The      C A D A S H       FAQ
                               v 1.3

                      (send me an ASCII logo!)

                  Copyright Victor Epitropou 1999,2000,2001
                       [email protected]
                       [email protected]

                  "At last! A FAQ about this game!"


v 1.3: Nothing new really,just typo corrections and also a mention to Cadash's
     multiplayer mode (I had negleted it,indeed.)
     On 29/2/2001.

v 1.2: Second revision in 2000,26 days before the new millenium (the REAL
     one).I included a Fighter survival guide/alternative opinions section
     ,by Darrel Wong,for those of you who would like to play the game
     with the fighter (against whom I am admittedly too critical).

v 1.1: First Revision after 1999! Should be more accurate now :)
      Corrected Grammar and added more accurate Baarogue info and hints!
      (I'll try to adapt from the texts of the game the more I can!)

v 1.0: First Release just before 2000!

[0] Introduction/General Info

[1.1] What is Cadash?
[1.2] Whoah...and where can I find this "Cadash"?
[1.3] Ohh...and,what you had to do in this game?
[1.4] Is the game very hard?

[2] The Characters
[2.1] The Fighter
[2.2] The Mage
[2.3] The Priestess
[2.4] The Ninja
[2.5] The Monsters
[2.6] Shopping/Economy
[2.7] Multiplayer mode

[3] Cadash: The Solution
[3.1] The Monster Caves
[3.2] The Underwater Caves
[3.3] The Jungle Caves
[3.4] The Caves of the Dead
[3.5] Baarogue's Castle
[3.6] Baarogue

[4] The Fighter Survival Guide: An alternative look by Darrel Wong

[5] Bugs/Glitches

[0] This FAQ was written to give you info about a TAITO's game called
  CADASH,an early (1989) 16-bit epic Arcade/RPG adventure.
  I has stage info,character info,monster info and a (sort-of) walkthrough.
  I seem to have a tendency to write FAQS about games that NONE,I say
  NONE ever gave a try.
  From me you can also find:
  The famous New Zealand Story FAQ (c)1997,1998,1999,2000,2001
  The Liquid Kids FAQ (Released by now...check it out!) (c)2000,2001
  The Cadash FAQ (c) 1999,2000,2001

   This and the others FAQs are of course totally free,can be distributed
  with any electonic medium (Disk,Tape,BBS,CD,ZIP,etc.) as long as it is
  not altered in any way etc. and you are not using it as a profit-making
  way (magazines,books,etc.)
  All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
  These FAQs are not official TAITO products and TAITO has nothing to do
  with its writing.So neither TAITO nor I carry any responsabilities about
  problems or damage caused by this FAQ,make no explicit or implicit
  guarantees about the contents of the FAQ, etc. etc. (I think you got the
  point).
   Now let's move on to the serious stuff...


[1.1] What is Cadash?

Cadash is a fantastic arcade Action RPG game by TAITO which rocked at the
arcades during the late 80s and early 90s.
If the name "TAITO" makes you think of cute cartoonish games with merry
soundtracks etc...in this case forget it.
TAITO shows its flexibility by creating a dark and gory game - very different
from her video gaming philosophy - but made with the same care and quality.
By a story point of view,Cadash was made up of a dark and unfriendly world,
filled with Nightmarish dangers and disgusting creatures which you would never
want to see outside the game,a world filled with violence,blood and gore.
Technically,imagine a 2D side scrolling game,with graphics so realistic that
would give a lot of today's games a run for their money (in fact they were
VGA mode-X like,128 colors and in 1989!),graphics that presented the above
described world in the best way possible,with some sprites being so huge and
moving so fast that really scared off the player...you thought they were REAL,
not to mention the visual effects coming out of nowhere...
To this,add the realistic SFX,the epic music that filled you with agony and
made you think "I'm dead,let's get outta here!"...
For all you true RPG fans,Cadash isn't a pure RPG,as it gives more emphasis
on arcade fighting and platforming but it does have elements such as talking
to other characters,using magic objects,tasks to fulfil,etc. so it's not
100% action only,too.If you have played Wonderboy 2 (or Wonderboy in
Monsterland)
you know how the game goes,only Cadash is more sophisticated than that.
Cadash still looks unusual for an arcade game,since there are a lot of text
messages (more than Wonderboy 2 for example) and a somehow relaxed gameplay
but not always as well as other things.
To understand the gameplay,imagine Wonderboy 2 mixed with Rastan Saga
adopting the graphics style (and size!) of Shadow of the Beast (HUGE!)
and add in some basic RPG elements...that's Cadash.
Also,the game,ahead of its time,supported a multiplayer mode,too.
See section [2.7] for that.

[1.2] Whoah...and where can I find this "Cadash"?

Cadash,released in 1989 by TAITO was avaiable in fairly abundant numbers
in its arcade form during the 90's...today it is almost impossible to
find,sank into the mud of all those 3D racers,fighters and shooters.
The game is also avaiable for some home systems,such as the PC ENGINE/TG-16
and the SEGA MEGA DRIVE/GENESIS.An Amiga version would be great if it existed,
but I never heard about one (probably there was an Amiga project but was
stopped.)
The first is has almost identical gameplay to the original,the latter has a
"few" omissions (only TWO characters to choose from!).
On the PC,you can use emulators for all the above systems:
Magic Engine for PCE,Genecyst or KGen for Genesis and Raine for Arcade(!).
Guess which is the best...

[1.3] Ohh...and,what you had to do in this game?

