Many titles have followed in the footsteps of The Legend of Zelda (February 1986), which set the standard for action-adventure games on the Famicom. The strength of the overhead camera, the freely designed exploration, the adventurous heroism and the magic of a decaying world: all these elements had propelled the first Zelda to the rank of a classic. Deadly Towers (Mashou, in Japanese) inevitably picks up on these same elements, as it wants to deliver an even more memorable experience, a few months after the release of its founding precursor. More memorable, this experience definitively is, insofar as the title suffers from basic game-design aberrations and seems to have failed to understand everything that made The Legend of Zelda a success.

We play as Prince Myer, who must repel the invasion of the wizard Rubas. As such, the hero must climb the seven towers of the enemy castle, each containing a bell: by destroying all seven of them, Myer can open the way to the sorcerer to end the threat. From the outset, the story narrowed the focus from The Legend of Zelda: indeed, its exploration took all of Hyrule as its playground and it emanated an almost romantic atmosphere – in the literary sense – of decay and finitude. The presence of the various enemies created a desolation that Deadly Towers fails to replicate, in that the threats seem artificial. Beyond this awkward setting, the title tried to innovate with very marked particularities. Immediately, we notice that the hero can move in all eight directions and throw his sword to attack at long range. While the initial ideas are not bad, the execution immediately leaves something to be desired. Firstly, the character struggle to keep up with the erratic movements of the enemies, making it difficult to aim, while it's easy to get stuck in the background or in a ladder – from which the hero cannot throw a sword. On the other hand, Myer can only fire one sword at a time – until the Double Shot or Parallel Shot is obtained, which allows two projectiles to be fired on the screen: this will often leave the player in a helpless position, because a projectile that does not hit its target prevents any defensive action from being taken. Again, the comparison with Zelda is necessary: while the energy projectile was a powerful and desired attack, it never put the player in a weak position, as Link can always swing his sword and slash in front of him in a very pleasant childish frenzy. Deadly Towers punishes any ill-advised action, but all of them will be, as it is very difficult to predict the position of the enemies, as their patterns are erratic, if not completely random.

The title also offers, in addition to the seven mandatory towers, dungeons that allow to acquire equipment by going to the shops inside. The problem is that these dungeons are several hundred screens wide and there is no way to get an in-game map. The design is bland and reminiscent of the worst dungeon crawlers; the game even becomes sadistic, in that the exit is not on the same screen as the entrance, forcing you to get lost in tasteless mazes. The final affront comes from the fact that it is mandatory to explore these dungeons at the beginning of the game. Indeed, Myer starts with a simple sword: he thus takes aggravated damage from every attack, which forces to acquire armour pieces. These are only available in the dungeons – more precisely in the shops. The game's difficulty curve is obscenely steep in the first few minutes and stays as such, unless the player finds all the defensive equipment, hidden in the various towers. They are placed inside secret rooms and invisible portals – which open up Parallel Worlds, though they failed to be interesting in any manner.

These game-design aberrations punctuate the whole title and it is difficult to find any positive points in the game. The bestiary is rudimentary and quickly suffers from repetition, as the game overuses them on every screen. The bosses are all similar – apart from the vertically undulating snake – and are of no interest, as they are easier than the bats or ghosts. The environments have no coherence and do little to build the world. The controls remain consistently rigid and it only becomes tolerable in the final minutes, with a fully-upgraded gear. When hit, the character is not given i-frames, but enters a state of stun-lock. One could go on listing the problems, but it is simpler to point out that the game, for all its attempts to develop the formula of The Legend of Zelda, fails to provide a coherent proposal. Deadly Towers is a game that lives up to its title: cruel and full of critical mistakes, it is impossible to finish without a guide. Avoid it, except perhaps for historical curiosity.

"The kingdom prospered but in 1000 years darkness rose again"
Three seconds later...
"He succeded in the throne and peace will prosper in the future"

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