Dungeons & Dragons: Tower Of Doom, 1993 Capcom (20 From '93 Part 14)
3Beautiful and fun but overlong and fairly repetitive Final Fight-type of beat-em-up with fantasy characters from the classic Dungeons and Dragons role-playing game. A cool aspect is that you can choose a special weapon with a button and with another fire it. The special weapon can being something like a hammer (you pick up off the ground or defeat enemies to pick them up), or it can be a powerful spell. 4 characters can be chosen (and all can be played at once for simultaneous play): Elf, Cleric, Fighter or Dwarf. The Fighter has the biggest life bar (though all characters can increase it through experience gained at the end of a level), the Cleric is a good mix of strength and spells, the Dwarf is the most powerful, and the Elf has a short weapon but the most damaging spells. Treasure chests can be destroyed or thrown at enemies for items inside (and can sometimes contain hidden dangers!), and coins dropped from them or enemies defeated should DEFINITELY be picked up, as shops you visit after a cleared level have important life-restoring potions for sale, as well as alternate weapons. Some enemies will cause harm to your character that will leave you temporarily prone, like via burning, being stunned, or having a spell cast on you, and you will need to wiggle the joystick to snap out of it. Having to continue means you need to re-register your name, after clearing a level. Cool cut-scenes allow you to interact with various civilians, knights, enemies, etc. One thing that sets this game apart from so many beat-em-ups (beside the D&D theme) is all the ALTERNATE PATHS you can take! There are so many choices to make, not only between levels, but DURING levels-- there will often be doors you can open to go to different areas, where you'll often face different bosses. Very long, but definitely worth tracking down, especially if you like RPGs like Dungeons and Dragons!