I started playing Dungeons and Dragons two years ago, though I had some pen and
paper experience before that. It's fun, but what happens when you take it out
of the RPG context? Perhaps make it a shootemup? Well, all you get is a fantasy
shooter - exactly what Dragonstrike is.
Thematically, it's a game I can get into, and there are some interesting things
to do. It's a "mission" based shooter where, after getting a briefing at the
start of a level, you set out to fulfill the given tasks. But then, you have
control of a dragon, and that somehow makes it more entertaining.
But be forewarned that the game is difficult, so you're definitely going to
need that +2 NES Controller of Righteousness to pass the game. The bosses will
always have you on the run, and enemies can quickly overwhelm you. The terrain
will even be in your way. But if you have patience and will, your dragon will
fly into greatness.
Control Pad Left/Right: Turn
Control Pad up: Go to Low level.
Control Pad down: Go to High level.
Your dragon has a forward velcoity - that is it will always move the direction
the head is pointed. The control pad allows the dragon to turn, the arc is kind
of wide but it shouldn't cause many problems.
The game also takes place on high/low planes. To avoid most obstacles, you will
need to be high. To kill some enemies, get low.
The game has three difficulty levels if you wish to play it at a harder mode.
The Bronze Dragon is the ideal beginner's dragon. It's not slow and it can take
a few hits.
Fire A: Lightning Bolts
Fire B: Gas
As power decreases, the spread of its weapons does as well. The lightning will
serve you purposes as a means to destroy enemies, and the Gas will paralyse
some (allowing you to strike with lightning), and drop dragons down in altitude
so you can throw them off.
Silver Dragon:
The fastest Dragon, but of course it's lacking a bit in power and armour. It
doesn't exactly croak at the slightest attack, but use the speed to evade.
Fire A: Ice Balls
Fire B: Ice Breath
Like the Bronze Dragon, Fire A is for killing and Fire B serves the same
purpose as the gas.
Gold Dragon:
He's powerful, but also slow. I'd suggest that you know the game a bit before
you try this guy, because you're going to be taking a few hits using him.
Fire A: Fireballs
Fire B: Golden Fireballs.
The Gold Dragon is only able to attack, not stun, but he does it well. At high
power his attacks are strong and the spread is great on his Fire B. He's good
at attacking, basically.
Hearts: These contribute to your lifebar. Red are worth more than blue.
Red Potion: Also go towards lifebar.
Arrow: Protection against missiles.
Wing: Speed up
Diamond: Let's you use a more advanced breath without the the needed hp.
White Potion: Protection against all but collisions
The following items I could not figure out as I had no access to a manual and
the effects weren't noticeable. If you know what these are then let me know.
Amulet, Circles, and Shields.
-Elliot Olsen Reports that Amulets grant temporary invincibility. This was
what I suspected, and I can't seem to prove otherwise. Thanks Elliot.
The game is broken into missions. You'll get a briefing as to your task in each
level and a little spirit-bolstering saying before you start each mission.
*********
Mission 1 (D5.1)
*********
Simple mission, just find teh three white dragon scouts and kill them. You
should run into them if you just continue on North. They're easy, but keep
your distance. They should drop items when you kill them.
The mission has some Archers and Catapaults - if you really need to kill them,
dive down and blast them, but they really shouldn't be more than an annoyance.
If you need some HP there is a red heart by a barn in the northwest.
*********
Mission 2 (D5.2)
*********
Those Giants are going to cause you some trouble, so gain a little distance and
kill them. The little red dragons shouldn't take much firepower to down, and
they're worth the kill for their items.
Before you can fight the Kraken, you will need to destroy all the Battleships.
Just follow the water and you should find them with little trouble. The turtles
in the north can do some heavy damage to your dragon if you aren't careful, so
don't stray to close.
After you destroy the fleet, you will hear a tone. Head to the northmost part
of the level to engage the Kraken (see "Bosses")
*********
Mission 3 (D5.3)
*********
Okay, the game kicks the difficulty up a little here. The archers are hard to
see on the green islands, look for their red. The large black swamp monsters
are best avoided. There is a arrow item on the low plane near two archers a
while into the stage. When you get this item just move on northward. Towards
the northernmost part of the map, you'll find dragonflies, and some dark
balls.
