Cadash

released on Dec 31, 1989

Cadash is an early example of what would become a fairly common trend in Japanese-made arcade games of the early 1990s: the "platform-RPG". Cadash borrows many principles of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link's gameplay, combining side-scrolling platform action with an RPG system of statistics, levels, money and magic. Four characters can play at once in the arcade version, and up to two players may select from four different characters in the console versions: fighter, mage, priestess, and ninja, each with different attacks, statistics and skills. Players then proceed through each level, killing monsters and bosses, collecting keys to unlock doors and collecting gold and experience. Gold is also taken from slain foes and treasure chests. Villages sell items, weapons, armor and (in the console versions) extra lives, with each village encountered providing better equipment. Some villagers and benevolent creatures will also provide information. The arcade version has a limited game time, which can be extended by buying progressively more expensive hourglasses at shops, or by picking up rare bonuses. In shops, and in hidden places, are medicinal herbs which restore 10 HP if brought to zero, and antidotes which cure poison inflicted by specific foes. There are also two elixirs in the game that act like medicinal herbs, except that they restore all HP. There are five stages in the game. Stages one, two and four consist of two worlds, above and below ground. Stage three consists of three worlds. Stage five is set entirely within Castle Cadash. The environments differ significantly, from pleasant meadows to caves, and from forests to underwater environments. Some foes encountered in these levels are derived from common mythology while others are completely made up for the game.


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When it comes to arcade games, there are a lot of genres that you can expect to find out of most titles. Space shooters, run ‘n gunners, beat-’em-ups, and fighting games are generally what you will find most often whenever you walk into an arcade somewhere, but of course, there are plenty of titles from the arcades that take a less common genre found there and try to experiment with it. One such genre would be the RPG, which you would generally never see fully within an arcade game. Given how RPGs typically are these big, open-ended games that will take many hours to fully complete, and wouldn’t typically work for a type of game that usually requires inserting money into it to keep going. That being said, there have been plenty of games that have taken the RPG genre and mixed it with other genres for arcade games, which have made some pretty solid titles, with one of the best examples that I have seen of this being with today’s game, Cadash.

I have heard about this game now for a little bit now, its name circulating around the internet, and I have heard that it was a pretty solid game, along with the ports of the game also being hot garbage. Of course, given how I apparently can’t change my habits, I then went for a long time without trying the game for myself to see if these claims were true, but now, I decided to finally give it a shot, and see if it really is that good. Thankfully, after I now have played through the game, I can say that I genuinely had a pretty great time with the game, and I would say that it is really good for what it is. Obviously, a lot of it is generic for an arcade title, and there definitely will be things here that some others would not get much out of, but for me, it was really refreshing to play a game like this, and I’m glad that I finally tried it out.

The story is literally every generic medieval plot ever, where the princess Sarasa is kidnapped by the evil Baarogue, and it is up to a team of your generic fantasy heroes to go on an epic journey to save her, which is fine for the type of game this is, but I wish there was at least some little difference in the story, the graphics are typical for a late 80s Taito arcade game, but it still looks good enough, and there was nothing off-putting about the presentation directly, the music is also typical for this kind of game, but there were some tracks in there that I did really like, such as the jingle you get for getting a quest item, the control is exactly what you would expect for this type of game, which works well enough, even if some stuff like talking to NPCs can be a little wonky at times, and the gameplay is about what you would expect when you look at screenshots for the game, but there is that little more implemented from the RPG genre in there to make it more unique and charming.

The game is primarily an action-adventure platformer, where you take control of one of four warriors, each falling under a class that you would typically find in an RPG, travel through the many different lands that are found in the land of Cadash, defeat many different monsters and enemies that will attempt to take you down through several different means, gather plenty of gold, upgrades, and health items that will help you out along the way, and defeat plenty of big bosses that will give you quite a challenge… at least, they would, if you don’t properly level yourself up and get plenty of equipment. So yeah, on the platforming side of things, it is pretty typical for an arcade game, so there is nothing to get excited about there. What is there to get you excited though, however, is how seamlessly this game mixes the platforming elements with RPG and adventure elements.

