Hippodrome

Inspiration

Several enemy characters (the twin opponents "Charry & Steeve" and the final giant boss "Pon") have their designs liberally lifted (though renamed from Sha & Zhan and Uighur) from the manga Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star).

Setting

Each arena is named after one of the Outer Planes described in Dungeons & Dragons cosmology.

Title

In ancient Greece, a hippodrome was a race circuit for horse-drawn chariots, Ben-Hur style. Gladiatorial combat falls more under the domain of an arena, or some grander structure such as the Roman Coliseum which was large enough to host diverse kinds of events. Though the game's Japanese name is Fighting Fantasy, it is unrelated to the gamebook series of the same name.