WARNING: Here there be spoilers.
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The final line of the ending cutscene was changed to one inspired by the MSX version, which should better explain what occurs.

The stat sidebar had stat names shortened, and another notch added (enemy health bars have another notch, as well.) The Magic bar now goes as far over as the others, and the Life bar remains green even once you have >128 Max Life.

Graphics for numbers and the slash are now top-aligned like the letters are, so they align with each other. The comma was redrawn to look more like a comma. Numbers and exclamation mark were modified/redrawn to look thin like the letters.

Fixed a bug where depositing into a full bank account eats your money.

About half of the dialog was retouched to sound more natural or consistent, sometimes fixing spelling or grammar errors (e.g. ruins->runes). A few blatant translation errors were fixed (arrow->javelins; first dimension->other dimension; cannibal->man-eating tree; Jeem->Jim). 'Fairy-made' gear is now 'Fae' gear.

Some stats were renamed to reflect their sole function (Agility->Evade; Dexterity->Traps) or to be less inscrutable (Handle->Wield; MF->Karma; LC->Lift; CW->Weight). Gold was renamed Cash since it better reflects the Japanese version's 'money on hand', and the combination of 'Gold' and dollar signs bugged me (the MSX version calls the currency gold coins, incidentally). Much misc. menu text was renamed to reflect modern RPG conventions/terminology, or to be clearer.

Some enemies were renamed: Slime->Jelly; Cannibal->Man-eating Tree. It should thus be clearer by name that the Slimes are evil whereas the Jelly is not (in the Japanese version, the evil Minor Slime was called the Jelly, making the naming even more confusing).

Some spells were renamed: Move->Warp; Flash->Illuminate (not a damage spell like Flash in Hydlide 1); Illusion->Revolve (taken from MSX version, more descriptive of function); Learn->Disarm (learning if the chest is trapped doesn't match its actual usage, although the 'disarming' is temporary.)

Some redundant/asinine dialog was replaced with important hints. In Forest City, "Come back alive" was replaced with a warning not to kill good monsters. In Heavenly City, a duplicate message telling of the benefit of the Cloud Stone was replaced with a hint as to where to go to reach the Water Palace. In Subterranean City, a hint as to how to reach the caves additionally gives the second step. The hint as to Kaizack's weakness now reflects his actual weaknesses. The status-box monologue when encountering a Stop trap now hints as to how to escape it.

Punny inn names were restored to their Japanese originals. The presumedly-a-pun "I'm a floater" in Heavenly City was changed to "I'm on cloud nine".




For the Rebalanced patch only:

Carry weight was increased so that a flat 3000g is added, a reasonable amount for an untrained man to be able to carry. Being overweight only slows you half as much as before.

All inns now cost $100 instead of $1000 (they share the same cost in ROM, thus no cost progression throughout the game.) Food rations weigh substantially less, and now cost the equivalent of two bundles of herbs ($20) instead of as much as a suit of leather armor ($500).

The man-eating tree had its attack reduced from 25 to 15, range and attack speed reduced slightly, and XP reward increased 25% (which was already double that of the Japanese version).

Consequently, the early game is now much less arduous. Offsetting this somewhat (and to discourage buying more than you can carry at first), starting funds were reduced from $2000 to $200.

Karma lost when killing good monsters was reduced from 40 to 4 per infraction. Hopefully you'll now notice your mistake before reaching 0.

The Water of Life now restores 8x your level in HP, rather than 2x, filling it to about halfway.

Hunger now hurts half as much: level/2 every 15 minutes.

Instead of tiredness halving your current strength every hour, it now reduces it by your level every hour. This should lead to a more gradual loss in chance to hit, rather than you instantly becoming ineffective in battle.

Stop traps now require 5 direction changes to escape instead of 20.

Many items had their weights and/or prices decreased to make them more viable to use/purchase, or to be more plausible given their real-life weights. Most key items had their weights decreased, to make it easier to hold onto them.

Most evil monsters had their XP/money rewards doubled, to alleviate much of the grind. Monster stats were rebalanced (usually downward) so that they are more of a fair fight when you likely encounter them. Item and monster rebalancing assumed no secrets are utilized; game will be easier if you find them.

Food now heals 15 life instead of 30, and purchasable medicines now heal 50, 100, and 200 respectively (formerly 20, 60, and 100).

Cat's eyes now last 4x as long (120m). Illuminate now lasts twice as long, so potentially 240m.

Game Speed now resets upon entering the rooms for the Dragon and Kaizack. Given these bosses' speeds aren't affected by the Game Speed setting, speed changes could make the fight much harder or easier than intended (the manual suggests lowering game speed for bosses...)

Monk HP growth was increased from a range averaging 4-7, to 6-9. This should make the class more viable, particularly against bosses that you can no longer cheese.