The plot is: in the happy kingdom of Deerzar,the forces of evil rise under
the command of the arch-Mage Baarogue which also kidnaps the King's first and
only daughter,princess Sarasa,dooming the whole country to darkness and
suffering...
But,3 heroes and a heroine (a Fighter,a Mage,a Priestess and a Ninja)
generously offered their services to the King,each one offering to clear up
the mess,eliminate Baarogue and of course save the young princess (I guess
the priestess really does this for kindness ;-)
Here is where you (and maybe some friends of yours) come in: Pick up your
character,start slaying monsters,gain experience and level points,collect
as much gold as you can,buy better weapons and magic artifacts,kill the big
monsters you will find here and there...until you reach Baarogue's castle,
after which you must survive with your own powers only...

[1.4] Is the game very hard?

Cadash is not a very hard game to complete.
How hard it's going to be,is determined by a player's abilities,the main
character and money.
If you start advancing your level from the early levels and where that chance
is given to you,things are going to be easier for you.Your level advances by
killing monsters.
In Cadash,the number of monsters is infinite.By returning to the same areas,
you find all monsters respawned.By killing them again and again,your level
advances quickly,and more level points means:
- More Strength (you can kill monsters with less blows)
- More Hit Points (You start with 40 HPs,each level advances you 8 HP,max 255)
- More Armor Class ( Less damage taken from enemy creatures attacks)
- More Agility (walks faster,jumps higher)
- More Magic Points (For Spellcasting characters,+8 per level)
- More Spells to cast and less MPs required to cast them (For Spellcasting
characters)
- MP regeneration (only for the Mage)

Of course this "trick" works better with monsters which offer lots of exp.
points: The best ones are trolls,bees,rock monsters and dragons,which are
fairly easy to kill.
The worst ones are trees,zombies,wraiths,skeletons etc.,which are dangerous,
hard to kill and sometimes come in large numbers,and they don't "award" you
with enough money or exp. to match the pain...
If you stop moving for a second or each time you go through a door in the
game,an info table appears at the top-left corner of the screen,giving you info
about your level,experience points,next level,agility,power,defense,medical
herbs,antidotes and elixirs (if you have'em,two in the whole game)
Another factor to take into consideration is the limited game time which
can be restored by buying time from shops in the game or casting a special
spell or finding hidden bonuses (very rare).This is common to all arcade
implementations of RPG and adventures (you usually have 8 to 12 minutes of
play time,after which you must keep on "feeding" with coins to go on and you
can't do anything to stop that but in Cadash you can,and time is in your
enemy list,too!


[2] The Characters

In Cadash,the main character is a very important choice,as the 4 characters
have significant differences and in no case have they got equal chances in
each situation and finishing the game.For example,the game is a snap with the
Priestess,a good challenge with the Mage and Ninja,an an impossible,masochistic

torture with the Fighter (on ONE credit!).
It goes:Priestess,Mage,Ninja,Fighter.
Please note that in the Genesis version you can only choose Fighter (Ow,ouch,
-SCRATCH-,yikes,argh,-SLASH-,gaaaargh!) or Mage (already more decent!).
Ok,I used to be biased against the fighter,but now this has changed :-).

[2.1] The Fighter

He is a sturdy,strong close range character,portraied by a young,muscular
guy with a determined look,wielding a broad sword (later he gets armor,
shield and even a helmet,looking like an ancient greek fighter!)
He comes armed with a sword which has some close range,good power (he is
SUPPOSED to be the strongest character),can buy several armors during the game
(making him more resistant,but don't rely too much on that,as you shouldn't
with any character),as well as some shields,which make him able to defend
against some enemy projectyles (but not all,keep that in mind!
Several projectyles(especially the most powerful/special) can't be blocked,
so you better keep in mind what you can and what you can't block).
As Darrel Wong points out,he really has the fastest attack.
He has no long-range abilities or magic abilities (except for the fire sword
you buy for a while in a part of the game,quickly to replace with a "simple"
blade.The trick here of course in NOT to buy the simple blade but then
you will be very weak(!!!)...don't do it!).This may make the game seem more
difficult in some situations,but in reality the game can be finished on a single
credit even with the fighter.
The hardest character to end the game with is the Fighter (my opinion).
It's not impossible,but one need to develop some particular skills and
tactics,as you can read in section [4]. (Darrel Wong's opinion).
I tried to win the game using the fighter (mixing some of his and some of mine
strategies) and I did it.Sorry,Fighter,for having flamed you so badly!
The game's suggestion that "beginners are safer to start off with him",
is true only on the first 2 or 3 levels,where his blade and strength can really
do miracles,making the game easier,but on the most advanced levels there are
monsters which you can't even come close to them without losing 40(!) or so
HP (like Green Dragons),or are hard to reach.In these cases,courage and
strategy are important.
Also,on those levels,the Fighter proves not to be as powerful as he should
in comparison with the other characters,which on advanced levels can match
and even surpass the Fighter in offensive power,even without the use of
magic(!).
For example,when you first get to the zombie level,both the Mage and Fighter
require two hits to kill the zombies...also,consider the fact that the Fighter's
level advances very slowly and so he doesn't get much better than that.
At that point,the fighter ceases being a beginner's "all-weather" pick and
playing efficiently becomes an expert's matter...
I hope you will have gone beyond the "beginner" phase by then,so you can
become a bit more tactical in order to survive,as descrived on section [4].
So,by using the fighter,the game can range from impossible (especially if you
can't get past some frustrating spots) to very challenging (if you discover
those neat little strategies which allow you to thrash your enemies).
Can be finished on one credit (Xtreme Performance),but in general expect using
at least two.



