Features
Well, Dragon Saber is definitely one of my favotite all-time shooters. I loved Dragon Spirit (and still do), but this game has very good improvements over the first. In this awesome shooter, you play the part of two warriors, Huey and Siria, who must get rid of the evil monsters infesting the world. But this task is very arduous as you might imagine so they need a little help. They a given a Dragon Saber which gives them the power to turn into powerful dragons much like the knight from Dragon Spirit.
There are 9 areas ou must fight through in order to reach your goal. The game has nice gradual learning curve. Even if you aren't that good at shooters, this game will give a chance. That is one improvement over the first. Because, as cool as Dragon Spirit is, it was really hard and inforgiving at times. Dragon Saber cuts you a little bit more slack without becoming a push over in the challenge department. There are lots of power-ups this time around as well. You can get extra dragon heads (up to three) which imroves your firepower, but this will also make your dragon a bigger target. So you have to use your own discretion. You can also charge up your shot by letting go of the fire button. This is really useful for groups of enemies and bosses. Your normal shot can powered up as well. Now here is the good part, you can change your dragons elemental properties! You can change it to fire, ice, lightning, and wind. This is done by picking up the various orbs that have the different elementals. Each one of these items will change the appearance of your dragon and it's main shot! It even changes the charge shot! These forms have to be used in different situations and will help you get out of certain situations. For example, the lightning elemental charge shot destroys all small enemies on the screen while the fire elemental sends out a large energy beam in the shape of your dragon at full power! It really adds a lot to an already top-notch shooter. The soundtrack is awesome.
The same musician from Dragon Spirit comes back makes some amazing tunes. The music fits the stages perfectly and will really pump you up. Most bosses even have their own theme! By the way, these are some of the most imaginative and maenacing-looking bosses I have seen. They range from an evil tree, to a deformed dragon who lives inside of a bigger dragon!
You gotta love that anime look this game has. It also adds a two player mode. It works well because of the nature of the game. Power ups are everywhere, so you never really have to fight for your power ups. The points system is incredibly balanced so your scores will be pretty equal if you work together. And, the bosses are killed much faster because of your combined power. So overall this is a great shooter. If you want to play it to, you will have to import for your PSX. It is available on volume 6 of Namco Museum. Also known as Namco Museum Encore. Other options would be getting the Turbo Grafix 16 port if you are fortunate enough to own one.
My rating is ***** out of *****.
I would like to also thank www.klov.com for the screenshot of Dragon Saber.