The Return of Ishtar (1986). Play online

Summary

The Return of Ishtar (Ishtar no Fukkatsu) drops you and a buddy into the chaotic 60‑floor Tower of Druaga straight after the original. You control the fragile priestess Ki, whose magic shoots from a distance, while a second player wields the sword‑ready Prince Gilgamesh, who mows down anything he touches. The screen follows Ki’s movement, forcing Gilgamesh to stay right behind – a clever design that turns the game into a real‑time co‑op puzzle where you balance ranged safety with brute force.

Every room hides items, and the arcade version even introduced a password system for continues, the first Namco title to ditch a high‑score table altogether. An odd Easter egg lets you free designer Masanobu Endō in a secret “Dead End” chamber. Although it never left Japanese arcades in ’86, the game later resurfaced in Namco Museum Volume 4 and as part of Hamster’s Arcade Archives on Switch and PS4, finally letting western fans give the quirky two‑player RPG a try.

Storyline

The Return of Ishtar picks up right after the climax of The Tower of Druaga. Gilgamesh has just rescued Ki from the clutches of Druaga, and the pair find themselves trapped inside the same tower they entered.

Instead of climbing upward, they must now fight their way down through sixty floors. Each floor contains a maze of rooms—128 in total—filled with monsters seeking vengeance for their fallen master.

Their objective is simple yet perilous: survive the relentless enemies, clear each chamber, and locate the exit that will finally free them from the tower’s curse.