I still can't clear out the N. Barrier. There's a party of Cavemen in it that wastes me. I got a pretty stupid and painful game over there tonight: I had defeated about 9 previous set monster encounters, and was really pushing my luck by continuing. That area might be good to level build up until that party, but I didn't feel like it tonight after that.

Instead, I defeated that party of statues (which was pretty easy at my current level) (though they regenerate) at the west of C2, which took me to B2. I completely mapped the far east side of that grid, during which I earned a couple of thousand experience points. Most of that area is accessible through hidden paths.


While I'd say this game is better than, say, Phantasy Star so far (at the least, the battle system is better and more challenging), I haven't encountered a real puzzle/mystery yet. A few of the clues I've gotten so far have just been for things I would have found on my own anyway, just by thoroughly exploring and mapping areas. For instance, the tavern hint in Sorpigal just tells me where the guy that asks for a courier is. But I found that guy without even thinking of the clue, just by mapping the basement (I forgot about that clue until I looked through my notes today). And there's a similar thing in Algary, where a couple of clues point to an astral brother's location. Again, I found the guy without really thinking about the clues, because I would have explored that area anyway.

"Any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats."
-Orwell