| Dragon Slayer | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genres | Role-playing Action role-playing Action-adventure Metroidvania Open world Real-time strategy |
| Developers | Nihon Falcom Hudson Soft (Faxanadu) |
| Publishers | Nihon Falcom Square (MSX) Hudson Soft (Famicom) Nintendo (NES) Sierra On-Line (MS-DOS) |
| Creator | Yoshio Kiya |
| Composers | Falcom Sound Team JDK Yuzo Koshiro Toshiya Takahashi Mieko Ishikawa Jun Chikuma |
| Platforms | PC-88,PC-98,MSX,MSX2,FM-7,Sharp X1,X68000,NES,TurboGrafx-16,MS-DOS,Super Cassette Vision,Game Boy,Mega Drive,Satellaview,PlayStation,Saturn,Windows,Dreamcast,Nokia N-Gage,Virtual Console |
| First release | Dragon Slayer 1984 |
| Latest release | The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter September 19, 2025 |
| Spin-offs | Xanadu series The Legend of Heroes series |
Dragon Slayer (ドラゴンスレイヤー,Doragon Sureiyā) is a series ofrole-playing video games byNihon Falcom. The firstDragon Slayer game is an earlyaction role-playing game, released in 1984 for theNEC PC-8801 and ported bySquare for theMSX.[1] Designed by Yoshio Kiya,[2] the game gave rise to a series of sequels, most of them created by Falcom, with the exception ofFaxanadu byHudson Soft. TheDragon Slayer series is historically significant, both as a founder of theJapanese role-playing game industry,[3] and as the progenitor of the action role-playing game genre.[4][5]
The series encompasses several different genres, which include action role-playing,action-adventure,platform-adventure,open world,turn-basedrole-playing, andreal-time strategy. Many of the early titles in this series werePC games released for the PC-88,PC-98, MSX,MSX2, and other early JapanesePC platforms, while some were later ported tovideo game consoles. The series also featuresvideo game music soundtracks composed bychiptune musicianYuzo Koshiro and theFalcom Sound Team JDK.
Although commonly referred to as a series, theDragon Slayer name is used to designate the body of work from producer Yoshio Kiya. There is no continuity in plot or even genre; however, most of the games userole-playing game (RPG) elements and experiment withreal-timeaction gameplay.[6]
The originalDragon Slayer and its sequelDragon Slayer II: Xanadu are credited for being the progenitors of the action RPG genre,[4] abandoning the command-orientedturn-based battles of previous RPGs in favour of real-timehack and slash combat that requires direct input from the player, alongsidepuzzle-solving elements.[7] These games went on to influence later series such asThe Legend of Zelda,[1][4]Hydlide, and Falcom's ownYs.[1] According toGamesTM and John Szczepaniak (ofRetro Gamer andThe Escapist),Enix'sDragon Quest was also influenced byDragon Slayer and in turn defined many other RPGs.[3]
The originalDragon Slayer, released for the PC-88 in 1984,[1] is considered to be the first action-RPG. In contrast to earlier turn-basedroguelikes,Dragon Slayer was adungeon crawl RPG that was entirely real-time with action-oriented combat.[5]Dragon Slayer also featured anin-game map to help with the dungeon-crawling, requireditem management due to the inventory being limited to one item at a time,[1] and introduced the use of item-based puzzles which later influencedThe Legend of Zelda.[4]Dragon Slayer was a major success in Japan, where itsoverhead action-RPG formula was used in many later games.[8] The game's MSX port was also one of the first titles to be published bySquare.[1]
The sequelDragon Slayer II: Xanadu, released in 1985, was a full-fledged action RPG with manycharacter statistics and a large quest.[5][9]Xanadu incorporated aside-scrolling view during exploration and an overhead view during battle,[8] though some rooms were also explored using an overhead view. The game also allowed the player to visit towns with training facilities that can improve statistics and shops that sell items, equipment that change theplayer character's visible appearance, and food that is consumed slowly over time and is essential for keeping the player character alive. It also introduced gameplay mechanics such asplatform jumping, magic that can be used to attack enemies from a distance,[5] an earlyKarma morality system where the character's Karma meter will rise if he commits sin which in turn affects his ability to level up,[5][9] a heavier emphasis on puzzle-solving,[7] and individual experience for equipped items.[9] It is also considered a "proto-Metroidvania" game,[10] due to being an "RPG turned on its side" that allowed players to run, jump, collect, and explore.[11] The game gained immense popularity in Japan; it set sales records for PC games in the country, where it sold more than 400,000 copies.[9]Xanadu Scenario II, released the following year, was also an early example of anexpansion pack.[8] The game wasnon-linear, allowing the eleven levels to be explored in any order. It was also composerYuzo Koshiro's firstvideo game music soundtrack.[12]
