King of Dragons (Arcade)

The King Of Dragons is a side-scrolling hack and slash beat ’em up game developed by Capcom and released in 1991 for the arcades. Set in a fantasy setting, players choose from five characters (Elf, Wizard, Fighter, Cleric, and Dwarf) in order to travel through the fictional kingdom of Malus and defeat the monsters that have taken over, as well as their leader, the red dragon Gildiss.

This is the arcade version played on CPS1.

The setting is very similar to that of Dungeons & Dragons and other medieval fantasy worlds, with familiar monsters such as Orcs, Gnolls, Harpies, Wyverns, Cyclopes, and Minotaurs.

Gameplay:

Much like Capcom’s Knights Of The Round, The King Of Dragons features an RPG-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 improvement, and the character also become invulnerable for a few seconds. Along the way, different weapon and armor upgrades for each character may also be picked up. The game has 16 levels, though many are quite short.

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 on the 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 pulling back right before the impact.
Magical Attacks

-Meteor – Rains destruction on enemies with a meteor storm.
-Thunderbolt – Thunder strikes the enemy.
-Fire Wall – Burns the enemy with fire.
-Frog – Turns the enemy into a frog.
-Jewelry – Turns the enemy into jewels.

Story:

“For over a hundred years, he had descended like a vulture on the land of Malus and left nothing behind but a scorched ruin where the creatures of darkness could reign. After much pleading by the farmers and townspeople, the armies of Malus were gathered and sent to do battle with the mighty red dragon known as Gildiss. Not a single man returned.
In desperation, the King sought guidance from his wizard, Guindon. Guindon told the king that he could cast a spell that would put Gildiss to sleep for one year, but if and when Gildiss awoke, he would be more powerful. Looking out over the suffering that had befallen his kingdom, the King decided his people could take no more. And so he commanded Guindon to put Gildiss to sleep.

Now the year has almost come to an end and darkness has once again befallen the kingdom of Malus. In the last year, the King has sent forth hundreds of knights to find and destroy Gildiss as he sleeps. None have been heard from again.

Now, as the creatures of darkness stand ready to plunge the land of Malus into the abyss, a new band of adventurers plans to set forth before Gildiss awakes…”

Characters:

Main characters

• Ravel the Elf (エルフ ラベル Erufu Raberu) (age unknown, 175cm, 60kg) – A forest hunter with superb aiming skills, an expert in the handling of the bow. He joined the party against the monsters as a member of a clan who seeks peace. The elven archer has the greatest range and speed of all the characters. However, he can not equip a shield and he suffers from low defense and weak attack strength. Furthermore, Ravel’s defense never increases throughout the course of the game and his jump is slower than that of both the Fighter and Wizard. By obtaining better bows, Ravel increases the speed at which he fires arrows and their range, while arrow upgrades increase attack strength.

• Leger the Wizard (ウィザード レジェ Uizādo Reje) (age 28, 173cm, 60kg) – A fighting magician on a journey researching ancient magic, he has joined the party to further his investigation. The wizard wields only a magical staff. He has fairly low defense and speed, but the best magic and the second-best range. His attack power is weak early on, but extremely powerful later in the game. The speed at which Leger attacks does not improve, but is alleviated by the multi-hitting ability of his later staves. The defense is improved by various magical upgrades such as rings and amulets.

• Derek the Fighter (ファイター デレク Faitā Dereku) (age 26, 183cm, 90kg) – A powerful swordfighter on a journey to find the dragon’s treasure. Before joining this group, he has already killed a young green dragon with a party of six. The Fighter has the second strongest attack power. His range and speed easily outperform the other shield-carrying heroes (Cleric and Dwarf) and his jump is faster and higher. Derek gains HP the fastest and his speed can make his defense almost as good as the Cleric’s. The main thing he lacks is magic, at which he is the weakest.

• Aldo the Cleric (クレリック アルド Kurerikku Arudo) (age 34, 203cm, 109kg) – A pious and adventurous man, Aldo is on a study journey but he dreams of one day building a cathedral. As a servant of God he’s not allowed to wield blades, so he prefers hammers as his weapon instead. The cleric is the largest hero in the game. He has fairly good magic and attack strength, as well as the best defense, although he is a bit slow and has the worst agility of the bunch, able to make only short, and slow hops. He also carries a shield and gains levels much faster than anyone else. His recovery, after using the shield, is the fastest in the game. Aldo is the personal favorite of most players. However, he is slower than the Fighter, and most of the Cleric players have switched to Fighter, due to the faster attacking, and much better hops Fighter has to offer to the aggressive and advanced players.

• Vargas the Dwarf (age unknown, 120cm, 70kg) – A small, yet mighty warrior who wields battle axes. After the dragon attacked his village, Vargas started a wandering trip to offer his help to those fighting against the monsters. The Dwarf, as his name suggests, is the smallest target of the five. He has the quickest melee attack speed and the second strongest defense, is fairly quick, and also has a shield. Vargas has also the longest jump; however, he has fairly weak magic and the worst range: every third strike is a ranged strike (unlike the Cleric and Fighter who alternate between a close and ranged strike).

Antagonists

• Great Dragonian – A powerful Dragon Knight wearing golden armor and fighting with a “Seven Star Sword” (七星剣 Shichiseiken), a segmented sword which can be extended to perform whip-like attacks. During the siege of the northern lands, he kidnapped Princess Mari, and is confronted in Level 11 to rescue her. He is an upgraded version of a boss character featured in a previous adventure game, Black Tiger.
• Chaotic Wizard Or – A magician subordinate of the Dark Wizard, he specializes in instant transportation magic. Faced at the entrance of the wizard’s tower (Level 13), he teleports around and uses flame and electric magic to attack.
• Majin Hugo – The Dark Wizard, Hugo is Gildiss’, right-hand man. Through his association with the Red Dragon, Hugo can manipulate any flame-related magic. During the siege of the northern lands, he took over Castle Garenos as his dwelling and is confronted at the top tower during Level 13.
• Red Dragon Gildiss  – The main antagonist, the supreme monster with unprecedented power, his awakening has unleashed monstrous hordes across the land. He remains hidden within a large cavern alongside his massive treasure and is faced in its confines as the final boss.

Just Have Fun!

How to Play