It's better to save your money for buying keys. Most weapons and armor can be found out in the world and the most powerful of them won't be found in any shop (save one). Think long and hard about buying weapons or armor. You should find a Knight Sword which is much more powerful than the dagger or the short word you'll pass along the way.

Go behind the waterfall and search the ground near the skull lock in the back while avoiding the skeletons. Right at the start, go left past the Kraken then go right after the bridge. Once you've gained your first decent equipment loadout and some levels you'll find the biggest problem is really the shitty in-game maps. Devs hadn't started putting the system through its paces like we'd see in games during the mid and waning years of its run.

Despite this, I think most of its flaws are forgivable given that it effectively a PSX launch title in the US. Want to explore this part of the island? Tough shit, here's a bunch of OP skeletons and another one hiding in the chest.

It retains some jank (slow down, grainy textures, hilariously bad Engrish translation, etc.) and the difficulty spikes are ridiculous. I personally love it and have completed it multiple times but I can see where others may not click with it as you put it. You're not really missing anything in terms of plot, either, as you can easily read the first portion of the Verdite Chronicle translation to get a synopsis. I'd dive into that only for completion's sake. It's janky as hell and highly demanding of the player. King's Field (J) is primitive by even the standards of the day. Each of the games iterates off the last one.

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