[2.2] The Mage

The Mage is a weakling (in the beginning) close range character,with the
valuable addition of offensive magic abilities and a quick-raising level,so
the Mage's close range attack soon matches that of the Fighter(!).
In fact,the Mage is a kind of a slower Fighter with less armor,almost equal
strenght (at late levels) plus ultra-powerful magic abilities.
He is portraied by a mysterious old man with a white beard and a slightly
hunched back,dressed in a long robe and holding a magic staff.
He comes armed with a weakling magic staff,which is then replaced by a
metallic one called "iron wand",then a fire shooting one called "fire staff",
then the non-shooting but powerful "widard's staff".He can also buy two Mage
robes,the wanderer's robe (orange) and the mystic robe (blue),which work as
armors.
Keep in mind,he has the weakest armor class of all characters.
In other words,he gets more damage than everybody else.
The usage of magic costs in MPs,which can be restored only by visiting an inn
and paying for a rest,or slowly recharge by themselves after a certain level
has been reached,which is much better and more useful in combat,making the
weakest spells virtually unlimited/free to use to your heart's content.
The more level you have,the more different and powerful spells you can cast on
your enemies,and also the most powerful spells cost less in MPs than when you
first get them.The mage starts with 32 MPs,which of course grow later...
To cast a spell,hold your fire button and a comic-like cloud will appear
over your character,and as you hold the button it will cycle through the
avaiable spells in the order they are given.When the one you want is
highlighted,release the fire button to cast it.
Here is a complete list of the Mage's spells:

FIREBALL (Level 1): This must be a RPG classic but not really in Cadash...
the Mage throws a small,weak fireball in front of him.
It's not much of a use,and considering that by getting the fire staff,the
fireball comes out by itself each time you shoot and without mana usage...
useful only on the very first stage,if you really wanna use it...

SPINNING BLADES (Level 2): This spell is much more decent than the
previous one : it makes the Mage surround himself with some spinning knives,
which also rotate around him and (kind of) seek an enemy to hit.
Useful when you need a strong attack on an early level.

GROUND FIRE (Level 4):  The Mage creates some big,advancing flames in front
of him,which move on the ground,penetrating enemies.
Useful for lots of strong enemies in a row.

MAGIC CIRCLE (Level 7): As an update of the spinning blades,this spell creates
a magic circle which expands,and expands,and expands...until it becomes a
screenful big,penetrating and hitting most on screen enemies.
It's not very powerful but casting it once or twice will solve most
"problems..."

THUNDERBOLT (Level 11): This creates some rapid moving thunder charges which
lock on an enemy until destroyed or the charges vanish.
If they don't,they look for another enemy and so on...
It is the most powerful spell most players will ever put their hands on,as
advancing to the last spell requires level 20,which is barely reachable by
a very good player.

EXPLOSION (Level 20): The screen simply flashes,and great lots of damage are
done to all creatures that are on screen and...a bit off screen!
This is the most powerful attack in the game,but chances are that you will
never see this spell avaiable,or if you do,it will be in the last boss room,
and so you'll try it on him,coz of the great level you have to reach.
Level 20 is barely reachable...

The game is a reasonable challenge to finish with the Mage,since his spells
help him a lot and his close range fighting is not bad at all on the advanced
levels,although his Armor Class is not very good and his slowness (he's and
old man after all) will make you waste precious time,at least on the arcade
version.
Please note that Magic does not work on undead or bio-mech creatures of any
kind,such as eyes,skeletons,zombies,skeletral spiders and also some "alive"
creatures,such as trolls and blue dragons,as well as on indestructible
creatures.

[2.3] The Priestess

The Priestess is one of the finest players,if not the best.
She is portraied by a beautiful young woman dressed in priest clothes,wielding
a kind of chain mace.
She comes armed with a chain weapon,which penetrates the enemy and hits twice
both in going and in return.This weapon,while decently powerful is very
functional and has good range,being suitable for both close and long range
fighting.
She upgrades with longer and more powerful chains (long chain (green),long
range chain (blue)),better Priestess robes (orange/white priest cloak and
aqua/violet druid's cloak) and can also buy the silver and golden tialas,of
unknown purpose,looking like a queen.
Although she's a spellcaster too,like the Mage is,her magic is much different,
as it is used not for offense,but for healing and defense.
All you RPG fans must have understood that the priestess is what is usually
called a "paladin" (or better "paladine") or "cleric" in most RPGs,a term
used to describe enlighted fighters which fight against evil only and use
white magics for healing and defense or utility.
The usage of magic costs in MPs,which can be restored only by visiting an inn
and paying for a rest. (She gets no MP regeneration,or else the game would be
sickengily easy,like it wasn't easy enough already with her;-).
The more level you have,the more different and better spells you can cast on
yourself or "on the game".Unlike the Mage,not all spells do decrease in cost
as your level advances,or else the game would be too easy.
The "Red Bottle" and "Antidote" spells are the only ones to get somehow
cheaper.
To understand,this spell costs about 4-6 MP.You start with 28 MPs...that's
already a 40 HP extra stock on level 1!Imagine when you have 128+ MPs...

To cast a spell,hold your fire button and a comic-like cloud will appear
over your character,and as you hold the button it will cycle through the
avaiable spells in the order they are given.When the one you want is
highlighted,
release the fire button to cast it.

Here is a list of her spells:

RED BOTTLE (Level 1): This causes the Priestess to heal herself by 10 HPs.
(Works like the medical Herb).Very useful on any level.

BLUE BOTTLE (Level 4): This causes the Priestess to neutralize any poisoned
attacks (works the same as the antidote),but it's barely ever used.
I never had to use this one in a single game,but if you have no antidote...

