Rastan

Rastan (known as Rastan Saga in Japan) is a side-scrolling hack-and-slash platformer released by Taito in arcades in 1987. You play as the barbarian warrior Rastan, fighting through six levels of mythical lands populated by wizards, dragons, and skeletons. The sword-wielding hero can jump, climb ropes, and collect power-ups including an axe, a mace, and a fire sword that shoots projectiles. Each level consists of three stages: an outdoor area, a castle or cave, and a boss battle. Set in a flashback of King Rastan recounting his rise to power, the game rewards timing and technique over frantic action.

Arcade

Released in March 1987 on Taito hardware with a Motorola 68000 CPU and YM2151 sound chip. Graphics feature multi-directional scrolling with changing weather and time-of-day effects across six rounds. The life meter is a beating heart that pulses faster as health depletes, accompanied by an audible heartbeat. The soundtrack by Naoto Yagishita and Masahiko Takaki evokes Basil Poledouris' Conan the Barbarian score. Controls use an 8-way joystick and two buttons (slash and jump). The export version omits the opening cutscene and intensifies difficulty. Widely regarded as one of the best fantasy action-platformers of its era.