Everything surrounding the base gameplay works pretty much exactly like a traditional RPG would from around that time. You can travel through towns, talk with NPCs to learn more about the world, go to various shops to buy items, armor, and weapons, as well as Inns to fully heal yourself, you can receive status ailments like poison that you would need to heal with antidotes, and as you fight enemies, you will gain experience points and eventually level up, increasing your strength, health, and other stats the more levels you gain. In addition to this, the way you progress through the game also works like how an RPG would, where you will need to go out of your way to get certain items from certain places, and then need to backtrack to previous areas to use these items to proceed forward. Like with the platforming elements, these mechanics are very typical for an RPG, but once again, what makes these mechanics exciting and interesting is how they are very well blended into the platforming gameplay, making the game more fun as a result. What also helped this was how you do feel a gradual sense of progression throughout the game, with you feeling stronger the more you gain levels and when you buy more powerful gear.

Now, despite all of that sounding like a pretty good match, there are definitely some problems that do hold the game back. In terms of all of the minor issues, there is a bit of arcade syndrome to be found here, where the game will throw plenty of enemies at you at once to hopefully try to replicate difficulty, but thankfully, this time around, it really isn’t that big of a deal. There is a timer, which I feel isn’t really needed for a game like this, and there are several instances where you have to refight bosses that you have previously defeated, which is somewhat annoying, but again, you have gotten stronger ever since first encountering them, so it isn’t that big of an issue either. For all the major issues, first of all, the game can be repetitive, where for most of the sections of the game, you just have to go through, kill a bunch of enemies, fight a boss, and move on, with maybe a bit of shopping here or there to get better gear, which could turn some away, but thankfully for me, it didn’t really bother me too much. And finally, there are a LOT of grammar errors in this game. Seriously, I know this is a common thing that I have been noticing with Taito arcade games, but there are so many to be found here, usually with there being at least one per conversation. It does get laughs out of me, especially with how ridiculous some of them can be, but seriously, someone needed to proof-read this three times over to fix everything.

Overall, despite several issues that do hold the game down, I ended up having a really good time with Cadash, and I think it is one of the more unique arcade platformers out there, one that I would absolutely love to go back to at some point in the future while controlling another character. I would highly recommend it for those who like arcade platformers, as well as those who are fans of RPGs, as both groups would probably find something to like about this game when trying it out. It is a shame though that this never got any kind of follow-up of any kind. Then again, I’m sure if there was a follow-up, it would probably ruin what this game had already done, and we already have the ports of the game for that! Don’t need anything else.

Game #423

A remarkably complete "arcade RPG" with level-ups, NPCs, weapon/item shops, gated progression, and class-based co-op... sadly the moment-to-moment gameplay is mediocre-to-bad, but a pretty cool experiment nonetheless. Play co-op and pick the Cleric.

     'So to Celephaïs he must go, far distant from the isle of Oriab, and in such parts as would take him back to Dylath-Leen and up the Skai to the bridge by Nir.'
     – H. P. Lovecraft, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, 1943.

Played during the Backloggd’s Game of the Week (27th Jun. – 3rd Jul., 2023).

The late 1980s and early 1990s are generally credited with the introduction of a hybrid concept combining action, platforming and RPG elements, but the exploration of this genre took different paths depending on the platforms on which the games were released. Computer titles emphasised the formulas Falcom invented with Xanadu (1985) and Ys (1987), namely the dungeon-crawler aspect and the very labyrinthine dungeons. Other developers, such as Game Arts and Renovation Game, came up with Zeliard (1987) and XZR: Hakai no Gōzō (1988), both featuring a side view inside the dungeons. XZR also adopted the idea of a top-down perspective when moving around the overworld.

     The vibrant tradition of Japanese action RPGs in the 1980s

This tradition undoubtedly contrasts with that of arcade and console games, which favoured accessibility and shorter experiences. Contrary to popular belief, the history of this genre is far more complex than the well-known attempts of Zelda II: Adventure of Link (1987) and Castlevania II: Simon's Quest (1987). These titles were part of a movement that had been underway for a number of years, most notably since Dragon Buster (1985). The genre cemented its place in the Japanese collective imagination, to the point where Hudson decided to copy the formula for the surprising port of Xanadu, Faxanadu (1987), which embraced the action side while retaining only a few RPG elements.

Cadash should be seen as a melting pot of ideas from all these pre-existing influences and experiments. Players are sent by King Dilsarl to rescue his daughter, Princess Salasa, who has been kidnapped by the sorcerer Baarogue. As in Gauntlet (1985), each player can choose one of the four available archetypes, each with their own set of abilities. Cadash immediately seems to be a thematic continuation of Taito's earlier game Rastan (1987). The magical skills of the Mage and Priestess are also reminiscent of the spells used in Zeliard, as are some of the bosses they face. The title is packed with references in a strange synthesis of Western high fantasy aesthetics, tropes from previous JRPGs and writing similar to Adventure of Link. Among other things, the slightly unsettling absurdity of the Gnomes' 'horses', whose appearance is ultimately that of featherless chocobos, is quite amusing.

