus dungeon after you get the Box of Happiness, where the score etc at the top lights up pink. There's extra magic items and I've found it to be nigh on impossible. I don't know if there's extra gold to be looted there though.

[Slime Slayer]

Okay, that's pretty much what I was doing.

---------- Post added at 12:57 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 AM ----------

Headin in for an epic run, got a +9 Dragon Sword and a +8 Steel shield, with plating, to start off with.

---------- Post added at 01:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:57 AM ----------

...aaaaand brought my sword, shield and an upper in with me, used the upper before I equipped my shield... ugh.

---------- Post added at 06:22 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:09 AM ----------

Would have been nice to know that the happiness box prevents you from using an outside scroll, friggin lost everything.

[Barra]

It says that somewhere in the thread. This game is relentless. Ive been gearing up for a huge run :)

[RevJ]

I have nothing in my vault and usually throw Outside scrolls away. But then again I am currently wearing +6 Leather (no other armor seen but lots of Uppers)

[Barra]

I think its the only reliable way to get really deep into the dungeon. You would need a very lucky tun otherwise.

[Slime Slayer]

I think the key is you need to bring in powerful weapons and armor to begin with.

[Barra]

My strategy will be to take in my most powerful weapon and shield, a belly ring and an outside scroll incase it goes pear-shaped early in the run.
Belly rings are essential as they give you one less thing to worry about and also more space to store other items.
I have the abacus and metal babble sword and shield in my vault but I am opting for the dragon sword and shield combo. Thinking ahead for when I face the green dragons. A few bikills and uppers make these two just as powerful as the others.

---------- Post added 11-28-2012 at 12:16 AM ---------- Previous post was 11-24-2012 at 12:34 PM ----------

Many hours played over the last few days and made it to floor 99, received the Ultimate scroll, had just over 630,000 gold. Found stairs and could descend further (not sure to where?) however thought Id save it and come back for another time as I had to go out, come back later and now my save file does not load. The continue game file says Im at floor 99 of the dungeon but screen just goes blank when I try and load it
I captured a video of me exploring the 99th floor (by chance) if anyone is interested. Not sure I want to do this again. I had a dragon shield + 60 and dragon sword + 40

[Kong]

Impressive. Sorry about that. This game does seem to have a few bugs.

When you first start the game there is an option that says "Highscore" if you select that you should be able to at least be able to submit your score.

Also maybe try selecting "copy save" and see if that helps.

[Barra]

Thats the thing, its not on the highscore table as I hadnt died or used an outside scroll yet. I have a highscore on there of about 130k so that may have to do.
Tried that too but it takes me to the store and I lose all my items.
I really want to see what was down the stairs! :P

[Seahawk]

You go to another 99F, it just regenerates the floor.

[Barra]

Oh right. Wouldnt be hard to max the score then, assuming it stops at 999,999

[Seahawk]

To save some time, the Ultimate Scroll is worth 60k I think, so you can collect a whole bunch and warp back. To play it safe, collect the happiness box on 99F, go up the stairs to 98F, then drop it and go back down to get another. Repeat until you have lots of ultimate scrolls. Although you should beware of score overflows, it may roll back to zero, and with no movie you will get no verification.

[Barra]

My game miraculously loaded! Thanks SH I will keep an eye on that,

---------- Post added at 03:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:28 PM ----------

Tried to ascend from 99, got to about 75 or so but only had 15hp left because of those damn mystic dolls. Encountered 3 dragons and 2 flame hits killed me.