Play Dragon Spirit Online

Game Overview

So Dragon Spirit on NES is this classic shoot-em-up where you play as a warrior who turns into a dragon—which is already a pretty great premise. You're basically this blue dragon breathing fire in two directions: straight ahead for airborne enemies and downward to roast ground troops. It takes a minute to get used to aiming both attacks, but once you do, it feels surprisingly smooth.

What's cool is how the power-ups work. You can grow extra dragon heads (yes, really), boost your firepower, or grab health pickups. Lose them before a boss fight, though, and you're in for a rough time. The stages scroll vertically, and some enemies jump between ground and air, so you're constantly switching between firing angles.

The NES version tweaks the arcade story—now you're Prince Lace rescuing your sister from a new villain, Galda. There's also this weird first stage that decides your whole playthrough: survive it, and you get the full hardcore experience. Die, and the game pities you with an easier "Gold Dragon" mode (fewer stages, more health, but a lamer ending).

Oh, and if you've played other versions, the TurboGrafx-16 one swaps two stages for castle levels instead of underwater/dark zones. Weird choice, but hey—variety, I guess.