Part 1
First things first, let's watch a movie:Intro - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms-fT3YEVSU
(
music here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDe8AIrwNW4)
Bet you didn't hear about this in your English classes: Robin Hood dicking around with mustachioed arrow-throwing swamp monsters! Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the nonsensical iceberg.
Anyway, let's go ahead and start the game.
Arab Dungeons, Sunset.
(Arab Dungeons: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nYN...feature=related)
So yeah, we're kind of... here, for some reason. Robin Hood, our main character, is the guy at the very bottom who appears to be fully nude. Directly above him is what appears to be a lumberjack threatening a pregnant woman. Let's investigate!
Why, that's no pregnant woman at all! That's Robin's best friend! Let's see if we can't persuade the guard to stop... er, whatever he's doing to our buddy.
- 
Oh no! If only we had some way to help our friend! A loose stone or a cleverly crafted shiv or...
...Wait a second.
Hmm...
...Hmmmmmmm...
...I've got an idea!
- Robin Slice!
Without a second's delay, we murder the hapless guard.
So the pixellated MacGuyver is our friend, Peter. And, by process of elimination, the vaguely Asian looking guy with the enormous neck is Robin. We'll get into the party mechanics soon, but there's something more important first.
Looting corpses!
Any time you find a body lying on the floor, you should go into your menu and see if they're hiding anything on their person.
The menu options are pretty basic. Talk won't be used much, and is self-explanatory. Look gives you an idea of your surroundings, and if there's something interesting nearby it will remark as such. For example:
Robin Hood is in an Arab Prison. You see some remains nearby.
It'll also indicate if an enemy or item is close by.
Search is a little more specific. By getting close to the corpse and selecting Search, you get a happy fanfare, as well as:
Robin Hood finds a hidden door key.
Going back up to Take will allow you to grab items nearby.
Robin Hood grasps the door key.
You can also skip the "Take" option if an item is already out in the open and press either A or B to grab it automatically, provided you have the space in your inventory.
Did I say inventory? I sure did!
(Player Menu: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7C2...feature=related)
There's a lot of information here, but it's not too complicated. The mannequin on the top left is the character's equipment, as well as their options for examining, eating, using, dropping, or picking up objects. Yes, there's three different ways to pick up objects in this game. There's also the map, which is fairly good at confusing you.
Inventory is on the bottom left. Other than what they have equipped on their person, a character can carry six individual items. Most basic healing/key items and such weigh one "unit". While each character has a different Load allotment, Robin averages out at 50. Neither gold nor arrows contribute to your Load, so grab as much of both as you like.
Argh, stats.
Robin Hood and company start out at level 1. Each subsequent level takes a bit more experience; nothing new there. Your weapons determine your Attack (The slash separates each hand, and in fact you can use one weapon in each hand provided it doesn't require both to function), any armor you equip determines Defense, and your Agility is inversely proportional to your Load. Basically, the lighter your load, the faster you'll move. Since Robin will almost always be the character in control, it's not a bad idea to make sure his Agility is pretty good.
Hit Points are kind of a wild card in that you never know your max until you can't heal yourself anymore. Robin starts level 1 with 100 HP, which is fairly standard.
Make sense? Maybe not? Let's keep going and maybe it'll sink in.
Hmm, another prisoner. Looks like Robin is the only person on the honor system here.
- Why should I trust you?
Sometimes the game throws you Yes/No choices that are largely rhetorical. Obviously, we can't leave the prison without this guy, so let's get him unchained.
- Thank you, my friend. I am Azeem! There is a secret passage under the floor at the southeast corner! 
And so, Azeem joins the party. Finally, someone who isn't half hidden in shadow or the wrong ethnicity!
Party members have their own stats, equipment, and inventories too. While everyone can be healed up to about the same max HP as Robin, their Load and Agility are different. As you can tell, Peter is pretty much terrible, whereas Azeem is only a step below Robin in quality.
True to his word, Azeem hid a key in the nearby cell. Who's that knocking on the door there?
Fight!
Robin Versus Axeman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVoPeXIsytU
(Duel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9p0...feature=related)
Not sure where the table came from, but welcome to the second fighting mode of Robin Hood! In this mode, you duel with another enemy until one of you falls. The enemy's HP in the upper right is preset, but yours (The white tallies on the upper left) depends on both your current level and the amount you had before the fight. In other words, Robin should almost always be kept at or near full HP in preparation for duels, since he's the only one who fights in them.
The controls are slightly clunky, but simple. Pressing A performs a jump; if you hold up while pressing A, you can do a somersault for slightly higher altitude.
B is your basic thrust, and pretty much the only move you have for damaging the enemy.
Holding down allows you to duck, and is a lifesaver. You can also jump over the enemy's attack, but it's hard to pull off. Pushing left or right while down allows you to roll in the corresponding direction, which is useful for approaching the enemy without opening yourself to attack.
Since the guard can only swing his axe (He does this from one to three times in succession), the strategy is simple: Get to the same area as him, duck constantly, and only attack after he's finished swinging. He's not difficult unless you fight too aggressively, in which case he can take you out.
With another, slightly different fanfare, Robin emerges victorious!
Also, good lord that looked painful.
Robin Hood discovers a secret passage!
Searching near this portion of the final room in the prison reveals the secret passage Azeem mentioned. Although you can get this far without him, the secret passage won't reveal itself unless he's in your party.
This is already a pretty meaty introduction. Let's end it here. Tune in next time for the Catacombs!
Videos:
Intro - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ms-fT3YEVSU
Robin Versus Axeman - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVoPeXIsytU