Cadash

Combining a brisk platformer with RPG elements was hardly common at the end of the eighties — and that's exactly why Cadash stands out as a bold hybrid that retains its idiosyncratic charm to this day. This action game from Taito combines fantasy adventure, combat action, and light role-playing elements into a single accessible and enjoyable whole.

At its core it's an action platformer where you advance forward, hack down enemies, and defeat bosses, but Cadash also throws in an RPG layer: your character collects experience, levels up, gains new equipment and spells, and visits towns where you shop and talk to characters. This mix gives the game more depth and a sense of progression than the purely arcade action games of the era offered. There's also a choice of several character classes, which affects the play style.

Originally it was an arcade machine, and its strong point was multiplayer cooperative play — the shared adventure of fighting through a fantasy world with a friend is among the best Cadash has to offer. The home console versions then made this experience accessible outside the arcades too.

Cadash is interesting mainly as an early example of the genre blending that later became commonplace. Where many titles chose either pure action or full-blooded RPG, Cadash took the middle path and bet on immediately graspable fun with a light touch of adventure. It's this accessibility that makes it a pleasant title even for players who usually steer clear of big RPGs.

Today it's a lovely reminder of an era when arcades experimented with format and when the combination of sword, magic, and platform jumping felt fresh and exciting.

Why play: An enjoyable hybrid of action platformer and RPG with a choice of classes and great co-op — an accessible fantasy adventure with a sense of progression.