Dragon Quest II

Menu Options:

• Items: View and manage your inventory.
• Use: Consume an item from your inventory.
• Equip: Assign weapons, armour, shields, or accessories to your party members.
• Discard: Remove unwanted weapons, armour, shields, or accessories from your inventory.
• Status: Displays a party member's level, current HP (health) and MP (magic), equipped weapon, armour, shield, stats, and EXP (experience) amounts. It also shows the Sigils you've collected.
• Spells: View the list of spells available to your party.
• Misc: Contains sub-menus for further options.
  • Equip: Another option to equip weapons, armour, shields, and accessories.
  • Settings: Adjust game preferences.
    • Message Speed: Select message speed, which also affects battle speed.
    • Sound: Adjust music and SFX (sound effect) volume levels.
  • Travellers' Tips: Access helpful information about the game.
  • Quick Save: Create a Quick Save of your game progress anywhere.

Alright, let's break down the battle menu in Dragon Quest II. It's pretty straightforward once you know what each option does, but there are a few nuances that can really help you out.

Battle Menu Options:

• Attack: This is your basic physical attack using your character's equipped weapon. Simple, but effective against most foes.
• Spells: Here's where you'll find all the magic your party members have learned. Spells can heal, buff your party, or damage enemies, often being more powerful or versatile than basic attacks.
• Items: This lets you use any item from your inventory. This could be healing items like Herbs, status-curing items like Antidotal Herbs, or even offensive items. You can also use this menu to Equip or change your character's weapon and armor outside of town.
• Flee: This is your escape route! Trying to run from a battle. Be warned, though – it won't always work, especially against tougher monsters or certain types of enemies.

Important Battle Notes:

• Fleeing Success: If all monsters in the battle are asleep, fleeing is guaranteed to work. Also, if you get a message at the start of battle saying the monsters didn't notice you, you get a free turn and fleeing is guaranteed to succeed then, too.
• Monster Turns: Sometimes, weaker monsters might use their turn to flee from battle, which is guaranteed to succeed. On the flip side, if the monsters suddenly attack at the start of battle, they get a free turn to hit you or flee.
• Dodging and Defending: Some monsters can dodge your physical attacks, meaning you'll deal no damage. Others might defend, cutting your damage in half for that turn. Keep an eye on the Bestiary to see which monsters tend to do this.
• Damage Range: Remember that damage isn't fixed! Both you and the monsters deal a range of damage, and monsters can have varying HP even of the same type. Critical hits are your friend here, as they bypass monster resilience.
• Poison: Dragon Quest II introduced poison! If a character is poisoned, they'll take 1 damage every 4 steps outside of town. Use an Antidotal Herb, the Squelch spell, or visit a House of Worship to cure it.