* AnticlimaxBoss: If you collect all the power-ups, Rubas goes down in about four seconds.
* CondemnedByHistory: At release, ''Deadly Towers'' not only had decent reviews, but was quite a commercially successful game; Up to two years after its release it was appearing high in the monthly sales often, even beating out some first party Nintendo titles. In the decades since however, the reception its had is almost unanimously bad, and is a frequent guest on "Worst NES Games" lists. Comparing the reactions it had between release and now is almost like looking at two different games.
* GoddamnedBats: Very common. ''Many'' of the enemies will constantly swarm you and knock you into other enemies.
* MemeticMutation: Thanks to [[WebVideo/GamesDoneQuick Awesome Games Done Quick]] and runner Dragondarch, variations of the title (especially [[AlliterativeTitle alliterative ones]]) are fun to come up with. Examples include Dangerous Buildings, Fatal Frat Houses, and Terrible Domiciles.
* ScrappyMechanic:
** The sword. Only one can be onscreen at once, it deals little damage, and it's unreliable. Even the manual states "You have no confidence in this sword."
** The password system. There is actually a ''time limit on it''.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In an era where every other fantasy game has a SaveThePrincess plot, ''Deadly Towers'' has a surprisingly interesting premise. However, it's ruined by the game's terrible gameplay.
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