Top 10 Lists : The Top 10 Dragons Of Video Games
Dragons... Giant, Fire-breathing, reptilian, practically immortal, yep, just the few words to describe the awesomeness of dragons. They've been around since time immemorial, and not much has changed over the course of several years. In Europe and most of the Western World, dragons began life as little more than just another type of sea monster, guarding some artifact of importance or chowing down on men and maidens, most of them had snake-like features as well, justified here, since many people modeled dragons after snakes. Then came the Middle Ages, and being the symbols of evil that they were at the time, dragons "adopted" several "devilish" features, such as leathery, bat-like wings and breath of hellfire. They became synonymous with greed, stealing precious metals and jewels and whatnot for no apparent reason, (although the real reason is probably medieval man's inability to understand what is it about human-made items that make animals so attracted to them) with this in mind, it probably came as quite a culture shock when Westerners traveled to the East, where the object of all their vices was venerated for virtues instead. In the East, and you should know this already, Dragons were seen as harbingers of prosperity and good fortune, and unlike their western kin, they maintained their serpentine appearance for the most part, as Easterners saw that snakes, when biting their own tails, formed a circle, the symbol of immortality/longevity, and thus applied it to their own dragons. Years later and a few cross-cultural exchanges of ideas, the modern symbolism of dragons had changed forever, sometimes they were evil, sometimes they were good, sometimes a bit of both, and sometimes neither. Regardless of how they've ended up now, one thing remains certain, dragons will be there always to stoke the fires of imagination everywhere, even when they're not real.
I know, Liu Kang isn't an actual dragon, but for those of you who've played as him and are familiar with his fatalities, you'll know what I mean. For those not in the know, when Liu Kang started off Mortal Kombat, he was, by virtue of being a Shaolin monk, a technical pacifist who fought, but would not kill. You wouldn't outright kill any of your opponents playing as Liu Kang, and even if you did, he probably never meant to. Come the second game, he finally got his taste of real blood, literally! Going rogue on his Shaolin upbringing, Liu Kang could, through force of will, transform into an oriental dragon who would chomp the torso of his defeated opponents and leave naught but the bloody remains of his/her legs and waist. There's another reason why he ranks low on this list, and it's the fact he doesn't do much as a dragon other than providing a satisfyingly visual slaughter of his enemy. He can't fly, as oriental dragons do, nor is he venerated as a demigod, which oriental dragons sort of were, lastly, as the Mortal Kombat storyline had developed, he hasn't been doing much at all. Nevertheless, Liu Kang's Dragon Fatality had become one of his most famous crowning moments for many players, so he hits no. 10.
Now, an actual dragon. For a game about mythology, AoM only has one dragon, and that's the Norse Myth unit Nidhogg. Let me start by saying that Nidhogg has the most peculiar dragon horns I've ever seen (antlers), but he makes up for it by being an appreciably powerful myth unit, the Titan before the Titans expansion pack. He's got a fire breath that can scorch through buildings, and can handle most things that are tossed at him, but bear in mind that while he is a formidable force, he is quite vulnerable, and any wounds inflicted upon him will be permanent, as he cannot be healed in any way. Take care of your pets and they shall return it with a good deed of their own, and you really can't be more thankful than to have Nidhogg as your own.
The Dragonmaw Clan, led by Zuluhed the Whacked (What kind of a title is that, though?), resolved to kidnap Alexstrasza, the Aspect of the mighty Red Dragonflight. Once one of their number, the warlock Nekros Skullcrusher, succeeded in subjugating the matriarch of the Red Dragons, Alexstrasza's brood were forced to serve the Orcish Horde during the Second War. Many fierce battles were fought, and the Red Dragonflight ruled the skies while the Orcs and their kindred, the Trolls and Ogres, spilled blood on the earth. Dragons were a formidable force for the Horde during the Second War, especially once you've cast the almighty Bloodlust spell upon them, where the Dragons became even more ferocious and destructive. After that, however, the Orcs and Dragons went their separate ways, but don't you feel a little disappointed over having lost something as powerful as that?
