-------------------+--------------------------------------------
     The           |               Unofficial FAQ
  Legend Of        |     For non-japanese speaking players,
   Xanadu          |      By non-japanese speaking players.
Dragon Slayer VIII |Compiled by Ara Shirinian (shir@wam.umd.edu)
-------------------+--------------------------------------------
last modified 8/22/95                                  Version 4
----------------------------------------------------------------

        This FAQ is intended to help players who can't read
the japanese text in the game. It is not designed to be a
translation or a walkthrough. Not every part of the game is
covered, just those which are the most difficult because of the
language barrier. I don't want to put in solutions to all the
puzzles and spoil the whole game.
Contributions/questions/comments are more than welcome,
just e-mail me at shir@wam.umd.edu. All contributors are
credited at the end of this FAQ.

Contents:
I. beginning non-obvious stuff.
II. Important points in each of the game's areas.
III. Miscellany.
IV. Contributors and credits.

conventions used:
"-"  delineates an explanation
"="    "   "    an item in a list of items.
"--"   "   "    an explanation of a discrepency. If anyone
knows the answer, please e-mail me!

I.--------------------------------------------------------------
1. Stuff explained in the instruction book that isn't obvious.

 Title Screen
 -At the title screen, you are presented with three options.
  =the first begins the game with the opening cinema.
  =the second begins the game without the opening cinema.
  =begin the saved game?

  --The last option only seems to work in certain circumstances,
  other times is just does the same function as #2?

 Yes/No Responses
 -Sometimes you will be prompted for a yes/no answer. A small
 box with two choices and a orange highlight will appear. The
 left option (two characters) is Yes ("hai"), the right one
 (three characters) is No ("iie"). Sometimes you will be asked
 questions by people.

 --I have heard that you may have to do more or less to advance
 depending on what response you give to people. I would say that
  it's generally a good rule to say Yes to everyone.

 Character Development System
 -The method that is used to make your character is different
 than the standard 'level up' method of most RPGs:
  =You can raise your MAX HP by losing HP and then recovering it.
  The amount that you gain MAX HP is a function of how much HP is
  recovered.
   --anyone know what the exact relationship is?
  =You can raise your ATTACK power by attacking enemies that
  take more than one hit to destroy. Attacking weak enemies will
  not help.
  =You can raise your DEFENSE power by getting hit by enemies.
  Defense power will increase until it is greater than the
  enemy's attack power, at which point the enemy will run away
  from you.

 Death
 -When you die, you will turn into a ghost. To return to life,
 talk to the priest at the chapel (starting point for every
 area).
 To recover HP, you will be able to sleep in one of the beds
 in the chapel.

 Sub-Screen
 -There are a number of options which can be toggled on and off:
  =AUTO button
   --don't know what this does. Maybe auto-save game???
  =SPD button
   -when ON, increases the speed of your character.
  =MESS button
   -when ON, messages will scroll by w/o any noise.
  =ATT button
   -when ON, your NPCs will attack enemies.
  =BGM button
   -toggles background music on/off.
  =FONT button
   -when ON, allows you to see under text windows.
  =GRP button
   -when ON, you can see the percentage of your equipment
   strength displayed graphically on the main screen.
  =ALM button
   --unknown?

 Items
 -Items are explained on page 30 of the manual. The function of
 all of them is not readily apparent so here's an explanation:
  =Capsules (100 GEM)
   -will recover some HP. You can have up to 99.
    --it seems to recover approx. 1000 HP???
  =Elixir (500000 GEM)
   -for much of the game, you can't buy this. SAVE THEM. They will
   recover ALL your HP.
  =Hourglass (100 GEM)
   -allows you to change the time of day. When equipped, it
   dramatically slows the passage of time.
  =Wing (1000 GEM)
   -warps you back to the chapel.
  =Mushroom (500000 GEM)
   -increases your MAX HP permanently. Temporarily increase in MAX HP
   if equipped.
  =Gold Ring, Necklace, SIlver Ring
   -these will increase your arms,armor,or shield power independent
   of the MAXIMUM if equipped, or will increase the equipments'
   power percentage if used as an item. It's better to equip them.

