Box art
The Quest of Ki (カイの冒険, Kai no Bōken) is a 2D platformer published by Namcot only in Japan for Famicom in 1988. It is a prequel to The Tower of Druaga, taking place directly before the events of that game.
Story[]
The Sumar Empire took over the kingdom of Babylim and created a large tower to obtain the Blue Crystal Rod in the sky, but the god Anu destroyed the tower. Shortly after this, the demon Druaga rebuilt the tower and took the Blue Crystal Rod, bringing darkness to the kingdom. The goddess Ishtar gives Ki the quest to enter the Tower of Druaga to bring back the Blue Crystal Rod, giving Ki a magic tiara to protect her. Inside the tower, Ki meets the dragon Quox, which helps her by showing shortcuts in the tower. When Ki reaches the 60th floor of the tower, Druaga transforms her into stone.
Gameplay[]
The game is a platformer with 100 stages. On each floor, Ki must find the key to open the door and proceed to the next floor while avoiding enemies like Slimes and Ghosts. Ki can't attack enemies and loses a life when hit, but if she is directly touched by an enemy (with some exceptions, like Vampires and Ogres), they disappear when she returns to the stage, making the path easier. However, all enemies return if the player runs out of lives. Ki will continuously ascend as long as the jump button is held, but if she collides with the ceiling, she will fall to the floor and be stunned for a few seconds. The floors contain treasure chests with items that help Ki complete the floor, but their effects only last for the floor on which they were found.
After completing the 60 normal floors, the player can pass through 40 extra floors that are harder than normal, and include enemies from other Namco games like the ghosts from Pac-Man, Pooka from Dig Dug, and Nyamco from Mappy. Also, Quox is replaced by the Silver Dragon and Black Dragon, which makes Ki return several floors instead of helping her proceed. On the last floor, Gil and Ki compliment the player.
Ports[]
Title screen
The original Famicom game is part of the Japanese version of Namcot Collection, released in 2020.
An enhanced version of the game was released for mobile phones in Japan in 2009.
Like many Famicom games, the game received an arcade release in Japan for Nintendo's Vs. System in 1988, titled Vs. The Quest of Ki. Hamster Corporation released a port of this version in 2024 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 as part of their Arcade Archives series. While this version is available for purchase internationally, it remains untranslated.
Video[]
| The Quest of Ki and Sangokushi: Chūgen no Hasha commercials |
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