THE KING OF DRAGONS
Original Release: Capcom, 1991, Arcade
Other Releases: SNES (1994), PSP (in Capcom Classics Collection Reloaded, 2005), PS2/Xbox (in Capcom Classics Collection Vol 2, 2006), PC/PS4/Switch/Xbox One (in Capcom Beat 'Em Up Bundle, 2018)
Capcom's second step along the fantasy slice-em-up evolutionary path forged by Golden Axe two years earlier, King of Dragons offers a rudimentary leveling system and 3-player action in the arcade version
The King of Dragons (Arcade, Capcom, 1991)
Where to Buy: eBay
How to Emulate: Arcade Emulation Guide
Review by: C. M0use
"WAAAAAAR!" This is a pretty but uninspired fantasy beat-em-up from Capcom, one of the pair they would first dabble with in the wake of Golden Axe (along with Magic Sword, which came out a little earlier). I say "uninspired" because it just kinda draws on the most common fantasy tropes in a disjointed way, giving everything a nice coat of colorful art but with lackluster core gameplay.
The design keeps it simple with heaps of palette-swap enemies padding things out through the surprisingly long series of levels, and a somewhat pointless level/gold system since the game is entirely linear and there are never any shops. The game's big focus is lots of boss fights with the usual gamut of mythological/Tolkien creatures, which are sometimes visually impressive but also make it feel more like a quarter-sucker than most.
Try Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons arcade games instead, they're a superior version of this ... I'd argue Magic Sword is more fun and inventive too. King of Dragons does have a Yoko Shimomura soundtrack, but not one of her better works IMO with a lot of repetitive 1-minute pieces.
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