 Maximums
 -the maximum possible HP is 999999.
 -there is no known maximum for GEMs. After 999999, the display
 will turn yellow and the counter will appear to reset, but all
 GEMs will be accounted for.
 -There are 14 Mushrooms to be found in treasure chests throughout.
 -There are 7 Elixirs " ".
 -There are 12 gold rings and 12 necklaces " ".
 -There are 14 silver rings " ".
 -Of these items, only the Mushroom and the Elixir can ever be
 purchased, and those two can only be bought in area 12.

II.-------------------------------------------------------------
2. Notes On Various Areas Of The Game

-The game is played in 12 distinct areas. Each begins with a overhead
sequence and ends with a side-scroll sequence. Since the top-view
parts can be extremely difficult, notes are provided for each section.

 =Area 1
  -Xanadu can be rather frustrating at times, this first section is
  particularly annoying since there's lots of talking to do and many
  significant events before progress can be made.
  -There is a map of this area included in the instruction booklet.
  -The rest of this section is by marcoux@star.enet.dec.com:
  -The whole objective is to get key that opens a sealed door in the cave in
  the north. This will place you in the side-scrolling form of play. To
  get the key you will need to rescue villagers trapped/held hostage in
  the cave. To get these villagers into the caves in the first place
  requires a fair amount of interaction/dialog by your character with
  various towns/people.
  -A significant point is to get a character(blob) to join you. He should
  be in the very northern part of the area. When you run into him you'll
  notice something is diff. Sound is diff, result of hitting him is diff
  ...what I did, eventually, is disarm myself. You can remove all items
  on the subscreen. When I touched him again there was a dialog box
  session and he joined me. Then you can go back and re-arm yourself.
  -Another milestone is a meeting on the dock at the southern most
  village. A group/ship departs...If I remember correctly when that last
  event ocurred the game leveled up...enemy characters changed (became
  tougher)...the cave in the north originally had no monsters, now
  it will be loaded.

 =Area 2
  -The map to this section is also in the instructions. IMHO, Area 2
  is the easiest in the game to complete.
  -The only way you can get to the other side of the map is via boat.
  -There's a hidden room in one of the deserted/ruined houses. Meeting
  someone at the forest clearing in the north opens up a new path
  underground. This leads to an area you previosly could not reach during
  earlier cave exploration.
  -In the cave, pay attention to the grey squares on the ground. They have
  arrows on them which point to significant areas (this is not readily
  apparent).

 =Area 3
  -You will have to get through a number of events to get to the other
  side of the map, where the castle is. The map for this area is also
  in the instructions.
  -A broken bridge is just above the town so one cannot cross.
  There is a character near the bridge with what appears to be a pot. All the
  town buildings are closed to you but people will ans there door and talk
  briefly before closing the door on you. This lower area also has 2
  caves in the mountain region to the right. The cave furthest away has sealed
  door in its first room. The nearer cave eventually leads to a rock
  formation that gives you a crystal/shard. Upon returning to town with
  this, one of the villagers takes it from you and the character near the
  pot dialog changes. If you get another crystal/shard from the cave, that
  pot character takes it from you and you then enter the pot/cannon and are
  shot into the air across the stream into another town. Characters on
  the other side talk with you briefly in that town. Exploring the upper half
  area NE reveals a CASTLE with a prison/bakery/library/stable. Many dialog
  exchanges here. A long exchange with a character near the library that is
  interrupted by a guard a # of times. Talk to everyone again in all villages.
  go back to castle and talk with one of the characters behind a desk while
  'unarmed'..he will give you what looks like a letter.
  -give the letter to the guys in the north-most town with the things that
  look like hammers. They will go to the bridge and repair it.
  -when you get to the bridge those same guys should be there.
  Talk to the guard and the bridge will be repaired.
  -go back to the northern town and speak to the mayor. an event will occur.
  -in the castle, one of the torch-holders can be lit. it's the left-most
  one in the main horzontal hallway. Lighting it will reveal a door to
  appear where there was only a wall at the top of the main vertical hallway.
  -the next significant event happens in the south-most town in the area.
  -visit the castle again, as you leave there will be a conversation
  between the members of you party.
  -visit the mayor at the north-most town again and you should recieve
  an ENVELOPE.
  -go back to the castle and talk to the old man bahind the desk.
  He will open the route upstairs and introduce you to the king.
  -most locked doors in the castle will be open. There will be butt-loads
  of treasure to collect.
  -before leaving, speak to the other guy who is usually behind a desk
  in the main floor of the castle. He will give you a KEY.
  -the key will let you go into the southern-most cave. Explore it and
  at the end will be the side-scroll scenario with the boss at the end.

