Dungeon Explorer (1989 video game)

Dungeon Explorer
Developer(s)Atlus
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Kazutoshi Ueda
Yōsuke Niino
Programmer(s)Takashi Hasegawa
Uni Arato
Artist(s)Hideyuki Yokoyama
Hiroshi Tsuji
Yoshiaki Kitamura
Composer(s)Tsukasa Masuko
SeriesDungeon Explorer
Platform(s)TurboGrafx-16
Release
  • JP: 4 March 1989
  • NA: 15 November 1989
Genre(s)Action role-playing game
Dungeon crawl
Hack and slash
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer (up to five players via TurboTap)

Dungeon Explorer[a] 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).
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