Tower of Druaga
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Designer(s)	Masanobu Endoh
Release date(s)	1984
Genre(s)	Maze
Mode(s)	Up to 2 players, alternating turns
Cabinet	Upright, cabaret, and cocktail
Arcade system(s)	Namco Super Pac-Man
CPU(s)	2x M6809 @ 1.536 MHZ
Sound chip(s)	Namco
Video resolution	224 x 288
Monitor	Raster
Input	4-way joystick; 1 button
Ports	Appears on Namco Museum Volume 3

The Tower of Druaga is an arcade game released by Namco in 1984. It runs on Namco Super Pac-Man hardware but with a video system like that used in Mappy. It was later ported to the MSX, Famicom and TurboGrafx-16 platform. Although Tower of Druaga is still very popular in Japan, many Americans dislike the game, due to its overwhelming difficulty. Image File history File links The Tower of Druaga (c) 06/1984 Namco This image shows The Tower of Druaga in Floor 2. ... A video game developer is a software developer (a business or an individual) that creates computer or video games. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... Video game publishers are companies that publish video games that they have either developed internally or have had developed by a video game developer. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... A game designer is a person who designs games. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... This is a listing of computer and video game genres with brief descriptions and examples from each genre. ... This arcade cabinet, containing Centipede, is an upright. ... An arcade system board is a standardized printed circuit board or group of printed circuit boards that are used as the basis for multiple arcade games with very similar hardware requirements. ... The Namco 8-bit Super Pac-Man arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1982. ... CPU redirects here. ... A sound chip is an integrated circuit (i. ... Look up Video in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Image resolution describes the detail an image holds. ... Nineteen inch (48 cm) CRT computer monitor A computer display, monitor or screen is a computer peripheral device capable of showing characters and/or still or moving images generated by a computer and processed by a graphics card. ... Suppose the smiley face in the top left corner is an RGB bitmap image. ... For other uses, see Joystick (disambiguation). ... In computer science, porting is the adaptation of a piece of software so that it will function in a different computing environment to that for which it was originally written. ... Namco Museum refers to the series of compilations released by Namco for various 32-bit and above consoles, containing releases of their games from the 1980s. ... Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Namco 8-bit Super Pac-Man arcade system board was first used by Namco in 1982. ... Mappy is a 1983 arcade game by Namco. ... MSX official logo Sony MSX 1, Model HitBit-10-P MSX is the name of a standard for home computers in the 1980s. ... The Nintendo Entertainment System (U.S., Europe, and Australia) NES redirects here. ... For information on the Japanese version of this console, see PC Engine The TurboGrafx 16 is a video game console released by NEC in 1989, for the North American market. ...

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of the hero Gilgamesh (also known as Gil), whose goal is to rescue the maiden Ki (pronounced "Kai") from the demon Druaga. In order to do this, he must traverse through 60 floors of an immense tower. Each floor consists of a randomly generated maze filled with monsters, and a locked door leading to the next level. The player must navigate through the maze in order to find a key that unlocks the door. In addition, each floor contains a hidden treasure, which appears once the player has performed a specific requirement. Some of the treasures contain merely helpful items, while some contain items essential to completing the game. Gilgamesh comes equipped with a sword, which he can use to defeat monsters, and a shield, which can be used to block magical attacks. The monsters get progressively more difficult as the game progresses, beginning with simple slimes and culminating with Druaga himself. According to the Sumerian king list, Gilgamesh was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The following regular enemies are: slimes, magicians, ghosts, knights, lizard men, ropers (which look like huge blobs with tentacles), and dragons. Tentacles can refer to the elongated flexible organs that are present in many invertebrates, and sometimes to the hairs of the leaves of some insectivorous plants. ...

In the third Namco Museum game, there is a small handbook telling how to get the treasures. There is also a hidden version far more difficult than the regular. The treasures (save the first one) are all alternated in how to get. In the museum's library, there are three books containing illustrations of the game's characters.

Tips and Hints

• Gilgamesh can block the spells from the front. If the sword is drawn, spells can only be blocked from the left.
• Some will-o-wisp will come out when the time is running out. On higher floors, they can appear from the start.
• In the Namco Museum version, after the player loses, as long as they have credits (many might be recommended) they can hold down the Square button and press Start and a screen saying Select Start Floor will appear. Then the player can choose a floor and continue without starting over from the bottom. In the arcade version this can be accomplished by holding down the sword button while pressing the one player button within thirty seconds after the previous game is over.
• If a ghost crosses over the player, the player doesn't lose a life. The only way a ghost can kill the player is if its spells hit the player.
• Ropers are classified by their tentacle color (i.e. blue ropers have blue tentacles).
• There are four types of spells: white spells are produced by mages, mage ghosts, and red slimes; red spells by sorcerers; blue spells by druids, druid ghosts, and blue slimes; and green spells by wizards, wizard ghosts, dark green slimes, and Druaga. All spells can also be produced by dark yellow slimes.
  • White spells are regular spells. They stop if they hit a wall.
  • Red spells create a small fire.
  • Blue spells break down walls (except outside walls).
  • Green spells are the most annoying, and can go through walls.
• Don't leave the 59th without killing Druaga, or (on the 60th floor) killing Ishtar or Ki, or using the pickax; if you do any of these, you will go to an earlier floor. Therefore, on the 60th floor, it is best if the player does not swing the sword at all.