 =Area 4
  -This area is an arctic-type world. From the chapel where you begin,
  the layout of the world is as follows:
   =a hermit's house to the NW of you
   =an inconspicuous trail leading to a clearing NNE of you
   =a town S of you
   =an enourmous area of plateaus and valleys E of you. Most of this part
   of the area will be inaccessible until a few things are done...
  -Explore/talk to everyone and eventually an event in the SW(main house) will
  trigger. Your party splits up.Explore/talk to everyone again...
  -try searching the 'desk' in the NW-most house in town. you should get a
  silver thing that looks like a '>' symbol. Give it to the hermit guy (in
  the house north of town). He should be gone next time you visit. If you
  go east from his house, there is an inconspicuous path you can follow
  between the plateaus and the mountains... follow it until you get to a
  small clearing. Something should happen here and you'll get another item
  that looks something like a paisley? Give that to the hermit (he should be
  back) and for some reason the path that was blocked will now be clear.
  -The rest of the the area is easier and more logical to figure out,
  but there's a fair amount to do...
  -notable events
    =getting code from hermit for the block/stone sequence to unlocked cave.
    =get book from bookcase at main house and give to character in cave. Where
    crystals are located.
    =take/position crystals on correct altars.
    =have the large rabbit?(at hermits hut) go with you too aid in opening
    pathway. This is were a large column is blocking your path.
    =have patience with floor spikes :)  just get that timing down '-)

 =Area 5
  -This area is an island-type world. Many islands and towns connected via
  bridges. from where you begin:
   =you're in a town surrounded by mountains
   =large bed of flowers far N of that town
   =large conglomorate of islands and stuff E and NE of that town.
  -After upgrading weapons, I did some exploring to get familiar with the
  area. There are 3 towns, a home NE, locked hut east, hut old woman(OW)
  /chicken North.
  _at OW's house, bookcase to left always has some text, bookcase to right
  appears to give you a code?
  -need to visit shrine in lake. You initially meet a char in first village(ctr)
  and later meet him at pier NE of first town. You will have to go there 3 diff
  times.
  -flower's only bloom from about 1am-->6am
  -This is the first area I needed to actually use the wing
  -visibility of enemy char's come and go...I'm not sure why
  -Main points...
  -your party breaks up...
  -talk to everyone 1st town. Go E to 2nd town do the same. Go back to the
  1st village. Talk to everyone again...there s/b 2 char's at ctr sq. Talk too
  them. This is when I explored area more thoroughly and leveled up. Re-visited
  all town's/houses. Then eventually...
  -In 1st village ctr Sq. will be 3rd char..talk to him. He leaves. He is
the one
  you need to meet at pier outside 1st town at/after midnight. He returns you to
  the pier and leaves...go to 2nd town...old man's(OM) house with rabbit?
  -eventually old man in 2nd village falls asleep. Talk all in town. Now go to
  hut with old woman. She explains flowers. Need to get at least 20. Go to area
  N of 1st village and get flowers.
  -after 20 flowers return to old woman..they start working on something..return
  later(to get what looks like armor or a cloak?)
  -3rd village nw house...get bottle and key. Used key at locked hut E, but
  nothing seems to have happened? go back to 2nd town...some party members back.
  -go back to old woman, get what looks like armor or a cloak?, form up
  -game levels up..monsters change.
  -on way to former locked hut party members break up again...2 are guarding
  bridges the 3rd I can't find.
  -lure one of the enemy char into the former locked hut that is E. Take
care not
  to kill this char. Try to exit hut...an event takes place.
  -go to OM home...then to NE house, father is now gone...go back to OM home..he
  is now awake. Go back to NE house, new event...your now off to the island.
  -warped back to the OM' home. talk to all...go to OW's house...new event lots
  of text..stairway appears..new item(pink stone)..figure out column switches.
  -talk to diff old man on island near OW's house.
  -talk to previously empty home in 3rd town...go back to OM's home, get
new item
  (lt grn bottle)...this is where party members stay again(I think)...talk to
  NE house within 2nd town..boy leaves..you need to go to pier...boy takes you
  to shrine again...
  -explore all you can...figure out column switches (code) from cabinet helps,
  OW from mainland is here...after you've done all you can, warp back to the
  church...
  -go to OM's home---reform with party members...talk to everyone..go back to
  pier NE when your ready for the end of level....back to shrine
  -go to all wall switches...eventually your party members will talk to each
  other. This talking is a necessary event, without that happening you cannot
  get the OW to help you...I'm not sure exactly what triggers it, but going
  between wall switches seems to be a catalyst, I did this part twice and both
  times this talking event took place at the right side wall switch, she is
  needed to activate the switches so you can proceed...
  after you talk among yourselves. go to the OW...she will leave...the right
  side will be done first...go to the spot across from her, she will help you
  pass, when finished you must release the wall sw on your side...then go to
  where she is...she will leave to do the left side...go across from that...
  make sure you have all you need as this will shortly take you to the
  side-scroll section of this level.

