I kind of wanted to review this game, just so I could use that quote. It’s not often you get to drop a Busta Rhymes/Tribe Called Quest quote in an SJ video game review! Anyway, this game is very unique, because it’s a hack-n-slash action game with heavy RPG elements that originally came out in the arcades.  I know what you’re thinking—how can a stand up arcade machine also be an RPG? Well, that’s what made the game different and actually kind of brilliant.

Well, brilliant in terms of making players want to keep feeding it quarters! In most games, you keep putting in quarters because you run out of lives and want to continue. In this one, you want to keep putting in quarters, because your character’s leveled up, gotten good armor, and you don't want to lose all that good stuff.

And that’s not the only RPG element in the game. You can go into town and talk to the townsfolk. Classic RPG fun! You can choose different paths to take and modify your stats by changing armor and equipment by picking up new ones and dropping the old ones. You don’t get detailed stats on the items, so you sort of have to guess exactly how good or bad it is for your character. It’s not exactly rocket science, and if you’ve played D&D, you’ll recognize a lot of the items.

The combat in the game is far more varied and engrossing that the average side-scrolling beat-em-up. Each character has special abilities, which can be selected from an easy to use “ability wheel.” Just move the joystick and “arm” whatever ability you want. It can be healing abilities, destructive ones, special potions, ranged attacks, or even a block in the case of the Dwarf (my favorite character!).

Aside from that, you also have your basic attacks and some Street Fighter-esque super moves. That’s right, you’ll have to practice your moves so you can fight with maximum destructive power! You also have a “desperation move” that does mega damage and will get the enemy off you, but will also hurt you.

There are six characters, and each plays totally different. This gives the game great replay value. And adding to that, there are multiple paths throughout the game, so even if you get bored of the characters, you can replay the game to find all the different areas.

The game also has a lot of personality. For instance, when you go into town to buy stuff at the shop, if you keep poking the maiden with your “hand pointer,” she’ll tell you off. There are also some downright hilarious moments, like when you get shrunk so you can go into the gnome village. The whole game is full of little extras and humor that set it apart from the average quarter-muncher.

New with this version are the “House Rules,” which allow you to modify the game’s rules to change up the gameplay. You can do stuff like regenerate health after killing enemies, make items unbreakable, lose money instead of health, and more. But you have to unlock these rules by completing the game’s challenges. It’s a nice added feature that might help you squeeze a bit more fun out of the game.

The game also comes with Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom, which came out first and essentially is a pared-down version of Mystara. But hey, it’s nice that they packed them both together.

This game is an absolute blast, and one of those rare old-school games that is just as fun to play now as it was when it came out.  It’s even better if you missed it the first time (like me) or are a D&D fan, as you’ll have a good time seeing the monsters come to life straight out of the pages of the D&D Monster Manual.

Hint: This is just like real Dungeons & Dragons—the more people playing it, the more fun it is. So get a good group and go forth, young adventurer!

by Urian Brown