Sequels

Several sequels were later made, further chronicling the feats of Gilgamesh and Ki. These were:

• The Return of Ishtar (1986) - Arcade, MSX2
• The Quest of Ki (1988) - NES
• The Blue Crystal Rod (1994) - SNES
• Seme COM Dungeon: Drururuaga (2000) - Game Boy Color
• The Nightmare of Druaga (2004) - PlayStation 2

The sequels were not as successful as the first game (although Return of Ishtar came very close). Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A video arcade (known as an amusement arcade in the United Kingdom) is a place where people play arcade video games. ... MSX2 may refer to: The second generation of the MSX home computers Homeo box homolog 2 Protein This article consisting of a 4-letter acronym or initialism is a disambiguation page — a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... The Quest of Ki is a game released by Namco for the NES in 1988. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nes is: A municipality in the county of Akershus in Norway, see Nes, Akershus. ... 1994 (MCMXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated like the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal. // Events January Bill Clinton January 1 : North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect. ... The European SNES design is identical to the Super Famicom. ... This article is about the year 2000. ... The Game Boy Color came in a myriad of different colors, as did earlier incarnations of the Game Boy. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The PlayStation 2 (PS2) (Japanese: プレイステーション2) is Sonys second video game console, the successor to the PlayStation and the predecessor to the PlayStation 3 (which is not to be released until November 2006). ...

The Return of Ishtar

It picks up where Tower of Druaga left off, and was released on the fourth Namco Museum game. The player controls two characters: Ki as well as Gilgamesh. It can also be noted in this game that Ki is a warrior, not a damsel in distress like many people believe. The tower now has a few different ways to exit, and the aggregate total of levels is 128 (covering the 60-floor tower).

In the fourth Namco Museum game, you control Ki with the directional pad and Gilgamesh with the buttons. Because the latter draws his sword whenever an enemy is near, it is recommended by most that you mainly control Ki. There is also a small handbook included which shows you passwords and floor maps that make it easier to win.

The Quest of Ki

It is basically a prequel to Tower of Druaga. See the Quest of Ki article for more explanation. The Quest of Ki is a game released by Namco for the NES in 1988. ...

The Blue Crystal Rod

The least well-known of the sequels, this picks up where Return of Ishtar left off and is the final game in the Tower of Druaga series, according to Namco.

The Nightmare of Druaga

This game is set three years after the original Tower of Druaga tetrology. In it, Ki and Gilgamesh are about to be married, however, Ki is kidnapped by an evil sorceress, Skulld, and Gilgamesh has to save her again. The game is known for its unforgiving difficulty, as death in the game results in losing all your items and half your gold. In terms of actual gameplay, this game actually has more in common with the Mysterious Dungeon series (see third paragraph).

In this game, Ishtar (who is good-natured in earlier games) is portrayed as bossy, and whoever resets the game gets yelled at by her for "meddling with the flow of time".

Nightmare was not made by Namco, but by two other companies called Arika and ChunSoft. It was far less successful than the prior games, and was even given a low rating in a video game magazine. This game is the fifth in the "Druaga series" (not counting "Drururuaga"), and the eighth in the aforementioned Mysterious Dungeon series. Arika is a video game developer. ...

Seme COM Dungeon: Drururuaga

This game is placed about 100 years after the original Druaga timeline and stars Gilsh, a descendant of Gilgamesh. Gameplay is best described as a dungeon-building capture the flag with collectible cards. Use cards to equip your character with weapons and spells, and to populate your dungeon with monsters. Then battle against an opponent and his dungeon (AI or link cable). Enter opponent's dungeon via linked teleporters, find the three keys to unlock the crystal, and return it to your home base before your he does the same. Success yields additional cards. Each item or monster is highly specialized, allowing for different strategic combos. Features many Namco cameos, such as Soul Calibur's Nightmare and the sword Soul Edge, Valkyrie, Pac Man, and even enemies from Dig Dug. Namco is a company based in Japan, best known for developing video games. ... Soul Calibur is the second game in the Soul series of fighting games developed and produced by Namco, consisting of Soul Edge (Soul Blade in the US), Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, and Soul Calibur III. Originally an arcade game, Soul Calibur was ported and released for the Sega Dreamcast... Pac-Man (or Puckman) is an arcade game developed by Namco and licensed for distribution by Midway and was first released in 1980. ... Dig Dug is an arcade game released by Namco in 1982. ...

