Deadly Towers is an action role-playing game co-developed by Lenar and Tamtex for Irem as a software title for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). It was released in Japan on December 15, 1986, and in North America in September of the following year. In Japan, Deadly Towers was titled Mashō (魔鐘), literally meaning "Evil Bell". It is a pun of the word mashō (魔性), meaning "devilishness", and in keeping with this theme, the Japanese cartridge contained a red LED at the top which illuminated when turned on. Irem intended the game's English-language title to be Hell's Bells, but Nintendo of America refused to issue the game a Nintendo Seal of Quality unless Broderbund changed the name. In North America, it was one of Irem's first titles on the NES, alongside Spelunker and Sqoon. Plot On the eve of his coronation ceremony, Prince Myer sits at a lakeside to ponder the future of his kingdom. Suddenly, a shadowy kami called Khan rises from the lake and coalesces into the form of a man. Khan doesn't identify himself, but he greets Prince Myer by name, and informs him that Rubas, the "Devil of Darkness", is preparing to overtake Willner Kingdom by using seven magic bells capable of summoning an army of monsters. To ensure peace, Khan says, Prince Myer must travel to the northern mountain to burn the seven bells in the sacred flame, burn down the seven bell towers in Rubas's magic palace and, ultimately, defeat Rubas himself. The game begins outside Rubas's palace, a labyrinth filled with monsters. The player's objective is to kill Rubas. In order to do this, Prince Myer must first defeat the boss in each of the seven bell towers, collect the seven bells, and burn the bells in the sacred flame. Burning the bell also destroys the tower. When Prince Myer burns all seven bells, a door opens that leads to the final battle with Rubas. Gameplay Rubas's palace is presented in oblique perspective. The nonlinear gameplay is comparable to that of The Legend of Zelda. In most rooms of the palace, the screen does not scroll. Outside the palace and in the room containing the sacred flame, the room scrolls sideways; in bell towers, it scrolls vertically. Prince Myer can walk in eight directions, and he attacks by throwing a sword. The player earns coins (a currency called ludder) by killing monsters; ludder can