Did you know that Japan used to be obsessed with Dungeons and Dragons in the mid 80’s through to about the 2000’s? Well, now you do. The now household pop culture behemoth officially came to Japan in 1985 with the translation of the ‘Basic Set’, also known as the ‘red box’, brought into the market by the company Shinwa. Before this official release, some elements of the Western game had started crossing the oceans already. The early 1980s saw imports and translations of games inspired by D&D, with some popular fantasy series Ultima and Wizardry games making their way over. Even beyond the video game market the influence was creeping; 1984 saw the official translation and success of The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, a fantasy ‘gamebook’ (think a choose-your-own-adventure book largely but with some simple character stats and roleplaying mechanics) in the esteemed and long lived Fighting Fantasy series.
Of course, the concept of fantasy games had existed since the arcade days; what I’m referring to is the Western concept of fantasy influencing the Japan market, and at the time the biggest Western fantasy thing was Dungeons and Dragons by a wide margin. To me the ‘Dungeons and Dragons vibe’ is defined by concepts such as character ‘classes’ defining what they can do, the feeling of adventure and exploration being important to the experience, character’s being able to list ‘professional adventurer’ as their occupation, dragons specifically as a common ‘big bad’ enemy, chasing loot and experience through battling monsters and the idea of the game in general of open-ended content collaboratively made through decisions at the table are the mainstays of Dungeons and Dragons. As previously mentioned, in 1985 it officially came to the Japanese market and set in hard.
It wasn't the first tabletop roleplaying game (TTRPG for short) to make its way to Japan; the sci fi spacefaring game Traveller had an official translation in ‘84, and there were some domestic titles such as Road to Lord by Tsukuda Hobby. But it proved to be the biggest. The official Red Box release is estimated to have sold about 100,000 copies within the first year of its release which back in those days for a niche imported TTRPG was selling gangbusters. Within only a few years it proved to be highly influential across a multitude of different avenues. There were serialized ‘session transcripts’ of campaigns published in magazines such as Compatiq which went on to essentially create if not inspire the seminal Japanese novel and anime series Record of Lodoss War.
What else did it go on to influence? Why, Capcom of course. They made three games we're covering in this article; The King of Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom and Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara. Only those last two are actual D&D licensed games if you couldn't tell by the names. That first one is practically IP infringement and is a D&D game in all but name. There are a few other games in Capcom's catalogue worth mentioning, Black Tiger and Magic Sword, but they are more 'inspired' by the Western tabletop and only really have the vibe in their digital hearts rather than the content.
First up, on with the borderline IP infringement.
The King of Dragons: The (Unofficial) Dungeons and Dragons Game
This game is a D&D game in all but official license only. Released in arcades in 1991, it saw some glowing reception. A fairly faithful SNES port followed in ‘94, with the only real difference being obvious visual downgrades and only having two player support as opposed to three players.You play as one of five distinct characters, with each representing a clear cut class from the tabletop game; the class name even sits on the HUD above your health bar. You have the ‘sword and board’ Fighter, the bow wielding Elf, the agile axman Dwarf, the chainmail clad Cleric and the mystical Wizard.
That’s a classic 1st Edition party if I’ve ever seen one.
The game has a simple control scheme following the previous ones; you have a jump button, and you have an attack button. Hitting both together will freeze the action and damage every enemy on screen with a ‘Magic’ attack that's different for each character at the expense of using some of your health. It’s the tried and true triad of beat ‘em up controls.
In addition to the whole ‘class’ thing going on, there is another obvious inspiration from D&D; by killing monsters and bosses your character gains experience and will in fact ‘level up’ after gaining certain amounts, granting you more damage and making you temporarily invincible when you do. It goes without saying that the game was inspired from the tabletop top game on that one. After defeating most of the bosses, they of course explode into coins and gold baubles and a spinning gold chest descends from the heavens and grants you a stronger damage weapon.
One thing about The King of Dragons that once again deserves mentioning is the art direction and character designs, being that they are both incredible. I cannot stress enough how much I love this era of Capcom art and aesthetic design, and this game delivers. This is owed to once again the famous talent of Akiman, but also to a newly hired ‘apprentice’ so to speak of his, and someone who I feel doesn’t get enough attention in Capcom history and game art in general: Kinu Nishimura.
Just look at this art, man. It just oozes style and character. They just don’t make fantasy art like this anymore.
