Who's a nice dragon?
Dragon Breed is a Horizontal Scrolling Shooter made for the arcades by Irem and Activision.
Set in Medieval Times, in the High Fantasy-inspired Agamen Empire; an ancient demon called King Zambaquous is awakening from his slumber. You're King Kayus, the 15-year-old boy-king of Agamen, who managed to summon the ancient dragon Bahamoot, and granted control of the mighty dragon, with your trusty crossbow in hand, you set off on a quest to battle the forces of evil.
The game was made available for arcades as well as Amiga consoles, Amstrad CPC, Atari, Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum.
Dragon Breed contains examples of:
- Ambushing Enemy: The cavern stage has anemone-like growth on the walls, which seems like part of the game's natural scenery. But the moment King Kayus flies near, they turn out to be a cluster of enemies gathered together, which then break off and attack.
- Attack of the Monster Appendage: King Kayus and Bahamoot battles an absolute behemoth of a dragon as the game's third boss. Only its head appears on screen most of the battle.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: Most of the mook-grade enemies are giant insects.
- Bottomless Magazines: King Kayus' bow never runs dry of arrows, and he can even spam shots while on foot.
- Breath Weapon: With the Red Orb power-up, Bahamoot can breathe a short-range stream of flames, incinerating every enemy in the way, and its Charged Attack is also fired from its mouth regardless of which power-up it's using.
- Charged Attack: Holding down the fire button allows Bahamoot to shoot a concentrated fireball that deals heavier damage.
- A Child Shall Lead Them: Downplayed with the "child" part, but according to supplementary materials, the player's character King Kayus is a 15-year-old monarch and highly capable warrior on a solo quest to save his kingdom.
- Collision Damage: Plays both ways — Bahamoot is invulnerable and can damage or destroy enemies just by touching it. On the other hand, King Kayus (the rider) is quite vulnerable and can be hurt when bumping into enemies and walls. Most of the game have players trying to control Bahamoot so the dragon's body forms a protective shield around the King.
- Distant Finale: The game's epilogue is set 200 years later. Bahamoot has ascended and turned into a star, while King Kayus benevolently ruled for two centuries before dying. He is then carried to the heavens by a shining dragon, implied to be Bahamoot's spirit. He's known to future generations as "The Last Dragon King".
- Dragon Rider: Your character, King Kayus, is the hero riding the dragon Bahamoot. Bahamoot is invincible, but Kayus isn't. Thus you must fly the dragon in a specific way so that its body can protect the rider against enemy shots.
- Flying Face:
- The boss of the volcano level is a giant flying skull even larger than Bahamoot. With two mouths, somehow.
- The Final Boss, Zambaquous, appears as a single giant head encased behind a forcefield during his battle. He gradually gains a lower body as the battle goes on.
- Heroic Sacrifice: At the end, Bahamoot encases Kayus in some sort of bubble/force field and floats him away, then rams himself into Zambaquous's chest to destroy him permanently. The last shot is of Kayus unconscious on a cliff with the boss fortress burning in the distance.
- Homing Projectile: The Silver Orb power-up turns Bahamoot's default attacks into organic homing missiles that look like little dragon heads.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: King Kayus dies in a single hit, unlike his steed Bahamoot, who cannot be damaged at all.
- Only the Chosen May Ride: Bahamoot is the steed of King Kayus, and no one else.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Bahamoot, despite being a dragon in a medieval-inspired setting, has the serpentine features of Oriental dragons.
- Segmented Serpent: Bahamoot the dragon's default form. There are similar, lesser dragon enemies who's depicted as segments — upon killing them their separated body parts explode in a last-ditch attempt to kill you.
- Shock and Awe: The Blue Orb power-up turns Bahamoot's weapon into a curtain of lightning that shoots straight downward.
- Shows Damage: On all the bosses, once Kayus and Bahamoot have damaged them enough, either with their bodies and shells cracking apart, losing limbs (for insect-like bosses) or for the giant flying skull, its jaws (both of them) falling off.
- Also subverted by the flying skull, which starts out as a tiny enemy, and at first shows damage by growing larger and larger with each explosion until it reaches its full-sized two-jawed skull form.
- Spread Shot:
- When on foot, King Kayus' weapon shoots in three directions if it's powered-up enough.
- The Gold Orb power-up is a variation of this. Bahamut's shots are fired from each individual segment, in whatever direction that segment is currently facing.
- Tail Slap: Owing to Bahamoot's serpentine features and invulnerability, players can use its tail as a very effective melee weapon.
- Thus began the age for men...