Now the point of this Mission is to find and kill a Black Dragon. Towards
the north, there is an island with two archers and a red potion. I've found
that the dragon will appear once the archers are killed.
When the dragon arrives you'll notice it moves faster than the two dragon types
you've fought so far. Fly past it, turn and fire. Do not let this dragon dog
you as it could become fatal rather quickly.
*********
Mission 4 (D5.4)
*********
Alright, the safest path through this stage is to head left at the start, and
follow the side all the way up. There are parts of the canyon that can hurt
you even at high plane. If you take this path you will have to cross a short
rock wall, but the damage should be minimal and the enemies aren't as bad here
anyways.
The red winged dragons should be killed for items, and the hill giants should
be hit with whatever can hit them most accurately. For instance, use your
breathw ith the bronze dragon to paralyze them and sneak past.
At the Fortress: Take out the arrow bunkers first and foremost, they will rip
you to shreds. Attack them from afar, perhaps start on one side, and work your
way across the wall. After the front wall's bunkers are destroyed, do the same
to the back wall's bunkers. Now, to destroy the fortress, destroy the turrets
of the castle (tops o' the towers!)
Might I add that it helps immensely if you aren't on your weakest attacks when
you get here? It's the truth!
*********
Mission 5 (D5.5)
*********
Okay, take care of the projectile whipping threats, you need a good breath for
the Fortress. You may get items by destroying white dragons and tents. The hill
giants - take them out as they now throw three rocks at once...
Find the ice skiffs out on the ice, and destroy them. When there are none left,
you will hear a tone. Move up to the northern section of the level to fight the
fortress.
Fortress: Ouch. Three walls, and watch out for the large walls you can ram
yourself into. To make matters worse, there are two white dragons always
tailing you. You can kill them, but they'll be back. It's still a good idea to
destroy all teh bunkers, and once again the level ends when all of the turrets
are blown up. Make _sure_ you have close to full life coming here.
*********
Mission 6 (D5.6)
*********
Right-o, this level is pretty straightforward, destroy all of the battleships
until you hear the tone, and then leave via the north end of the level. Make
certain you are fairly strong for the battle ahead. Fill up on the little red
dragons if you need some items. The turtle sea monster dudes are back, but
less threatening because you don't have anything to ram into. There are some
water elementals, but they are largely nonthreatening at a distance.
Ghalleon: You fight this after destroying all of the battleships. The same as
the white dragons previously, three little reds will be chasing you. On the
side of the boat will be canons behind shutters, and these cannons launch...
arrows. Destroy them by shooting them when they are revealed to win.
*********
Mission 7 (D5.7)
*********
This dessert is contaminated with Hill Giants, Archers, and Catapaults. If you
ever need to restock, try hitting the tornado enemy as they drop items. If you
don't want tornado contact, go to the high plane when they arrive.
The main quest is to make it to the far north and do battle with a red dragon.
It's a fierce foe, and will probably launch a fireball as soon as it sees you.
The fireballs are very damaging, but if you use the same tactics you employed
on the Black Dragon in Mission 3, you should be fine.
*********
Mission 8 (D5.8)
*********
This place is crawling with wizards and archers. I suggest you kill as many as
possible. There's also some arrow bunkers you'll want to destroy. The reason?
Well flying around this town, you can crash into many tall buildings, and you
must fight a few blue dragons. Clear out a portion of town then lure the blues
to this place to fight them without many distractions. People on the streets
must be killed on the low plane, people in buildings must be killed on the
high plane.
At the north side of town, you'dd fight the master of the Blue Dragons. I'd
refer you to the Boss section if you want to know how to beat him.
*********
Mission 9 (D5.9)
*********
You just have to make your way noth, but the are is littered with Hill Giants,
Archers, Catapaults, and Mages. The Manticores are new, and you can use them
and the tents as a source of items. It's in your best interest to have a
battling area clean for the Manticores (listed as dragons because they have
the behaviour).
At the end you have to fight a "Flying Citadel" which is a flying buiding that
shoots arrows at you. There are also three red dragons like you fought in the
dessert (except less life) and they respawn. Fly in curves to avoid the reds
and go to high ground to shoot the citadel, aim for the dark wall in the front.
