The is a Japanese role-playing video game franchise developed and published by
Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...
, for arcades and home video game platforms. Beginning in 1984 with the arcade title ''
The Tower of Druaga
is a 1984 arcade action role-playing maze game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Controlling the golden-armored knight Gilgamesh, the player is tasked with scaling 60 floors of the titular tower in an effort to rescue the maiden Ki f ...
'', the series would spawn a total of nine sequel and spin-off games, alongside a manga, soundtrack albums, and two anime series by
Gonzo K.K. Later entries in the series would be developed by Endo's personal game company,
Game Studio.
The series was created by
Masanobu Endō
is a game designer, president of Game Studio and Mobile & Game Studio, and the director of Digital Games Research Association Japan. He formerly worked for Namco, where he created arcade games and is best known for ''Xevious'' and '' The Tower o ...
, who had previously created ''
Xevious
is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades in 1982. It was released in Japan and Europe by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious f ...
'' and ''
Grobda
is a 1984 multidirectional shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. It is a spin-off from ''Xevious'', as the player's tank first appeared in that game as an enemy. It runs on Namco Super Pac-Man hardware but with a video syste ...
''. Much of its characters and setting are inspired from Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, such as ''
The Epic of Gilgamesh'' and
The Tower of Babel
The Tower of Babel ( he, , ''Mīgdal Bāḇel'') narrative in Genesis 11:1–9 is an origin myth meant to explain why the world's peoples speak different languages.
According to the story, a united human race speaking a single language and mi ...
. The series stars Prince Gilgamesh, a gold-armored knight, and the maiden Ki, in their efforts to protect the mythical Blue Crystal Rod and seal away Druaga, a four-armed demon who seeks the rod to enslave the human race.
The series is known for its high difficulty and for helping to establish the "notebook carrying" trend for Japanese video games - it would also serve as a prime inspiration for other games to follow, including ''
Ys'', ''
Hydlide
is an action role-playing game developed and published by T&E Soft. It was originally released for the NEC PC-6001 and PC-8801 computers in 1984, in Japan only; ports for the MSX, MSX2, FM-7 and NEC PC-9801 were released the following year ...
'' and ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
''. ''
Dragon Quest'' co-creator
Koichi Nakamura
is a Japanese video game designer. A programming prodigy, Nakamura gained fame while still in high school; in 1982, he entered Enix's first national programming contest and claimed runner-up prize with his entry, ''Door Door''. In 1984, he found ...
has also cited the series as a key inspiration for him. International reviews for the series were mixed, with its difficulty and learning curve often criticized, although praise was given for its musical score and historical importance. Several games in the series would be ported over to both digital storefronts and various Namco video game collection titles in following years.
List of games
There are four games in the main series.
* ''
The Tower of Druaga
is a 1984 arcade action role-playing maze game developed and published in Japan by Namco. Controlling the golden-armored knight Gilgamesh, the player is tasked with scaling 60 floors of the titular tower in an effort to rescue the maiden Ki f ...
'' (1984, Namco,
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
)
* ''
The Return of Ishtar'' (1986, Namco, arcade)
* ''
The Quest of Ki'' (1988, Namco,
Famicom
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...
)
* ''The Blue Crystal Rod'' (1994, Namco,
Super Famicom
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
)
In the game's canon, the chronological order is ''The Quest of Ki'', ''The Tower of Druaga'', ''The Return of Ishtar'', and ''The Blue Crystal Rod''.
Also, some side stories were made, including:
* ''The Tower of Druaga Darkness Tower'' (1996): ''
Namco Museum Vol. 3''
* ''The Tower of Druaga Another Tower'' (1990): ''
Namco Museum Vol. 3'',
Famicom
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...
