 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (November 2017) |
| Babylonian Castle Saga | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
| Developer(s) | Bandai Namco Entertainment Game Studio |
| Publisher(s) | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
| Creator(s) | Masanobu Endō |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Fujitsu FM-7, Nintendo Entertainment System, MSX, Super Famicom, PC-Engine, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Windows, Mobile phone, PlayStation 2, Wii, Wii U |
| First release | The Tower of Druaga June 1984 |
| Latest release | The Labyrinth of Druaga January 13, 2011 |
The Babylonian Castle Saga[a] is a Japanese role-playing video game franchise developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment, formerly Namco, for arcades and home video game platforms. Beginning in 1984 with the arcade title The Tower of Druaga, the series would spawn a total of nine sequel and spin-off games, alongside a manga, soundtrack albums, and two anime series by Gonzo K.K. Later entries in the series would be developed by Endo's personal game company, Game Studio.
The series was created by Masanobu Endō, who had previously created Xevious and Grobda. Much of its characters and setting are inspired from Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, such as The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Tower of Babel. The series stars Prince Gilgamesh, a gold-armored knight, and the maiden Ki, in their efforts to protect the mythical Blue Crystal Rod and seal away Druaga, a four-armed demon who seeks the rod to enslave the human race.
The series is known for its high difficulty and for helping to establish the "notebook carrying" trend for Japanese video games - it would also serve as a prime inspiration for other games to follow, including Ys, Hydlide and The Legend of Zelda. Dragon Quest co-creator Koichi Nakamura has also cited the series as a key inspiration for him. International reviews for the series were mixed, with its difficulty and learning curve often criticized, although praise was given for its musical score and historical importance. Several games in the series would be ported over to both digital storefronts and various Namco video game collection titles in following years.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).