[ Retro Scan of the Week ] “The First-Ever Dragon Combat Simulator!”
October 11th, 2010 by Benj Edwards
“Dragons attack with talons, fangs, and deadly breath weapons.”
Just yesterday, my wife’s uncle brought over boxes of his old Atari ST stuff and dumped them at my house (per my request, of course). Among the delightful vintage goodies was a Mega ST2 and dozens of boxed Atari ST games. I opened the box for Questron II and was immediately confronted by this colorful 5.5″ x 8.5″ flier for DragonStrike, another game from Strategic Simulations (SSI).
The design proudly proclaims, “The FIRST-EVER dragon combat simultor!” — as if “dragon combat simulator” was a genre gamers had been clamoring for ceaselessly for years.
I’ve never played this game, but I was always a fan of SSI’s gaming titles. They published some of computer gaming’s highest quality software back in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Discussion Topic of the Week: What are some of your favorite Strategic Simulations games?
October 11th, 2010 at 7:48 pm
I want an Atari ST. Actually, I want all Atari computers. This sample graphic for this game looks hot.
October 11th, 2010 at 10:20 pm
Justin,
While I admire the enthusiasm, I think you’ll find out pretty quickly you won’t want the 400. SAD CHRISTMAS!! 🙁
October 12th, 2010 at 1:09 am
I actually did own and play this game back in the day, though the DOS version. Quite fun, all said, especially if you were a fan of the Krynn setting.
Each color of dragon had different powers, the “dogfighting” was tight…. Sometimes a game fills a niche nobody knew was needed.
October 12th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Yeah, DragonStrike was pretty cool for the time–it was a great idea, and a good execution. I wouldn’t mind playing a modern dragon dogfight game.
I never really got into SSI’s other D&D titles, like Pool of Radiance, because my RPG line of choice was Ultima. Give me beautiful tile graphics over plain polygons any day! Looking at the list linked above, I had no idea SSI had so many other games. War games weren’t much of my thing back in the day, though I did enjoy 688 Attack Sub and Steel Thunder.
October 12th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Steel Panthers is an amazing game and series. You could spend hours just reading the in-game Encyclopedia about the weapons and armor. It was the first game that my mom called “War Porn.”
October 12th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
Can you imagine if every video game promoted itself that way?
Goldeneye — “The first-ever first-person shooter based on a James Bond film license!”
Resident Evil — “The first-ever survival horror simulation featuring multiple zombie creatures in a massive mansion on the PS1 that will have successful sequels and a film franchise!”
… actually, those were terrible examples. I apologize.
But did they ever consider Tagin’ Dragon for the NES? Also a 1990 release, haha.
October 12th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
DragonStrike is a cool game. I used to play it when I was a child, pretty good game. Strategic simulation? I am not sure, probably Syndicate.
October 26th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
@NintendoLegend
Legend of Zelda — “The FIRST-EVER Adventure-RPG Game”
Donkey Kong — “The FIRST-EVER Platformer that Does Not Take Place in Space”
E.T. — “The FIRST-EVER Abysmal Movie Based Game, To Be The Standard for Many More To Come!”
PONG — “The FIRST-EVER Inaccurate Sports Simulation Game”
February 8th, 2011 at 2:12 am
I remember hotly anticipating a dragon aerial combat game coming out like this in the early 90s for DOS. I’m not sure if it’s this one (especially because it wasn’t shareware, and I thought I’d seen it on a BBS) but it sure looks a lot alike.