The Tower of Druaga

[Jorpho]

This was linked to in that article about Namco X Capcom I recently pointed out. I must say it's one of the funnier things I've read in a while.

http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?fea=Druaga

Has anyone here seriously tried playing through this game?

EDIT: New link is http://www.ntsc-uk.com/feature.php?featuretype=edi&fea=Druaga

[vultar]

I've heard that the extra dungeon in Tales of Destiny is basically a port of Tower of Druaga, and from that article I can believe it. In Tales of Destiny, there were clues as to what to do in the tower, but they were given by random villagers throughout the game so you had know idea what they were talking about. I couldn't get through that stupid tower without help.

[Haoie]

When I owned Namco Museum vol 3 I tried a bit of it. It was way too old and hard for me though.

I heard about that Tales thing too. I guess Namco are free to reuse ideas in that fashion.

[Jorpho]

Most of the items mentioned also make an appearance in Tales of Phantasia; if you manage to collect them all, you can get your character rank changed to "Druaga Maniac", as I recall.

[ShinobiMan]

When I owned Namco Museum vol 3 I tried a bit of it. It was way too old and hard for me though.

I heard about that Tales thing too. I guess Namco are free to reuse ideas in that fashion.

I got addicted to this game back when Namco Museum VOL. 3 was released. I find it funny that you'd even play an old arcade collection if you found the games "too old and hard". :-)

As for trying to complete the game... I gave it a serious playthrough back in the day, but I could never beat it. Anyone love this game like I once did?

[Aussie2B]

I approve of this topic if only because it gives us a new "Hated in the West, loved in Japan" franchise to discuss than Hydlide. :P

I have much love for the original Tower of Druaga, but I've never come close to beating it. I have the first three volumes of the PlayStation Namco Museum collections, and I easily play Druaga more than any of the other games on those. Seriously. I'd be more inclined to start up Druaga than Pac-Man. I got The Blue Crystal Rod on Super Famicom and The Nightmare of Druaga on PS2, but I've yet to play those much and they're completely different anyway. I'd like to pick up the PC Engine Druaga sometime since it seems like it would be a more realistic goal to beat that than the arcade original. I really dig the Druaga dungeon in Baten Kaitos. That was a great tribute. It's just a shame that despite that I pre-ordered the Japanese version of Baten Kaitos, I never got the bonus Druaga GameCube game.

The series has great style too. It really has so much charm between the characters, visual style, and music. I'm not surprised they'd want to pay tribute to that in other games like Namco X Capcom.

[Graham Mitchell]

I've played druaga quite a bit on namco museum comps throughout the years, and I honestly never knew it was that complex. I never could figure out what most of the items did anyway.

I will say this--the game is frustratungly diificult even without all the ridiculous little tasks and requirements you have to perorm. Your character moves so slow that once you get to the area with the magicians who shoot lightening at you, you're toast.

That said, am I the only one who thought return of ishtar was kinda cool? I got pretty good at controlling both characters using the playstation controller in namco museum vol. 4. I wonder if that game is as complex as the original. Seriously, I've spent hours playing druaga and I had no idea how crazy it got until I read this article.

[Blitzwing256]

you have to get the speed up boots on level 2 or else its pretty much impossible to get much further.

[Graham Mitchell]

you have to get the speed up boots on level 2 or else its pretty much impossible to get much further.

Even with the boots it's a bitch.

I can somewhat sympathize with the poster above who said it's "too hard and old". It's a lot of effort with low yield. That said, I get more out of playing Druaga than I do out of playing a lot of 2600 games. It's got some redeeming qualities. Just a matter of opinion

[kupomogli]

I remember beating it on Tales of Destiny but only getting through 10 or 20 floors before using a guide.