Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, published in 1994, is the first of two arcade games created by Capcom based on the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop role-playing game and set in the Mystara campaign setting. It is a side scrolling beat ‘em up with role-playing video game elements for one to four players. The game was also released on the Sega Saturn, packaged with its sequel, Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, under the title Dungeons & Dragons Collection, although the Saturn version limited the gameplay to only two players. In 2013, both games were re-released for PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 and Wii U as Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara.

Gameplay

Tower of Doom is a side-scrolling arcade game with four playable characters (cleric, dwarf, elf, fighter) and classic Dungeons & Dragons monsters as enemies. Bosses include a troll that regenerates unless burned, a large black dragon, the dreaded Shadow Elf (Mystara’s equivalent of the drow), a beholder, the optional superboss Flamewing (a great wyrm red dragon) and the final boss Deimos (an archlich). At various points in the game, the players are presented with a choice of paths to take to continue progress. Each path goes to a different area, and it is impossible to visit every area during a single playthrough. Gameplay is more technical than the average beat ‘em up game. In addition to the usual basic attacks and jumping, it includes blocking, strong attacks, turning attacks, dashing attacks, crouching and evading. It also requires the use of careful tactics, as most enemies have the same abilities as the heroes and a longer range. Daggers, hammers, arrows and burning oils can be used as throwing weapons, and many enemies have similar weapons. Spells can be used via magical rings or by the two spellcasters (a cleric and an elf).

Plot

The Republic of Darokin in Mystara is under a terrible siege as the number of monsters and their attacks rise. A group of four adventurers step forth to rescue various areas, then are sent by the merchant lord Corwyn Linton to investigate the attacks, revealed to be masterminded by the Arch Lich Deimos. The adventurers eventually make their way to Deimos’ Tower of Doom and ultimately destroy him.

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