The King of Dragons

The King of Dragons is a 1991 side-scrolling beat 'em up arcade game by Capcom that allows players to choose from five characters (Elf, Wizard, Fighter, Cleric, and Dwarf) in order to travel through the kingdom of Malus and defeat the monsters that have taken over, as well as their leader, the red dragon Gildiss. The setting is very similar to that of Dungeons and Dragons and other medeival fantasy worlds, with familiar monsters such as Orcs, Gnolls, Harpies, Wyverns, Cyclopes, and Minotaurs. The game has 16 levels, though many are quite short.

Much like Capcom's Knights of the Round, King of Dragons features an RPG-like level advancement system. Points scored for killing monsters and picking up gold count towards experience, and the character gains levels at regular intervals. With each level, the character's health bar increases, other attributes such as range improve, and the character also becomes invulnerable for a few seconds. Along the way, different weapon and armor upgrades for each character may also be picked up.

Elf
The elven archer has the best range and speed of all the characters, but the worst defense, weak attack strength, and no shield.

Wizard
The wizard wields only a magical staff. He has fairly low defense and speed, but the best magic and the second best range. His attack power is weak early on, but extremely powerful later in the game.

Fighter
The fighter has the second strongest attack power, and fairly good range and speed, as well as a shield. The only thing he lacks is magic, at which he is the weakest.

Cleric
The cleric is the most balanced character in the game. He has fairly good magic and attack strength, as well as the best defense, although he is a bit slow. He also carries a shield and gains levels much faster than anyone else.

Dwarf
The dwarf has the strongest attack and the second strongest defense, is fairly quick, and also has a shield. However, he has the worst range and weak magic.

Ports
The game was ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994 and will be a part of Capcom Classics Collection Vol. 2, which is to be released for the PSP in late 2006.

Trivia

 * This was one of the many Capcom games to feature the Yashichi power-up item. In this game, there are three hidden throughout the game, each giving the player an extra continue.


 * Although it might be a coincidence, the game's overall style and gameplay is very similar to the games Capcom later made using the Dungeons & Dragons license in the mid '90s.