It should flash when hit. Dive as soon as you hit it to avoid arrows.
*********
Mission 10 (D5.10)
*********
Alright, this is similar to the blue Dragon stage, but with no boss. Kill the
Green Dragons and make your way to the top. As usual, clean out as many Mages,
Archers, and Arrow Bunkers as possible. There is one point where there are
arrow bunkers lining a wall. Two green dragons should appear. Do _not_ go over
to the other side yet unless you want to fight four at once. Retreat, kill
these and then come backf or the rest.
*********
Mission 11 (D5.11)
*********
I'll admit it, the briefing for this level made my heart sink. I had to "engage
the mages on flying carpets" and slay a "Doom Dragon." Well, thankfully the
Carpet Mages aren't the same as the Level 8 Boss. Destroy the usual catapaults,
archers, and hill giants as you go and the tornados if it pleases you. Destroy
every carpet mage to hear a tone. Now, go up past the north boundary and fight
the Doom Dragon (see Boss section for details).
*********
Mission 12 (D5.12)
*********
It's another canyon level but with more forgiving cliffs than Mission 4. The
Hill Giants can be shot from high air in this level. The other enemies are new:
fire elementals and "fire serpent women." You just have to make it past the
north stage bounds to fight the next Boss, Efreet (see boss section).
*********
Mission 13 (D5.13)
*********
Kind of longer and hard. There are five dragon heads see? You need to destroy
them all. After killing all of the dragon heads, kill any dragons on the
screen to ehar a tone. Then head north to fight the Guardian of the Abyss.
Keep in mind that the large black circles will teleport you somewhere else on
the map, and the pulsing things make your shots go around them, like fish swim
around a rock in the river.
The first is a white dragon head, head north of where you start. After killing
it, enter the portal below it and then head northwest to find a green dragon
head. After destroy it, enter the portal to the right of the portal below it.
You will find a red dragon head to the north and black dragon head to the
southwest. After killing both head north past the red dragon head and travel
northeast to find a blue dragon head. Black is the trickiest, because it's
walled in, but handle it the same way as the rest of them. You should fire
towards the heads on the high plane, duck to the low plane, retreat and then
repeat.
If you need items, there are green, blue, black, and red dragons in this stage
to kill.
After completing your task, your life bar is filled and you can go north to
battle the Guardian of the Abyss (Boss Section).
*********
Mission 14 (D5.14)
*********
YEAH! THE FINAL LAP!
Don't fly over the chains or acid, they'll damage you. That red ground with the
lovely pain-striken faces in it is okay to fly over though. Keep in mind that
you can't change altitude during this level.
Anyways, your task is to kill all of the dragons and then take on the Queen of
Darkness, Tiamat herself. There are five groups of three you must slay: white,
black, blue, red, and green. The dragons here are _very_ aggressive, so do as
Louie the Lightning Bug suggests and play it safe around those powerlines. It
would be most effective to get them to clump together, and then handle the
group as one entity. After killing all of the dragons, your life is completely
restored and you'll hear a tone. Work your way around the acid - the westmost
tunnel is the safest route - and up past the north of the level to engage the
Queen of Darkness (Boss Section).
The standard enemies - most of them have ranged attacks and are little more
than annoyances unless you're engaged in a dog fight or they're present in
great numbers. Most are easy to dispatch.
*Archer: Humans that fire arrows at your dragon. Just swoop down and shoot them
to kill. They don't have very good accuracy or range, but could cause some
problems in groups.
Mission: 1,3,7,8,9,10,11
*Arrow Bunker: The same as the archers basically, just shoot them out.
Mission: 4,5,8,10
*Arrow Cannon: A cannon behind shutters that open close, launching arrows.
Mission: 6
*Battleship: Stationary target that shoots arrows. Low plane to destroy.
Mission: 2,6
*Beholder: A feared enemy made easy. They will pursue you up/down in the air
but die pretty easily.
Mission: 3
*Carpet Mages: MAges that ride magic carpets, casting spells. Take the low air
to hit them.
Mission: 11
*Catapault: Large, rock-flinging mechanisms. These are a little more accurate
and deadly than the archers, and can definitely cause some trouble if you stray
too close. Get low and destroy them.
