Heracles no Eikou

Hecules no Eikou: Toujin Makyouden (ヘラクレスの栄光 闘人魔境伝) is an RPG, developed by Data East and published on the Famicom in 1987. The game is regarded as a Dragon Quest clone, albeit a fairly good one. The game is based upon the greek mythology that depicts the 12 labors of Hercules. Additionally, Hercules must help the goddess Venus, who is trapped in Hades. The monsters associated with the 12 labors appear as bosses in the game. Unlike many RPG, you could converse with the bosses.

The game was known for a few difficult features. This included a character who gives misleading advice in the middle of the adventure, causing the player to lose their way. Certain items that are required to clear the game can be sold. If done so, the player has no choice but to restart by using a password from before the sale of the item. Passwords, if entered slightly incorrectly, sometimes resulted in advantages for the player.

The series contains five games all together; two on the Famicom, one on the Game Boy, and two on the Super Famicom. None of them have ever been translated into English.

Differences from other RPGs

 * Rather than finding a town icon and entering a blown up map of the town, towns and the world map are one and the same. There is no division between the two.
 * Weapons can be used with one hand, in order to equip a shield for greater defense, or they can be used with two hands for a more powerful attack, but at the risk of taking more damage.
 * Weapons and armor have a durability. Each time you attack with a weapon, or defend an attack with your armor, the durability of the item decreases.  If it reaches 0, the item is broken and lost.  To restore the durability, you must visit the blacksmith Hephaestus.  Additionally, you can by an item for 5000G that will automatically restore the durability of an item at the end of a battle.
 * Despite having an MP (or Magic Point) attribute, Hercules can never use any magic.
 * Different weapons are more efficient against different kinds of enemies. Ax, hammers and swords are strong against land enemies, the pike is strong against sea enemies, and the bow and arrow is strong against flight enemies.  You can change weapons at any time, but this uses up one turn in battle.

Story
In the land of Greece, the gods lived in the heavens of Mount Olympus, and the people resided below in peace. One day however, that peace was broken. The goddess Venus, who gave men peace of mind, was kidnapped and fear and worry became rampant across the land. The gods discovered that Venus was stolen away by Hades, ruler of the underworld. And so Zeus instructs Hercules subdue Lord Hades and rescue Venus in order to return peace to the land.