Considering how influential Dungeons & Dragons has been on the roleplaying genre of video games it should come as no surprise that the D&D brand has had its fair share of video games running parallel to the titanic tabletop game over the last 4 decades. Smash hits like the Baldur’s Gate series are the obvious examples, but if you know anything about my reviews you know that I like to bust out half-forgotten gems when opportunity knocks. So today I’ll be delving into Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara, an out-of-left-field collaboration between D&D and Capcom from the mid-1990s. Chronicles of Mystara is a duology of belt-scrolling beat ‘em ups consisting of 1994’s Tower of Doom and 1996’s Shadow over Mystara which was rereleased as a collection in 2013.

Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom

The Republic of Darokin is under attack by the forces of the Archlich Deimos. A party of four adventurers including the Cleric, the Dwarf, the Elf, and the Fighter rise up and defeat these monsters and save the people of Darokin. Tower of Doom’s plot might not be the most deep or interesting story in the world, but as a 90s arcade beat ‘em up it certainly doesn’t detract from the experience. Heck, it’s probably the kind of story you’re likely to find at your average D&D table so as an adaptation of the source material it’s honestly quite faithful.

Visually the game is an interesting blend of Capcom’s colorful, exaggerated sense abilities and the art found in many classic D&D books. At first this combination can feel a little weird when Capcom’s cartoonish original characters face off against grotesque D&D monsters like Beholders and Displacer Beasts, but it certainly wasn’t a deal breaker and it’s grown on me quite a bit. Unfortunately the game’s music isn’t so lucky. I wouldn’t call the songs bad per say, but they’re pretty generic and blend into the background most of the time.

By 1994 Capcom was a powerhouse when it came to beat ‘em ups and in my opinion Tower of Doom is no exception. There is a plethora of universal actions players can take including blocking, crouching, jumping, sliding, sprinting, and various attacks in combination with all of the above. The game also includes an inventory system that allows them to use items and spells to supplement their natural abilities, though each item and spell can only be used so many times. This inventory system goes a long way in harkening back to D&D’s roots not only because of classic spells like Fireball and Sticks to Snakes (Exodus reference!), but because it emulates the feeling of a tense dungeon crawl where players are encouraged to open chests, loot enemies, and search for hidden rooms in order to find items that will help them survive.

One of the golden rules all good D&D players stick by is don’t split up the party because there is strength in numbers and everyone has a weakness. So it should come as no surprise that Tower of Doom gets really good when you grab a few friends for some co-op. You can play the game with up to 4 players at a time, one for each of the game’s unique playable characters. The Dwarf and the Fighter deal big damage on the frontlines while the Cleric and the Elf provide support using defensive and offensive magic respectively. By covering each other’s weaknesses a group of players can overcome most obstacles in the game much faster than they could alone to the point where I would say multiplayer is the primary reason to play Tower of Doom at all.

Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara

Two years have passed since the events of Tower of Doom and the Cleric, the Dwarf, the Elf, and the Fighter now travel to the land of Glantri seeking new adventures. Accompanied by two new companions, the Magic-User and the Thief, the adventurers become embroiled in a new conflict against the evil dragon sorceress Synn who is preparing to summon a fiend from the underworld and conquer the Mystara. Shadow over Mystara’s plot is as simple and straightforward as its predecessor, but by simply raising the stakes it feels like a natural progression from what came before. The visual and audio aspects of the game are about the same as the first since it reuses many assets which is fine because the game is still aesthetically pleasing 28 years later.

Shadow over Mystara expands the gameplay of Tower of Doom primarily by giving characters Street Fighter-esque special moves which further enhances their combat abilities. The Magic-User and the Thief are welcome additions as well. The new characters can’t utilize shields, but with the Magic-User’s large arsenal of powerful spells and the Thief’s unique mobility options they more than make up for the lost defense. In all honesty Shadow over Mystara improves so much of what Tower of Doom did well that it almost invalidates the latter’s existence. Don’t get me wrong, Tower of Doom is still a good game, but between it and Shadow over Mystara I would choose the sequel every time.

From the Catholic perspective I don’t have much to say about Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara that I haven’t already said in my review of the 5th edition rulebooks for the tabletop game. I will say I appreciate how older editions of D&D and by extension these beat ‘em ups are more explicit about the game’s Christian influences. The Cleric for example can only use blunt weapons, something priests and monks actually practiced in the medieval period, and has biblically inspired spells like the aforementioned Sticks to Snakes.

Chronicles of Mystara holds up really well in terms of beat ‘em ups with refined combat, a unique aesthetic, and good replay value. I’d definitely recommend playing these games with friends however, as single player can be kind of a grind without a buddy to watch your back. It might not be the kind of game we’d expect from Dungeons & Dragons, and yet it’s surprisingly faithful all the same.

Rating: 80%

Gameplay: 5/5

Story: 3/5

Visuals: 4/5

Sound: 3/5

Replayability: 5/5

Morality/Parental Warnings

Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is an action game with plenty of violence and some instances of blood. Some of the game’s characters wear sexualized outfits. Players and enemies alike have access to magic spells, but there aren’t any real incantations or rituals. The game’s enemies consist of a wide variety of monsters, beasts, demons, and undead creatures taken from popular fantasy fiction and pagan mythology.

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