SHIELDING (Level 6): This is the most useful spell of the Priestess and of the
game in general: creates 4 floating spheres which surround and rotate around
her,which make her totally invincible to any attack.
The spheres themselves have a limited resistance: if they get hit too much
they will fade away,and you will have to re-cast the spell.
It's a very good spell coz although it costs lots of MPs,it enables the
Priestess to survive without a scratch where all the other chars would
get out half-alive...

TIME (Level 12): The original arcade game has limited time!
This is unusual in an RPG,but being Cadash an arcade game,it would be the
arcade owners' ruin if it was possible to play forever (you could spend an hour
or so gathering exp. points and end up with an invincible character...) or
just leave your character in a safe place -e.g. a shop- and just leave him
like that for 3 or 4 hours! So a limit was placed in playing time.
If this expires an invincible monster appears,and you are in front of certain
death.Time is renewed single times by passing through the "departure gates"
which connect Cadash's sinister worlds between them,but usually the time the
game gives you is barely enough,and doesn't allow for relaxed (and good level)
play.So,you can either buy time from the alchemist shops (but that costs more
and more as the game goes...),find Sand Clocks as hidden bonuses (very rare
and give you only 40 secs each.) or you can cast the "time" spell until your
mana runs out,then find a inn,refill mana,re-cast, etc.
It's obvious that on console versions,this spell would be of no use,since
there is no time limitation,and it wouldn't be reasonable if it did...).

DOUBLE RED BOTTLES: This spell is as rare as the Mage's explosion,and simply
gives a great HP boost to the Priestess (dunno how much,maybe full healing
or 128 HP).

To sum up,the Priestess is powerful,can heal herself,can become invincible,
can turn back time,has an interesting walking animation...you'll just love
her,guaranteed!

[2.4] The Ninja

The ninja is a 100% long range fighting character,armed with his shurrikens
at first,then butterfly knives,3-way cutters and such goodies,up to the
Spirit Flames (yeah,right).
He is portraided by an agile young man with an eveready look,his weapons
hidden in his pocket(?).
Usually in most RPG,Elves have the role of the long-range and agile "sniper"
character,the "tracker",the "hunter",using bows and other light weapons as
well as their agility and speed and cloaking.
Ninjas do have these qualities but are rare to find in an RPG (unless it's a
Japanese one) but in Cadash there is no Elf so take the Ninja.
He can also purchase ninja clothes and masks on the most advanced levels.
He can pick off an enemy from quasi-screen distance,and with a fairly powered
attack,which gives a distinct advantage to the ninja...
He starts out very weak (two shurrikens to kill a werepig!) but quickly grows
to respectable levels of destructive power (OK,now,don't get carried off...)
The ninja is also the fastest mover and the higher jumper in the game.
He can reach by jumping only,areas that others chars would require a vine or
a ladder to climb,and can also jump behind a tall enemy,but this won't really
help you a lot in the game.
Like the Fighter,he lacks any magic abilites,but he really doesn't need them,
as he makes up for the Fighter's main weakness: range and for the Mage's
weaknesses: Armor and Speed.
If you can finish it with the FIghter or the Mage,then you can use the
Ninja,too.

[2.5] The Monsters

Here is a list of all the monsters in the game,in order of appearance.
Every level of the game has got different and more powerful monsters,as well
as boss creatures.

Werepigs: The first enemy you will find.Half human-half pigs,theese fatsos just
walk on you and try to hit you with their silly wooden clubs (or Hams?).
At level 1,the Ninja and Mage can't kill them with one hit(!!) and neither
the priestess,but her weapon doubles hits so it doesn't show very much...

Green Slimes: The weakest of all slimes,they hang from the ceiling and try to
drop on you,then turtle on the ground.

Bats: Tiny,fast,these bats can tick you some HPs off if you miss them.

Red Shield Skeletons: Tough enough and mean,they are reasonably hard to kill,
do reasonable damage and can even block your hits with their shields.

Rolling Eyes: They form out of nowhere and try to roll on you.Indestructible
but with crashing on each other or with a magic spell from the mage.
Fireballs work wonder,too.They give no exp. points,though.

Yellow Skeleton Spiders: You'll find a way to hate them: they are fast,tough
and can shoot a double-hitting net with the first chance (and hurt too!).

Black Pudding: A giant black slime which hangs from the ceiling,bounces to the
walls and spits little pudding balls...(see the solution for more info)

Giant Frogs: these green suckers are there hoping to steal a HP or two from a
first time player...kill yourself if you're ever TOUCHED by one of them!

Trolls: They look like pissed-off refugees (or convicts and things like that :-)
They walk normally but speed up when you turn your back to them and throw you
bones in a silly manner (only that the damage they do isn't silly at all...)

Giant Hands: They come off the ground in a mechanical way in hopes of squeezing
something to death and burying it at the same time.

White Slimes: Same as the green ones,only tougher (only with a low level can
you tell the difference).

Brown Monster Trees: These evil trees rise from the ground waving their
disgusting branches and from time to time they will shoot you with a reasonably
powered fireball.They aim well,and are hard to kill.

Kraken: The boss creature of the underwater world.He sits still at the mid
of the screen waving two big tentacles against you,hitting you directly or
throwing Monster Tree like fireballs.

Wasps: They wait for you hanging in mid air,aim then attack you at full speed.
     They hurt quite a bit and they cause poisoning too.

