Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom Longplay (Arcade) [60 FPS]

Developed and published by Capcom in 1993.

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It has to be said that one does not generally associate role-playing games as the sort of entertainment to be found in your local amusement arcade, but Capcom somehow managed the impossible with this exceptional hybrid fighting game.

Set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, the cabinet supports four-player simultaneous co-op where each player selects a character based on one of four archetypal RPG classes. The objective of the game is to journey across the land on a quest to locate the Sable Tower and to destroy Arch Lich Deimos, who is threatening to overrun the land with evil.

The game possesses many features unique to a game that is essentially a beat 'em up at it's core, the most prevalent of these being the RPG component.

The ability to select from multiple characters in a game was nothing new at the time, but for each character to have their own skill sets, strengths and weaknesses as shown here was unlike anything that had been seen before in an arcade game. For example, the Fighter class possesses the greatest range and attack power, but has no access to spells, whilst the Cleric not only has decent melee capabilities but can also heal and cast spells. Unlike Golden Axe where the character differences are largely cosmetic, there are palpable differences between the characters in this game.

The game features multiple branching paths on many of the stages, which means that the game has excellent replayability; each adventure will feel like a different experience. Since it's not possible to back-track, it will take quite a number of play-throughs before you get to see all locations. Additionally, many levels contain secret areas and hidden rooms that contain bonus treasure (or traps) and make the adventure an exciting experience.

As you might expect, the game implements a basic experience system that sees the player increase in power with each character level gained. Experience is gained by defeating monsters, collecting treasure and completing each stage of the game. Should the player complete the level in an especially quick time then a bonus multiplier will increase the total experience gained for completion. As the player's level in increases, so too does their maximum health and this helps considerably in later stages of the game where monsters become tougher and more numerous.

All of the characters share a common combat moves with which to fight enemies. Rapidly tapping the attack button unleashes potent, whilst power attacks can be executed that have the potential to daze the opponent, leaving them open to further attacks. Holding attack and tapping backwards will cause the player to block attacks using their shield, although care should be excised as they will still be vulnerable from the rear. As expected from a Capcom game, the fighting is top-notch and there is a real sense of force when landing blows upon the enemy.

Each player has access to additional weapons, including daggers, throwing hammers, arrows and flasks of burning oil. These situational items are limited to a maximum of nine each, but they can be invaluable in taking out fast-moving or enemies that rely on ranged abilities. Whilst it's possible to find items on the road, there is always the opportunity to replenish stocks of items from the shop that the heroes frequent between levels. Items are purchased using gold found on the corpses of monsters, or from looted chests. Magical items and weapons might also sometimes be found in chests, some of which increase the attack and defence ratings of the player who collects he item.

Capcom were renowned for producing some of the best-looking arcade games and this is no exception. The quality of the artwork and animation on show here is never less than brilliant and helps the game look fresh even in today's world of realistic 3D graphics.

Although the graphics are great, I think that special mention really must go to the audio design team who produced some simply stunning audio for the game. The CPS2 system board boasted some seriously powerful audio processing for it's time and the results can be clearly heard here. The music in the game is a far cry from the FM synthesis found in earlier titles and the digitised speech is crisp and clear.

Having played the game to completion, I really cannot think of any negative points. The game has a great core combat mechanic that is given added depth by the role-playing elements and would have made this a fantastic social experience. Fortunately, Capcom have released both games in the series on Steam and I can wholeheartedly recommend downloading them, especially if you have a friend to play with.
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