Gate of Doom
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According to an ancient legend of the Kingdom of Etrulia, should the people get corrupted by wickedness, demons and devils would break through the Gate of Doom, ruling the land as their own. However, by the same time four heroes with different powers would be summoned by the Force Divine to destroy the monsters of darkness and using the magic gem and magic crown they would try to lock the Gate of Doom forever.
Dark Seal was originally released in arcades in 1990. It is a beat'em-up in a fantasy set. One or two players (in co-op mode) can choose among 4 different characters: the Knight (who has a strong weapon), the Wizard (who has powerful magic), the Bard (who's immune to poison) and the Ninja (who has high-speed movement). The characters are viewed in an isometric perspective and can move and attack in all 8 directions, though they can't move while attacking.
All characters wield mid-range weapons. The Knight uses a morning star, the Wizard uses a magic flame pillar, the Bard uses an elastic spetum and the Ninja uses shurikens. They can also use magical attacks when a magic meter shown at the side of the screen is full. A book of spells keeps flipping its pages, showing a different spell in each page. Once the player hits the spell button, the spell showing in that moment in the book is activated, transforming him or her into different elemental forms (a tornado, a sparkling cloud, a bush of fire, etc.), lasting until the magic meter is depleted.
The enemies are typical fantasy ones, such as skeletons, ghouls, kobolds, etc. Some of them can poison or confuse the players. Throughout the game, chests can be found containing items can be collected to fill the characters life and magic meters, as well as items such as armor parts which can improve players stats.
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- ダークシール - Japanese spelling
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Credits (Arcade version)
33 People (23 developers, 10 thanks) · View all
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Average score: 61% (based on 9 ratings)
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Trivia
Trademark infringement
In 1994, Data East accused the developers of the Doom game, id Software, of trademark infringement, alleging that their game Dark Seal had been localized and released as Gate of Doom, which they believed was too similar to their own title. To address the dispute, Jay Wilbur, a representative from id Software, traveled to Japan to meet with Data East.
According to John Romero, one of the co-founders of id Software, the negotiations between the two parties were surprisingly brief, lasting only five minutes. During this time, Data East initially demanded a settlement amount of $1 million as compensation for the alleged trademark infringement.
However, after some discussion and back-and-forth, both parties were able to reach a resolution. Ultimately, id Software agreed to pay Data East $500,000 to settle the conflict and put an end to the trademark infringement claim.
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Contributors to this Entry
Game added by chirinea.
PlayStation 4, Windows added by Rik Hideto. Nintendo Switch added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. Antstream added by firefang9212.
Additional contributors: Foxhack, UV, Cantillon, Kam1Kaz3NL77.
Game added May 5, 2010. Last modified February 24, 2025.