Battle Hunter

Battle Hunter (released in Japan as *Battle Sugoroku: Hunter* and in Europe as *Battle Hunter*) is a tactical role-playing game with an anime visual style, launched for the PlayStation in 1999. In Japan, it was part of the budget-oriented SuperLite 1500 series. The player controls a hunter who must outdo three other hunters to claim a relic, with gameplay relying heavily on dice rolls and movement across a tile-based grid.

**Story** After a major world war, the few remaining scientists work on a formula to prevent human extinction. They need crucial data from ruined cities, so they assign the task to an elite group called the Hunters. The player takes jobs from a shop owner to retrieve relics from dungeons. Eventually, the player faces off against a secret organization known as B PHS for the target relics.

**Gameplay** The core activity is hunting and retrieving relics inside a dungeon shown as a randomly generated grid. Four hunters are always present; any not controlled by a player are run by the computer. Before entering, the player receives a mission to find a key relic hidden in one of the dungeon’s treasure boxes. Other boxes hold different relics, but only the key relic is needed to complete the mission. The player has three basic actions: moving, attacking, and resting (which restores two cards and a quarter of the hunter’s Hit Points).

**Character Development** When creating a hunter, players get 11 initial ability points to distribute among Movement, Attack, Defense, and Hit Points. Raising stats works as follows: spending 3 points on Movement increases it by 1; 1 point on Attack raises it by 1; 2 points on Defense raises it by 1; and 1 point on Hit Points raises the maximum by 3. Each time the hunter gains a level, they earn 1 Hit Point plus the stat boost from the points spent.

**Cards** Each hunter starts with 5 cards drawn randomly from a deck of 100. All players can always see each other’s hands. Cards are color-coded by effect type. Blue and Yellow cards work both on the map and in combat; Red cards only in combat; Green cards only on the map. - **Blue cards** affect movement. Values range from +1 to +3, plus an E card (only one in the deck). On the map, they increase movement range for that round; an E card warps the hunter directly to the exit. In combat, they improve escape chance for one round; an E card guarantees escape.