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Dragon Spirit

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Princess Alicia of the kingdom of Mitgult is kidnapped by the monster Zawell. It's now up to the heroic warrior Amul to transform himself into a blue dragon and go and rescue the princess. Dragon Spirit is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up which consists of nine stages. Players fly around and...

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Developer
Namco

Released on
1987

Size
1–2 Players

Version
Arcade

Requirements
Arcade

Downloads
Shooter

ESRB Rating
Not Rated

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Description

Princess Alicia of the kingdom of Mitgult is kidnapped by the monster Zawell. It’s now up to the heroic warrior Amul to transform himself into a blue dragon and go and rescue the princess.

Dragon Spirit is a vertically scrolling shoot-em-up which consists of nine stages. Players fly around and destroy everything in their path. Much like in Xevious, action takes place on two planes, both in the sky (where the dragon is flying) and on the ground. The dragon has two different kind of attacks: fire that shoots up the screen, and fire that drops to hit a place on the ground in front of the dragon. Enemies exist both in the air and on the ground, and some can fly up from the ground to the sky.

Players can pick up power-ups, or upgrades, that will help them in their fight. Upgrades can include extra heads on the dragon, health, faster shots, and more. At the end of each stage is a boss that needs to be defeated. Having good upgrades that are not lost from being hit before reaching the bosses will help.

Dragon Spirit

Overview & History

Released by Namco in 1987, Dragon Spirit is a pioneering vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up that trades traditional starfighters for mythological fantasy. Set in the mystical kingdom of Milgarth, the storyline follows the brave knight Amul, who transforms into the legendary blue dragon Blue-Draco to rescue Princess Alicia from the tyrannical clutches of the foul serpent king, Galdius. Developed on Namco System 86 hardware, the game stands out for its organic, pre-industrial aesthetic, taking players across prehistoric jungles, scorching volcanic wastes, and treacherous oceanic abysses across nine distinct stages.

Gameplay Features & Mechanics

Unlike standard shmup formulas, Dragon Spirit introduces a dual-attack system: players can spit fireballs at airborne enemies using the primary button while simultaneously dropping bombs onto ground-based targets with a secondary button. Collecting red and blue power-ups upgrades your firepower and morphs your dragon into a multi-headed beast capable of unleashing devastating screen-clearing fury. The game also features a unique health system represented by a multi-segment life bar, allowing the dragon to endure several hits before perishing. However, taking catastrophic damage shrinks your dragon back to its vulnerable, single-headed juvenile state. Hidden items, secret rooms, and massive boss encounters—such as giant skeletal birds and multi-phased sea serpents—add immense depth and replayability to this arcade classic.