According to creator Yoshio Kiya in 1987, when he developedDragon Slayer, "Wizardry andUltima were the only two kinds of RPGs", and so he "wanted to make something new" withDragon Slayer which "was like a bridge" to the 'action RPG' genre andXanadu took "those ideas to the next level", after which "more and more action RPGs were released" to the point that action RPGs became "one of the main genres of computer games". He also avoidedrandom encounters, stating he "always thought there was something weird about randomized battles, fighting enemies you can't see, whether you want to or not".[13]
In 1986,Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia simplified the RPG mechanics ofXanadu, such as removing the character customization and simplifying the numerical statistics into icons, and emphasized faster-paced platform action, with a strict 30-minute time limit. The action took place entirely in a side-scrolling view rather than switching to a separate overhead combat screen like its predecessor. These changes madeRomancia more like a side-scrollingaction-adventure game.[6][14]
In 1987,Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family returned to the deeper action-RPG mechanics ofXanadu while maintaining the fully side-scrolling view ofRomancia.[14] The game also featured anopen world andnonlinear gameplay similar to "Metroidvania" platform-adventures, makingDrasle Family an early example of a non-linear, open-world action RPG.[15] That same year also saw the release ofXanadu's spin-offFaxanadu, a side-scrolling platform-action RPG.[8] Later that year, the fifth entrySorcerian was released. It was a party-based action RPG, with the player controlling a party of four characters at the same time in a side-scrolling view. The game also featured character creation, highly customizable characters, class-based puzzles, and a new scenario system, allowing players to choose which of 15 scenarios, orquests, to play through in the order of their choice. It was also anepisodic video game, with expansion disks released soon after offering more scenarios.[1][16]
Two of the games released for theNintendo Famicom,Dragon Slayer IV: Drasle Family and the spin-off ofXanadu known asFaxanadu, were released on the Nintendo Entertainment System in North America. The former was renamedLegacy of the Wizard. The second of the three games released for the Nintendo Famicom,Romancia, has never been released in North America for any platform. An English fan translation of the Famicom version ofRomancia was released in April 2008, by DvD Translations. An English version ofSorcerian was released in North America forMS-DOS in 1990, published bySierra On-Line.
An English version of the 1989 titleDragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes was released for theTurboGrafx-CD in 1991, and is usually known as simplyDragon Slayer. A sequel,Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II, was released in 1992, but never saw an official English release. SubsequentThe Legend of Heroes games dropped their association with theDragon Slayer series. In contrast to the action-oriented gameplay of most otherDragon Slayer titles, bothThe Legend of Heroes titles useturn-based combat. The 1991 titleLord Monarch, on the other hand, was an earlyreal-time strategy game.[17] Several more games were released in the following years as part of theXanadu subseries: the action role-playing gamesThe Legend of Xanadu andThe Legend of Xanadu II, released in 1994 and 1995 respectively, as well asXanadu Next in 2005 andTokyo Xanadu in 2015.
| 1984 | Dragon Slayer |
|---|---|
| 1985 | Xanadu: Dragon Slayer II |
| 1986 | Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia |
| 1987 | Legacy of the Wizard |
| Sorcerian | |
| 1988 | |
| 1989 | Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes |
| 1990 | |
| 1991 | Lord Monarch |
The games in the series include:
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| Gagharv |
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| Trails (media) |
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