She had done some touch up work on art for Magic Sword, but The King of Dragons was one of the first Capcom games that she had a bigger role in. Hired straight out of university by Akiman who scouted her out, she would go on to have a very illustrious career at the company. Specifically, she was the main character designer on the next two games on this list being the official D&D games (I’m getting there!) and a little game called Street Fighter II: The World Warrior where she worked on several of the character designs. Pretty niche title, surprised anyone heard of it. Once again, credit where credit is due.
You’re welcome, strange talking tree.
To the point of this article: it is essentially an unofficial D&D game in all but branding. You get magic items as loot, you play as distinct character classes, you gain experience to improve your character, and you fight easily identifiable Western fantasy enemies such as orcs, kobolds, skeletons and chimeras. The vibe is entirely on point, seeing your character’s travel across a fantasy land in an ongoing war with said evil monsters as you chase that experience and those magic weapons. All this to say that The King of Dragons is a fantastic game, and you should play it, either the original arcade release or the SNES version.
The vast green of the country stretches before you as the news of the dragon's defeat spreads through the land. The weight on your shoulders has lifted, and in front of the gleaming golden embers of the dragon’s hoard, you finally allow yourself a moment of serenity underneath the rolling clouds. You stand on the cliff edge, deep in thought in your stylish blue robes, when suddenly a thought strikes you like a bolt of lightning out of your staff: why did that tree call you ‘buddy’? That was weird.
The (Official!) Capcom Dungeons and Dragons Games
The official TSR logo branding at the title screen of both games confirms that these are, in fact, fully sanctioned games. The whole thing came about with TSR finally wanting to make official D&D video games in 1987, so they opened the gates and let in a bunch of various developers to the hallowed halls of the Dungeons and Dragons money castle. They approached Capcom, and discussions went back and forth and wouldn't produce fruit for a few years but eventually a deal was struck. The first thing Capcom did once they got the greenlight was…well, first they ported Westwood Studio’s first person adventure game Eye of the Beholder to the SNES as part of the deal. Business dealings are strange. But right after that in 1993 they made Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom.Dungeons and Dragons: Tower of Doom
Both Tower of Doom and its sequel Shadow Over Mystara are ambitious games, aiming to combine RPG-inspired mechanics with that of the company's famous beat ‘em ups and they deliver. Tower of Doom was the first one in 1993 coming out on the newly released CPS-II arcade system, and also the simplest in mechanics. Supporting up to four players at once, you choose one of four characters directly taken from the tabletop game as you aim to stop an evil lich; the magic swordswoman Elf, the holy warrior Cleric, the balanced Fighter, and the stout but slow Dwarf. Each character expertly designed artistically by the unsung queen of 90’s Capcom art, Kinu Nishimura along with Akiman and others.
Beautiful, simply beautiful.
Sometimes you have to look fabulous and strike a pose before you can beat down an ogre.
When I said that the game only has two buttons, I was referring to only the primary attack buttons of ‘jump’ and ‘attack’. The game does feature two other buttons which is one aspect where the RPG and tabletop influence really comes in; you have an inventory in this game. You can pick up various adventuring gear such as burning oil flasks, arrows to shoot with your bow, daggers to throw and magic items such as rings and scrolls that cast one-use spells. So, of course, you have one button to scroll through your inventory and another to use your currently selected item. This is also where the Cleric and Elf find their magic spells they can cast, with both being spell casters following the tabletop game.
Combining the fairly technical basic attack maneuvers you can perform with an inventory and item system can create a very chaotic experience when the enemies really start pouring in, particularly in co-op. It goes to the credit of the game designers that they kept it manageable and approachable without being overwhelming while still being great fun. One designer in particular deserves mentioning: George Kamitani, who’s a fairly well known figure in the beat ‘em up circle. This was his first major project he worked on when joining Capcom the year before, and also was the designer of the sequel Shadow Over Mystara. Afterwards, he took his experience and moved on to found a company some may recognize the name of, Vanillaware; the creators of games such as Odin Sphere, Princess Crown, Dragon's Crown, GrimGrimoire (all of which George Kamitani worked personally on), and more recently 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, they have become a successful company in their own right. The guy definitely had some talent, is what I’m saying.
The game sees you and your potential co-op party travel across the lands of Mystara, which was primarily the ‘canon’ setting of Basic Dungeons and Dragons modules in the mid to late 80’s and early 90’s.