Mission: 1,5,7,9,11
*"Dark balls:" Orbs that follow your dragon. Destroy them because they will be
a serious hindrance.
Mission: 3
*Dragonfly: A large dragonfly that will try to ram your dragon. Easily killed
and gives items.
Mission: 2
*Fire Elemental: A fire-creature that can damage you on either plane, though
you can only hurt them from the lower plane. they aren't really worth the
trouble.
Mission: 12
*"Fire Serpent Women:" A lass that enoys bathing in lava and firing arrows.
Destroy them if you must, but they aren;t the biggest threat.
Mission: 12
*Hill Giant: Large humanoids that throw stones at you. They seem to be fairly
accurate, so just kill them from a bit of distance. Otherwise, they could cause
you some troubles as you go after the Mission's task.
Mission: 2,4
*Hill Giant 2: Throws three boulders exclusively, and you must dive down to hit
them.
Mission: 5,7,9,11,12
*Ice Skiff: The same as a Battleship.
Mission: 5
*Mage: Another human whom can cast a variety of spells. Some shoot lightning,
others a shortrange burst of three fireballs, a longer range single fireball
and others arrows (magic missile I presume). Dispatch them as you go or if they
are in the way. It's not so much that they're a hard enemy, it's often their
placement that causes problems. They cast spells one afte rthe other. They must
be a really high level to have that many spells/day...
Mission: 8,9,10
*"Swamp monster": A large black mass that emerges/submerges in the swamp. They
are rapid and evasive, and you'd be best to pass them - just don't leave them
alive in a critical area.
Mission: 3
*Tornado: Very quick enemies that can be dispatched for items, but hitting them
is often a quest in itself. If you're hard-up, go for it.
Mission: 7
*"Turtle": Ashelled sea monster that will fire shots at you with moderate speed
and accuracy. You'd be best skipping them.
Mission: 2,6
*Water Elemental: Flailing oafs that will chase you. Easy to dispatch on a low
plane.
Mission: 6
Most dragons pursue you throughout the air, attacking you as such. For the
large, breath dragons you can generally employ the same techniques. You don't
want them following you if you can help it, but as the Fortresses and Citadel
have shown, that's not always an option you can avoid.
*Black Dragon: Trickier than the previous dragons, but it still only shoots a
ball at you. Your best bet is flying past it, turning, and firing after a
distance.
Mission: 3, 13
*Blue Dragon: Similar to the white dragons, except they shoot lightning like
the Bronze Dragon does. Just get some distance and dispatch them.
Mission: 8, 13
*Dragon head: Stationary enemy that fires wildly. Attack and then duck for
cover.
Mission: 13
*Green Dragon: No different than Blue dragons, except they shoot a green ball.
Mission: 10, 13
*Manticore: I may be pushing it putting them here, but they behave the same as
these enemies. They're more difficult than the blue dragons at any rate and
shoot a "spiked ball" at you which I gather are their barbs. They can take a
decent pounding and they seem to enjoy running into you.
Mission: 9
*Red Dragon: A small red dragon that will attack you and hound you as usual.
They are weak, however, so take them out and gain some items.
Mission: 2
*Red Dragon 2: Smaller red dragon that will pursue you. Easy to kill for items.
Mission: 6
*Red Dragon 3: Much more like the Black Dragon you fought earlier. The fireball
is a very powerful attack, and it tends to attack as soon as you are on the
same screens. Traditional flyby tactics will work.
Mission: 7,9,13
*Red Winged: Same size as the small Red Dragons, easy to kill and they never
fire at you. Kill them for items.
Mission: 4
*White Dragon: White dragons of roughly the size of your dragon. They can
fire a white ball at you, and tend to dog your dragon. Gain a little distance,
turn, and destroy them.
Mission: 1,5
The game also has a few Boss monsters. One thing you should note about them is
that they are furious, giving you few chances to attack. Oh jeah, that's my
kind of boss. Not to mention most are pretty rad. However while all are pining
to kill you, all but one can be easily dispatched with patience and accuracy.
***Kraken***
The Kraken is the boss of Mission 2. It's a large squid that fires a spread
shot of ink. A single ball of ink is fired, that splits into five. It will also
release two spinning blades. The blades will damage you on a high plane, the
ink on low.
