The Tower of Druaga
1984 · Action RPG · Arcade
Overview
The Tower of Druaga (1984) is Masanobu Endō's arcade maze game, in which the knight Gilgamesh climbs 60 floors to rescue Ki, uncovering treasures hidden behind deliberately obscure conditions.
Deep Dive
The knight Gilgamesh climbs 60 floors of a tower to rescue the maiden Ki from Druaga, an eight-armed, four-legged demon who means to enslave mankind with the Blue Crystal Rod. Each floor holds a key that opens the door to the next, guarded by slimes, knights, wizards, ghosts that pass through walls and dragons. Every floor also hides a treasure, such as a pickaxe, speed boots or a candle, revealed by a secret task like defeating certain enemies or entering a joystick code — and some are needed to finish the game. A time limit releases indestructible Will-o-Wisps.
Developer Story
Masanobu Endō, creator of Xevious, designed the game after buying Dungeons & Dragons on a trip to North America, and Junko Ozawa composed the music. Namco released it in Japan in June 1984 on Mappy hardware, and it began the Babylonian Castle Saga, continued by The Return of Ishtar (1986).
Did You Know?
- Endō described it as a "fantasy Pac-Man"; the 60 floors were inspired by Sunshine 60, then Asia's tallest building.
- It is credited with influencing Ys, Hydlide, Dragon Slayer and The Legend of Zelda, and with getting players to share tips and guidebooks.
- Eurogamer called the 2009 Wii release "diabolically obtuse".
Sources & further reading
- The Tower of Druaga — Wikipedia