At several points, you speak to characters and NPCs who give you a choice of how to proceed, recreating (in limited form of course) the openness of a tabletop game. These choices aren’t anything more than which levels you encounter, but it is still a nice addition that creates some more replayability. You can also find shops in-between levels where you use your hard-earned (read: looted from enemies you’ve killed) gold to buy items and healing potions before heading back out.
Returning from the previous The King of Dragons is an experience point system, with your character gaining levels as they ruthlessly destroy anything that moves into their path. Once you’ve gained enough points, at the end of the current level you will level up. It’s designed so that you will most likely level up at the end of each segment. Every time a character levels up, they gain more health, damage and the Cleric and Elf specifically gain more spells to cast.
It goes without saying since this is the first official licensed game, but they’ve incorporated elements of the tabletop game perfectly. From the distinct character classes, to the experience and leveling system, to the vibe of adventuring with other companions and the enemies; this is the real deal.
Get zapped, Shadow Loser. Got 'im.
All this comes together to form an amazing beat ‘em up. It controls beautifully, it looks beautiful, and it is designed beautifully. I know I’m sounding like a broken record here, but this game is an easy contender for the title of the greatest arcade beat ‘em up…that is, if it wasn’t entirely improved upon by its sequel, Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara. How was that for a transition?
Dungeons and Dragons: Shadow Over Mystara
This is my personal favourite beat ‘em up, and that’s some hard competition. It takes everything from Tower of Doom and improves upon and adds to it making it just a flat-out upgrade. More characters, more items (including magic swords!), it's a verifiable smorgasbord of good things.
It even has screen sized evil dragons, so that makes it a guaranteed 10/10 with that fact alone.
The game has the same band of adventures from Tower of Doom only they've picked up a bunch of new weirdos on the way between games seemingly. You now have the iconic Thief, and the Magic User.
Shadow Over Mystara’s Thief, my beloved. Two of the most iconic designs in this game hands down. Since I first played this game when I was younger, whenever I picture a rogue/thief and a mage type character in my head, I picture these two.
More weirdos than those two have joined the party…sort of. Wishing for two players to be able to play the same character together, they implemented a second player ‘colour’ for each of the classes this time around. You can select these alternate weirdos by hitting start when selecting your character, or automatically if another player is using that same character already. They are definitely a different colour, but they are also slightly different in design as well; just look at the original Cleric and then his bald king compatriot.
Live your life, man. Just cast Insect Plague on anyone who makes fun of your lack of hair.
There is one key difference between the two versions of the Magic User and the Cleric, other than the second player Magic User being a very fashionable man.
Magic User D’Raven. Now that's a mage, he even has the hat. That's a man ready to shoulder tackle you, teleport away then spam Lightning Bolt and laugh about it after.
These two classes have spells, obviously being the divine caster and the arcane caster which is what the difference entails: their second player versions have some different spells, and learn new different spells as they level. Anime protagonist Syous with his hedgehog hair (and no hat) starts knowing Conjure Elemental (essentially a screen clearing magic attack straight out of The King of Dragons) while D'Raven knows Cloudkill and Reverse Gravity. They learn new spells as they level, but I'll let you figure those ones out. The two Clerics, Greldon and Miles, also follow suit and have different spells between the two of them. The rest of their moves are identical, but the changes to their important spells are noticeable in making them feel like a different character; with the Magic User, for example, Syous is much better suited to taking down bosses due to his spells, while D’raven can essentially instantly delete lowly mooks with Cloudkill on command. Each of the other characters are identical between the two variations, including the returning Elf who is also a spell caster. I suppose both of them went to the same elf magic school.
Another new thing in the game over its predecessor is the new moves characters know. Every character other than the Magic User (sorry wizards) has a special move inputted with a ‘quarter circle’ motion forward. Some characters also have a similar special move performed by hitting down then up and the attack button, and more have the classic 'jump plus attack button' invincible special that drains your health. But wait, there’s so much more. Some character’s even have unique items in their inventory or unique interactions with items; I’m looking at you, Elves and Thieves. There’s even more I could mention, including some sort of ‘stealing’ mechanic with the Thieves, but I feel that you should discover the rest on your own.
That is ultimately the one thing that keeps wowing me every time I play this game; the sheer amount of things to discover. Did you find the hidden Holy Avenger? Did you discover the secret of the Sword of Legends? Do you know to get a Cloak of Displacement? There’s so many items and side routes and hidden moves that it’s a little dizzying. Playing through this game again for this article, I discovered two things I’d never found before, which considering the amount of times I’ve played this game is wild.