The weakspot is the mouth on a low plane, but it's hard to get close to the
mouth due to the ink and flailing tentacles. Your best bet is to attack the
mouth from a diagonal with a widespread weapon. If you're brave, you can go
staright at the mouth, and change altitude when the ink approaches. Either way,
it will either take a long time or be risky.
***Master of Blue Dragons***
This guy's the boss of Mission 8. He's a robed wizard (Wizard giant?) on a
magic carpet. He summons crystal balls and claps his hands to shoot fireballs.
Wow, just wow. This guy can really give you a going over, no doubt about that.
Not only is he extremely aggressive, there's some arrow bunkers around his
battle stage. So, to borrow a strategy from Monty Python and the Holy Grail...
run away!
That's seriously a good strategy, he will pursue you into town somewhat slowly.
Now, you can go back up, dispatch the arrow bunkers and wait for him. He will
only shoot fire at you if you're on the high plane (coincidentally that's the
only time you can hit him), but the crystal balls he launches follow you to a
dregree and will change planes with you.
So what you do is get to the high plane, squeeze a shot off on him, and duck
back down to safety. If your dragon can only attack in a straight line you will
need to circle around him, leading his fire, turn into face him, shoot, and
duck. This is risky but it works. Otherwise you're going to have to get out of
range of his fire and shoot from there.
***Doom Dragon***
A radical skeleton dragon, the Doom Dragon never moves from the centre of the
screen, but then he never needs to.
He owns up to his name, and then some. He can fire five skulls in an arc
forwards, and he can fire them high or low. I hope you have some decent fire
and some bravery because I haven't found a better way to best this beast.
You need to ge _close_ in order to hit his shoulders. Now you will have to make
him shoot at you and then dodge, as you approach him. Shoot when you're close
and pull away. A more dangerous way to defeat him but more sure to hit is to
fly at him head on and fly across his back, firing. Well I've just found that
you have to get close to it. The head seems to defeat your shots...
There's no easy way of battling him, so good luck.
***Efreet***
He's pretty furious, but an easier fight than Doom Dragon. He stays in the same
place, throwing two spreading fire balls. He will throw them on the plane you
are on, so alternate between them as you close in on him.
He has two fire elementals in his battleground. You can cycle around wide on
the leftmost side of the screen to slow them down. As they chase you, focus on
hitting the Efreet's head. The easiest areas to close in on him are below, as
it is easy to dodge the fire, or above him as the fireballs spread to the right
and left of you. You need to hit him on the high plane.
***Guardian of the Abyss***
An ethereal head that looks like Eon from the Marvel universe. He's actually
easier than the previous two bosses, and can be beaten without many scratches
if you practice patience.
He will open his mouth and fire off some fireballs. These will do serious
damage but guess what... heh... you have to hit him in the mouth! Try to time
you shots so that they connect with him as he opens his mouth while you're
already swooping out of the way. Approach from whatever direction best suits
your dragon's attacks, but I recommend from somewhere beneath him.
He doesn't move and his fireballs don't reach across the stage, so play it
safe if you want to.
***The Queen of Darkness***
Of course I recognized this monster as soon as I began fighting her, it's
Tiamat the Babylonian Chaos Dragon. Tiamat in myth represents the saltwater
seas, the water of chaos, and is the primordial mother in Babylonian creation
myth. However, I also have the toy of this particular Tiamat, minus a few parts
that were lost through time unfortunately. This tiamat is a five-headed dragon,
with heads of white, green, red, black, and blue.
And indeed, her abyssal majesty is a huge dragon with these same heads. She
uses the attacks of the blue, black, white, green, and red dragons. She
launches them fast but not with great accuracy. Her heads writhe as shee tries
to kill you.
You're going to be shooting the Queen in the necks - you need to sever her
heads for the kill. Anyways, you can change your altitude here unlike the
previous part of the level. Line up with her necks on the high plane, fly
forwards and shoot and duck. Now, you can stay here until she loses these
heads or you can dodge the hail of shots, swoop over to her other side and do
this here as well. Every time she loses a head - the fight gets easier because
she will be firing less shots. Destroy all of the ehads to win.
