is a 1991

beat-'em-up The beat 'em up (also known as brawler and, in some markets, beat 'em all) is a video game genre featuring hand-to-hand combat against a large number of opponents. Traditional beat 'em ups take place in scrolling, two-dimensional (2D) levels, ...

video game by Capcom that follows players as they control characters through the kingdom of Malus to defeat monsters led by the dragon Gildiss. It features a level advancement system, allowing character attributes to be upgraded as players progress through the game. The game's music was composed by

Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...

. ''The King of Dragons'' was

ported In software engineering, porting is the process of adapting software for the purpose of achieving some form of execution in a computing environment that is different from the one that a given program (meant for such execution) was originally desi ...

to the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in ...

in 1994. An

emulated In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run so ...

version of the game has been released as part of '' Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2'', '' Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded'', and '' Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle''.

Gameplay

The game has 16 levels, though many are quite short. ''The King of Dragons'' features a role-playing video game-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. ''The King of Dragons'' features a simple control system that consists of a single attack button, and a jump button. By pressing both buttons, the character unleashes a magical attack that strikes all enemies in screen (its strength varies according to the character used) at the expense of losing energy. The fighter, cleric and dwarf can also use their shield to block certain attacks by tilting the joystick back right before the impact. This is one of the many Capcom games to feature the yashichi power-up item (a "boost power-up" icon resembling a

shuriken A ''shuriken'' ( ja, 手裏剣; literally: "hidden hand blade") is a Japanese concealed weapon that was used as a hidden dagger or metsubushi to distract or misdirect. They are also known as throwing stars, or ninja stars, although they wer ...

). There are three such power-ups hidden throughout the game, each giving the player an extra continue. The five playable heroes each have their own traits and fighting skills in the game. The Fighter is very good with melee attacks and defense but lacks magical ability. The Dwarf is able to dodge and block attacks, is the most agile character that has decent melee attacks albeit the shortest range and little magic ability. The Elf has good agility and great range with archery but is not physically strong. The Cleric has great defense, decent magic (with the ability to heal his comrades) and melee attacks but bad agility. The Wizard has poor defense but very good magical attacks and quick melee attacks.

Ports

The game was ported to the

in 1994. This port reduces the number of simultaneous players down to two. The sprites' size were also reduced moderately. It is also possible to assign the magic attack and shield defense to different buttons and analyzed samples FM-styles soundtrack. The arcade version is part of '' Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2'', which was released for the PlayStation 2 and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

in November 2006. This was also in '' Capcom Classics Collection: Reloaded'' for the PlayStation Portable. The game is included as part of the '' Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle'' for the PlayStation 4,

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

, Nintendo Switch, and Microsoft Windows.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''The King of Dragons'' on their October 1, 1991 issue as being the most-successful table arcade unit of the month, outperforming titles such as '' Street Fighter II: The World Warrior''. Doris Stokes of British magazine ''

Zero 0 (zero) is a number representing an empty quantity. In place-value notation such as the Hindu–Arabic numeral system, 0 also serves as a placeholder numerical digit, which works by multiplying digits to the left of 0 by the radix, usual ...

'' reviewed the arcade game, rating it four out of five. She called it "a good, nicely addictive blast 'em up." In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their top 25 "Best Beat 'Em Ups of All Time" list.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:King of Dragons, The 1991 video games Arcade video games Capcom beat 'em ups Capcom Power System Changer games CP System games Fantasy video games Romstar games Super Nintendo Entertainment System games Side-scrolling beat 'em ups Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Yoko Shimomura Multiplayer and single-player video games