When Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara releases next month on PSN, Xbox LIVE, Wii U eShop, and PC, expect a whole lot more content than you’d get with your typical arcade titles. Not only does Chronicles contain two full games from the arcade days of yore; each of those games is laden with branching paths, multiple endings, a swath of character classes, loads and loads of items and weapons–and perhaps most significantly—a whole lot of clever secrets. The game warrants some serious scouring, and I encourage you to get together with one to three friends and see what you can uncover.

Throughout both games, you will unearth a vast variety of items with a broad range of effects—some grant you auxiliary attacks (e.g., burning oil, throwing hammers, spell scrolls), some allow you to heal mid-battle, some improve your attributes (e.g., Boots of Speed, Ring of Protection), and others simply make you rich in SP (moolah) or XP (Mr. Yuck). By the end of Level 1, your pockets will be crammed to a degree befitting of the fantasy genre.

Meanwhile Shadow over Mystara introduces character-specific armor and weapons that can be discovered and equipped mid-game, further incorporating the game’s RPG influence. With a little luck and skill, you may find yourself wielding such fine instruments as the Sword of Legend, Staff of Serpents, Wand of Paralyzation, or Dragon Shield (among many others). Shadow even has a crafting system where pieces of felled boss enemies can be used to create powerful new items and equipment, Monster Hunter style!

The always-informative Arcade Quarter Master site has a complete run-down of items for both games. Check ‘em out if you don’t mind the spoilers.

Tower of Doom
Shadow over Mystara

Equipment and items aside, the games have a perhaps unprecedented number of mind-blowing secrets that may take some serious research, luck, or experimentation to uncover. For a sample, check out this incredible video (obviously SPOILERS within). It pretty much speaks for itself.

Everything from secret moves to trap doors to crazy battle techniques. These games will keep you and your friends busy and entertained like no other beat-‘em-up.