10/25/20 Dragon Spirit (1991)

Dragon Spirit (1991) developed by Namco and published by Domark Software for DOS, Commoodore 64, Amstrad PC, and Atari ST. This is a conversion of the original arcade title for home computers and it’s… good! Dragon Spirit is a fantasy twist on the ever popular ‘shmup genre that features some pretty solid design and pleasant graphics. There are both power ups and power downs, as well as a pretty odd difficulty system wherein easier skills are only available after the game is beaten once. The only reason I’m hesitant to give this a higher recommendation is because I think a great soundtrack is key to any ‘shmup, and I was really disappointed that none of the home computer versions feature any music beyond the title screen. The only sounds in-game are the repetitive white noise synth crunches of the player’s shot. I personally like my top-down shooters to have small hitboxes and fast movement, but if you’re into the slower pace of the titular dragon, I would say go with the arcade version, especially as MAME is so versatile nowadays.