A wedding should be a joyous time, one in which smiles are the order of the day and the bride and groom are in a blissful state.

But if evil rears its ugly head, and disrupts that wedding with its own malevolent agenda, then the day belongs to the sword … well, it does if the game is The Nightmare of Druaga – Fusigino dungeon. It is the day when the future king, Gil, is to marry the love of his life, Ki. As the final preparations are being made, the city in the kingdom of Babylim comes under attack by monsters.

Being a gallant warrior, pledged to defend his city, Gil rushes off to battle the mobs. But while he is occupied, a masked enchantress steals into the city and kidnaps Ki. Gil’s task is to battle through the murky depths of the Tower of Druaga, a formidable hold of evil that was cleansed years before, and rescue his fair lady.

The title is a PlayStation 2 dungeon crawl from Arika and Namco Hometek, which combines dynamic lighting and shadows, an “at-once” combat system and minor role-play elements. The plot seems overworked and the game itself has some confusing elements, which detract from the game play. The game does sport a solid pedigree – it is based on the 1984 Japanese title, The Tower of Druaga, combined with Chunsoft’s Mysterious Dungeon series.

But while the game sports decent graphics, it is rather average in terms of action-based gameplay, and the driving motivation is tired. Could this game have been much better than delivered? Probably not, given the game parameters. And unless you make a habit of saving the game, you are in for a treadmill of restarts that just gets downright frustrating.

The save function on this game is a bit of a nightmare in its own right. As you clear a level, you are given the option of saving and quitting. There does not seem to be the option of merely saving the game and continuing. The levels are not overly large, but if you die, you risk losing everything, thus saving is a wise idea.

The gameplay itself is predicated on the dungeon-crawl ideal, with small levels, mobs that work toward you at a slower pace than you can move. The game is three dimensional, with the L1 and R1 allowing you to rotate the camera for viewing the dungeon, and the interface provides a map of the each floor. The goal of each level is to beat all the mobs, find all the treasure, pick up the key and move to the door. If you break down the door, you get an instanced dungeon with some very tough mobs, but a decent chance of good rewards. If you use the key, you advance to the next level of the dungeon (or descend into it).

As you find items, some may be easy to ascertain what they other while others may need to be appraised. To appraise items, you need to use the feather you are given each time you enter the dungeon to return to town, then go to the academy of science and speak to the appraiser. For a fee, he will tell you what each item is. And you can combine the properties of items to create a more formidable item.

Another aspect of the game is the inscriptions. Inscriptions can only be attached to a finite number of items, but by inscribing an item means you will not lose it if you fall in a dungeon. You will also lose half your gold as well. There are severe reprimands for trying to short through the cycle of time and reset the adventure.

The game’s control elements take a little time to get familiar with, despite their simplistic nature. The D-pad actually controls movement with the left thumbstick cycling through potions and other items you can use in the dungeon. Graphically the game has very nice, lush textures and the lighting effects add to the game. The soundtrack, however, needs to be retired. That clunking, chunky movement sound needs to go the way of the dinosaurs.

The Nightmare of Druaga does sport an ‘at-once turn system’ for its combat, which is essentially akin to real-time combat. For each action there is a reaction. The faster the action, the higher priority it is given. Combat speed is important. While the game purports to hold to the turn-based style of gaming, the combat speed gives this a fluid movement, which is like real-time combat.

The Nightmare of Druaga has charming elements, and some not so charming. It is an arcade title, with small levels, saving problems and a tired storyline. The game is not overly challenging, either. Ten years ago, this would have been a solid performer. It stumbles often when held up to the light of current titles.

Gameplay: 6

The save feature is not good, and the levels are not that big. Coupled with the death penalty, these elements add up to a poor design.

Graphics: 7
The game uses solid lighting and shadows, and the characters, while not that well animated, are quite lush. This is a look of the older arcade scrolling games, in a more three-dimensional setting, and is likely one of the bright spots of the game.

Sound: 5.5

The music score is pleasant enough, but the clunking sound of the walking gets very old very fast. These sound effects are not conducive to good RPG games. Each step sounds like a Clydesdale tromping on a steel deck.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

This game does not overly challenge the cerebral functions of players, and while the mobs are progressively tougher, you can move around many of them.

Concept: 6
This is a game that may have gone over well 10 years ago, but today the core structure is not that good.

Overall: 6.7
While the game has some charming elements, and the gameplay has some challenge, it is hard to really recommend this game. Errors in the preview version have carried over to the retail game and these elements can make some of the game play frustrating. The graphical elements are very nice, and somewhat simplistic, and growing your character with armor is enjoyable. Unfortunately, the gameplay holds this back and the sound effects should have been discontinued 10 years ago, which is when this game would have been a solid performer.