Coin-op video games inspired by D&D

[Mordar]

Hello all!

Came (back) across King of Dragons recently and enjoyed the opportunity to play a game I liked from so long ago. It is a co-op side scroller where you chose from 5 of the 7 old D&D "classes" [Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, Dwarf, Elf] and kill bad things, take their money, level up, get better gear, and kill the bad dragon that is ravaging the world. Simple, fun, pretty strong graphics for the time period (1990 or so).

It made me wonder what other primarily coin-operated games had a strong D&D inspiration or feel. Here's a few that came to my mind as I have played them:


Gauntlet
Venture
Golden Axe
Dragon's Lair
Magic Sword


A few I found out about but never got to play:


Gate of Doom
Knights of the Round
D&D Tower of Doom
D&D Shadow over Mystara


Anyone know of others? Please stick to coin-operated!

- M

[Blue Dragon]

Can't remember any, only strongly suggest that you play Shadow Over Mystara as soon as possible! There is an amazing guide in Gamefaqs that is pretty mandatory!

[Rynjin]

Yeah, the Chronicles of Mystara entry on Steam contains both of the Mystara games, and they're a blast.

[ArmyOfOptimists]

I know you asked for only coin-ops, but Dragon's Crown is possibly the best fantasy beat 'em up ever created and very heavily inspired by the Chronicles of Mystara games. I think you've covered the majority of the fantasy coin-ops worth playing. Chronicles of Mystara, Knights of the Round and King of Dragons pulled a lot of time from me, especially.

[GloatingSwine]

Yeah, Dragon's Crown is basically "What if King of Dragons, but new".

Also it's all narrated to you in second person as if by a DM.

Vanillaware are pretty committed to keeping it on Playstation though, so no Steam release.

[OracleofWuffing]

Taito had a '93 arcade game called Dungeon Magic (Light Bringer in Japan and PAL regions), it's a fantasy/medieval isometric beat-em-up with level up mechanics. Four base classes, wizard kidnaps a princess to take over the kingdom, that sort of thing.

For Neo Geo coin ops, Crossed Swords and Magician Lord might be worth a look? They're probably less D&D inspired, but if Golden Axe is already on your list, I think they'll count.

If you can set aside the modern setting and lack of classes, Smash TV would be the poster boy for "Kill bad guys, get money and better gear, then kill more."

[veti]

It's not all that "D&D like" - no classes, no levels, no hit points - but I spent an ungodly amount of time (and money) as a student playing Ghosts 'N' Goblins. Never did make it to the real ending.

Fortunately you don't have to spend that long on it now, there's a complete playthrough here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIhyjrXVhzg).

[Cygnia]

Cadash! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadash) I remember this one from high school...

[Mordar]

Cadash! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadash) I remember this one from high school...

Am I reading correctly that you were timed on this game (like X minutes per quarter)? As opposed to health levels? Or was it both?

- M

[Beelzebub1111]

Yeah, Dragon's Crown is basically "What if King of Dragons, but new".

Also it's all narrated to you in second person as if by a DM.


Love this game. feels closer to Shadow over Mystara considering the equipment, level upgrades, and the way spells are handled. Gotta respect the frazettan style it goes for, totally over the top in every respect in the best way. I am reminded of this quote:



“Everybody knocks my female figures. They say they're overblown, that women don't look like that. And I agree. certainly all women don't look like my paintings. But you can't deny some women do look like that. I don't want to paint just another woman. A painting, it's something important; you want to look at it, maybe forever. Who wants to look at just an ordinary hero forever? You want the ultimate, you pull out the stops and do everything in extremes. The extreme in beauty, if it fits; the extreme in ugliness if it fits; the extreme in terror if this is what's required. You know, I think this is one reason that so many people enjoy my stuff, because all of these extremes are jammed into it.”
― Frank Frazetta, Icon: A Retrospective by the Grand Master of Fantastic Art


Just describes this game all over.

[Rynjin]

It's a good quote, but Dragon's Crown characters absolutely look like "every other woman" in fantasy art. There's enough low budget porn content out there with grotesquely huge titties, I don't need it in my fun adventure game.