Like I said at the beginning, everything has been expanded on including the magic items; namely, there’s many more of them now. Some even last forever, such as the new magic weapons you can find which let you wield magical flaming swords or different elemental rods for the Magic Users.
If you don’t want to fight scantily clad evil shadow elves while wielding a Storm Blade, you're weird and don’t talk to me.
The effects of the magic items are generally bigger compared to Tower of Doom and there’s so many of them that you’ll find something cool, even if you may not know what they do without looking it up. New in this game is the way your name affects the gameplay and interacts with magic items. Just like in Tower of Doom, you get to name your character once you’ve cleared the first group of enemies. In the first game, this was just cosmetic but in Shadow it has some gameplay effects. Depending on what you name your character, you’ll start with some different gear including some specific magic items. The numerical system that determines what items you start with is incredibly complicated and esoteric, so I recommend just making yourself certain single letters.
Ah yes, the famous adventurer “G”. Anything to start with those sweet Boots of Speed for the five minutes before they break.
The rest of the gameplay continues like Tower of Doom, seeing your band of adventurers once again battling through the lands of Darokin to defeat another evil lich, and another evil dragon. Like I always say, ‘don’t fix what ain’t broke’. At several points you’ll once again choose which path you want to take, and with the inclusion of more and bigger magic items in specific locations these can matter more than simply being which scenes you play through.
Octopus Tip: if you want to get a sweet flame sword (and of course you do), make sure to go through the Ice World and keep your eyes open. Maybe you’ll find a very well hidden ‘Cursed Sword 1’ or a ‘Cursed Sword 2’ at some point, too. I wonder what would happen if a Cleric did something to one of them, or if you equipped one over and over again while it kept killing you a certain number of times…probably nothing, don’t worry about it.
All of this comes together into one mean, kobold annihilating package. It has, to me of course, the perfect mix of approachability but depth in it’s mechanics and systems without getting too overwhelming for those who just want to pick a cool character and button mash. It has some replayability with the different classes and choosing different routes, and the vibe and atmosphere and art are just the cherries on top. The game is a blast with a full co-op playthrough, even if everyone does immediately try to steal the Magic User just so they can spam spells and take all the kills. I’m going to say it one more time: Shadow Over Mystara is, in my (right) opinion, the best arcade beat ‘em up.
Both Tower of Doom and Shadow got a Japanese-only Saturn release (as is tradition with the Saturn) in Japan in 1999 in the form of the two disc Dungeons and Dragons Collection. The ports are as faithful as they can come, save for some occasionally distracting mid fight pauses to allow it to read the disk. Everything else however has made it over, and the animation quality isn’t too noticeably downgraded thanks to the power of the 2-D beast that was the Saturn hardware. I’d definitely still recommend the arcade versions, but the collection is still worth mentioning.
2013 saw the release of Chronicles of Mystara on PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 which brought the two official D&D games to modern audiences, and on Western consoles for the first time. It comes with a heaping helping of added features, such as guides and compendiums of the content, pages and pages of gorgeous art galleries, and online multiplayer. It was a very good collection put together by Iron Galaxy as one of their first big retro re-releases, and if you’re not looking to emulate, it’s the other best option of playing both the official D&D games.
Bless your hearts, Capcom art team circa the mid 1990’s because this is rad.
This is the second last 2-D beat ‘em ups that Capcom would release, with the final one being Battle Circuit a year later in 1997. They went out with a bang on both of those games, but this game will always be the one for me. I know it’s obvious from this long article, but I absolutely love this game and recommend it to anyone and everything. Play Shadow Over Mystara, or Tower of Doom, or even The King of Dragons, it’s pretty good too. Play all three even. Play the original arcade releases or the Saturn collection or Chronicles of Mystara. I’d recommend the original arcade versions through whatever form of emulation fits your fancy, but every version of Shadow Over Mystara is a good game.
And there we go. You learned something about Japanese pop culture history and how it relates to Dungeons and Dragons, I managed to sneak in a Fighting Fantasy reference, and you learned about three amazing games. I could go on, but I'm already close to hitting the character limit on this article and anything more would be me repeating "the art" and "oof, the Shadow Over Mystara Thief" so I feel that's enough.
So, go and play the games. Just do it. Go on. I'll still be here.
