[Konami] Gaiapolis

Arcade (1993):
1-2 players

There's also an unlicensed NES/Famicom port, for Asian countries.

Controls:
Button 1: Attack
Button 2: Pet assist
Button 3: Magic

Hold 1 to block(upon letting go, you'll perform a regular attack). If you double tap any direction, you'll run a bit and then attack. It needs specific timing to hit enemies, but can be powerful. Sometimes you'll come across eggs in some chests, which then summons a pet to assist you. It will only attack if you press 2, and it will stay on the attack for the duration of a given battle, until you press 2 again. If it takes too much damage, by calling it off, it will eventually heal back to full health. The more eggs you collect, before deciding which pet you want(brown spikey eggs are armadillo's, that have a spike ball attack, blue eggs are lizards in armor that attack with a mallet, and purple eggs are dragons who breath fire. None are particularly powerful attacks), the more health it will have. However you lose it if you fail to notice it's about to get beaten, and then does. Magic can only be used when you have a square icon(even if it's blank, as long as you have it), which hangs just under your enemies health bar(or where it would be, if you were fighting). Blue gems are what you pickup for these spells, and the more you collect, the more powerful the spell will become.

It's a top down view hack 'n slash beat 'em up, with RPG elements, and a lot of story told through text(though the grammar could be a hell of a lot better...). Items are picked up automatically, and include food for health restoration, the aforementioned eggs and gems, and books to increase your experience points. Other items are basically for score. Upon level up, sometimes you'll gain another increment of health. I'm not sure if leveling helps with attack power and defense, as those improve as you gain better equipment(better weapons seems to be a one time storyline occurrence, but you get better shields fairly often).

The playable cast includes a human prince(most likely average), a fairy(who would pass for a human woman if not for her large ears. Most likely the fastest), and a Dragon (a large humanoid with a dragon's face, and a tail, who is no doubt the strongest of the trio).

This one is unique because it's the only non-3D beat 'em up Konami has made that doesn't stick to the traditional side view, and the only one they've made with RPG elements.