Yeah, that's why I said gameplay-wise. xD Because the load times and having no translation is very bad. =/
The GamePlay also has something different from the PC versions (at least COMPLETE, ETERNAL is probably the same too...).
Every weapon Adol gets has unique characteristics.
In COMPLETE, the only difference between the weapons (including empty-handed) was the damage they inflict. And that the Silver Sword is effective against Dark Fact, like all versions...
In ETERNAL STORY, on the other hand, gave special effects and different knockback for every weapon. I think it was something like this:
- Empty-handed ---> Has no additional effects, but the enemy receives no (or almost no) knockback when hit. Because of that, fighting empty-handed is a
really good option to fight enemies, maybe even better than the Talwarl sometimes, I don't really remember that very well. You hit them, like, 10 times per second.
- Short Sword -----> This weapon can cause the Stun status to enemies for a while (even if they don't receive damage), making them totally helpless. The enemy receives some small knockback when hit too. Since you can use the L/R buttons to switch over the swords (unfortunatelly you can't unarm yourself that way), you can always use the Short Sword to paralyze the enemy to then quickly switch for a stronger weapon.
- Long Sword ------> This weapon sometimes inflicts a critical hit on enemies. From what I remember, the enemy also receives greater knockback when hit than with the Short Sword. Since the Tarwarl has the ability to instantly kill enemies sometimes, the Long Sword's special skill seems to become useless, but that's not
exactly true, because you are much more likely to hit a critical hit with the Long Sword than instantly killing the enemies with the Tarwarl, since the odds are bigger.
- Tarwarl ---------> This sword has the effect to instantly kill enemies sometimes, although the odds aren't very good. The enemy also receives a huge knockback when hit (note that Adol also receives all of these knockbacks too when he hits enemies).
- Silver Sword ----> definitely the best weapon in the game for all cases, even better than the Flame Sword. I don't remember what effect this weapon has (if any, but it probably has one), but the knockback the enemy receives is the same when you fight empty-handed. Add that with the sword's power and there you go.
- Flame Sword ------> I also don't remember the skill of this one (if any, but it also ought to have one). The knockback the enemy receives is HUUUGE, so there's an annoying amount of time between every time you can hit the enemy, unless you use a wall or something to absorb the knockback.
I LOVED what they did with the weapons in this game. xD
Also note I didn't beat Ys II in that version yet, so I don't know what are the effects of the weapons in that game.
anyway, that's also why i like this version better, gameplay-wise. = )
Also sorry for the "mini-FAQ" there. xD
