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1990 Namco
A generation ago the evil wizard Zawel kidnapped some princess or something, and instead of like killing him with a sword or something, super hero guy Amul turns into a Dragon for some reason and burns him alive. Amul and the princess get down and have some kids, who after they grow up have to do the same crap all over again but with some other evil wizard type person named "Galda" (Guess "Gandalf" was already taken.) Thus our hero picks up the magic sword and transforms into a dragon just in time to get us a pretty ho-hum shooter for the NES.
The game plays pretty much like any other shooter out there - screen scrolls vertically, bad guy monsters come at you in waves, you blow them up, etc. Your dragon can fire at targets in the sky and on the ground (similar to Xevious,) although the vast majority of targets are in the air. Power ups include different types of fireballs, the ability to grow multiple heads, earthquakes that kill everything on screen, speed ups, "baby" dragons that flank you and add to your firepower, etc. There are also skull icons which downgrade you if collected.
The game starts off with a quick introductory level which consists of the Zawel - Amul battle described above - win this battle and you play at the normal difficulty as a "Blue Dragon." Bite it here and you get the easy, kiddie difficulty as a "Gold Dragon" (and the crappy ending.) A pretty innovative idea for a shooter, although this level is so easy you'd have to die on purpose.
Sadly the rest of the game isn't really that good. The levels are overly simple. Bad guy dragons and other monsters come in easily identifiable patterns and the action never really gets hairy enough to raise your pulse past mediocre. There are a few areas where things almost get interesting, such as in the Cave level where strange bug things build what looks like honeycombs that paint you into a corner, or a small section of the volcano level where fire-snake things randomly pop out of holes in the ground, but most of the rest of the game involves you easily blowing up everything before it gets even close. The bosses look exciting, but all of them are extremely easy, even on the "hard" level. Just a little anticlimactic there when you can take down the last boss in under a minute.
There's some good ideas going on in this game, especially towards the end of the last level where the "lights" go out periodically. However muddy graphics, plain level design, and lack of difficulty drags the game down a few notches.
Zawell is your first boss during the preview, The only reason you should die here is if you're blind or alseep.
This Dragon turtle is the level 1 boss. You should be able to pass this one without even moving.
Probably the only decent challenge you'll face in the whole game is the two headed firebird boss of the volcano level - it's easy to get sideswiped by the rotating fireballs around the main creature. Even still you should be able to beat this boss in under two minutes.
A big huge plant thing that's the end boss of the jungle level, and probably the easiest boss in the game. It doesn't even move. Lame.
A skeleton dragon that is in charge of the graveyard level. Also easy to put down, at least this one moves around a bit.
The giant manta ray boss of the ocean level looks like it might be hard until it dies within half a minute. Please..
These triple hydra monsters look cool but are just as wimpy as anything else.
Galada the evil wizard is a big a wimp as any of them. Anyone with decent motor skills should be able to take him down with no problem. What! I got the lame ending! Weak!