,
Game Boy
The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
* ''Seme COM Dungeon: Drururuaga'' (2000):
Game Boy Color
* ''
The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigi no Dungeon'' (2004):
PlayStation 2
* ''Druaga Online: The Story of Aon'' (2005):
Arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
* ''The Tower of Druaga: The Recovery of BABYLIM'' (2007):
PC
* ''The Labyrinth of Druaga'' (2011, Namco,
Mobile phones)
The Tower of Druaga
The player assumes the role of the hero Gilgamesh, whose goal is to rescue the maiden Ki (カイ, Kai) from the demon Druaga. In order to do this, he must traverse through 60 floors of an immense tower. 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 Return of Ishtar
It picks up where ''Tower of Druaga'' left off. The player controls two characters: Ki as well as Gilgamesh. It can also be noted in this game that Ki is a magician, 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).
The Quest of Ki
The story of ''The Quest of Ki'' is actually a prequel to the original ''Tower of Druaga''. It occurs shortly after the demon
Druaga has stolen the Blue Crystal Rod and taken it to his tower. The goddess
Ishtar
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...
sends the priestess Ki to the tower in order to retrieve it. The game then follows her doomed quest to the top of the tower, and leads directly into the story of the original game.
The Blue Crystal Rod
Also known as "The Destiny of Gilgamesh", this game 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'' tetralogy. In it, Ki and Gilgamesh are about to be married, only for Ki to be kidnapped by an evil sorceress, Skulld. The game is known for its unforgiving difficulty, as death in the game results in losing all items and half gold, and its harsh penalty for resetting. Should a player reset the game, they will be greeted by Ishtar, who will scold them for "meddling with the flow of time".
''Nightmare'' was not made by Namco, but by two other companies called
Arika
is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was formed in 1995 by former Capcom employees, originally as ARMtech K.K, later named Arika. The name of the company is the reverse of the name of the company's founder, Akira Nishitani, who ...
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 ''
Mystery Dungeon
''Mystery Dungeon'', known in Japan as , is a series of roguelike role-playing video games. Most were developed by Chunsoft, now Spike Chunsoft since the merging in 2012, and select games were developed by other companies with Chunsoft's permis ...
'' series.
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. The players use cards to equip character with weapons and spells, and to populate dungeon with monsters. Then the players battle against an opponent and his dungeon (AI or link cable). The players enter the opponent's dungeon via linked teleporters, find the three keys to unlock the crystal, and return it to home base before the opponent does the same. Success yields additional cards. Each item or monster is highly specialized, allowing for different strategic combos. It features many
Namco
was a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Namco Taiwan in Kaohsiung, ...
cameos, such as ''
Soulcalibur
is a weapon-based fighting video game franchise by Bandai Namco Entertainment.
There are seven main installments of video games and various media spin-offs, including music albums and a series of manga books. The first game in the series, '' ...
''
Nightmare, the sword Soul Edge,
Valkyrie
In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997: ...
,
Pac-Man, and even the enemies from
Dig Dug
is a maze arcade game developed by Namco in 1981 and released in 1982, distributed in North America by Atari, Inc. The player controls Dig Dug to defeat all enemies per stage, by either inflating them to bursting or crushing them underneath rock ...
.
Druaga Online: The Story of Aon
This game is set outside the main chronology of the series, and borrows characters from Namco's ''Valkyrie'' series. Gameplay is similar to ''The Return of Ishtar'', only four players may play at the same time; each controlling one of the four available characters: Gil, a young version of Ki, Valkyrie, or an ancient
golem
A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the l ...
named Xeovalga. Players also earn gold from killing enemies that can be used to upgrade equipment.
The Tower of Druaga: the Recovery of BABYLIM
This game is an
MMORPG developed as part of the Tower of Druaga "Animation x Online RPG" project which also includes the anime series ''
The Tower of Druaga: the Aegis of Uruk''.
Anime series
An
anime
is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
series titled "''Druaga no Tō ~the Aegis of URUK~''" ("The Tower of Druaga: The Aegis Of Uruk") premiered on April 5, 2008, both on Japanese television and with simultaneous streaming in English on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
,
Crunchyroll and Bost TV. The series acts as a direct sequel to the original game.
Notes
References
{{Bandai Namco franchises
Bandai Namco Entertainment franchises
Video game franchises introduced in 1984
Fantasy video games
High fantasy video games
Video game franchises
Action role-playing video games