is an action role-playing video game developed by Atlus for the TurboGrafx-16 and originally published by Hudson Soft in Japan on March 4, 1989, and later in North America by NEC on November 15 of the same year. The first installment in the eponymous franchise, the game is set in the land of Oddesia, which has been overrun by an alien race and where players assume the role of one of eight main characters tasked with recovering the Ora stone to kill the alien king Natas. Co-directed by Kazutoshi Ueda and Yōsuke Niino, the title was created by most of the same team that would work on later several projects such as entries in the Megami Tensei series. Though it was initially launched for the TurboGrafx-16, it was later re-released through download services for various consoles.
Dungeon Explorer garnered positive reception from critics during its initial release and is considered a pioneer title in the action role-playing game genre due to its co-operative multiplayer gameplay for up to five players, but has been met with a more mixed response from reviewers in recent years. It was followed by four sequels: Dungeon Explorer II (1993), Dungeon Explorer for Sega CD and Crystal Beans from Dungeon Explorer (1995), as well as Dungeon Explorer: Warriors of Ancient Arts (2007).
Gameplay
Dungeon Explorer is an action role-playing game with dungeon crawl and hack and slash elements that is played in a top-down perspective reminiscent of Gauntlet where players assume the role of one of the eight main characters tasked with recovering the Ora stone to ultimately kill the alien king Natas and restore peace to the land of Oddesia. Each character belongs to a class (fighter, thief, warlock, witch, bishop, elf, bard, or gnome) and their abilities vary primarily in their black and white magic as well as statistics. For example, the bishop's white potion heals nearby allies, whereas the bard's black potion has the ability to change the music. Special classes, like the princess and hermit, can also be unlocked via password as the game progresses.
The players explore towns or fields to find a dungeon, which hosts a boss that must be defeated to advance and each boss leaves a crystal after their defeat, which cycles through four colors and corresponds with the character's stats (attack, strength, agility and intelligence). Players can also increase their stats by defeating enemies or finding accessories through the map. The game supports up to five players simultaneously but lives are shared between players and the game is over once they are lost. The password system is also used to keep progress for each player.
Synopsis
Dungeon Explorer centers on the quest of several heroes to find the Ora Stone for the king of Oddesia. When the alien race that now rules the land invaded, the stone was hidden deep in the dungeons of the land by the King to keep it safe. Now, however, the king wants the players to recover the stone, which can bring life, light, and happiness to kill the alien king Natas. The heroes progress through several different dungeons, fight fearsome beasts, and finally recover the Ora stone. Upon giving it to the king, the latter reveals himself as Natas and steals the stone. A guard named Judas also betrays the heroes, but is defeated by them. The adventurers then chase and confront Natas, killing him and taking back the Ora stone, ushering in a time of peace.
Development and release
Dungeon Explorer was created by most of the same team that would work on several projects such as later entries in the Megami Tensei series, with Kazutoshi "Boo" Ueda and Yōsuke "HotRice" Niino acting as directors. Takashi "Hieimon" Hasegawa and Uni "oooo" Arato served as programmers, while artists Hideyuki "Tonny" Yokoyama, Hiroshi "BLADOE" Tsuji and Yoshiaki "Sting" Kitamura were responsible for the pixel art. The soundtrack was composed by Tsukasa "Dosanko Macco" Masuko. Other people also collaborated in its development, with Star Parodier designer Tadayuki Kawada being also involved with the project as his first work in the video game industry, supervising the graphics and game balancing.
Dungeon Explorer was first released for the TurboGrafx-16 in Japan by Hudson Soft on March 4, 1989, and later in North America by NEC on November 15 of the same year. The game was later re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in Europe on December 8, 2006, and in North America on January 8, 2007. The Wii version could be played with 5 players, with at least one person using a GameCube controller. The title was also re-released on the Japanese and North American PlayStation Network.