As I mentioned in the Basic Guide Info, this is intended to go over the core mechanics of the game in case you're having trouble and feel you've missed something. This is a very short game by most standards. I am going to be very casual in this guide, but don't worry - I've got years of gameplay experience to back up my advice given here.

Here I will outline a few items I will go over:

• RPGs
  
• the battle system
  
• overworld: towns, dungeons, and quests
  
• boss strategies

This role-playing game (RPG) has you playing as the skeleton Dem. You must travel the land and vanquish evil that thrived after an apocalypse.

This is a fairly short game, but you still get the cliche addition of powerful allies to your team or "party".

You will also travel far and wide searching across the land. Eventually, you may notice a pattern to gameplay and can avoid unecessary conflict, expenditure, or travel (if you want). Your choices will determine how efficiently and effectively you can beat the game!

The game tracks your statistics such as latest boss battle win...amount of money collected, and so on. You can view this from the main menu!

Occasionally, when you are walking around, a battle may randomly start. This only occurs when you have a non-zero number in the upper-right corner of your screen. Otherwise, if the number of battles you have left is "none" you shouldn't encounter anything unless you initiate a fight manually.

Most bosses and minibosses are indicated by a non-person-character (NPC) standing in front of you. During the time you initiate a conversation with them, a battle will occur. They have a higher amount of health than randomly-encountered enemies. Most will impede game progress. Therefore you should be ready to face at least one in every dungeon you see on the map, BEFORE continuing to the next part of the map. Some boss battles will warp you back to a dungeon entrance, but other times you need to walk back out. I could've sworn there was a Teleport option on the mini menu, but it's not appearing there for me. Maybe it's just not in the game?

Battles can be simplified to the following:
Imagine your standard game of chess: each player takes turns making moves. In Breath of Death VII, this is true in most ways except for the addition of other factors...ESPECIALLY the Agility (AGI) statistic of each fighter AND allowing you to control multiple characters. If one character is "faster" than an opponent ...no, If YOUR character deals a finishing blow before an opponent is calculated to strike, the opponent goes down. End of story! (Well, unless an enemy is revived...) The same is true of your opponents. This can be tricky to deal with later in the game, as enemies may be much stronger and faster than you. Be sure to equip whatever weapons and armor you have to improve your ability to win!

Characters can be revived with potions or "healing" moves. During the game, you will pick up a maximum of 3 additional NPCs to fight and travel with you. This leaves you at 4 fighters against however many enemies decide to pop up while you have a number of battles left. Even at just a total of 2 fighters on your side, the game can generate an enemy encounter of 3-5 opponents at once. This mean even if you have 10 battles left, you may still be facing 10 battles x 3 opponents each (or 30 opponents). The game is not completely unfair and will usually only generate up to 3 of the same enemy in one battle. Notice patterns and save mana for tougher enemies. Take out enemies that do the most damage first!

Health is often fully restored after an Easy Mode battle. This means if anyone goes down during the fight, they will be ready to fight again later without using potions, healing moves, or checkpoints. *Mana is NOT so easily restored*, and so you should have everyone use their standard attack if you're worried about running out of mana OR are already out of mana. As attacks from all party members hit, your combo counter will increase very quickly. If I recall correctly, Combo-Break moves will become stronger with a high Combo, but will break the chain and revert to the base amount of damage (plus any stat increases). You can rebuild a combo and break it many times in battle.

*Unless there is a checkpoint nearby...!

Your basic battle options include:

• Attack (uses no mana)
  
• Tech
  
• Magic
  
• Potion
  
• Unite

(and you may also notice Dodge and Protect included)

I am going to generalize and say the Tech and Magic options offer more powerful attacks at the expense of mana. You can damage all enemies at once, boost your stats, and more! These attacks also offer a variety of effects to place on your opponent - for example - causing them to miss an attack or faint. Beware as bosses are immune to most effects. Tech and Magic may place effects on your team, boosting their (attack) power, healing ability, and so on. One of my favorite effects is an "every turn" attack. These DO work on bosses. "Damage all enemies" also works against bosses. I will outline a sample boss battle later.

"Unity" attacks are powerful, but require 2 SPECIFIC characters to perform one attack. My favorite Unity attacks damage all enemies. Use whichever fits the situation! These also have a high mana cost, so make sure you really want to set aside the necessary fighters. You will gain access to more Unity attacks as you progress in the storyline.

When you're not battling and exploring, you should go into town and buy some gear in addition to restoring you health and mana at the Inn. Towns are marked on the overworld map by about a few tiny buildings in a little circle. If you need to pause the game, it's a good idea to save and quit at the entrance to a dungeon or in town. Otherwise, you may forget which way is the exit!

The shopkeeper provides very limited resources, but at a high price. Be sure to take anything you see from a chest - as those are free to open and may contain gold coins or items. You CAN buy items for characters you haven't met yet. Whether you buy them simply depends on your opinion.

NPCs in town may offer useful gameplay tips. Even just talking to a few of them may help you proceed. There is a basic town layout that highlights every town you visit...or is there? I shouldn't spoil things! If you need to exit a town and get to the overworld map, simply go to the far north, south, east or west road!

Dungeons work in a very similar way. As I've mentioned, you may be warped back to the entrance after defeating a boss. Bosses are usually at the far end of a dungeon (this is true for many RPGs, along with parts of the battle system seen in this game!). Some dungeons span 3 or more floors. Be sure to think of some rule to follow if you get lost easily. For example, only go clockwise, stick to the wall, etc. (And vice versa!)

Most multi-floor dungeons will have a checkpoint near the end. I strongly advise using these, as there may be a boss battle not far ahead! Often these dungeons are crucial to progress in the story and so they may land you on the other side of an impassable mountain when cleared!

Some dungeons are inaccessible. You must meet the "quest" criteria asked to enter them! Go back to places you've visited if you forgot or missed something. Return to the "quest" dungeon when you're ready!

Earlier in this guide, I promised a sample battle.

Here's a rough sketch of what it will look like:

Random encounter
All allies cast standard attack until all enemies faint. If 3-5 enemies appear, consider assigning one or two of your characters to cast a "damage all enemies" attack effect.

Random encounter with known tough enemies
Target tougher enemies first. Cast "every turn" effects at start of battle as necessary. Consider casting "damage all enemies" and "death" (chance of instant kill on enemies) effects as needed.

Boss battle w/ multiple "normal" enemies and one very "healthy" enemy
Cast "damage all enemies" and "every turn effects" at start of battle. Raise stats and damage remaining enemy as needed. Unite as needed. Burn mana pool, then use standard attack. Cast healing effects and use potions as needed.

-Boss battle w/ 1 very "healthy" enemy-
Raise stats and cast "every turn effects" at start of battle. See above.

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