Dragon Buster II: Yami no Fuuin

Dragon Buster II: Yami no Fuuin (ドラゴンバスターII: 闇の封印) is a Famicom exclusive action RPG released on April 27, 1989 in Japan, and is a prequel to the 1984 game Dragon Buster. The main hero named Carl is a dragon slayer who wields a bow and arrow. He has to pass 6 stages and reach the Dragon Castle to retrieve the sword which the hero of the original Dragon Buster, Clovis, used as a weapon. The game uses a password system.

Each of the six stages has its own dragon castle. The last stage has two, including the ultimate castle, where the main villain keeps the legendary sword. To reach the dragon castle on each map, the player must make his way through different locations. The player is free to chose their route. At the start of each map, the player is presented with a screen that shows which useful items can each type of locations contain. Upon entering a location (using ) the view changes to an overhead camera. Inside, the player has two tasks: defeat the monster that possesses the key to reclaim it, and locate an exit (which can sometimes also be dropped by monsters too). Finished locations disappear from the game map, allowing the hero to proceed.

Unlike the original game, in Dragon Buster II the protagonist cannot wield magic, having only his bow to dispose of enemies. Arrows fired can ricochet against walls, potentially damaging the hero in the process. The game uses a unique system to indicate Carl's health. His tunic changes color as he takes damage, from blue to green to yellow, and finally to red. Health is replenished by collecting fairies from defeated enemies, or locating special healing pools. Health is restored at the start of each location. If Carl can collect four fairies while at full health, the player is awarded an extra life.

Dragon Buster II rarely introduces new features throughout the game. Carl doesn't grow stronger, nor does he receive any new abilities. The game's difficulty increases by presenting monsters that require more damage to defeat, and dungeons that become more complex. Many dungeon maps wrap around and permit the player to walk forever in a certain direction, making mapping difficult to do correctly.