Manual Stimulation (The Tower of Druaga, Famicom)

Before I say anything else here, I need to point out that you have to click on the scans below if you want to take a closer look at them.

Maybe you've been doing that all along, and this is old news, but I thought I'd mention it now, just in case. Because I can only imagine how big of a bummer it must be for some of you to come to these posts only to then feel disappointed by how small the manual scans initially appear.



(Make sure you also click on other images and photos that appear on this blog, by the way. A good example: the scans of the front and back of City Connection's Famicom box that opened and closed my recent "Great Gaymathon" review of that Jaleco-made game.)

With that out of the way, let's get to the focus of this write-up: the instruction manual produced for the Famicom port of Namco's (or in this case, Namcot's) The Tower of Druaga.



If this is the first you've heard of this 1985 release, it's basically an action RPG set in a maze-filled tower. Or I guess you could call it an old-school tower-crawler (as opposed to a dungeon-crawler) with some randomly generated elements.

Sadly, both of those descriptions make The Tower of Druaga sound a lot more interesting than it really is.



In reality, the game's awfully repetitive -- both from an aesthetics and gameplay standpoint. Every one of the 60 floors of the titular tower look pretty much the same. The enemies that stalk those stages change now and then, which is nice, but I'm not sure I'd say that'll be enough to keep your eyes from glazing over at some point.

Also, the same jangly tune plays throughout this often-laborious adventure. Which would be fine if the tune in question were as much of a bop as, say, Bubble Bobble's theme, but it's not.



Still, I'm glad I own a copy of this iteration of The Tower of Druaga. As is the case with pretty much all of Namco's earliest Famicom games, its box is a sight to behold. (I especially like the back of these old boxes, by the way. There's something special about the way they juxtapose a large, full-cover screenshot with just enough explanatory text to pique your interest.)

Its cart label is similarly snazzy, by the way, and as you've learned via this blog post, its instruction manual has plenty going for it as well.



My favorite part of The Tower of Druaga's manual, it has to be said, is its last couple of pages. So much entertainment can be gleaned from its handful of hastily crafted (or so it seems) illustrations.



The best of the bunch, of course, is the dragon that can be seen in the top-middle square on page seven (two scans above), although most of the others are worth ogling, too.

What do you think of this particular piece of gaming paraphernalia? Do any portions of it speak to you, or at least mildly interest or amuse you? If so, share your thoughts in the comments section below.

See also: 'Manual Stimulation' posts about City Connection, Door Door and Yume Penguin Monogatari

Three PC Engine games I want to like, but can't

Although all of the games detailed in this post were developed by the folks at Namco/Namcot, don't take that to mean that I dislike Namcot products. On the contrary, I consider some of the company's games--such as Dig Dug, Galaga, Mappy and Pac-Man--to be all-time favorites.

That said, the following trio of PC Engine releases are games that I'd love to call all-time favorites but can't for a number of reasons.

1. Barunba (1990)

Why I want to like it: The game's logo is pretty spiffy (it even has stars where the letters' holes should be!), as is its overall cover art, which showcases what seems to be Barunba's raison d'etre--its globe-shaped ship with its rotatable weapons.

Why I can't: Unfortunately, said cover art is, by far, the best thing about this forced-scrolling shmup. Its graphics can only be described as ugly, and its sound effects are just this side of ear-splitting. The worst part of this pixelated package, though, is that it's flat-out boring thanks in large part to overly long and uninspired levels.

2. Pac-Land (1989)

Why I want to like it: I distinctly remember seeing this game for the first time in a local arcade. "It's like Pac-Man mixed with Super Mario Bros!" I thought with amazement and wonder. (Superficially, that thought was spot-on, by the way, as Pac-Land looks exactly as you'd expect a Pac-Man-based platformer from the 8-bit era to look.)

Why I can't: Then I played it. To say I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be would be a massive understatement. The graphics are dull, but I'd happily embrace them if the gameplay weren't even duller--not to mention overly difficult. That rather brutal combination keeps me from playing it more than once or twice a year--and even then I only do so for a few minutes (which is how long it takes me to remember what an absolute turd this game is).

3. Wonder Momo (1989)

Why I want to like it: I hate to sound like a broken record, but Wonder Momo shares a number of traits with Barunba. Specifically, it has cute cover art ... and that's about it. OK, so it also has a cute protagonist.

Why I can't: A cute protagonist doesn't mean much, though, when the game she stars in is a complete and utter bore. It means even less when said game features iffy controls (Wonder Momo's jump kick is the worst offender here) and yawn-inducing enemy designs and backdrops.

I can't publish this post without mentioning that I originally intended to include The Tower of Druaga, too, but after picking up and playing it for the first time in a number of months (if not years) I discovered that the game isn't as bad as I thought it was. In fact, I now quite like it--although I can understand why many feel otherwise.

Note: This post originally appeared on my other gaming blog, iwasateenagepcenginefan.wordpress.com.

Famicom Friday

The folks from UPS have dropped a number of packages at my doorstep over the last few days. The contents of those packages: Six Famicom games I purchased (via eBay) shortly after my birthday.

Five of those games--BurgerTime, Mappy, Pac-Man, Sky Kid and The Tower of Druaga (below)--were produced by the fine folks at Namcot.

As for the sixth game, well, I'm pretty sure most of you have heard of it.

(It's the original Super Mario Bros., in case you can't make that out in the photo above.)

Isn't that banana-yellow cartridge grand?

Check out my Flickr photostream (here) if you want to see more Glamour Shot-esque pics of my latest gaming haul.