Trivia

• The original is actually one of the first games of its kind.
• The names of the characters come from Mesopotamian mythology.
• The enemy that looks like Ishtar on the 57th floor is actually a succubus. In the original game, the succubus dies in one hit, but in Tales of Destiny, she is very hard to defeat.
• The tower is apparently made of bricks, and in some pictures of the tower it appears to be red or lead-encased.
• The series has been often referenced in other Namco games.
  • Ropers have appeared in many different games, from Tales of Symphonia to Guardian Heroes.
  • In Tales of Phantasia much of the equipment used by Gilgamesh could be obtained.
  • Tales of Destiny contained an optional dungeon based directly off of the original Tower of Druaga (but with different treasures).
  • In Tales of Symphonia, the equipment used by Gilgamesh could be obtained, and the character Zelos could gain a special title by wearing it.
  • Tales of the World: Narikiri Dungeon 3 also contains a variation of the dungeon. The game also contains costumes for Gilgamesh, Ki and Druaga which allows the heroes to become them in battle, and wearing the Gilgamesh costume is necessary to access the dungeon in the first place.
  • In Tales of Legendia, one of the "Rare Monsters" that you can find and battle is the Quox, the dragon enemies from the Druaga games.
  • Mr. Driller: Drill Land has 5 worlds and one of them is called Hole of Druaga featuring Mr_Driller game with RPG elements.
  • Mr. Driller Ace featured two levels named after Druaga characters: the "Druaga Ruins" and the "Quox Ruins".
  • Several characters from the series appear in Namco X Capcom
  • In Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean, the Tower of Druaga makes an appearance as a puzzle in Mira, complete with slimes and tools.
  • Japanese gamers that pre-ordered Baten Kaitos also got a bonus disc containing the Famicom version of the original Tower of Druaga.
  • In Soul Calibur 2, one of Sophitia's alternate costumes was based off of Ki's design. In addition, one of her weapon sets was the Blue Crystal Rod and Blue Line Shield, equipment formerly used by Gilgamesh and Ki. The Red Crystal Rod and Red Line Shield are also available as bonus weapons for Cassandra.
  • The song "Taiko March" in the game Taiko: Drum Master is comprised of music from several Namco games, including the Tower of Druaga.
• In Final Chao Tactics, a soon to made RPG,

there is a mini dungeon very like Tower of Druaga. // The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μυθος mythos, a story or legend, and λογος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... Ishtar (Arabic: عشتار) is the Assyrian counterpart to the Sumerian Inanna and to the cognate northwest Semitic goddess Astarte. ... A bracket carved as a winged succubus on the outside of an English inn, suggesting that a brothel could have been found inside. ... Tales of Symphonia ) is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2. ... Guardian Heroes was a 2D side-scrolling, beat em up video game in the vein of Double Dragon. ... Tales of Phantasia (or sometimes Tales of Fantasia) (Japanese: テイルズ オブ ファンタジア, Teiruzu obu Fantajia ) is a Super Famicom game in the RPG genre published by Namco and released in 1995. ... Tales of Destiny (Japanese: テイルズ オブ デスティニー , Teiruzu obu Desutinî ) is a video game in the RPG genre published for the Playstation console by Namco on 23 December 1997 in Japan. ... Tales of Symphonia ) is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2. ... Tales of Symphonia ) is a video game first released for the Nintendo GameCube and later for the PlayStation 2. ... Tales of Legendia (Japanese: テイルズ オブ レジェンディア, Teiruzu obu Rejendia ) is an RPG for the PlayStation 2 video game console. ... Mr Driller is a series of games developed by Namco. ... Namco x Capcom (ナムコ クロス カプコン) is a turn-based strategy game featuring characters from games produced by video game companies Namco and Capcom, and developed by Monolith Soft. ... Baten Kaitos Categories: Computer and video game stubs | GameCube games | 2004 computer and video games ... Soul Calibur is the second game in the Soul series of fighting games developed and produced by Namco, consisting of Soul Edge (Soul Blade in the US), Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II, and Soul Calibur III. Originally an arcade game, Soul Calibur was ported and released for the Sega Dreamcast... Taiko: Drum master (U.S. title) or Taiko no tatsujin (太鼓の達人;　Taiko master) is a drumming game for arcade and PlayStation 2. ...