Skip to main content

Dragon Buster: It's a bust

On paper, Dragon Buster sounds like a great Japanese arcade game: a side-scrolling dungeon crawler in which you (a boy named Clovis) slay monsters and wizards and collect potions, jewels, scrolls, and other treasure. But when I actually played it, I was disappointed.

The stages (dungeons) are made up of hallways, monster rooms, elevators, and a few drops and ledges. Smaller enemies roam the hallways, but each room contains a big monster to fight, such as a Golem or the hilariously-misnamed Bishop, who is an ax-wielding fighting-man. When you defeat it, you collect an item, then continue on your way. In a certain room, defeating the monster will produce an exit instead.

Some of the stages are labyrinthine. There are a total of twelve worlds (maps), and you have some choice of which dungeons to do. In the last dungeon of each map, you have to fight a fire-breathing Dragon. Each one has a different weak point that flashes red. The number of dungeons on each map varies greatly, from just one to eleven. Even as I write this, it still sounds like a great concept, but the game itself is dull and repetitive.

As for Clovis, besides the various magical attack items he picks up, he can swing his sword and also thrust downward with it, which is quite effective. He can also double jump, but it requires an immediate double tap. Pressing A again mid-jump does not work. In RPG fashion, he has a life ("vitality") meter instead of lives.

Interestingly, the Famicom port sought to improve upon the original (which I've never played). Most notably, it nearly doubled the number of items from eleven to twenty. It added a rod that shoots a lightning bolt, an amulet that turns all enemies on the screen into stone, a chalice that teleports you out of the dungeon, and a diary that lets you continue, among others. It also added four new enemies: the Spider, Thief, Ghoul, and Rock (based on D&D's roper). Surely these additions improve the game, despite the graphical step down.

Several aspects of this game remind me of the later Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The two games look similar and share many elements: a kind of overworld map, side-scrolling dungeons with multiple levels, a downward stab, and sword combat. These are all implemented much better in Zelda II, however, which also adds more RPG elements, such as towns, clues, and spells.

Dragon Buster Famicom cartridge

Maybe I just suck at the game, but I found the monster fights, especially against the Dragons, difficult. Granted, it's pattern-based, so with some practice anyone can learn to overcome any monster. I just didn't have enough fun to want to invest that time replaying the first two worlds over and over, trying to improve. The reward for completing a dungeon is going to another dungeon that feels basically the same. True, the layouts and colors change, but it's the same enemies and items all game.

To be fair, this is an early arcade game, so of course the levels just repeat. I think I was just taken in by the game's potential as an RPG dungeon crawler (in the Famicom version, points are even called "Experience") and was disappointed when it turned out to be so primitive. I will say that I enjoyed it more than Pac-Land, whose engine it uses.

Grade: C

Gameplay: Sporadically fun or niche (12/20)
Theme: Interesting concept and characters, if a bit generic (16/20)
Controls: Controls are functional, but frustrating (9/15)
Difficulty: Hard to the point of frustration (12/15)
Graphics: Good-looking if a bit lackluster (12/15)
Sound: Several solid music tracks (12/15)

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Final Fantasy VI: 30th anniversary

Final Fantasy VI is widely regarded as the greatest of the original six FF games. Its decision-based story events, fully customizable magic system, and gritty sci-fi/fantasy setting set the standard for the series moving forward. The enormous cast of characters and elaborate plot-line built on the promise of FF4 (“Final Fantasy II” in the U.S.), shedding many of that game’s cliches (while sticking with the tried-and-true Evil Empire trope) in favor of something more adult. The game’s villain, Kefka, embodies evil, playing on the sci-fi trope of the person driven mad by experimental technology. Final Fantasy VI begins with an amnesiac girl named Terra (you can change her name, of course). Controlled by a psychic “crown”, she pilots a magic-driven suit of tech armor (called “Magitek”). After forming a psychic connection to an “Esper” (what were called “Summons” in FF4), she breaks free of the empire’s control. A thief named Locke, who belongs to the resistance group known as the Returne...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mega Man X: 30th anniversary

Thirty years ago Mega Man X brought Capcom's beloved blue bomber into the 16-bit era, to great acclaim. In a creative twist, Mega Man X (called X for short) is a new robot, not the original Mega Man . As with Super Metroid, Super Castlevania IV , and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past , Mega Man X uses the winning formula of remaking the original NES game but with more and better. Mega Man X, like his predecessor, faces eight robot masters, now called "Mavericks." Instead of "men," they are made in the image of animals: Chill Penguin, Storm Eagle, Launch Octopus, Spark Mandrill (a kind of monkey), Armored Armadillo, Sting Chameleon, Flame Mammoth, and Boomer Kuwanger (a Japanese stag beetle). An opening stage ends with X being defeated by the robot Vile, a henchman of Sigma, who wants to destroy humanity using something called "Reploids" (the Mavericks?). Fortunately, a "Maverick Hunter" robot named Zero jumps in to save X. He encourages...
Post a Comment
Read more

Super Mario Land: A short, oddball entry

Super Mario Land was a Game Boy launch title, but not the pack-in game. That honor went to Tetris. Tetris is an incredible game with perennial appeal, and it propelled the Game Boy's explosive success. Super Mario Land is not as impressive but still fun. Super Mario Land is a bit odd. It doesn't feel like other Mario games. Only four of the classic enemies appear: Bullet Bills, Piranha Plants, Goombas, and Koopa Troopas. Even the koopas behave differently: their shells can't be kicked and instead explode like bombs. Most of the enemies are assorted creatures, like spiders, robots, ghosts, and Moai heads. The Fighter Flies from the original Mario Bros. arcade game also appear. The Super Mushroom, coins, and Super Star appear, as well as question blocks. The Fire Flower, however, has been replaced by a similar flower power-up. It lets Mario throw a bouncing ball. It ricochets off walls like an old screen saver, and only one can be on screen at a time. Weird! Extra-life mushr...
Post a Comment
Read more