The Black Dragons of Warlock were the most powerful units in HoMM 2, but the Titans of Wizard put them to the test to see if they had what it took. After a bout that pit them together, Black Dragon scored a major victory, but that didn't mean Titan wasn't any less of a capable beast, but it was the dragon that won this fight. Although future HoMM games would emphasize bigger and better dragons that are superior to almost every other creature you can cull from your ranks, this was the first where the might of the Dragons had to prove themselves the greatest above all others.
People hyped up a lot about Lair, a game where you rode upon your dragon wasting your foes without mercy, but when the game arrived, it wasn't what it lived up to be. In spite of this, it would seem many of those who've played Lair have agreed to never trust the words of a critic again once they shared their thoughts about the game, Lair has much to offer, it would seem, if only the backlash caused by the earlier hype hadn't partially smeared its image. It receives no. 6 on this list, for being notable among its fanbase, but quite average due to its less-than-favorable reception.
Dynasty Warriors with Dragons, I guess that would be the best way to summarize the formula of Drakengard. The story revolves around our young dragon-slaying hero Caim on a quest to defeat the Evil Empire and their army of dragons, along the way, he binds himself to Angelus, a female Red Dragon whom he encounters wounded just as he is, together, they end up fighting for the same cause as they encounter similar individuals with similar pacts to their own. Unlike Lair, you fight with a named dragon who is very much your partner for life, so to speak, and just 'cause it was a little better, it gets no. 5.
I'll be honest with you at this point, I've never played Panzer Dragoon, but I know many players like this game (and that would be an understatement). Coming long before the dragon riders of Drakengard and Lair, Panzer Dragoon was a gem of Sega, a gem that probably got buried beneath heaps of dirt considering their unfortunate history with videogame consoles, something that they, and the many others who made the fantastic games their consoles offered, didn't take notice of until the last moment, and many gamers are probably still suffering over the losses they would have to cope with.
BoF4 was a decent game, one that involved all of the kooky and imaginative dragons Japanese developers could make for their games, some that probably wouldn't even be called dragons if anything can be said for it. The game seems to go to great lengths over how godly the dragons are, but since they are gods, they don't really seem to handle much by themselves, preferring the puny mortals do most of the world-saving for them, there is one, I'm not certain if he counts, who could pass as actually doing something, but it's not much in the way of world-saving, and not exactly the most comfortable idea for us, but if I go on any further, that'll probably spoil something.
Bahamut strikes at no. 2, a lot of people are probably crying foul over the God of Eidolons/Espers/Aeons playing a mere second fiddle, I mean, you all probably are by now. You call upon the King of Dragons, he flies in, usually from the dark expanse of space, and blasts your enemies to kingdom come. With a few exceptions, Bahamut plays no real role in the stories of the Final Fantasy games other than being some awesome magical spell, or, in the case of the first game, a means to make your characters a superior version of themselves. But he's great, great as in big, great as in awesome, and having an attack that's even greater, he's one of the most well-known dragons in videogame history, but he doesn't do much else in many cases, which is why he ranks lower compared to...
#1: Spyro the Dragon
Who hasn't seen this one coming? I dare ya, who hasn't seen this one coming? Ok, maybe some of you didn't, but the fact is, Spyro is like the PlayStation 3, he only does everything, well not literally, but when you really need someone to go save the Dragon Realms or some other realms, Spyro can be counted on to handle all the troubles of a land of wonder by himself (and Sparx helps to keep him alive, so he gets special mention as well). For such a tiny dragon, Spyro can do just fine battling the latest threat in existence, and he doesn't need someone to tell him to go save the day and be the big damn hero, he knows where to go, how to get there, who to talk to next to get there, flaming his enemies and ripping them a new one with his horn charges long-before Ratchet came around, and be the big damn hero, in spite of being a tiny purple dragon. Like I said, he only does everything, and that's why he's No. 1
And there you have it, the Top Ten List of Videogame's finest dragons. Giant, reptilian, fire-breathing, practically immortal... ahh, how awesome you were, and still are, mighty dragon...
List by DestPrince (07/21/2010)
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