The idea of "giant gazongas = the height of beauty" is ****ing stupid. If you like giant knockers, just say so, but don't try to dress it up in this flowery language.

[Cygnia]

Am I reading correctly that you were timed on this game (like X minutes per quarter)? As opposed to health levels? Or was it both?

- M

If I recall correctly, you were timed like Gauntlet in order to get to the next level, but also if your HP hit zero, it was Game Over. This was about 30 years ago, so my memory may be shaky.

[Beelzebub1111]

It's a good quote, but Dragon's Crown characters absolutely look like "every other woman" in fantasy art. There's enough low budget porn content out there with grotesquely huge titties, I don't need it in my fun adventure game.

The idea of "giant gazongas = the height of beauty" is ****ing stupid. If you like giant knockers, just say so, but don't try to dress it up in this flowery language.

The elf doesn't have giant gazonkas. Neither does the barbarian, really, but the dwarf is just as exposed as she is so it's not a gendered thing. The game is absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing art direction and to dismiss it as softcore porn is super reductive to what is an amazing game.

[ArmyOfOptimists]

The elf doesn't have giant gazonkas. Neither does the barbarian, really, but the dwarf is just as exposed as she is so it's not a gendered thing. The game is absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing art direction and to dismiss it as softcore porn is super reductive to what is an amazing game.

This.

There's a few cringy paintings in the game, the nun you find that's sort of spread eagle is probably over the line, but the playable characters are mostly exaggerations of the human body. The knight and dwarf are huge beyond bodybuilders in sheer mass, the amazon is both ripped and has her assets focused in her backside, the sorceress is so buxom they seem to have their own laws of gravity, and both the wizard and elf are bishounen/bishoujo types that focus on aesthetics instead of carnal attraction. It's an undeniably horny game, but it's focused everywhere and I never found it porn-like. It's more comical in tone than anything.

[Rynjin]

The elf doesn't have giant gazonkas. Neither does the barbarian, really, but the dwarf is just as exposed as she is so it's not a gendered thing. The game is absolutely gorgeous and has an amazing art direction and to dismiss it as softcore porn is super reductive to what is an amazing game.

I didn't mention the male characters because he didn't mention them. I find them equally gross to look at, but they're pretty obviously not as fetishized.

He can draw whatever he wants, I really don't care. If that's what he likes, cool. But drying to dress it up as some grand artistic vision just makes me roll my eyes.

[darkdragoon]

Gate of Doom / Dark Seal
Wizard Fire / Dark Seal II


Gaiapolis


Guardian Heroes
Advance Guardian Heroes

[Beelzebub1111]

I didn't mention the male characters because he didn't mention them. I find them equally gross to look at, but they're pretty obviously not as fetishized.

He can draw whatever he wants, I really don't care. If that's what he likes, cool. But drying to dress it up as some grand artistic vision just makes me roll my eyes.

I see the confusion. The quote is from Frank Frazetta, not the artist for the game. He inspired the art.

Also, The quote does talk about male characters. His Heroes the strongest and most heroic, his monsters the most monstrous and vile. Every character frank drew was the most of everything. and you can't deny that Dragon's Crown's art is the most extreme of everything, top to bottom front to back.

[Rynjin]

I see the confusion. The quote is from Frank Frazetta, not the artist for the game. He inspired the art.

Also, The quote does talk about male characters. His Heroes the strongest and most heroic, his monsters the most monstrous and vile. Every character frank drew was the most of everything. and you can't deny that Dragon's Crown's art is the most extreme of everything, top to bottom front to back.

Ahhh, gotcha. I actually thought Frank Frazetta drew the Dragon's Crown art based off that quote, yeah. They do occasionally get celebrity artists for stuff like that.

[OracleofWuffing]

Does Willow count as "Inspired by D&D?" Or is it just two wholly separate vague fantasy faux-medieval franchises? There was a Willow arcade game- I'm not too familiar with it directly, but it was a sidescrolling 2D jump and slash like Ghouls n' Ghosts. It had some kind of in-game shop for powerups, but I don't know how deep that goes.

