<s>
is	O
a	O
role-playing	O
video	O
game	O
(	O
RPG	O
)	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
ASCII	O
Corporation	O
for	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
contains	O
traditional	O
gameplay	O
tropes	O
from	O
console	O
RPGs	O
such	O
as	O
exploration	O
of	O
dungeons	O
,	O
completion	O
of	O
quests	O
to	O
advance	O
the	O
plot	O
,	O
recruitment	O
of	O
new	O
party	O
members	O
,	O
and	O
completion	O
of	O
quests	O
to	O
advance	O
the	O
plot	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Lyricist	O
Chinfa	O
Kan	O
penned	O
the	O
story	O
of	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
as	O
a	O
film	O
before	O
it	O
became	O
an	O
RPG	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
once	O
considered	O
for	O
the	O
cancelled	O
Super	B-Device
Famicom	I-Device
CD-ROM	I-Device
Adapter	I-Device
before	O
development	O
moved	O
to	O
the	O
cartridge-based	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
was	O
directed	O
by	O
Hiromitsu	O
Kawano	O
,	O
produced	O
by	O
Hirokazu	O
Hamamura	O
,	O
and	O
features	O
character	O
and	O
monster	O
designs	O
by	O
Susumu	O
Matsushita	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
in	O
a	O
fantasy	B-Application
realm	O
consisting	O
of	O
an	O
upper	O
world	O
and	O
a	O
diverse	O
set	O
of	O
eight	O
lower	O
worlds	O
,	O
presided	O
over	O
by	O
Princess	O
Sara	O
of	O
the	O
Land	O
of	O
Life	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
addressing	O
the	O
player	O
then	O
giving	O
him	O
or	O
her	O
full	O
control	B-Device
of	O
Gao	O
,	O
an	O
adventure	O
ensues	O
to	O
reach	O
the	O
princess	O
in	O
the	O
Land	O
of	O
Life	O
and	O
save	O
all	O
of	O
creation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
is	O
an	O
RPG	O
that	O
shares	O
many	O
elements	O
with	O
other	O
titles	O
within	O
the	O
genre	O
of	O
its	B-Application
era	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Battles	O
with	O
enemies	O
and	O
bosses	O
in	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
take	O
place	O
on	O
an	O
isometric	B-Application
grid	O
where	O
each	O
player	O
party	O
member	O
and	O
opponent	O
occupy	O
a	O
square	O
on	O
the	O
grid	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
was	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
for	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
by	O
Japanese	O
media	O
publisher	O
ASCII	O
Corporation	O
,	O
known	O
for	O
its	O
gaming	O
magazine	O
Weekly	O
Famitsu	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
grew	O
up	O
as	O
a	O
fan	O
of	O
fantasy	B-Application
novels	O
,	O
most	O
notably	O
J	O
.	O
R	O
.	O
R	O
.	O
Tolkien	O
's	O
The	O
Lord	O
of	O
the	O
Rings	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
enjoying	O
a	O
resurgence	O
in	O
popularity	O
at	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Matsushita	O
recalled	O
that	O
ASCII	O
began	O
production	O
of	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
around	O
three	O
years	O
prior	O
but	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
very	O
slow-moving	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
one	O
point	O
,	O
development	O
was	O
planned	O
for	O
the	O
Super	B-Device
Famicom	I-Device
CD-ROM	I-Device
Adapter	I-Device
before	O
the	O
add-on	O
'	O
s	O
cancellation	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
move	O
to	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
itself	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
was	O
a	O
rarity	O
for	O
a	O
cartridge-based	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
and	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
was	O
the	O
first	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
game	O
to	O
do	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
same	O
technique	O
would	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
Namco	O
's	O
1995	O
RPG	O
Tales	B-Application
of	I-Application
Phantasia	I-Application
,	O
both	O
accomplished	O
with	O
extensive	O
use	O
of	O
pulse-code	B-Algorithm
modulation	I-Algorithm
(	O
PCM	B-Algorithm
)	O
sources	O
via	O
the	O
Super	B-Application
Famicom	I-Application
sound	O
chip	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
main	O
theme	O
of	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
set	O
to	O
be	O
performed	O
by	O
singer-songwriter	O
Masatoshi	O
Ono	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
was	O
originally	O
scheduled	O
for	O
an	O
April	O
1994	O
launch	O
before	O
being	O
delayed	O
until	O
July	O
of	O
that	O
same	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
another	O
delay	O
,	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
released	O
exclusively	O
in	O
Japan	O
on	O
September	O
30	O
,	O
1994	O
;	O
it	O
was	O
later	O
made	O
available	O
on	O
the	O
Nintendo	B-Application
Power	I-Application
flash	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
service	O
on	O
December	O
1	O
,	O
1997	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
27-song	O
soundtrack	O
,	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
Music	O
Episode	O
1	O
,	O
was	O
released	O
by	O
Polystar	O
ahead	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
on	O
September	O
24	O
,	O
1994	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
quartet	O
of	O
reviewers	O
from	O
developer	O
ASCII	O
's	O
own	O
magazine	O
Weekly	O
Famitsu	O
scored	O
Down	B-Application
the	I-Application
World	I-Application
a	O
total	O
of	O
28	O
out	O
of	O
40	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	O
Criticism	O
was	O
complimentary	O
of	O
the	O
story	O
and	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
being	O
integrated	O
into	O
the	O
plot	O
was	O
comparable	O
to	O
Michael	O
Ende	O
's	O
fantasy	B-Application
novel	O
The	O
Neverending	O
Story	O
.	O
</s>
