Cadash

lol, I love how it says, "You can still play!" like it's saying, "Wait, come back!  I promise this game kicks ass!"  (And is it me, or does the position of the Princess's arms suggest that the Villain wants to get some "Princess Cookies"?)
But...I actually LOVE Cadash.  I find this game very satisfying every time I play it.  It actually reminded me very much of Zelda II: Adventures of Link, with it's side-scrolling feature, the XP system and such...I mean, yeah, there are certain flaws.  Such as:

(Apparently the good people of Dirzir speak "Ye Olde' Engrish")
That, and a very recycled plot.  You're main goal is to save, you'll never believe this...A captured Princess.  Very simplistic, but I suppose I look at it with the same fondness that I do with the old fantasy films like "Jack the Giant Killer" all those various cornball sword and sorcery flicks.  Kind of ridiculous, but with a certain degree of charm to it.

Anyways, if you DO play it, I would recommend the original Arcade Version, which you can find using MAME.  It WAS imported to home consoles, such as the TurboGrafx-16, and later on, the Sega Genesis.  I haven't played the TurboGrafx version, as I never owned one, but I did own the Sega Genesis...so imagine my excitement when I saw Cadash at the video store for the first time as a kid...Now I could play it at home!!
The Genesis version included revamped graphics/soundtrack/soundfx, which is fine, and in some ways better than the Arcade version, especially in the dialogue/engrish department...BUT, they only included The Warrior and The Mage as playable characters

...what the hell, Sega?!  Even if you couldn't have 4 people playing at the same time, they still should have given us the option of 4 characters to choose from.  That, and you can only give your character a 3-letter name.  Very lame!  That was just lazy, corner-cutting programing if you ask me...
All versions of the game pretty much have the same plot developments.  You're a hero who is summoned by the King and given the task of traveling to the Castle Cadash to recover the stolen Princess, who was apparently kidnapped for leverage by the evil Balrog/Barogue.  The Arcade version says that he wishes to use her in some sort of ritual to become immortal (what the ritual entails is unknown, but is most likely unpleasant) and the Sega Genesis version states in the manual that he has kidnapped her to force her into marriage to gain the kingdom.  See!  I told you he was after her cookies!  This WAS a pretty general plotline in most videogames back then.
You mostly battle your way through caves during the first half, fighting your basic Skeletal warriors, slimes, spiders, goblins, demon pigs, large poisonous bees, golems, and other various demons, gaining XP and leveling up on the way.  There are a couple boss battles which are pretty simple, and are mostly tied with side quests.  You also encounter many villagers who are pretty useless and only provide filler dialogue.  You befriend mermaids, gnomes, and even a talking dog!
It's relatively enjoyable, all in all.  It's not Tolkien, and if you're not expecting such, I find it's still pretty fun overall.
But what might be the greatest flaw in my personal opinion was the final battle.  There was all this buildup about the evil Barogue/Balrog throughout the entire game...who was he? What kind of terrible powers did he have?  In a way, it was the same kind of suspense I felt while playing the first Zelda, when it came to Gannon.

When you get to the Barogue's castle, you fight your way through Skeletons, Slimes, small, ground-based Dragons and long, serpent-like flying Dragons...The Princess herself tells you that he was the one who carried her off when you find her in her dungeon cell...so HE was the Dragon you saw in the intro! So it appeared you would be most likely be fighting a Dragon...you're climbing the final steps, fighting off the last of the Demon's monstrous creations...heart pumping with anticipation...you finally reach the Barogue's chambers...

And how does he greet you?


..."Pshaw"?  PSHAW?!  It was impossible not to laugh!  So, if you were expecting an epic battle, like I was...well...pshaw, you aren't getting one!  You fight the Demon Sorcerer in his humanoid form at first, with him flying around in the air shooting lightning bolts at you Emperor Palpatine style...then when you deliver enough damage to the Barogue, his fucking head comes off!  THAT was pretty awesome...and then you see the Dragon's head emerge from the "shell" that was the Barogue's humanoid form...Oh yeah, this is it!  It's time to fight a ferocious, firebreathing-

....medium-sized dragon...Come on!!  That's it?  That's really it?!  It's only slightly bigger than the dragons you fought in the lower levels of the Castle!!  The King's soldiers couldn't fight THAT off?!?!  Damn, I could even see the PRINCESS taking that thing on!!!  There were some pretty huge, intimidating bosses in the previous levels too!  You fought a Cave Worm that couldn't fit on the screen and filled up the entire room for crying out loud!!  What a letdown...
After an underwhelming battle, the Dragon flies off, and the Princess (who finally discovered that there is a conveniently placed vine to climb down right outside of her chamber) rushes to your side and wishing to return to the castle.
The castle is in ruins when you return, soldiers lying everywhere dying, telling you that the Barogue lives.  (Well no shit, I wouldn't call "flying off" a circumstantial cause of death unless he ran into a wall or something)  You make it back to the King's chambers where he is still sitting in his throne.  He basically says, "Hey, good job, but we just got our asses kicked while you were gone!"  Whoops.  But in comes the Princess, screaming "LIER!" (Liar in ye olde' Engrish) claiming that the King is an imposter due to the lack of a piece of jewelry that he always wears.  This is apparently enough to coax the Barogue to reveal himself as the King in disguise!  GASP!
So, once again, you duel with the dragon.  The most it does is whip you with your tail and eventually grows another head, but he's pretty easy if you have the right weapons or spells.
The ending isn't all that special either.  It's basically just the Princess thanking you and asking you to stay.  But you cannot, for you must journey...somewhere...because you have...uh...things...to do...

But regardless, if you're not looking to play something that requires a lot of thought or if you don't care whether or not the game has a really deep story, the game IS pretty fun.  I actually think it's quite underrated.  The controls are pretty smooth, and the scenery is also pleasing to the eye. It's basically a simple, nearly-mindless side-scrolling fantasy fighting game.  And for what it is, I quite enjoy it to this day, and it always will have a place in my gamer's heart.