The Dark Spire, also called Genmu no Tō to Tsurugi no Okite in Japan, is a video game created by Success for the Nintendo DS. It was first released on May 22, 2008, in Japan and later on April 14, 2009, in North America. The game was published by Atlus in North America.

Gameplay

The game focuses on exploring the Dark Spire, a dungeon with the same name, while helping players improve their character's skills and abilities by earning experience. The game includes an alignment system and a class system. A player's alignment determines which characters can join their group, which skills different class members can learn, and what equipment they can use. The Dark Spire is explored from a first-person viewpoint, and the game includes classic RPG features, such as random battles and equipment. The player's goal is to find and defeat the Archmage Tyrhung at the top of the Dark Spire and retrieve a necklace from him.

The Dark Spire is reminiscent of older first-person dungeon crawler RPGs, such as The Bard's Tale or Wizardry. As a tribute, the game includes a mode that displays graphics and sound that resemble those from games released in the late 1980s or early 1990s. Players can choose to play as one of four races—human, dwarf, elf, or halfling—each with unique abilities and a standard alignment.