Developer: Namco Publisher: Bandai Released: 1990 Genre: Shooter
I have always liked Dragon Spirit more than most shooters. It was one of the few arcade games I ever came close to finishing before the inevitable home port which probably fuels my love of the game as well. Around the time of its release the majority of shooters were still one lone ship against an alien armada. So seeing one with a fantasy setting was incredibly cool. Dragon Spirit – the New Legend is half port/half sequel and pretty damn good too.
For its home debut Dragon Spirit had a bit of story grafted on, earning its subtitle. Rather than the hero Amu you play as his son Lace. The story sees you taking up your father’s sword to rescue your sister and prevent Zawel from being resurrected by the evil Galda. In between levels you rescue additional maidens who loosely fill in the plot, such as it is. Although the story tries to bill this as a sequel the game is still largely based on the arcade game.
Dragon Spirit goes overboard with its power-ups but that makes the game incredibly fun. Three Red orbs increase your basic firepower but the real meat comes with the number of dragon forms. Blue orbs grant an extra head, up to three for triple the power. You can have two smaller dragons that function almost like options. You can even become smaller and harder to hit. Probably the best is the white dragon, which gives three-way fire for all heads. The invincible pink dragon is not so great; it is a massive temporary boost but once it runs out you lose all power-ups and go back to your default form. I have not mentioned the various bombs and the terrifying skull. Items drop every few seconds so it isn’t much of a loss if you take a few hits. It is a far cry from the stingy arcade game.
At its core Dragon Spirit is Xevious with a fantasy theme. Aside from airborne forces you’ll also need to contend with ground based targets. Thanks to its setting Dragon Spirit is incredibly varied, with a D & D bestiary sized list of enemies. At nine levels this is long by shooter standards and the level design matches the enemies in terms of variety. The stages are loosely based on the arcade but with new elements. Glacier Land has a high speed sequence in addition to destructible ice barriers. The Dark Quarters merely flick the lights on and off rather than providing a spotlight for the whole level. The biggest change comes at the end. The final levels have been replaced by castle stages to facilitate the new end bosses. I am not particularly fond of them as they are long and drag on a bit too long.
The difficulty in Dragon Spirit varies based on its opening. The game’s prologue, aside from being a clever lead in, serves as a way to gauge the difficulty. If you die you are given the Golden Dragon, which is easy mode. You can take six hits before death and are at full power permanently. However the game ends after five stages. If you survive the easy intro you start on what is essentially normal mode.
On normal the game puts up a decent fight despite the vast arsenal of power-ups available. The game is not afraid of crowding the screen with enemies, causing flicker at its worst moments. The environment is just as much of an enemy like the closing walls of the Cave road. Despite having a life bar there are no power-ups to recover health, meaning mistakes carry a heavy price. It is even worse considering your firepower is also reduced. That being said I think the difficulty is uneven overall, especially over the arcade. The hit detection is smaller, partially owed to the lesser size of your dragon. Power-ups drop every few seconds which is overkill as there are less enemies overall. You will have more trouble reaching the bosses rather than defeating them as they drop in seconds.
In Closing
Regardless of what you go in expecting Dragon Spirit – the New Legend is a great game. Those that want a faithful port are better off with the Turbo Grafx version. If you do not mind a loose port with a lot of new content this is the game for you. Namco succeeded in capturing the look and feel of the arcade game, making Dragon Spirit – the New Legend one of the system’s better shooters.
