DragonHawk

DragonHawk
Developer(s) United Microware Ind., Inc.
Publisher(s) Creative Software
Platform(s) Commodore 64
Release date(s) 1983
Genre(s) Retro
Mode(s) One player only
Media/distribution Floppy disk

DragonHawk was a video game for the Commodore 64 that was released in 1983 by Creative Software. It was developed by Mark A. Van Alstine and Steve Penners of United Microware.

DragonHawk is heavily based on the popular arcade game Joust, but there are some significant differences. DragonHawk did away with the complicated arrangement of platforms and lava that characterized Joust, opting instead for an open, scrolling landscape. As in Joust, the player repeatedly pressed a fire button to flap the protagonist's wings, and enemies had to be destroyed by landing on them from above. Each enemy leaves behind a feather when defeated, which can be collected for bonus points. The player faces several waves of increasingly faster and more maneuverable foes; after defeating them all, a huge fire-breathing dragon is encountered. Similar to Joust's pterodactyl, this dragon must be defeated by striking its weak spot (which is located near the back of its neck). After defeating the dragon, the game returns to the first enemy wave, but with an increased level of difficulty. If the player takes too long to complete an attack wave, lightning will rain down from the top of the screen until the attack wave is completed or the player is destroyed.