Rance 01:Game mechanics

Overview
The gameplay mechanics in Rance 01 uses a "gambling" gimmick, but it's not really related to gambling, "betting" is merely a way of selecting items to use/buy/transfer/throw away. Rance 01 features a dungeon crawling and battle system different from its original, which, while rather simple, is still kind of unique.

Dungeon Crawling
In above image:

1 - Your current selected lane

2 - The lanes - only cards in your currently selected and immediate left & right lanes are selectable.

3 - Your stats. Self explanatory. Luck might affect critical.

4 - Time.

5 - Items ( or "chips" as the game calls it) available. Consumable items can be used here by clicking the item and selecting the 1st button in the popup.

6 - System menu

7 - Camp - Used to show your current status. Ther are 3 button above your items - view details, sort, and THROW AWAY. '''REGARDING 3RD BUTTON, SEE WARNING IN NOTES BELOW. '''

When in a dungeon, there will be 5 "lanes" that you can proceed through in forward direction. Each "lane" is a series of cards, selecting which can trigger various actions. At the beginning, you will be positioned at the center lane. To move forward, you can either choose the card in the lane you're standing, or you can choose a card to the left and right of your currently lane. Doing so will make you switch to that lane, and the lanes available for you to choose in the next step will depend on which lane you took, that is, the lane you switched to will be the central lane, and you can only choose the cards to the left, right and directly in front of you. When you're at extreme left or right, you'll only have 2 lanes to select from. It may be noted that some lanes will have cards labelled "susumenai", i.e. they're dead ends, you have to select another lane. Typically 2 adjacent lanes will never have this except in the tutorial dungeon.

Once you step on a card, depending on what card it is, something will happen.

White card - nothing happens. "Safe" area.

Yellow card - treasure chest. Gain loot in form of golds and items.

Grey card - dead end. Can't be selected.

Blue card - Card that will trigger events and sometimes move you to other locations. Some of them can be boss fights.

Red card - Monster encounter, triggers a battle with a mob whose strength depends on the rank mentioned on the card.

Green card - Exit cards, lets you move to other locations, change floors in a dungeon or return to town.

Purple card - Trap cards that'll either do damage to you or cause status problems. Some of these are VERY dangerous so take care.

Face down card - Hidden card, what it is will not be revealed unless you step on it. However, pattern of cards in an area is static and they loop as you keep going forward, so if you've been wandering in an area for a while you can tell what it is anyway.

After you choose a card, the corresponding action will happen and you can then take the next step. This mode ends only when you choose the green card to return to town while outside. This card periodically keeps popping up in a constant pattern, so if you want to return, be mindful of its position so you can select it when it's approaching.

Notes:
 * Healing items can only be consumed while dungeon crawling and not in battles.
 * Time will still advance if you keep crawling and if you keep going all day long, the next day will dawn, after which you'll begin to starve. For more information, see the section Passage of Time (to be written).
 * Reusable item cooldowns don't expire while you're advancing in a dungeon, only turns during battle count. For more information, see the section Battles (to be written).
 * WARNING: In camp mode, if you select an item and click the right most button above the item list, you trash the item for good, and this happens without any confirmation prompt. Watch it when hitting this button. 

Battles
When you select a red card, or if a blue card event triggers a boss battle, this mode happens.

1 - Available items to use (healing/non-combat items are generally not usable in battle)

2 - Select All/Select None. This only selects permanent items and not one-time use consumables.

3 - Fight using selected items.

4 - Escape at the cost of some gold, and return to town directly. Some fights can't be escaped from, and certain status problems also prevent it.

5 - Your HP.

6 - Enemy portrait and action.

Here's how it works - the list of your items are for you to use against the enemy. Pink items are permanent ones and can be used repeatedly. Cream colored items are consumables, and are lost after one use. They boost you attack, defense or both on the turn that they are used. Multiple items used in a turn will stack up for a summed effect on attack/defense as applicable.

In general, more of the pink items are useful as they're reusable, but cream colored ones usually offer a higher bonus. Furthermore, all pink items can't be used successively - Most of the stronger weapons and shields have a "cooldown time" - once used, they can't be used for a specified no. of turns, indicated by a number next to a clock icon on the item upon use. The cooldown period of an item can also be checked under item description (クールタイム). It may be noted that these cooldown counts don't reset after a battle and will carry into the next battle if not expired - they stay as you crawl through a dungeon.

In any case, once you've selected the items to use in a turn, hit button #3 and the combat will proceed. But before selection, take a good look at your enemy portrait (#6) - it mentions what your enemy is about to do. If it reads 防御 with a letter, then the enemy is using something to defend himself and will reduce damage from your attacks. The higher the rating, the better the enemy will tank this turn. If it reads 攻撃 with a letter next to it, then the enemy is attacking this turn, and the higher the rating, the harder the attack's gonna land - if you see a particularly heavy incoming attack, use your own defensive items to reduce the damage. Sometimes the enemy may use a combination of attack and defense items just like you can, and do both tanking and hitting in the same turn. Furthermore, the enemy's weaknesses and strengths, if any, are shown - for example, galmons are weak against sexual harassment, and hanny are immune to magic. Keep a keen eye on the pattern of enemy's attacks and defenses and bet your own chips accordingly to win the game: your life is being wagered!

Note:
 * The "Very Short Swords" don't have any cooldown time and are going to be your basic weapons - they can be used repeatedly.
 * If you attack without using any attack items, you hit the enemy for at best 2-3 HP, or sometimes 0 if the enemy is defending.
 * Healing consumables can't be used in battle for the most part.
 * Your 2 locked item slots unlock as you level up, for a maximum of 7 (in the trial version at least).

If you lose the battle, you suffer a game over, and you can choose the 2nd option under "hand" to resume from last autosave (the game autosaves every time you enter/exit a dungeon, change floors etc.). If you win, you get some exp, gold, sometimes even an item, and after that you either simply proceed to the next step or continue with the events in case of a boss fight.

ADV mode
When in town, you're free to do everything not dungeon crawling - this is a classic ADV system where there are many actions can be performed, leading to hidden rewards. Depending on the time of the day, you can go to any of the available locations