Dragon Spirit: The New Legend is a vertical scrolling shoot ’em up for the Nintendo Entertainment System, developed by Now Production and published by Namco in Japan and Bandai in North America in 1990. It follows Prince Lace, who transforms into a dragon to rescue his kidnapped sister, Princess Iris, from the sorcerer Galda and the demon he has resurrected, Zawel. It’s a spin-off of Namco’s 1987 arcade shooter Dragon Spirit, reworked into a full home console adventure across nine worlds.
How to play
Use the arrow keys to fly your dragon in any of eight directions. Z fires your aerial attack at flying enemies, and X drops bombs on ground targets — enemies come from both directions at once, so switching between the two is constant. Defeating certain enemies and destroying dragon eggs drops power-ups, including stronger fireballs, a speed boost, and extra dragon heads that let you fire multiple shots at once. At the start of the game you choose between the Golden Dragon (an easier mode with faster movement and stronger power-ups) and the Blue Dragon (the standard, more challenging experience) — each plays through a slightly different version of the story.
Tips
- Prioritize destroying dragon eggs early in a stage; the power-ups they drop make the rest of the level much more manageable.
- Don’t neglect your bomb attack — ground enemies and turrets can chip away your life bar just as fast as airborne ones if you only focus upward.
- If you’re new to the game, start with the Golden Dragon mode; its boosted power-ups and lighter enemy patterns make it a gentler introduction before trying the standard Blue Dragon run.
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