Medusas: They look like disgusting blue and red kalamari with one eye and lots
of veins on their body.
They float underwater (or even OUTSIDE water) and when they close their eye
they are ready to shoot you with a powerful energy wave which hurts.
The wave is unblockable from the Fighter's shield.

Rock Monsters: They are fat,slow moving monsters which try to squash you with
their step.They are hard to kill (but give you lots of exp. points) and if you
turn your back at them they start running like mad,and they hurt a lot if they
bag you...

Orange Skeleton Spiders: Like the yellow ones,but much meaner and tougher,
cause more damage and their hit is poisonous,too! Their hit is blockable by
the Fighter's shield.

Worm: A big crawling worm which shoots you with large fireballs,causes great
damage and poisoning if touched,and turns into a fast rolling ball,becoming
invincible when so.

Mud Monsters: Poor cousins of the Rock monsters,they are pinned to the ground
and suddendly emerge from nowhere doing a respectable damage to the unlucky
person that will step on them...

Orange Wasps: Same as the yellow ones,only tougher to kill and meaner.

Birdie Women/Harpyas: They are flying half woman(topless)/half eagle(volture?)
creatures,doing dive attacks or throwing sharp feathers at you,and are also
hard enough to kill.

Metal Porcupines: Indestructible,they simply guard their territory walking up
and down all the time.You can't do anything but avoid them.

Giant Flowers: Indestructible,these beatiful flowers luckily won't try to
eat you or something,but will try to vomit(!) God-knows-which vegetable
refuses on you,doing a discrete amount of damage.

Crawling Kelp: A nice,peaceful plant (until it found you) which hangs from the
ceiling and will try to grow thorny vines towards your direction and giving
away with enthusiasm some fine thorny fruits,only that they are (apparently)
not edible and you should avoid them!

Zombies: You will find a way to hate them like hell,due to the many times
you will have a chance to meet these pleasant guys,who rise from their graves
to take revenge upon the living...or better against YOU.They are hard to kill,
they don't stop/slow down when hit,and you must hit their legs to be effective,
coz if you only bust their torsoes,the feet will keep on walking!

Winged Lion/Manticore: He is fast,tough,and hurts you a lot as he runs
towards you hoping to slash you in two.

Evil spirits/Wraiths/Charons: Flying skeletons wearing dark mantles and
wielding a big skythe,they will attack you with their body (a moderate,
poisonous attack) or if they get the chance,will discharge a powerful
thunderbolt attack in many directions (-40 HP)

Green Dragons: Fat,rapid-moving grounded dragons,which belch powerful firebombs
on the ground and if they bag you it's -40 HPs!
Fighter's tactic: Don't stand still if they start "bombarding" a spot before
you.That's the worst thing you can do.Instead,walk away a bit to make them
"stick off" and then turn on them and attack before they start "bombarding"
again.Of course,be careful not to walk on a lit fire.Move away at a safe
distance before attacking.This way you proceed slowly,yes,but safely.

Fireballs: Living fireballs which bounce around with no goal (until of course
YOU come close to them...-10 HPs minimum if they touch you!

Fire Elemental: A good description of him is avaiable in section [3.4]!

Purple Slimes: Like the green and white one,only this time they are poisonous!

Grey Shield Skeletons: Meaner and harder to kill than the red ones,they make
super juming attacks on you,and they hurt a lot!

White Tree Monsters: Another "classic" you'll hate: they can't move,sure,but
require lots of hits to die (6-12,usually) and considering that they are placed
To this,add that they shoot like machine guns and theirfireballs do good
damage! With the Mage,use thunders with no mercy,and with the Priestess,just
cast a Shielding and pass through them!
With the ninja,the best thing is to take the damage and do the back-turning
trick.You can't kill them before they fry you.
The fighter,surprisigly,is the only one who can face them directly.
Jump,yes JUMP on their platforms (there's barely the space for that) and duck:
at that distance,they only aim at your shield,which will block their hits.
Between two hits you can attack (once) then duck again,etc.This way you can
take them down.For those you can't reach,well,ignore them.

Blue Dragons: Like the green ones,only that they are harder to kill,
belch a toxic mass of blue gasses which slides on the ground,are poisonous
and magic-resistant!

Floating Dragon-Fish/Serpents: They look half-way from a fish to a dragon,
floating in mid air trying to touch you...they do quite a lot of damage if they
touch you,and look powerful and impressive.Once you hit them,if they don't die
immediately,they start twirling around.Don't be impressed and attack
again,without stopping,or they'll really hurt you.

Purple Pudding: The bigger brother of the Black Pudding,only it's purple,
harder to kill,faster and...poisonous of course.

Worm 2: Like the first worm,only harder to kill and gives you no thread or
anything.

Baarogue (Mage): Look section [3.6]
Baarogue (Dragon): Look section [3.6]
Baarogue (Double-headed Dragon): Look section [3.6]

Time-Up monster: A floating demon skull which appears after your time has
run out.Invincible,everytime he touches you it's -40 HP.
It's certain death unless you cast a time spell or buy time before you are
killed (it's never too late!).

Total: 41 different monsters.What else do you want?

[2.6] Shopping/Economy

Yep,remember those RPG elements we were talking about?
Here you go,in the game there are plenty of shops which will help you in your
task,for example,by selling you better weaponry,or allowing you to rest and
replenish your HP and MP,or selling you useful "tools",such as medical
herbs,antidotes,time,special keys,other...
So there are three kinds of shops,in Cadash: Inns,Weapon Shops and Tool Shops.

