Another weird one: a conversion of a British game to the Japan-only Famicom Disk System…

Druid was originally created by Electralyte Software for Firebird Software on the Commodore 64, and was later converted to the FDS by Jaleco in 1988.

The full Japanese title is Druid: Kyoufu no Tobira, and the gameplay is essentially the same as the C64 original. It’s basically a maze game in the style of Gauntlet, but with baddies that can only be hurt by certain elemental weapons (water, fire and electricity), so you have to switch between them when up against certain monsters. Working out what hurts who is key to survival.

The maze in Druid is riddled with traps and everything that moves wants to kill you. Thankfully there are druidic circles scattered around that replenish your life energy, so you’re not always on the back foot.

I’ve always liked Druid as a game and this Famicom Disk System version is still fun to play now. I’d also say that it’s one of the better conversions of Druid out there and also a hidden gem on the FDS.

More: Druid on Wikipedia