This was the 2nd time I've beaten it, and the first time being in 1996 when I bought it.
First off, this is NOT an RPG, even though the front cover says it is. The only RPG aspects it has are that it shows a couple stats (Attack and Defense rating) and the characters have hit points. There's no experience system, so they don't level up, their attack and defense ratings are completely dependent on the equipment they have equipped, their HP is always 100, and there isn't even any magic or equivalent. It's about as much of an RPG as the original DOOM is. It's a straight up 2D side-scrolling action-adventure.
After playing through this and Lunar: The Silver Star, I decided that I was going to buy every Working Designs release whenever they came out. Playing through Lunar: Eternal Blue a little while later solidified that, and I've almost never been let down. This and Cadash are also why I'm actually looking forward to playing The Adventure of Link, even though I've disliked every Zelda game I've played.
I'm glad this is not an RPG, as it probably would have made the game extremely easy, like every other similar game I've played, with the exception of WD's release of Exile: Wicked Phenomenon. Not leveling up means that you can't just grind your way past bosses. While it is a challenge, outside of a few bosses, the game is not that tough. Only a few bosses took me more than a few tries, and those only took quite a few more because I wanted to preserve Elixirs, which fully restore your HP when you get knocked out and are only sold at the final shop where they are extremely expensive, so you'll likely only have the 6 or so that are to be found throughout the game.
The dialog, or at least WD's translation, is definitely a high point for me, as it had me laughing at quite a few points. It's also worth it to go back to every instance of voice work with each of the three characters, since they'll have different dialogue, with Gaw's being significantly different in many instances. There are a few times where it's obviously meant to have Mail as your active character, as it doesn't make any sense as a response to what Gaw or Tatt says.
Other than the Mythril Golem's boomerangs having a too large hit box where you can get hit by them when they are below the floor, I really can't find anything seriously wrong with the game. I had a lot of fun with it, just like I did 20+ years ago. I'm sure all the outtakes can be watched online, so I'm not going to try to speed through the game to get them as the reward for doing so.
