King of Dragons
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| The King of Dragons | |
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| Developer(s) | Capcom |
| Publisher(s) | Capcom |
| Release date(s) | Arcade version 1991 SNES version 1994 |
| Genre(s) | Beat 'em up |
| Mode(s) | Up to 3 players simultaneously |
| Platform(s) | Arcade, Super NES |
The King of Dragons is a 1991 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade game by Capcom that allows players to choose from five characters (Elf, Wizard, Fighter, Cleric, and Dwarf) in order to travel through the kingdom of Malus and defeat the monsters that have taken over, as well as their leader, the red dragon Gildiss. The setting is very similar to that of Dungeons and Dragons and other medieval fantasy worlds, with familiar monsters such as Orcs, Gnolls, Harpies, Wyverns, Cyclopes, and Minotaurs. The game has 16 levels, though many are quite short.
Much like Capcom's Knights of the Round, King of Dragons features an RPG-like level advancement system. Points scored for killing monsters and picking up gold count towards experience, and the character gains levels at regular intervals. With each level, the character's health bar increases, other attributes such as range improve, and the character also becomes invulnerable for a few seconds. Along the way, different weapon and armor upgrades for each character may also be picked up.
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[edit] Characters
[edit] Elf
The elven archer has the best range, agility and speed of all the characters, but has low defense, weak attack strength, and no shield. With better bows, the Elf can also attack more often than the other heroes.
[edit] Wizard
The wizard wields only a magical staff. He has fairly low defense and speed, but the best magic and the second best range. His attack power is weak early on, but extremely powerful later in the game. The speed at which the Wizard attacks does not improve.
[edit] Fighter
The Fighter has the second strongest attack power, and fairly good range and speed, as well as a shield. The only thing he lacks is magic, at which he is the weakest. The Fighter gains HP the fastest, but also suffers the most damage.
[edit] Cleric
The cleric is the largest hero in the game. He has fairly good magic and attack strength, as well as the best defense, although he is a bit slow and has the worst agility of the bunch, able to make only short hops. He also carries a shield and gains levels much faster than anyone else.
[edit] Dwarf
The Dwarf, as his name suggests, is the smallest target of the five. He has the quickest melee attack speed and the second strongest defense, is fairly quick, and also has a shield. The Dwarf has also the longest jump. However, he will always have weak magic and has the worst range; every third strike is a ranged strike, unlike the Cleric or Fighter who alternate between a close and ranged strike.
[edit] Ports
The game was ported to the Super NES in 1994 and will be a part of Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2, which is to be released for the PS2 & Xbox in late 2006. This was also in Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded for the PSP.
[edit] Trivia
- This was one of the many Capcom games to feature the Yashichi power-up item. In this game, there are three hidden throughout the game, each giving the player an extra continue.
- Although it might be a coincidence, the game's overall style and gameplay is very similar to the games Capcom later made using the Dungeons & Dragons license in the mid '90s.
- The music in this game was composed by Yoko Shimomura.