Inns: You can tell them by the "Inn" sign on their doors.
By paying for a rest you fully replenish your HP and MP.
More or less,each time you find an Inn is when you need one (they are at the end
of Stages or after a difficult trial,like in stage 4).You can save on your
money by playing carefully and mind not getting hit too easily.
That's because the price for a rest goes up each time you use an Inn:
It begins from as low as 50 but quickly goes up at 200,1000,2000,5000.
I think it doesn't get more expensive,but I'm not sure about that.
You can avoid visiting an Inn if you still have >70% of your HP,but with
a spellcasting character you won't replenish your MP (OK,the Mage regenerates).
This is easier to do at the very first levels,much harder,say,at the jungle or
zombie stage.

Weapon shops: what the name says.Here you can find new,more powerful weaponry
for your character,as well as armors,shields and other things such as robes,
tiaras,masks...The most "accesoried" character is the Fighter,which "has"
to buy armor,shield and sword as well as helmets,from a point on.
He changes weapon in every stage,changes 3 shields,3 or 4(?) armors,two
helmets.
There is a "rusty" set,a "silver" set and a "golden" set at the end.
Then there is the ninja:he changes weapon every stage too,changes clothes
once or twice,buys a mask at the end and that's it.
Then comes the priestess,which only changes weapon twice in the game,
buys two robes and two tiaras.
The mage is the most "economical": Changes weapon 3 times,and changes two
robes,that's it.
Of course,"accessories" cost more and more...but they are a bearable cost
compared to inns and hourglasses.
You should always buy what's meant for your character.You can buy older weapons
by visiting older shops.


Tools shops: What the game poorly calls "tool shops" are in reality
alchamist shops which sell medical herbs and antidotes,mainly,as well as
extra time,silver keys,and more...
They have a red bottle on their door.
Medical herbs cost 20 golds each (nothing,compared to the help they give you).
Each time your health goes below 0,they prevent you from dying and give you
10 HP.You always consume one medical herb per "underflow",no matter how
damaging s the attack was.(See section 5 for an interesting note on that!).
Antidotes cost 40 golds.They are not as useful as herbs...unless you need them!
If are attacked by a poisonous monster,your character will turn violet and
you will slowly lose health points! That's unless you have an antidote,which
will neutralise the poison.This will cost you one antidote per poisoning.
Always carry at least 3 or 4 of them,but I think it's no use to save money
on herbs or antidotes...
If you really wanna save money,consider TIME:
Yes,the original arcade game has a limited time (see the Priestess section for
that).In the tools shops they sell hourglasses which give you 1 minute extra
time each.Their cost grows more and more as you buy them:
It goes 50,70,100,200,500,700,1000,2000,5000,30000 (!).
At a certain point you will have to buy a silver key (800 golds) and a golden
key (?),but that's only once in the game.
Also,a "special" tools shop sells magic bells,which raise your maximum HP by
8,up to 255.They only raise your HP bar,which means:
a) They don't heal (won't give you free HP,you have to rest to fill the bar to
the max)
b) They don't raise your level.


An important premise for all money savers: unless you wanna make a lot of money
(though there are other ways),ALWAYS pay for a rest when you get the chance
and you really need it,unless of course,you still have >70% of your hit
points.In that case,a least ALWAYS buy all the herbs and antidotes you can.
They cost almost nothing but can prove precious,believe me.
About buying extra time...you'll surely need to,and at the beginning it doesn't
cost too much,only that the price goes up with every hourglass you buy.
It goes 50,70,100,200,500,700,1000,2000,5000,30000 (!).
As you can see,the price grows more than exponentially,and really can go
at 30000 (which is the maximum).Rests at Inns also cost more and more as you
use them,but luckily they stop at 5000.It might prove a wise choice
to use a fast character (Fighter,Ninja) and taking care not being hurt too
much often.(The Mage is the weakest at this point,sadly.)

[2.7] Multiplayer mode

Yep,Cadash offered a multiplayer mode with up to 4 players!
With a single board,up to two players could play.By linking two boards together,
a 4 player mode was possible.It may sound great,but has its limitations,really.
First of all,each player must choose a different character.It makes sense,since
there are only 4 heroes,and not hero "classes" as in some RPGs,but that means
that everyone must be good with a specific character.You can't have e.g. 2
Mages and 2 Fighters,or 4 Priestesses (!!! Poor Baarogue...;-).
Most important,two players using the same machine must be together on the same
screen.In other words "If one goes one way the other one can't go the other
way",as there's no split screen mode.This may work OK for those arcade games
where you can't "go back" anyway (like many shoot-em-ups,beat-em-ups,arcade
platforms,etc.) but not for a game where you normally have complete freedom.
This also happened with the game "Gauntlet",where the 4 players had to stick
together,even if the mazes were free to explore.
In Cadash however,the pair of players using separate boards can move
independently from each other.Which means: players 1 and 2 must keep together,
and also players 3 and 4.P1 can't "leave" P2 back,but P3 and P4 can be "outside"
the screen of P1 and P2,and leave them back.Viceversa,P3 can't leave P4 back,but
can see P1 and P2 leaving them back,or fighting in a completely different place.
A good thing is that whoever kills first a boss,the other players don't have
to face him again (but normal enemies reappear,for all to have fun ;-).
Also,if someone picks up a needful story-item (like the scales of mermaid),then
everybody benefits from it,even if he's "taken back".
Shopping becomes very frustrating on the other hand.
In multiplayer mode,a player can buy an item for any other player (I don't know
if the other one has to be in the shop,however).This allows players to help
each other economically (although they can't make a "common fund" to buy
something expensive).That's the good thing.The bad thing is that when you
wanna buy something,you are asked IF you wanna buy something,for WHOM,and
then WHAT.Imagine you are trying to buy medical herbs for yourself...
However,apart from these little defects,multiplayer should be enjoyable.
Hope I am given a chance to try it...