     A heap of borrowed ideas

This chaotic collision of ideas is reflected in both the progression and the gameplay. While the PC Engine port is to blame for the particularly rigid controls, Cadash remains clumsy throughout. Using magic is awkward because the player has to hold down the attack button to cycle through the various spells, wasting vital time as the action becomes frenetic. The game fails to communicate its intentions effectively, and the various stages exemplify this shortcoming. Some sequences are oddly labyrinthine and particularly uncomfortable with the arcade version's timer, while others are unduly linear. The Underground Forest, for example, offers several winding paths, but Cadash Castle is a dull succession of small chambers that disguise the linearity of the progression.

Similarly, the RPG elements seem superfluous. Money is handled in an inconsistent manner: equipment is very inexpensive, but the prices soar for certain key items and stays in inns – this aspect is limited in the console versions, where all prices are somewhat standardised. As a result, Cadash sends out odd signals, putting players in a stressful situation by constantly asking them whether or not they should save some money for a potential key item by avoiding spending the night at an inn, which is the only consistent way to recover hit points. Cadash is still quite enjoyable to play, as the title is very short, but this artificial tension, although it may serve the purpose of immersion, is largely antithetical to the title's exploratory intentions conveyed through its narrative.

     Unsteady narrative temptations

Indeed, Cadash has a surprising narrative structure that stands above the average console title and is closer to the writing style of computer RPGs. Each stage is wrapped in a narrative arc involving the inhabitants of the various regions. There is something touching about Marinade's quest, even if the title never lives up to its potential: the dialogue in the town remains the same even after the young girl sacrificed to the Kraken has been rescued. The vibrant, believable quality of the world invites exploration, but this urge is constantly thwarted by the rather unpleasant combat system. Occasionally, the title – or at least its Western localisation – abandons its serious tone for no reason at all, name-dropping The Ghost Busters (1975) or Carl Sagan. These contrasting moods add to the game's volatile aspect.

The game's title, though probably unrelated, invites a comparison between Taito's approach and that of H. P. Lovecraft's The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (1943). The novella explicitly relies on a persistent and subtle reference to the stylistic materiality of Lord Dunsany's works. In particular, Randolph Carter's feverish, oneiric quest to find Kadath is imbued with the macabre and the spectre of the Great Old Ones. Peter Goodrich points out that '[Lovecraft's] "forbidden knowledge" is the dark side of the equally common "further wonders waiting" topos that Burleson properly identifies as one of Dunsanian features' [1]. In other words, Lovecraft mobilises the wonder of Dunsanian mythology and transmutes it to express the tormented existence of Randolph Carter. Cadash plays to some extent with the same referential framework, but the proposal struggles to establish coherence between all the ideas and remains hollow; by contrast, the strength of Adventure of Link and Castlevania II was precisely the deliberate interplay of contrasts with the previous episode.

__________
[1] Peter Goodrich, 'Mannerism and the Macabre in H. P. Lovecraft's Dunsanian "Dream-Quest"', in Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 15, no. 1, 2004, p. 46.

I genuinely sometimes forget how much I enjoy Cadash (TurboGrafx 16 and Arcade. I have not played the Megadrive/Genesis port).

Cadash is a fairly basic but solid 2D adventure with some RPG elements. Pick your character (Fighter, Mage, Priest, and uh....ninja? Weird choice but ok) and go kill creatures in a Sword and Sorcery fantasy world, gain experience and collect gold to buy some upgrades and.....


Look you get the point. The real deal in Cadash is the Fighter's thighs! Talk about a couple of hams. OOF.

Played as a kid.

You're playing D&D but your party is really boring and also everything is on fire.

(played with maradona)

There's something that feels awfully...clumsy about this one in terms of execution. The action-rpg hybrid thing they seem to be going for here ultimately feels really half baked and more like a shitty Altered Beast type game. As a result of falling more into that category, it feels overlong even at just an hour. It doesn't help that progression is oftentimes hard to figure out in the latter half, usually involving lots of backtracking.

This could probably be something if it was more fleshed out and made for consoles, but I've heard the existing ports are either just as bad or worse. I don't really find this one to be any more than a curiosity.