Dragon Spirit
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| Dragon Spirit | |
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| Developer(s) | Namco |
| Publisher(s) | Namco |
| Designer(s) | Ojisan Trio Plus 1 |
| Release date(s) | 1987 |
| Genre(s) | Vertical scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | Up to two players, alternating turns |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Sharp X68000, ZX Spectrum |
| Input | 8-way Joystick, 2 buttons |
| Arcade cabinet | Upright, cabaret, and cocktail |
| Arcade system(s) | Namco System 1 |
| Arcade display | Vertical orientation, Raster, 224 x 288 resolution |
Dragon Spirit is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game that was released by Namco in 1987. It runs on Namco System 1 hardware, and was later ported to the Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Sharp X68000 and ZX Spectrum platforms.
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.
Despite the game's storyline saying that Amul was transformed into an "all-powerful" blue dragon, he is also transformed into the biggest sprite on the screen (except for the bosses) and dies after three hits. The powerups that give the player extra heads may give double or triple the firepower, but they also give double or triple the exposure to enemy fire which, at times, becomes intensely difficult to avoid.
In most players' opinions, the game is next to impossible, and completing level 8 "Darkness" or level 9 "The Temple of Evil" is seen as an incredible challenge.
Upon completion of the game, the credits appear followed by a list of Namco games up to this point along with their release dates (some of which are incorrect). Case in point, it says 10 (October) /1984 for Grobda but Grobda's own ending screen says "This game is presented by Namco, 1st Nov. 1984."
An altered version of this game appeared on the Nintendo Entertainment System under the title Dragon Spirit: The New Legend. A sequel named Dragon Saber was released in 1990, which allowed two players to play simultaneously.
Additionally, Dragon Spirit was released for Turbo-Grafx 16. Unlike the "dumbed down" NES version, this one retained most of the original arcade graphics and sound quality.
An accurate emulation of Dragon Spirit appears in Namco Museum 50th Anniversary Collection.
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