Reliving Capcom’s Excellent Dungeons & Dragons Beat ‘Em Up Arcade Games

Dungeons & Dragons has reached new heights in the modern age, with a theatrical film that was released earlier this year and Baldur’s Gate 3 making waves in the video game industry. Needless to say, everyone has D&D fever.

While the pioneer role-playing franchise has seen many different iterations throughout its history, video games have been a natural part of the franchise. Beyond countless imitators in virtual role-playing games, D&D also fits the mold of other genres as well.

One of the most fitting genres, surprisingly enough, is the beat ‘em up genre, a mainstay in arcades back in the 1990s. With the genre’s focus on multiplayer action and players cooperating to defeat waves of foes until the bitter end, it was a match made in heaven.

So if you’re looking for a more unique take on D&D’s conventions, the two arcade games – Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom and its sequel Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara – still hold up today in many regards.

Welcome to Japan

In the ‘90s, it seemed like Capcom could do no wrong as they found all sorts of success in every corner of the video game world. Platformers like Mega Man were doing well on the Nintendo Entertainment System, while Street Fighter II was taking consoles and arcades by storm.

What Capcom could also do well was to take existing franchises and turn them into video game gold. Whether it was the X-Men or Disney’s slate of Saturday morning cartoons, Capcom changed the way licensed games were made.

So when it came time to adapt Dungeons & Dragons, a lot of considerations had to be made: how do you turn the franchise’s signature RPG elements into a beat ‘em up? Even the art style was a point of contention for the development team.

Another notable thing about this game, particularly Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, is that it was one of the last 2D arcade side-scrollers created by Capcom. The rise of 3D games saw the company shift its focus, leading to smash hits like Resident Evil.

Under Control

Beat ‘em up games at the time, like Double Dragon and Capcom’s own Final Fight, were pretty cut and dry. Each player could punch and kick their way against foes, and there were not many variations in terms of actions.

What the two Dungeons & Dragons arcade games offered were unique characters based on signature fantasy classes, who had access to different attacks, spells, and a completely different inventory for each player.

The Magic-User and Fighter, for example, excelled at different things, and players could experience something different each time they played. This also extended to the choices the players had to make, which could then lead to different levels and outcomes.

This showcase of RPG systems in a genre that was somewhat shallow made both of these Dungeons & Dragons arcade games a game changer. The fusing of these genres would be seen again in future games like Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game.

The Modern Age

Playing it in the arcades back in the early 2000s, where holdouts of the golden age of arcade machines still stood, many Southeast Asian kids probably didn’t realise this was a major shakeup in the video game industry. For most of us, these games were just really cool fantasy beat ‘em ups.

Combined with its anime-inspired visuals and the varied enemies the player would encounter like dragons and Displacer Beasts, Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara was a hidden gem amongst cabinets of Daytona USA and Metal Slug.

Thankfully, the Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara collection fully updates both games with HD graphics and a wealth of additional features. It has also been readily available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

More involved Dungeons & Dragons games can be daunting for newcomers, which is why Chronicles of Mystara is the perfect introduction to this highly revered fantasy world. Hopefully, those who play these games will also check out the tabletop original in the future.