| Dragon Spirit | |
|---|---|
 Japanese flyer | |
| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Tatsuya Ishikawa |
| Composer(s) | Shinji Hosoe |
| Series | Dragon Spirit |
| Platform(s) | Arcade,Amiga,Amstrad CPC,Atari ST,Commodore 64,TurboGrafx-16,Sharp X68000,ZX Spectrum |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Vertical-scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player,multiplayer (alternating turns) |
| Arcade system | Namco System 1 |
Dragon Spirit[a] is a 1987vertical-scrolling shooterarcade game developed and published byNamco. In North America, it was distributed byAtari Games. Controlling the dragon Amur, the player must complete each of the game's nine areas to rescue the princess Alicia from the demon Zawell. Similar to Namco's ownXevious, Amur has a projectile weapon for destroying air-based enemies and a bomb for destroying ground enemies. It ran on theNamco System 1 arcade board.
Music for the game was composed byShinji Hosoe and designed by Tatsuya Ishikawa. Hosoe, previously a graphics artist for Namco, was allowed to work on the music himself due to most of the company's composers working onGenpei Tōma Den. However, much of his work was accidentally wiped from the hardware midway through development, forcing him to start over. Ishikawa previously created character artwork forRolling Thunder, being assigned to the project after taking an interest in the enemy designs. The game was dedicated to Shouichi Fukatani, a Namco programmer who had died a few years earlier in 1985 and worked on many of the company's older games, such asDig Dug andSuper Pac-Man.[3]
The game was ported to several home systems, including theSharp X68000,TurboGrafx-16 andAtari ST, and is featured in variousNamco video game compilations. The arcade version ofDragon Spirit was met with positive reviews from critics for standing out amongst other shooter games, being praised for its Paleozoic setting, graphics and soundtrack. Home versions were met with a more mixed reception, being criticized for its high difficulty and inferior graphics and music. It was followed by two sequels,Dragon Spirit: The New Legend (1988) andDragon Saber (1990). AShiftyLook webcomic adaptation of the game was also produced.
Dragon Spirit is a vertical-scrolling shooter video game. The player controls the dragon Amur in his effort to rescue the princess Alicia from the serpent demon Zawell. Amur can move in eight directions and has access to two weapons; a flame projectile to destroy air-based enemies, and a bomb to destroy ground-stationed enemies, similar to Namco'sXevious series. Amur can take two hits before dying, indicated by a life bar at the bottom-left of the screen. Amur can use bombs to destroy eggs found on the ground of some stages, which will award one of two powerup items; a blue orb that will give Amur an extra head, granting him additional firepower, or an orange orb that will strengthen Amur's shots when three are collected.
The game features nine stages, which include large rivers, volcanoes, glaciers and jungles. Dying halfway through a stage will start the player at a checkpoint. At the end of each stage is a boss that Amur must fight in order to progress to the next stage. Amur can sometimes find special orbs throughout the game that can grant him additional abilities, such as a homing shot, a multi-shot, and the power to shrink down in size to evade bullets. The game's opening cutscene shows Amur atop a mountain raising his sword in the air, with lightning striking it and transforming him into his dragon form. If the player makes it to the end of the ninth level and defeats Zawell, Princess Alicia will be seen in captivity behind glass, which shatters as she yells "Amur!". The dragon then retransforms into human form and embraces Alicia, and an end scene is shown where the people of the kingdom are celebrating peace and prosperity now that Zawell's reign of terror is over.
Dragon Spirit was released in Japan by Namco on May 15, 1987, later licensed toAtari Games for release in North America. The game's music was composed byShinji Hosoe, originally a graphic designer for the company.[4] After askingWonder Momo composer "Yudate" how to add music to the game code, he inserted many of his tracks during his own time — once the development team behind the game found out, he was automatically assigned as the game's composer.[4] During its development, Namco was low on composers as many of them went to work onGenpei Tōma Den, allowing Hosoe to be able to compose the music himself.[4]
Graphics were created by Tatsuya Ishikawa, who had previously produced character artwork forRolling Thunder — after taking interest in the game's enemy designs, the team assigned him as the lead artist.[4] Ishikawa listened to Hosoe's music when he was low on ideas for enemy or background designs.[4] Hosoe's music was accidentally wiped from the hardware around midway through the development process, forcing him to start over. After the first set of arcade boards were released, Hosoe remade the game's music in hopes it could be reused for a re-issue of the hardware, but his idea was scrapped by Namco due to high production costs.[4]
In North America and Europe,Dragon Spirit was ported to several home consoles and computers, including theAtari ST,Commodore 64,Amiga,ZX Spectrum andAmstrad CPC.[5] In Japan, Namco ported the game to theSharp X68000 andPC-Engine, the latter being published in North America byNEC for theTurboGrafx-16.[5]Dragon Spirit is included in several Namco video game compilations, such asNamco Museum Vol. 5 (1997),Namco Museum 50th Anniversary (2005),Namco Museum Virtual Arcade (2008) andNamco Museum Essentials (2009). The TurboGrafx-16 conversion was digitally re-released onto the Wii Virtual Console in 2007, while the arcade version was released in 2009 exclusively in Japan. A version for Japanese mobile phones was released in 2003. An arcade version ofDragon Spirit was released under theArcade Archives label for theNintendo Switch andPlayStation 4 in 2022.
