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Dragon Spirit (JP) is an arcade scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco. Originally released for the arcades in 1987 it was later ported to other gaming systems such as the TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine.
Both the arcade and TurboGrafx-16/PC-Engine had been re-released for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan while the North America Virtual Console released was the TurboGrafx-16 version.
Gameplay
Amul always moves forward, but the player can move him in 8 directions. He can blast flames at airborne eneimes, or drop bombs on grounded eneimes. Amul has a larger sprite than most of the enemies and so is easy to land blows, though he can take two hits before losing a life (three in some ports). The powerups that give the player extra heads may award him double or triple the firepower, but they also give him double or triple the exposure to enemy fire which, especially on the later stages, can become intensely difficult to avoid.
Levels
- Level 1: Valley of the Spirits, Sea Dragon
- Level 2: Volcanic Region, Firebird
- Level 3: Jungle, Mammoth Flower
- Level 4: Desert, Bone Dragon
- Level 5: Cave, Giant Spider
- Level 6: Glacier, Blue Dragon
- Level 7: Ocean Floor, Deep Sea Angler
- Level 8: Deep Sea Trench, Monsterous Gateway
- Level 9: (Part 1) Temple of Evil, Stone Guardians
- Level 9: (Part 2) Temple of Evil, Pit Hydra
- Final Level: Temple of Evil, Zawell
Plot
After a millennium of captivity, an ugly serpent demon named Zawell escapes imprisonment and kidnaps Alicia, princess to the kingdom of Mitgult. A young, crafty soldier Amul is selected to rescue the princess and destroy Zawell. In praying to the gods for strength and courage, he points his sword high toward the heavens. Suddenly he is transformed into an all-powerful blue dragon, bestowed with special powers. Though gifted with a lethal air and ground attack, this is not enough. He must locate and obtain extra powers along the way. The demon has instructed nine of the mightiest beasts to stop Amul before reaching his goal.
Reception and Legacy
The game would later get a semi-sequel for the NES/Famicom under the title Dragon Spirit: The New Legend and arcade sequel Dragon Saber.
External Links
- TurboGrafx-16 Version at Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console page (North America)
- PC-Engine Version at Hudson Soft Virtual Console page (Japan)
- TurboGrafx-16 Version at Virtual Console Reviews