Dungeon Explorer 1989 By: Hudson Soft

Overview:

"Dungeon Explorer" is a bona fide standout in the TG-16 console catalogue of games. A necessary link in the evolutionary ladder of action RPGs, "Dungeon Explorer" has been compared to "The Legend of Zelda" and "Gauntlet", which undoubtedly served as the foundation for many of the games aspects, but for my money its much closer to "Legends of Mana" (which it predates by four years). The co-operative multi-player RPG is an extraordinarily rare category in the realm of console games. Only a handful of true co-op RPG's exist, and to my knowledge Dungeon Explorer is the only one that allows up to five players to play simultaneously (five players!). In addition to its original concept, "Dungeon Explorer's" gameplay is bolstered by haunting music, crisp graphics, story twists, and a depth that is extraordinary for a game that was released in 1989. When browsing Console Classix game list don't pass this classic by!

A once peaceful nation called Oddesia is under siege by an alien invasion, and your presence has been requested by the former King. Ruling through terror and violence, the alien race has a firm control over the once peaceful Oddesia. Your quest is to retrieve the ORA Stone, a powerful artifact long ago hidden in the deepest of dungeons by the king. Unfortunately, you are not the only one that seeks the ORA Stone's power. The alien King Natas searches for the stone as well, promising death to all those that oppose his pursuit. Of course, you're going to die if King Natas gets the stone so you might as well give it the old college try. Adding to the difficulty of your task, King Natas knows of your quest and has informed his minions to stop you at all costs.

Directions:

Although "Dungeon Explorer" would be considered a short game by contemporary standards, it features quite a bit of variety, including over a dozen different levels filled with a variety of dungeons, castles, and villages. Each level is packed with various aliens, bosses, and characters that must be interacted with in your pursuit of the ORA stone. Knowing the enemies that you face (their attacks, movements, and weaknesses) will be invaluable to you in your quest.

Before the player's quest can begin, a character must be selected (or a party formed) from a variety of different possible heroes. Each charter has unique magic, attacking power, and ability to move. Each character also has individual statistics in agility, attack, strength, and intelligence. The character's status can be found at the bottom of the screen. The status area includes the type of character, hit points, magic used, and magic frequency. To get an idea of how the character's abilities differ, allow the title screen to play without hitting any buttons, it will showcase each character and their related abilities and statistics.

There are a variety of items that will aid you on your quest. Available items include:

White Magic - provides protective white magic
Black Magic- provides black attack magic
Drink of Vitality - restores hp
Boots of Ability - raises quick-wittedness
Edge of Attack - raises attack power
Crown of Intelligence - crown of intelligence
Ring of Resistance - ring of resistance
Holy Water - makes enemy flee
Reflector - acts like a wall that reflects projectiles
Ring of Healing - raises hit points
Seed of Life - increases the number of players