The Tower of Druaga (1984). Play online

Summary

The Tower of Druaga feels like a love‑letter to classic fantasy adventures and maze‑chasing arcades. You guide Gilgamesh, a golden‑armored knight, up sixty scrolling floors, hunting hidden keys while the demon Druaga eyes a world‑dominating Blue Crystal Rod. Masanobu Endō shaped it as a “fantasy Pac‑Man”—combining fast arcade action with the puzzle‑solving vibe of early role‑playing games like Wizardry, all while draping the experience in Mesopotamian myth. Junko Ozawa’s soundtrack, built on a custom sound driver, rides the modified Super Pac‑Man hardware that first powered Mappy, giving each level a distinctive bite. Even the promotional flyer earned a quirky reputation, using handmade dioramas instead of drawn art, a nod to Namco president Masaya Nakamura’s manga aversion.

Storyline

The Tower of Druaga follows golden‑armored knight Gilgamesh as he climbs the 60‑floor Tower to rescue the maiden Ki.

The demon Druaga, an eight‑armed, four‑legged beast, plans to enslave humanity using the Blue Crystal Rod.

On each floor Gilgamesh must find a key to unlock the door to the next level, battle slimes, knights, wizards, ghosts and dragons, and locate hidden items that are required for progress.

If a required item is missed, the game can send him back to earlier floors, and each floor has a time limit after which indestructible Will‑o‑Wisps appear and chase him.