## Description
_Gandhara_ refers to the capital of the Kushan Empire, (today’s Pakistan and
Afghanistan), founded in 1st century BC, whose rulers were Buddhists; it was
one of the most flourishing Buddhist states in history. The story of the game,
however, is based on pure mythology, featuring Buddhist deities in their
distinctly Japanese incarnations. The protagonist is contacted by the
bodhisattva Akasagarbha (known as Kok ūzō in Japan, from the Chinese
Xukongzang), who tells him that the world is in danger: the king of demons is
trying to locate and neutralize the holy Ashes of Buddha, whose power protects
the eight worlds. The hero’s task is to find the ashes and defeat whomever the
king of demons might send to stop him.
One of Enix’s works that were unreleased outside of Japan, _Gandhara_ is an
action RPG with rather simple gameplay mechanics. The player navigates the
hero through hostile top-down areas, fighting constantly respawning enemies
with sword or magical spells. Rations must be bought in order to keep the hero
alive. Defeated enemies grant the protagonist experience points; once a
certain amount of those is accumulated, the hero levels up and grows stronger.
Gandhara: Buddha no Seisen