[Mordar]

Does Willow count as "Inspired by D&D?" Or is it just two wholly separate vague fantasy faux-medieval franchises? There was a Willow arcade game- I'm not too familiar with it directly, but it was a sidescrolling 2D jump and slash like Ghouls n' Ghosts. It had some kind of in-game shop for powerups, but I don't know how deep that goes.

I think this would be an instance of the game being inspired by the movie, and the movie being informed/inspired/impacted (even if modestly) by D&D.

In short, I wouldn't count it.

Was it terrible?

- M

[OracleofWuffing]

I think this would be an instance of the game being inspired by the movie, and the movie being informed/inspired/impacted (even if modestly) by D&D.

In short, I wouldn't count it.

Was it terrible?

- M
Afraid you'll have to ask someone else for a more direct opinion. I just remembered the arcade cabinet was at a Pizza Hut when I was younger, but my parents didn't like the idea of playing video games while waiting for food, which was the style at the time. I don't believe I even watched the Willow movie, but I understand it features... "Not-halflings" and some sort of sorcery. I hear it's the better of the two Willow games, but I've also heard that isn't exactly a high bar to clear.

[Mordar]

Gate of Doom / Dark Seal
Wizard Fire / Dark Seal II


Gaiapolis


Guardian Heroes
Advance Guardian Heroes

In the Dark Seal games did you "level up" or gain abilities (weapon modifications?) that were permanent as you played through (vs temporary weapon buffs)?

Gaiapolis looks very sharp from the screenshots. I like the clean and bright screens. Seeing the suggesting that gaming magazines thought it should only be a console game is disappointing...don't like relegating progressive games to home play only!

Guardian Heroes has an interesting look, kind of like a cartoon effect or some of the games that used real camera footage as the background and digital figures over the top. Was this a coin-op or only a Sega game?


Afraid you'll have to ask someone else for a more direct opinion. I just remembered the arcade cabinet was at a Pizza Hut when I was younger, but my parents didn't like the idea of playing video games while waiting for food, which was the style at the time. I don't believe I even watched the Willow movie, but I understand it features... "Not-halflings" and some sort of sorcery. I hear it's the better of the two Willow games, but I've also heard that isn't exactly a high bar to clear.

The movie is definitely worth watching, even if just for the Brownies.

Thanks for sharing!

- M

[Lord Torath]

I spent a fair bit of cash playing Cadesh back in the day, but I could never figure out how to find the secret passage by the tree. (The guy runs past you with his dog, and when you catch up to his dog by the tree, there's no sign of the guy).

[Cygnia]

I spent a fair bit of cash playing Cadesh back in the day, but I could never figure out how to find the secret passage by the tree. (The guy runs past you with his dog, and when you catch up to his dog by the tree, there's no sign of the guy).

I don't think I ever got to that level in all my playthroughs. (or I'm just old and forgetful)

[Lord Torath]

I don't think I ever got to that level in all my playthroughs. (or I'm just old and forgetful)I could be mis-remembering the game, too. It's been decades, but the story of the demon stealing the princess and the four classes seems right.

[Cygnia]

Found a playthrough (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6yATZEjM5k), so I can FINALLY see how it ended...I never finished after the worm boss.

[darkdragoon]

In the Dark Seal games did you "level up" or gain abilities (weapon modifications?) that were permanent as you played through (vs temporary weapon buffs)?

Gaiapolis looks very sharp from the screenshots. I like the clean and bright screens. Seeing the suggesting that gaming magazines thought it should only be a console game is disappointing...don't like relegating progressive games to home play only!

Guardian Heroes has an interesting look, kind of like a cartoon effect or some of the games that used real camera footage as the background and digital figures over the top. Was this a coin-op or only a Sega game



The armor items seem to give you more HP/defense. Each character has unique qualities but otherwise it's kinda on the simplistic side.


Guardian Heroes was Saturn originally, it was ported to XBLA but while "arcade" that isn't coin op.

In that regard more recent types would be

Code of Princess
Dragon Marked for Death