Yeah that's right, Nester beat Deadly Towers. Any of your friends ever do that? This is one of those games that everybody has but nobody ever finishes. There are some good reason for this, but I guess I should talk about the quality first.
It seems that everybody online has made it a hobby of talking about how bad this game is. It's almost a rite of passage for any blogger to think of a bunch of off-color jokes about this one. I will say that some of this is deserved, but I do feel like most people are writing about this game without playing it very much. Most people probably play the game for a couple of minutes, get trapped in a dungeon, and then quickly give up on ever playing it again. I can't say I blame you for this, but that doesn't make for particularly in depth reviews.
So what does everybody hate about this game? Well as I said before, it does have those horrible dungeons in it. The dungeons are completely invisible, so you'll just be walking along and suddenly you're trapped with only one way out. People also hate how hard this game is. I'll give you that one too. You start out very weak, and it's hard to figure out how to power up. You can pick up a bunch of hearts which increase your HP. However, just like in Zelda and Metroid you always start back with a fixed amount after you get killed. Yes I did just say this game has something in common with Zelda and Metriod. If this was the typical online review I would start typing a bunch of curse words about the annoying things and then call it done, but there's actually more to this game than that.
What you find when start playing through it is that there's actually a game hidden in there. For example, did you know that some of the dungeons actually serve a useful purpose? There are shops in a few of the dungeons that have most of the items you'll need to take the sting out of this game. When you get killed you start back at the beginning of the game, but after playing it a little while you realize that the overworld is pretty small so getting killed isn't much of a problem. It never takes longer than 10 minutes or so to get anywhere, and after you have some good armor and weapons the monsters are a lot less menacing. Also, did you know that there are actually towers in this game? I played this game for years and never knew that. I don't think most people get there because they are all the way at the top. You'll need to get to the top of those towers and fight a bunch of bosses. It's actually kind of fun.
So what' my advice to people planning on playing through this one? Like with everything else these days, use the internet. I really don't like using online FAQs much, but there are some games that I make an exception for. This game is confusing and full of secrets. I'm sure back in the 80s this was their version of online play. A group of friends would all get this game, play it separately, and share the secrets they discovered with each other. It would be really hard to take on alone, but together it could probably be conquered. Today we don't really have the luxury of having a bunch of people on the playground to talk to, so we have to turn to the internet. I don't see any shame in that.
So as I was saying, I actually had some fun with this one. It's one of the only games I've ever played that was both too hard and too easy. Once you get all the good equipment it's not too bad and the bosses will go down easy. It's certainly a testament to not giving up. All I've ever heard about this game is snarky internet comments. Seanbaby, whoever that is, even picked this game has the #1 worst game on the system. I played through it and I think it's an interesting old title that does have something to offer to gamers out there. I certainly felt like I accomplished something when it was over. I will remember that forever, and I think that goes a lot farther than making a couple of teenagers chuckle on the internet.
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