This sucks, so I got into the habit of copying my save onto a second memory card :P. There's permi-death and you lose all your gear.
CONS: The difficulty and unforgivingness would turn a lot of people off I think - heck it really turned me off. This challenge grants more satisfaction when you defeat an opponent. your enemies aren't paper - they have just as much fight as you do. This may sound pretty standard, but this game does it the best. Once you get the hang of things IT'S SO FLUID! There's recovery attacks for when you're on the ground, attacks that cover a distance, attacks that have good crowd control, etc. It plays very similar to a 2d arcade fighter (joystick movement > button) which grants versatility. Different swords grant different fighting styles - which are fun to experiment with and see what suits you best. IT WAS A FUN ACTION GAME and they're trying to make it into some fetch-quest crap! The combat feels amazing and fluid - unlike hack-n-slashers, each opponent you face puts you in a state of great focus and concentration as you try to time inputs just right and pull off certain moves in a sequence ALL WHILE CONSIDERING YOUR ENVIRONMENT. Its sequels subtract from the fun and add to the boring. The first installment is - hands down - the best one in the series. There are put-offs, but It has the most solid combat I have ever seen. The first installment is - hands This is truly an underrated gem.