Mystery Tower

Overview

Babel no Tō ("Tower of Babel") is a puzzle/platformer from Namco in which the main character has to lift and place various L-shaped blocks in order to proceed to the exit. There are a total of 64 stages and each is progressively more difficult. Exacerbating the issue is the player character's intolerance for getting crushed, roaming enemies and a limit based on how much power the player has remaining, which drops each time the player character lifts a block. The player character can also collect items that occasionally appear in the world, but these usually confer point bonuses and nothing more. Should the player manage to successfully complete a stage, they will be given an extra life to help with the next one.

Every eighth stage is a "reprieve room", where there are very few blocks and the exit is easy to reach. However, the player needs to figure out the special technique to make a symbol appear, as these are instrumental for completing the game once the 64th floor has been reached. These generally involve tricks like holding a direction down on the D-pad for a length of time.

Babel no Tō would be eventually repurposed for the Arcades with a "Vs. Babel no Tō" version. It is also available on two Japan-only Namco compilations: Namco Gallery Vol. 3 for the Game Boy and Namco Anthology Vol. 1 for the PS1. It was finally localized for the first time for western audiences as "Mystery Tower" for Nintendo Switch on June 5, 2023.