King of Dragons

"A good beat-em up game for the Super Nintendo"

The King of Dragons is 2D action beat-em up action game made for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This game was made in 1994 by Capcom, a long lasting company that makes many great action games to this day. As a beat-em up action game, it features good gameplay, great graphics and is quite worthy game to add to your collection.

Like in all beat-up up games, action is by all means essential and The King of Dragons delivers. Featuring many unique enemies including hordes of orcs, golems, skeleton warriors, there is always a new foe to defeat. At the end of each massive level, there is a boss that puts up a good fight.

In the game, there are five playable characters featuring unique strengths and weaknesses. I personally prefer the Fighter, as he carries an awesome looking sword and is the heavy melee expert. Other characters include the powerful Wizard, the long range Elf, the tank Cleric, and the small, but powerful Dwarf. With each character, they cater to a player's style and skill as each character requires different handling.

In most games, bosses are an essential indicator if the game is good or not. In King of Dragons, you get to face off against mystical beasts based on western legends of old. Some include Miniatures, Cyclopes, Black Knights, and of course a bad ass dragon at the end. Although some of the bosses are clones of each other like in level 6 and level 15, they are still fun to beat.

What the Super Nintendo version of this game has that is better over the arcade version is that the controls are superior. In the arcade version, there is no shield control which allows defense against enemy attacks. The most probable reason for the arcade version lacking this button is that the arcade wants you to use your quarters. Although the Super Nintendo is superior in terms of controls, the arcade system features a more powerful engine so lags experienced in the Super Nintendo version are not likely to happen in the arcade.

Next up, the graphics of this game. The King of Dragons do not have the three dimensional figures of today's games, but instead uses sprites. On the game screen, characters are quite large on the screen so it is possible to see the intricate detail of the design. With detailed character and monster design, The King of Dragons is superior to other games of its time as other games feature blurry pixel like sprites that lack good detail.

So the character design is good, but the background is also important. This game has nice well drawl landscapes in the background that give a good sense of the medieval theme. In the back, you can see vast battlefield plains, castle walls and other landscapes that just fit in with the theme of this game. Overall, this a good design by the game developers.

Like in all games, sound is a necessity. The King of Dragons features a unique sound track that excites the game and gives a feeling of adventure. Most of the composed tracks are all placed in the correct areas of the game, thus developing the mood and atmosphere of this game. Overall, the sound is a good addition to the game and helps enhance the player's enjoyment.

Ok, so you have beaten the game once and are wondering, am I going to play this again? Well eventually you might find yourself playing this game again as it is quite addicting. As a well done beat-em up, The King of Dragons is quite addicting and will probably give countless hours of entertainment. I found this game very good and always wanted to play it over and over again during the age of the Super Nintendo.

All right, the moment of truth, is this game worth it? Well it is quite worth it. From my experience this is one of the better beat-em up games of the Super Nintendo. The King of Dragons is not too difficult and isn't like the typical street fight themed games of other games of this genre so it is quite unique. If you have the time or if you can get a hand on this game, take the time and try it out. Who knows, you might just find yourself enjoying classic games that feature quality, excellent gameplay instead of the eye candy and fan service of today's games.

The numbers as everyone loves them.

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 8/10
Sound: 8/10
Replay value: 7/10

Overall: 8/10

Submitted November 26, 2006.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/27/06