Reviewed
Sega
Force Vault
03.14.1999
Updated
06.30.2016
Publisher
Capcom
Developer
Capcom
Format
2x
CD
Origin
Import
Available
Mar.
4, 1999
¥5,800
standard
¥7,800
w/RAM
(Japan)
Exclusive
Yes
Difficulty
Adjustable
Dimensions
2D
View
Side
Genre
Action/
Beat
'em up
Player(s)
1-2
Options
Backup
8/8
Requires
4MB
RAM
(disc
2 only)
Importable
99% |
| Intro |
|
> Dungeons & Dragons Collection contains both Capcom
arcade hack'n' slash titles from old-school heaven -- Their subtitles are
Tower
of Doom (disc 1) released in 1993, and Shadow Over Mystara
(disc 2) released in 1996. Four years after its launch, the Saturn
has received two games like Sega's original masterpiece,
Golden
Axe (arcade/Genesis). Both the original arcade games
featured 4 player coop, but the Saturn iterations are limited
to 2 player coop.
> The idea here is basic -- Advance through the various locales while slicing
and dicing all the monsters into oblivion. There's an occasional
hostage to free as well. Along the way you'll encounter large bosses
which have special attacks of catastrophic proportions. Use the treasure
you accumulate in battle to buy items in the shop between levels. It's
mindless fun, and it's yet another Saturn exclusive.
> Importing is a cinch as everything you really need is in English, including
the main menu, option menus and game screens. The only things that
are Japanese are the occasional dialog text and the names of the special
weapons. |
| Graphics |
|
> If you've seen Dungeons & Dragons in the arcade, then
you know what to expect. Tower of Doom is a 2D hand
drawn beauty from start to finish. The charcter animation is pretty
good for the heroes and the monsters. As for the backgrounds, they're
multi-scrolling and consist of locales like a city, swamp, ship, castle,
countryside, cave, and mine (to name a few).
> As mentioned before, you'll fight against large bosses like a Displacer
Beast, Beholder, Black Dragon and more. The various standard monsters
include kobolds, skeletons, gnolls, troglodytes, owl bears and more.
Enemies can use physical attacks, magic and weapons.
> The magic effects are decent in Tower of Doom. Overall,
the firebomb and bolt magic spells are my favorite to behold. Oh...
and don't worry, the bosses usually hurl multiple types of magic at you
as well. The final boss in Tower of Doom has some particularly
effective spells like energy bind, sleep amd flame wave. |
| Control |
|
> The control scheme for Tower of Doom is simple and enjoyable.
The buttons are attack, jump, fire (special weapon or spell) and select.
You can use the D-pad to move along a wide area and for running and charging
as well. Throughout your quest, you'll come across treasure chests
which may or may not be trapped, and usually contain some goodies.
Also, most enemies leave some booty behind once they're defeated, which
you can pick up and use (money, weapons, magic).
> Thank you Capcom for including the ability to map buttons
in the options! Other options include music, sound effects and difficulty
levels.
> All the gold you collect will not go to waste either, since after every
round, you'll have an opportunity to stock up on weapons and health at
your local shop. It pays to enter the various pathways which you'll
encounter as they usually provide additional treasure. Overall, the
control is tight and classic. |
| Sound |
|
> I really can't remember what the arcade music sounded like, but I'm sure
the Saturn iteration is as good, if not better. You'll
hear a combination of orchestral and fantasy arcade tunes which set the
tempo nicely. Nothing to call home for, but solid anyway.
> The sound effects are probably straight out of the arcade as well. I'd
say Tower of Doom's effects are not always ideal. You'll
hear things like swords swinging, enemies howling, chests cracking open,
monsters roaring, rocks falling and hellhounds breathing. The speech
cues are in English, by the way. |
| Fun |
|
> Tower of Doom has four characters with different abilities
and attacks: Fighter (longsword), Cleric (mace+shield), Dwarf (axe) and
a female Elf (sword+shield). Your interest level is maintained with
treasure, power-ups and additional weapons. For a beat 'em up this
game has enough levels to satisfy. There's even forks on the road
to the final battle. The only downer is that Capcom
did not spend enough time optimizing this game, as it loads often.
At any rate, the fun factor does go down once you've beaten the game a
few times. |
| Bottom
Line |
|
> If you're into Golden Axe type games with a little more
depth for adventure, then look no further than Capcom's latest
arcade conversion. Dungeons & Dragons Collection
is a solid combination of two arcade classics which are fully intact on
your
Saturn, thanks to the 4MB
RAM cartridge. I'd score these games a 10 for the conversion.
Tower of Doom is the older of the two games included in
this set, but it's full of arcade hack'n' slash gameplay that keeps you
pressing "Continue". Now Sega, bring us a Golden Axe
sequel for the Dreamcast already! |
| Ratings |
| Overall: 8.1 | Graphics:
8.0 | Control: 9.0 | Sound: 7.5 | Fun: 8.0 |
~ Shinobi
~
|