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| AllGame |    (ARC)[6] |
| Computer and Video Games | Positive (ARC)[2] 94% (PCE)[7] |
| Eurogamer | 6/10 (TG-16)[8] |
| Famitsu | 32/40 (PCE)[9] |
| IGN | 7/10 (TG-16)[10] |
| Nintendo Life |  (TG-16)[11] |
| Power Play | 73% (ARC)[12] |
| Publication | Award |
|---|---|
| Gamest | Grand Prize (5th) Best Ending (2nd) Player Popularity (5th)[13] |
| Famitsu | Gold Hall of Fame[9] |
In Japan,Game Machine listed the game on their July 15, 1987 issue as being the sixth most-successful table arcade unit of the month.[14] It went on to be the fourth highest-grossing tablearcade game of 1987 in Japan.[15]
Dragon Spirit was met with a positive response from critics, who praised its graphics, music and Paleozoic setting, and for standing out among other similar games during the time.
Allgame praised its "gorgeous graphics" and soundtrack, and for being unique compared to other games of its genre,[6] while German magazinePower Play praised its interesting gameplay mechanics, notably the double-head powerup, and for its captivating gameplay.[12]Computer & Video Games praised the game's addictive gameplay and soundtrack, saying it lives up to games such asGalaxian andGalaga.[16] Japanese publicationGamest called it a "Namco shooting masterpiece" for its graphics, realism and soundtrack, awarding it the 5th "Grand Prize", 2nd "Best Ending" and 5th "Player Popularity" awards in 1998.[13] In a retrospective review,Hardcore Gaming 101 praised the game's graphics, challenging gameplay and iconic opening cutscene.[5]
Reviewing the TurboGrafx-16 conversion,IGN praised the game's vibrant graphics, unique setting and challenge, recommending the title to fans ofXevious and other similar vertical-scrolling shooters,[10] whileEurogamer liked its lack of a one-hit player kill and colorful visuals.[8]Nintendo Life was the most critical of the conversion, disliking its sudden difficulty spike towards the end and inferior quality compared to the arcade version. They also unfavorably compared it toSuper Star Soldier, only recommending it to hardcore fans of the genre.[11]Famitsu awarded the PC-Engine port the "Gold Hall of Fame" award for its gameplay and strategy.[9]
A sequel,Dragon Spirit: The New Legend, was released for theNintendo Entertainment System in 1989 and published outside Japan byBandai. Taking place several years after the events of the original, it adds many of the levels from the arcade version alongside new stages, enemies, boss fights and cinematic cutscenes, as well as a brand-new storyline.[5] A second sequel,Dragon Saber, was released for arcades in 1990, running on theNamco System 2 arcade board. SubtitledAfter Story of Dragon Spirit, this game adds two-player co-operative play, charging shots and new enemy types. A PC-Engine version was released a year later in 1991, while the arcade version was released as part of the Japan-onlyNamco Museum Encore compilation. The PC-Engine conversion was released for the Japanese Wii Virtual Console in 2008, followed by the arcade version in 2009.
Amur appears as a playable character in theWonderSwan Color role-playing gameNamco Super Wars, alongside Princess Alicia.[5] Several players in theFamily Stadium series would be named after Amur and the game itself. In 2012, a webcomic adaptation ofDragon Spirit was created forShiftyLook a subsidiary ofNamco Bandai Games that focused on reviving older Namco game franchises for use in comics and animations.[17] Illustrated by artist Steve Cummings, the comic was atongue-in-cheek parody of the "damsel in distress" storyline used in fiction, featuring characters and settings taken from the arcade game. Nidia, a character from the webcomic, appeared as someone the player could date in the now-defunct browser gameNamco High. An arrangement of the Area 1 music from the game is available as a track inSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate for use on the Pac-Land stage.
