Dungeon Explorer II (TurboGrafx-16)

Sometimes a nice, cozy retread is just what the doctor ordered. Case in point: 1993’s Dungeon Explorer II for the TurboGrafx-16. The original’s slick Gauntlet-inspired multiplayer action made it stand out among the system’s 1989 launch lineup. Dungeon Explorer II made the leap from cartridge to CD-ROM, using all that extra memory to realize what’s effectively an extended take on its predecessor with amped-up music and a few voiced cutscenes. If it wasn’t for the huge logos situated front and center on the main display, you’d be hard-pressed to tell screenshots of the two apart. Good thing I found Dungeon Explorer such a joy, especially with friends, that roughly 150% more of it feels like a sweet deal rather than a missed opportunity.

The evil King Natas has returned and once again seeks the all-powerful artifact known as the Ora so that he can dominate the world. Natas has a right-hand man this time, the dark magician Phades, who roams the land doing his master’s dirty work and seems to have a hidden agenda of his own. While this plot is basic and ostensibly similar to what came before, I can at least applaud the designers at Hudson Soft for presenting it in a more interesting manner. Cutscenes afford the villains the screen time they need to actually be villains. Their roles aren’t limited to sitting around in the last room of the last dungeon waiting for you to show up and slaughter them. That sort of passive off-screen opposition was a bane of far too many otherwise excellent old games. It also helps that the English localization and voice casting by Working Designs is above average for the period.

As per the previous game, you and up to four other players begin your journey with the choice of eight main heroes. Each has his or her own pros and cons rooted in the starting values of four primary stats: Attack, Agility, Strength, and Intelligence. In addition, every character wields two magic spells, one white (defensive) and the other black (offensive). Magic use is dependent on your current stock of white and black potions. Run out of a given potion color and you’ll be unable to cast that spell until you replenish your supply. Hidden characters make their return as well. There are six to recruit, upping the roster to a robust fourteen. I’m a fan of the warrior princess and the machine gunning robot, myself.

New to this installment are a handful of optional locations and short sidequests scattered throughout the game world that can only be accessed by specific classes. You might come across a locked door that can only be opened by a thief, for example, or a village of xenophobic elves. The reward for finishing one of these is often a permanent upgrade to the hero in question, making them tempting indeed. Fortunately for all you completionists out there, you’re no longer restricted to a single character per playthrough. Instead, you’re free to swap between the entire cast at will by visiting a tavern and talking to the barmaid. This ability to try out different options without having to restart the whole game every time is another welcome refinement, as is the “fast travel” mechanic that makes revisiting previously off-limits areas a cinch.

Apart from these tertiary tweaks, the heart of the Dungeon Explorer experience remains frantic overhead-view action. Move and fire in eight directions, keep an eye out for power-ups, and be sure to take out those pesky enemy generators as quickly as possible on your way to the boss. Kill the boss to obtain a crystal that will permanently raise your maximum hit points and increase the stat of your choice. Then it’s on to next dungeon to do it all over. Even with those added story sequences and side missions, the more cerebral elements of the adventure and RPGs genres are still downplayed here in favor of arcade style pick-up-and-play combat.

As a near carbon copy of a game that already took considerable inspiration from a certain Atari classic, Dungeon Explorer II won’t win any awards for originality. If you loved the first as much as I did, however, it’s virtually guaranteed to win you over. You get a lengthier quest with more dungeons to delve, more monsters to bash, more playable characters to experiment with, and a more compelling story tying it all together. It represents a purely iterative approach to sequel design, sure, but one that works for me.