[3] Cadash: The solution!

Since Cadash isn't just an action game,you will need to know the SOLUTION,
which once you've finished the game on your own,you'll surely remember!


[3.1] The Monster Caves

At first you start at the King's Palace.Waste no time talking to the guards
or the people inside or outside the castle.Get the medical herb and bag of
money that are in the trunks in the throne room.
Get out of the castle and go into the cave to the right.
Here,kill the green slimes and the fat grunts until you reach the small
course of water...then go back and kill the grunts and slimes again,then go
ahead again,etc. until you have reached level 3 or 4 (very important thing to
do,coz you gain money too!).
Then pass over the water,kill the skeletons (or try to do the level-gain trick
with them,since they give more experience points).
Climb down the vine,move right and jump on the short vines to avoid the
rolling eyes which will crash on each other...
Going right,try not to get hit by the skeleton spiders' attacks,coz they hurt
(twice,too) quite a bit...slay them and move quickly to the right,avoiding
carefully the volcano rocks and the stupid bats which fly around...
Continue right and there you will find the first boss: the BLACK PUDDING.
It has an attack pattern: it bounces twice left-right,then gets stuck to the
ceiling,shoots 4 pudding balls (avoid them) and crashes down,then re-bounces,
etc.It's not hard to defeat.Once you do,go into the door,talk to the Mage in
blue robes until he opens the blue door,go into the magic gate...

[3.2] The Underwater Caves

Once you teleported,go to the right and enter the inn.
Pay for a rest,then move right.


The first house after the brigde has an old lady mourning about her adopted
daughter being sacrificed to the KRAKEN...you need not speak to her in the
arcade version (so you can save time) but you need to in the PCE version,
coz she gives you an extra staff (unknown purpose,but must be important...).
Next you will find the first weapons shop.Buy all the equipment meant for
your character,move right and go to the alchemist shop.
Here buy 8 herbs,8 antidotes (you can't carry more) and as much extra time
as you can.Climb down the ladder and go left when you find the water surface
(you can't enter it harmlessly YET...).
Get rid of the giant frogs quickly (they give no money and no exp. points!).
Instead,practice slaying the trolls since they give money and enough exp.points

till you get one or two levels up.
Move full left,climb down,go right,avoid the giant hands that wanna have you
for dinner,climb up,go left,hit each of the "stairs" under the trolls' bridge
coz there are some hidden objects (2 herbs,one antidote,one bag of money)
then climb down and go left.
Here,attack the white slimes and the brown tree monsters like that:
let them shoot first,jump then finish them off,so you won't get hit very often.
Here too,you can use the place as an "experience gainer" but it's not
recommended (not many trees,dangerous,slow to reappear).
Go left,fall down and keep on left.Here you will fight KRAKEN,the second
boss.With the fighter,keep on one corner of the screen and slash the moving
tentacles,trying not to get hit,same with the ninja.
With the Mage use a ground fire or magic circle spell,and with the Priestess
cast the shielding spell and move above the KRAKEN's head hitting it from above.
Free the girl on the pole and follow her right: she will dive into the water
and turn into a mermaid,talk to you and then she will give you the Scales Of
The Mermaid,which allow you to breathe underwater (which is absolutely
necessary for the game to go on.)
After that go left,again to the KRAKEN's bridge,then left and climb down.
Try to time your weapon so to hit the giant wasps coz they hurt quite a bit and
also cause poisoning (good thing you bought those antidotes...).
They are however excellent experience gainers...
Move to the right,drop by the big step (the ninja can climb it both ways!) and
you will be in the mace room: big maces hang from the hands of giant statues
and rotate at tremendous speeds...it's a matter of speed and sync to avoid the
maces.The first ones are fairly easy to get dealed with.The last one rotates
anti-clockwise and very fast,so hard to avoid...anyway,move right,kill the tree
on top of the "stairs" and climb down freely into the water...if you have got
the scales of the mermaid (or one the other players did) then none will get
hurt...
Move right,slay the ugly one-eyed medusas,climb up,DO NOT ENTER THE DEPARTURE
GATE YET,move to the left,climb up and visit the second weapons shop.
Buy all that is meant for your character then move LEFT again,climb down,left
and instead of climbing MOVE INTO THE WALL: there is a secret passage,move
to the left and watch your characters behavior: if he looks "hanging" climb up
or down.By moving constantly to the left,you will find a chest with the
Mystic Lamp.This flashes the screen anytime there is a secret (hidden objects,
passages etc. though in many spots it flashes there is absolutely nothing(bug?).
Return right,climb up and go to the first city again to renew your HPs and
your herbs/antidotes.DO NOT visit the first weapons shop again...you can buy
"older" weapons if you want to (!) but this is generally not recommended...
Return from when you came now (INTO the water...) and now you may go into
the new Departure Gate...

