Sentences written about this title, gathered by type from the Japanese and English Wikipedia articles (as of 2026-8-30).
Announced as a sequel to The Tower of Druaga (1984), it is placed as the 2nd title in the Babylonian Castle Saga.
In the Gamest Mook The Best Game 2 (1998), which covered every arcade game released up to then, it was chosen as one of "The Best Games", recognised as a "masterpiece, fine work, or work of genius", with the note: "The controls are unusual — 2 8-way levers and 2 buttons — with Kai, who uses magic, given lever x 1 and button x 2, and Gil, the close-combat type, given 1 lever.
It was released only in Japan in July 1986.
The Return of Ishtar was included in the compilation game Namco Museum Volume 4 for the PlayStation, which is also the first time the game had been released overseas.
In the Gamest Mook The Best Game 2 (1998), which covered every arcade game released up to then, it was chosen as one of "The Best Games", recognised as a "masterpiece, fine work, or work of genius", with the note: "The controls are unusual — 2 8-way levers and 2 buttons — with Kai, who uses magic, given lever x 1 and button x 2, and Gil, the close-combat type, given 1 lever.
In Japan, Game Machine listed The Return of Ishtar on their August 15, 1986 issue as being the sixteenth most-popular arcade game at the time.
Electronic Gaming Monthlys Shawn Smith said it and The Genji and Heike Clans were bad games due to their difficult controls and not being fun.
Electronic Gaming Monthlys Shawn Smith said it and The Genji and Heike Clans were bad games due to their difficult controls and not being fun.
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