 =Area 6
  -Layout of world is as follows:
   =begin in a town.
   =cave far N of you
   =another cave NE of you
   =isolated town E of you
   =another hermit's house E of you
  -Talk to everyone in the first town(FT). Upgrade armor/sword, shield will
  soon be found in a cave.
  -go through mountain tunnel and explore cave(RC), ringed by mountains.
  party breaks up here, go back to FT.
  -in town get letter, go NE and give letter to man, he clears path. Continue
  to isolated home(IH) after long mountain pass, talk to char here.
  -go back to FT, get hanky???,  then go back to IH.
  -at IH give hanky???, then check bookcase, get 12 dynamite sticks,
  go back to FT talk to all.
  -go to the south most cave(SC), use D on blocked pathways, this leads to
  town(IT) in mountains you could see before but not reach, go to all doors,
  continue on another pass to a large isolated house(LIH), go to doors, then
  ventually back to FT. Talk all, new event, one of the priest? leaves,
  talk all.
  -go to IT, talk all, go to LIH, new event, all gather around someones
  bedside, talk all, back to FT.
  -talk to all at church, new event, other member breaks off, here is were I got
  the vial,I think, talk all in FT, boy leaves from ctr home.
  -Get vapor/cloud drop in woods NW of first town.
  -Back to FT, church - event, now have bottle.
  -Back to LIH, event, talk all, go to IT, talk all.
  -go to FT, event, member leaves, monsters overrun town, go to church, talk
  all.
  -back to LIH, member rejoins, talk all.
  -meet a # of char's at various places on this level:
   =NE of pathway to IH from shoreline
   =on crag of mountain pass to IH
   =In the SC
   =just NW outside SC
   =north of RC in small crag
   =2 in RC
   =just north of FT
  -an event occurs in RC, in the empty room, at 17:00.

 =Area 7
  -Layout of world is as follows:
   =it's rather linear, there is a maze NE of town.
   =a path leads out of the maze and passes a number of significant locations:
    =an empty house
    =a cave on the north side
   =the path ends at an enclosed beach and lake.
  -You will have to rescue a girl in the maze.
  -When you reach the palace, there is a KEY very cleverly hidden in one of
  the corners of the place...it is in the dead-end corner just after the right
  hand bridge in the center of the first floor of the palace.
  -another clever hidden thing, there is a TREE (only one in this world) to the
  W of the maze, just after the first town.
  -eventually enter cave north(NC) and talk all, back to town - talk all, back
  to NC, back to town, when leaving town...new member joins.
  -go to P door..do all you can then go to NC, then town then NC again and get
  what looks like a wand.
  -back to town...all char have moved from sw home to se home, event- marriage?
  -back to NC return wand?, at P someone arrives and opens door, explore all
  you can...next door opening warps you to FM...talk all...try P door again,
  same warp to FM, talk at town, event at main house, go back to P, rescue
  another char, warp to cave, talk all here and back at town, then go to
  bookcase at HNFM...talk all, then back to P.
  -explore palace area, lots here. Do what you can then eventually meet a char
  at FM, the back to HNFM.
  -get leave from tree west of HNFM, back to HNFM and get item(bottle).
  -Back to NC, revive char, then back to P and finish loose ends.
  -at golden statues...various combinations of worn items are what turn the
  statues grey. After this the blue warp tiles are activated.  I recommend
  having a bunch of healing capsules and hopefully you still have some bottles
  with the healing elixir left. Working your way through the tiles leads to the
  side-scroll stage...this is the toughest one yet.
  -this is what you need to do to get the statues to all go grey:
   =touch statue 5 normally to make it turn grey
   =touch statue 1 with your sword un-equipped to " "
   =touch statue 2 with your armor un-equipped to " "
   =touch statue 3 with your shield un-equipped to " "
   =touch statue 6 with no item equipped to " "
   =touch statue 4 with any 'equip' spaces empty to " "
    (in this case, touch means 'talk')