[3.3] The Jungle Caves

Here you are in the vegetable world...move right and climb all the way down.
Move left...there is a door.Enter it,move left,climb the vine and talk to the
solitary gnome: he is in reality a "tools shop" (herbs,antidotes etc.) who also
sells a strange item: magic bells.These babies cost 500 each and raise your
HPs (NOT your level) by 8 HPs.Buy only one or two,since you will need lots of
money (Inns should now cost 1000,silver key costs 800...make sure you have abou
t 2500 golds left or you'll regret it,trust me!).
Exit the gnome hideout...move left and start facing the rock monsters...these
monsters are the best experience gainers (they give 90 or so exp.points) and
come in large numbers.
They are easy to kill,slow,but NEVER turn your back at them or they'll start
running like hell and run you through (and diz hoirts...)
Fight your way to the left until you find a door: enter it and you will be
fighting worm.
He will turn himself into a ball and start rotating.Stay away from walls since
he bounces off them high and you can't avoid him...he will do three rebounces
each time then extend himself and become vulnerable...hurt him while you can,
let him become a ball,rebounce three times,hit him again etc. until you destroy
him.Take the money and the WORM'S THREAD,go right (fight your way right this
time!),go to the long vine at the beginning and climb to the place directly
below the departure gate: it looks unaccessible,right?
Not if you have the worm's thread: It will become an excellent climbing rope
and so you can keep on slaying...climb the thread,start moving left...BE
CAREFUL!
From the ground rise some ugly mud monsters which hurt you an awful lot...
Move with small steps! Then slay the orange giant bees (tougher and meaner than
the yellow ones) and then you are in front of a two-way road: You can climb the
ladder and try to jump your way over a horde of INDESTRUCTIBLE spikey
(metallic?) creatures and go directly into the CRAWLING KELP's room,OR you can
move left and enter a strange garden full of (vulnerable) mud monsters and
birdie-women,which fly and attack you with their claws and throw sharp
feathers(!) at you while huge (INDESTRUCTIBLE) flowers vomit(!) on you...and
after that you can still go into the CRAWLING KELP's room if you want to,by
climbing down the first vine you find,go left,climb up and go right...but
you will have to face the swarm of orange bees TWICE.
The first way is easier,but you get no exp. points or money while with the
second one you do,and it's not as hard as it sounds.
Anyway,you should really visit the CRAWLING KELP,since when destroyed it gives
you an ELIXIR,which restores your HP's after all medical herbs have been used..
...a pretty cool item to have with you all the time :-).
The KELP isn't difficult to defeat as it requires no special tactics.just hurt
it as much as you can when you can(with the Mage,it's just a spell or two...).
Anyway,to leave the KELP's place,go left,climb up,left,climb down,face the bees
(they are suckers if you know how...) and go right in the place below the vine
(under the wine there is a magic bell,hit 5 times and get it!) which has
some of those lovely spikey creatures...move full right,climb down,go left...
OUCH! Two stupid birdie-women! Just slay'em and it's just a matter of sync to
catch the right platform in the right moment...after you jump your way up,move
left avoiding the lovely bees and mud monsters,climb up the ladder (the earlier
bees may attack you again so beware) and go right: take the FLOWER OF THE MAYA
and when you are about to enter the gnome village...you will become a gnome
yourself! Now you can visit the miniature shops....
(NOTE:With the Fighter,you will be in front of a paradox in the weapons' shop:
if you buy the Speed Blade you'll probably have a difficult time in stopping
the powerful enemies that await you on the next world,and if you keep the
Fire Blade you will be too weak overall!Make your own choice...
Darrel Wong suggests to buy the Speed Blade anyway.)
After you finish your shopping,end up in the TOOLS SHOP: refill your herbs,
time and antidotes,and also buy the silver key (hope you have the money...).
Move left inside the shop,open the silver door and enter the Departure Gate...
BTW,don not try to go to the Gnome's Village immediately after arriving to the
Jungle Caves by just climbing up and going left: you will enter the village fro
m the wrong side,and the FLOWER OF MAYA won't appear...the shops will be just
little houses which you can't visit! Pure waste of time...

[3.4] The Caves of the Dead

Move right out of the house...on your right there is a fire pit which you
can't cross and on your left...a graveyard!
You can talk to the hanged skeletons on the trees,if you want ;-)
Start moving left (it starts to rain in the meanwhile after you cross a lonely
grave with a whining dog near it "HM...HM...",that's part of the storyline as
you'll see later) and you will be surrounded by zombies which arise from their
graves to take revenge upon the living and especially you (ah...of course).
Try not to get hit and do not stick to this place coz the zombies come in
large quantities,and do not give enough exp.points or money...leave the
graveyard quickly...BE CAREFUL! Just as you escaped from the zombies,LIGHTNING
is summoned against you! To avoid it,when you "feel" the screen starts to flash
,STOP and duck quickly! (in fact,a weak flash precedes the lighting).
Repeat for every thunder attack,there are three in total each time you leave
or enter the graveyard from the left.As Darrel Wong points out,the "safe" spots
are always the same,so you can either memorize them or rely on the "empiric"
method descrived above).
So,climb down the vines,and beware of the spear traps that wanna drill some
extra holes in you.You will need to sync your step with the spears to avoid
getting hit.And when you were just about to step down the vines...a psycho
winged lion comes to get you! This enemy runs fast and is hard to kill,
unless you have the Priestess,whose weapon is DEVASTATING in this case,or
the Mage.
Move right over the bridge...OH MY,what's that thing? Some evil death spirits
float around and discharge powerful lightning!You will need to time your weapon
to hit them.
Each time you do,they disappear and reappear nearby.Anyway,when you cross the
bridge,an "athletic" guy chased by an angry dog (the same of the grave
-see above) bumps you while trying to escape ("You're in my way!Get out of my
way!")...ignore him for now.
After you climb the hill,there is a vine going up,where the dog points.
At about 3/4ths of the vine's course,there is a secret passage on the right
of the wall.Jump right,move to the right a bit...there is a small fire room
with a chest.Enter it at all costs,coz there is THE AMULET OF DRAGON,which will
give you 60000 golds and solve all your financial problems,at least for a while

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