Game Info
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Developer: Irem
Publisher: Irem
Year of Release: 1989
Game Review & Impressions
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yet another game from Irem's back catalogue of shoot 'em ups, Dragon Breed is a visually stunning entry in the annals of coin-op shoot 'em up history. The art style, which would become synonymous with Irem's arcade titles from here on out, is superb. I couldn't find a list of credits for the game, but I suspect the artist is Akio Oyabu, who worked on many of Irem's arcade titles and, perhaps even more famously, Metal Slug.
As with R-Type and X-Multiply, Dragon Breed follows similar design principles by allowing the player to use the body of the dragon to block incoming projectiles. Grabbing power-up capsules from defeated enemies both changes your drake's main weapon and, if multiple capsules of the same colour are collected, increasing the power of the shot. If I'm honest, the only weapon I found to be of any real use was the flame breath (red); the others all felt just a little too weak to bother with.
Perhaps the game's most interesting mechanic is the ability to dismount from your scaley steed when positioned directly over a floating platform. Whilst on foot, your blaster increases in power and spread, and the dragon will automatically engage foes until you're ready to take off again. This all seems like a cool idea, but there's actually very little opportunity to use this mechanic and, if I'm honest, it's not particularly useful do so.
While Dragon Breed might not be as iconic as R-Type or its sequel, I think this it's certainly one of Irem's more interesting coin-ops. This is in large part to the graphics and outlandish enemy designs, which would certainly have caught the eye of passing punters. If you're in the mood for a decent blasting game, Dragon Breed will certainly scratch that particular itch.
Chapters
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00:00 Attract mode
00:10 Stage 1
03:32 Stage 2
05:45 Stage 3
08:45 Stage 4
12:18 Stage 5
15:22 Stage 6
18:18 Ending