 =Area 8
  -a very mounatinous world. Weapons get pricey so make sure you have lots of
  spare gems.
  -there are a number of 'slave farms' along with slaves, traders, and fields
  and houses for each.
  -you can get keys to get into the overseer's and slaves houses.
  -Pyrra's house is at the far north. You will have to scale the wall.
  Try going up in a diagonal zig-zag motion to avoid falling rocks.
  -lots of ladders, boarded up mine? entrances, starting at church
  there is a house east with an old man/girl ne(EOM), cemetary east, blocked
  entrance just ne of church, house after scalable cliffs nw(HSC),
  slaves/traders sw, 2 sets of slaves (SH1)(SH2) traders(T) and an blocked
  path(BP), large building west(LBW), 2 small cabins attached just south of
  LBW.  Items are expensive but worth having and leveling up.
  -lots of back and forth between areas, particularly 'traders'/'slaves' and the
  east old man with girl NNE(EOM)
  -get key at scalable cliffs use at desk or bookcase in HSC, access HSC with
  ladders. Lots of back and forth...2nd time at EOM you should get what looks
  like apiece of cloth...pay the bucks to enter the slave/trader area..
  Eventually you can access each desk in the overseer
  room of those 'slave' homes.  You could always enter that room but nothing
  much happened, eventually after trying all sorts of stuff with/without
  weapons, when tried to access the overseer room in the 'slave' house closest
  to the church. I was warped to the 'traders' house.
  Should the piece of cloth and 2 keys.  The man at EOM forges them for you I
  believe.
  -After that and having the keys mentioned above, I could access each
  desk(only once) in both 'slave' homes, when you do you don't get an item
  just text. I don't believe the keys were used yet, just that the particular
  event has taken place
  -after that you need to talk to the slaves in the homes...I did it getting
  caught and without getting caught, after they march back, wait till they enter
  and the overseer is out of sight, talk to all slaves...if morning arrives
  while your still in their you will be warped back to the 'traders' house..you
  have just about enough time to get the info you want and get out...I did it
  both ways, not sure if that's necessary, also talked to them in the fields
  after...then go to the EOM, get item, then go to the W end to
  the man blocking path at bottom of ladder, give item and you can then pass by.
  -explore west side...go to LBW, event, party breaks up. talk all, this
includes
  slaves both at night and in fields. go to EOM..get bottle. This bottle will
  put 2 traders T asleep...the go to HSC..get what item (looks like grapes)
  Back to T, give item and while he is out of building go to his bed...get
  item, when he returns you get ring.
  -give ring to 2-114 at west most slave house SH2. Back to LBW and reform
party.
  Now go to mine south of LBW, open entrance, talk all. Visit store...text
  exchange, then go to EOM. Talk all...back to west mine. Then visit the
  left most grave in cemetary, new text. Back to EOM, talk girl, event, then
  talk all again.
  -things have now changed... back to T need to pay bucks to enter again. Talk
  all...talk all slaves again, particularly SH2, continue west..explore all here
  eventually, back to EOM...event, he leaves. I explored and talked to everyone
  again while looking for him, he is now at back of cemetary..event..enter and
  and explore. Their are trapdoor floors and hidden passages.

 =Area 9
  -Extremely linear and easy area here.
  -not many people to talk to, just continue to talk w/everyone again and
  again and you'll make steady progress.
  -not much of significant difficulty, this area is primarily a action/
  fighting type stage.

