Tower Of Druaga Collection

Label:

MVM

Certificate:

12

Format:

DVD

Discs:

6. (24 episodes + bonus episode)

Running time:

540 mins approx

Subtitles:

English

Video:

16:9 anamorphic

Sound:

English 5.1, Japanese 2.0

Release date:

9th May 2011

RRP:

£39.99 - Amazon - Play - MVM

Brief synopsis:

Young Jil dreams of being a mighty warrior, one worthy of scaling the dizzying heights of the Tower of Druaga and claiming the prize held within it’s loftiest levels, this being the legendary Blue Crystal Rod. There are just a couple of minor issues getting in the way. Firstly, the Tower is guarded by a host of powerful demons. Secondly, there are sixty floors of these demons between him and the prize and they have no intention of making the task an easy one. And finally - and this is the big one - Jil is about a big a newbie as they come. Basically, he’s got no chance. But every five years, a magic spell weakens the demons’ powers just enough for only the bravest and most skilled bands of adventurers to try their luck conquering the Tower, and when one such team agrees to let Jil join them it looks like his luck is finally changing. But does Jil have what it takes to make a great warrior or will the Tower of Duraga crush his hopes and claim his life as it has with so many before him.

Comments:

Touted as a loose sequel to the (in)famous 1984 arcade game of the same name (a game so fiendishly hard that, while it was a huge hit in Japan, in the US it flopped harder than a double showing of Battlefield Earth and Ishtar) The Tower of Druaga is arguably one of the most entertaining and genre savvy parodies of the sword and sorcery genre going. In fact, the first episode is designed to be such a ridiculously over the top parody that when, at the last second it goes "ha, fooled ya, it’s all a dream, the rest of the show ain’t gunna be anything like that at all" you can almost feel the collective sigh as it then settles into something much more restrained.

And while I’m talking about the first episode, one of the rather nifty options to be found on the first disc is the ability to watch the first episode again using the “angle” button on your DVD player to flick between the episode as it was previously shown and what “really happened” outside of Jill’s dream. It’s a cool trick and I’m surprised more anime companies don’t try it.

The basic plot is that the somewhat femininely named Jil and his party of adventures (comprising the lancer, the archer, the mage, the tank, the pyro battle chick… well, you get the idea) have to battle their way to the top of the Tower via 60 levels - sorry, floors – filled with traps, demons and more traps in order to complete their quest by obtaining the golden MacGuffin. Most of the time that’s pretty much the plot, just a level of the week to defeat and a quest to be pressing on with without any of it taking itself too seriously. But when occasionally the larger plot does shine through so you’d better be paying attention as when a major mid series plot point pops up it arrives like a kick in the nuts that the hero – and probably a big chunk of the audience – just didn’t see coming.

Animation wise, well, it’s a Gonzo production so the animation’s pretty good throughout, though as we’ve come to expect from Gonzo it does have the occasional – and somewhat noticeable - wobble in the production value department. Surprisingly the 3D works quite well with a lot less of the “OMG! Check out the conspicuous 3D” that so often plague Gonzo’s other works. The art style does at times shift to fit in the “mini games” the party have to complete in order to move on to the next section and occasionally it seems that the Art Dept are trying out something new. Some of these work, some of them don’t, your mileage may vary.

The dub works quite well, for two main reasons really:

1. American dub casts love a good bit of the old swords and sorcery action with plenty of heroic shouting and the saving of princesses wherever possible. They’re good at this kind of thing and they know it so they can have some fun with it, which is a plus.
2. There’s been enough subtle differences between the original Japanese script and the English language “reversioning” that the dub cast can play to their strengths as well as make it a touch easier for the audience to follow what the hell’s going on.

While The Tower of Druaga may not be the best show in the world, or even the most coherent, it's a surprising amount of fun. It’s silly moments are entertaining, the plot) when it appears, and it does so a lot more towards the end) is decent and the sheer number of genre or gaming references – subtle or otherwise – are enough to raise a few smiles along the way.

Extras:

Well apart from the aforementioned “multi angle” trick, and a lone audio commentary for ep5, the extras cupboard is somewhat bare.

Mind you, for the second half of the series though you do get the option to play each disc “uninterrupted”, i.e. without next episode previews and only one set of opening and closing titles, essentially making discs 4 though 6 each a mini movie.

…nah, who am I kidding… that barely counts as an extra. Oh well.

The Tower Of Druaga Collection will be available from most high streets and online retailers from 9th May 2011.