Dragon Spirit/Walkthrough

Namco's 1987 vertical scrolling shooter arcade game Dragon Spirit is divided into nine stages; if you are playing the "old" version of the game, the game will start as soon as you have inserted your coin and pressed the start button, and the first stage will have an introductory section. If the arcade operator has set the "RANK" setting in the game's options menu to "A" Amul will start out with three "LIFE" rectangles in the bottom-left corner of the screen - but if he has set it to "B", he will only start out with two. Therefore, if you are using MAME to play this game, it is advisable to set the "RANK" option to "A" to increase your chances of survival; as mentioned on Getting Started, the only way for Amul to refill lost "LIFE" rectangles is to collect an Extend powerup.

However if you are playing the "new" version of the game, the game will present you with a stage selection screen after you have inserted your coin and pressed the start button; you will then have ten seconds to select which of the nine stages you wish to start on, by pushing the joystick to the left or right, then pressing the Firing Button to confirm your choice. If you choose to start your game on the second stage, Amul will start out in his two-headed form - and if you choose to start on the third or fourth stage, Amul will start in his two-headed form, but with Level-2 flames. Also, if the arcade operator has set the "CONTINUE" setting in the game's options menu to "ON", Amul will restart the game in his two-headed form once you have pressed the start button.