 =Area 10
 -Desert land.
 -You'll need to interact with a # of characters, some only at night
 (roof top-left). The land is layed out like this...
 -a town plus 4 pyramids in a diamond shape with 4 stones in the middle
 of the diamond.  A simple representation follows:
 -T is the town, X is a pyramid, and each space is roughly a playable section.
 The area outside of the diamond is a wasteland with no apparent borders. The
 area inside has your usual enemies.

          X
        T
       X  +  X
            y
          X

 Once you get an amulet/chestplate? you should be able to move the statues in
 front of the pyramid entrances.  At some point you will need to enter the
 pyramids.  Ensure you talk to everyone, particularly it appears the
 kids/students on the 2nd floor, left most room(library?)
 Entrance to pyramids require all 8 statues face in the compass direction of the
 one you wish to enter. ex...all 8 need to face right/east to enter the
 east/right most pyramid.  Once  mini-boss's are defeated and you get the harp.
 talk to all in town. You need to free Argos and your party has
 to form into 5 members.  Once the 4 adventurers leave you'll need to go find
 them. They will be located on a border square(y) roughly between the s/e
 pyramids. It's a wasteland square.  Just outside of the diamond.  Talk to them
 and wait till sunset...their should be a large shadow moving from east to west,
 an event will ocurr to take you to a new area.

 =Area 11
  -the floating ship/continent above area 10.
  -The main teleport(MTM) room is layed out like this:

           X5        X1

           X4        X2

                X3

  -The order I went in is X3,X2,X1. After freeing and talking to angels? You'll
 be allowed access to X4,X5  Eventually you'll find X3 no longer accessable, X5
 has a chest you cannot open, X4 has an area you cannot access. Similar to how
 one was denied access in X2,X1 previously.  Go to the locked door above
the MTM.
 Interact with one of the columns, top-right.  Then go to X5's locked chest, get
 item.  Back to MTM, interact to get access again to X3...go to X3 finish up and
 get item..back to MTM and then go to X4 too finish area.  Back to MTM, # of
 events ocurr and eventually you get a gold sword. Take the gold sword to the
 blue gem in X3.  Now it's back to the locked door...'open sesame'...event
 ocurr's ..reform and it's off to the side-scroll portion.

 =Area 12
 -The final area.
 -Area 12 is the huge 32-level tower of which a map is included in the game.
 -The map infinitely helpful, and even with it the area is quite a challenge.
 -I'm not going to put much info here, as there is little to no dialogue that
 goes on in this area...it's just you and your wits. Lots of cool and innovative
 puzzles will have to be solved on the way to the top.
 -Full exploration is definitely not necessary, you can omit much of the tower
 and still finish the level.
 -One thing to note however, try and 'talk' to the pedestals with the angels
 on them; they serve as warp points from B1 to each completed floor. This may
 not be readily obvious.

III.---------------------------------------------------
3. Miscellany.

 -Debug mode for Xanadu
  -choose the second option by holding SELECT and pressing RUN.
  -continue to hold both buttons until the game begins and you hear a chime.
  -you'll be at the beginning of the game. Walk E and you will see a large
  group of signs arranged as follows. Reading the signs will cause various
  things to happen:

    /------------this one seems to make a save file of the debug and resets.
XXX XXXXXXXX <---the 8th one shows you all the cinemas in order*
 \-------------these 3 only have messages on them.
XXXXXXXXXXXX \
              \
XXXXXXXXXXXX -->--these three start you off at different points in the game+
              /
XXXXXXXXXXXX /


* the 7th one lets you play only the action scenes, in order. The 2nd through
  the 6th ones show different cinemas.
+ The first row of the three always starts off with that level's cinema. The
1st one puts you at the very beginning, the 12th one puts you at the end, etc.
The next two follow the same pattern, except the second one doesn't show you
the cinema, and the third (bottommost) one lets you only play the action
scenes associated with the corresponding 'level'.


IV.-----------------------------------------------------
4. Contributors.

Legend Of Xanadu FAQ
Composed, Compiled, And Collated by Ara Shirinian (shir@wam.umd.edu)

Many thanks to marcoux@star.enet.dec.com, who supplied much of the text.