Cadash - Gameplay

Gameplay

Cadash is an early example of what would become a fairly common trend in Japanese-made arcade games of the early 1990s: the "Platform-RPG". Cadash borrows many principles of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link's gameplay, combining side-scrolling platform action with an RPG system of statistics, levels, money and magic.

Four characters can play at once in the arcade version, and up to two players may select from four different characters in the console versions: fighter, mage, priestess, and ninja, each with different attacks, statistics and skills. Players then proceed through each level, killing monsters and bosses, collecting keys to unlock doors, and collecting gold and experience. Gold is also taken from slain foes and treasure chests. Villages sell items, weapons, armor, and (in the console versions) extra lives, each village encountered providing increasingly better equipment. Some villagers and benevolent creatures will also provide information. The arcade version has a limited game time, which can be extended by buying progressively more expensive hourglasses at shops, or by picking up rare bonuses. In shops, and in hidden places, are medicinal herbs (restore 10 HP if brought to 0) and antidotes (cure poison inflicted by specific foes). There are also two elixirs in the game that act like medicinal herbs, except they restore all HP.

There are five stages in the game. Stages 1, 2, and 4 consist of two worlds, above and below ground. Stage 3 consists of three worlds. Stage 5 is set entirely within Castle Cadash. The environments differ significantly, from pleasant meadows to caves, and from forests to underwater environments. Some foes encountered in these levels are derived from common mythology while others are completely made up for the game.

In both the arcade version and the TurboGrafx-16 version, there are four playable characters. However, the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis version only has The Fighter and Mage as playable characters, as the Priestess and Ninja characters are missing. In all versions of the game the characters vary significantly in terms of power and abilities.

The game, in the arcade version, supported a 4-players "link mode" using two Cadash cabinets, albeit with some limitations, such as each player having to pick a different character, and characters playing on the same machine being forced to keep up with each other, unable to venture "off screen". Two player mode is available in the console versions. The characters are:

• Fighter: Identified as "Toru" in some game manuals, the otherwise unnamed fighter is a Conan the Barbarian-style warrior who lives by his muscle and his sword. The fighter has powerful melee attacks, the highest defense, and the highest agility in the game when using a particular weapon. However, compared to the other characters, he is disadvantaged by the fact he is unable to use magic spells for either offense or defense. Being a close range fighter, he is also disadvantaged against ranged and flying enemies due to the short reach of his weapons. To combat ranged enemies, the fighter can wield shields to block many enemy projectiles including dragon fire. The fighter's quick attack speed, especially with his end game weapons, allows him to make short work of most enemies and bosses if he can close the distance. Generally, the fighter is better suited for veteran players who have the knowledge and experience to take down otherwise difficult monsters with the use of a shield and the fighter's inherent agility.

• Mage: The silver-haired, bearded and green-robed (and unnamed) mage with a slightly hunched back is the court wizard of Dirzir and chief advisor to the king. The mage draws on the wisdom and magic of the ancients who were able to banish the demons to Cadash in the distant past, and can also rely on his wizard's staff when his magic reserves need to replenish themselves. He has the most powerful offensive capability in the game through his spells, but is also physically the weakest and slowest character. As the mage gains levels he learns new and more powerful spells, calling upon the elements and the very forces of nature to assist him, and is able to cast them at progressively lower costs of mana. However, his spells do not work on many creatures, including but not limited to the undead, forcing him to evade them or fight with his limited melee capability. The mage's devastating spells allow him to be the best boss killer in the game. He also requires the least amount of experience to gain levels, being able to reach the maximum level as early as the halfway point of the game, with knowledge of lucrative hunting areas. The mage is best used by expert players.

• Priestess: The beautiful young warrior-priestess is arguably the easiest character to beat the game with for beginners thanks to her spells which allow her to heal and negate damage, and also her melee weapon of choice, a kind of chain mace or flail. Offensively, she is competent against normal enemies due to the excellent reach and penetrability of her weapons. However, she takes more time to kill the later bosses due to her slow attack speed and weak strength. Defensively, she is able to cast a powerful Protection spell that absorbs damage and removes the knockback from getting hit. The priestess also has the ability to add more playing time in the arcade version of Cadash. Her versatile offense and her impenetrable defense is a powerful combination. The priestess is an excellent choice for beginners. In the Japanese version of Cadash, the priestess is much more balanced: her protection spell absorbs significantly less damage and her time spell grants only 30 seconds.

• Ninja: The mysterious ninja is a master of ranged combat who has excellent agility, the highest natural defense, and exclusively uses concealed projectiles (shurikens or throwing knives) to attack with. He is the only true long range character in the game, being able to kill enemies as soon as they appear on screen. The priestess eventually gains a weapon that travels a long distance, but the ninja easily outclasses her in terms of attack recovery, projectile speed, and raw damage. The ninja is unparalleled when it comes to taking down normal enemies, and is also the second fastest boss killer. When wielding certain weapons, he has some special abilities such as spread fire and being able to penetrate enemies and walls with projectiles. The ninja's sole disadvantage is that he has the highest experience requirements to gain levels, and so it may take longer to progress the character, but this is largely overcome by the fact that he gains the most status points per level and his ability to dispose of enemies the quickest among the four characters. Players with experience, who are able to get through the game without taking too much damage, will find that the ninja is the easiest and most reliable character to beat the game with.