Having a lot of fun with this, and on my Windows Phone no less. It's a great mix of old and new (as in, Bradley's fur-o-mania and classes spliced with the random attribute gain/loss per level, older spells and simple but maniacal floor layout that seems to add to the compulsion), and while I've already explored the four areas, I've only ventured deep into the first tower and everyone in the party has just reached level 11 with some very nice loot (Best Plates, Night Capes, Bec de Corbins, etc).
It seems well paced, too. Sure, it gently eases you into its friendly first floors then drops "goddamn-a-floating-sword-just-beheaded-my-dward!" moments on you, but these are interspersed with tiny yet tangible in-betweens (the snappy combat, the sudden realization that your Thief can sense fake walls and pick door locks, the creeping notion that some NPCs may have a story of their own - I'm eager to know who that strange Lamia-like creature is but she always runs away the moment I cross the door...). And the level ups can be quite generous and more spiteful as well: my Lizardman Samurai once gained 40 HPs but no stat increases.
So far, some shenanigans include:
I like the enemy party compositions, following a "leader and helper" set. Even when they grow predictable, there's always something there to keep it demanding, like how they switch front and back rows per round (harder when dealing with three distinct groups). Sometimes I feel I've only begun scratching the surface of what some enemies do, like a sorceress of sorts who keep summoning creatures to help, from imps to feather demons who rain electrodeath on the party. I've yet to see her summon the same type of enemy twice.
The variety's also nice. Whether one likes the stylized clash between a ghostly, feudal Japan and Dracon Warlords or not, the result's well played nonetheless, and it has no problem throwing horse-riding Daimyos at you followed by tiny Zombie Alchemists, Weasels or Ninja Dogs.
The unvisited part of the map was where my leading Fighter was killed. A sword inside a cross shaped room was hovering and rotating upon itself. The "Search" command seems to give more info on surroundings and events, so I let my curiosity take the better of me. I got a "Sword?" and a dead Dwarf. Unfortunately, my only Bishop is level 1, back at the roster, so I wasn't able to identify it...
But when I got out, the sword vanished from my inventory and I got this instead: a congratulatory remark and 10,000GP (I guess my Dwarf missed the party). This also seems to trigger a warning on the two other areas, like so:
Maybe it was related to the overall quest, but I'd have to parse through Richard's translated documents to see where it fits - and I'd rather wait for a much finely translated experience. Speaking of items, I'm happily stumped with stuff like Oger (sp) and Smile Masks (random drops which I can't sell), Statue of Bird, Statue of House, Tea Cup, and Feeds. I had a Kimono once, but found that I could give it to a woman on one of the first tower's upper floors. No screenshot of that unfortunately, but she let me pass into a room with a switch. Now I also have no idea what to do regarding the four paitings in one of the floors, which seem based on seasons and show some idyllic scene (a bird, a rabbit in the snow - and the statues don't do anything there, either).
This has been my recent "nightmare" in turns of exploration. It's the basement of the first tower, only accessible so far by reaching the top floor, going through a center room with knotted sheets and pulling them - one reveals a chute into an area below, into another area with another chute, and so on, etc. The basement's rife with higher-level enemies (and more numerous per encounter as well), and more strangeness. I've gotten the Masks as random drops here, along with several funky events: a cauldron with a sticky, red goo bubbling in it; a jailer who asked me for 10,000GP (for which I presumed was a chance to visit the cells behind him, but I chose to slay him and still got the Key, anyway); some event object I can't divine but seems like two slabs on top of each other, for no apparent purpose; and a giant, kabuki-like face preventing me from exploring the lower center area, which is covered in darkness.
Fun times!