Dragon Strike is a Dungeons & Dragons flight simulator by Strategic Simulations, Inc., released in 1990, and pretty fun.
The game is set on Krynn during the War of the Lance. Player assumes the role of a young Solamnic Knight and flies his dragon through a series of increasingly challenging missions to defeat enemy dragons and other creatures in the skies above war-ravaged land.
You get a chance to ascend through the ranks of Solamnic Order, obtain useful magic items and more powerful mounts (bronze, silver and, finally, gold dragons) as you push enemy dragonarmies towards final showdown above Neraka.
The game contains examples of following tropes:
- After-Combat Recovery: Averted. Besides (very scarce) healing potions, you have no way to recover lost health, even between missions.
- Air Jousting: Naturally, one of two ways to defeat your enemy. Expect to use it a lot when enemy dragons are immune to your dragon's primary breath weapon.
- Annoying Arrows: The only reason you can't outright ignore damage from enemy arrows is that neither you, nor your dragon get any healing between missions.
- Breath Weapon: In various flavors, both for player and enemy dragons.
- The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard: You think your gold dragon's fire breath would be pretty useless against red dragons? Well, you're right. You think that should work both ways? Sorry, you're wrong.
- Dragon Rider: You.
- Multiple Endings: How far you can go in the campaign depends on which knightly order you're a member of. You begin in the bronze-dragon-riding Order of the Crown, but at a specific point you have the option to join the silver-mounted Order of the Sword and then the gold-mounted Order of the Rose; only the last of these actually lets you tackle the final set of missions, while remaining in either of the previous two orders ends the campaign prematurely at specific points (as you're not high-ranking enough to take on the deadliest missions). The Sword and Rose orders each require you to donate items from your inventory and complete a rather difficult mission to formally join as well.
- Ominous Floating Castle: Flying Citadels supporting enemy forces in some of the later missions.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Three good and six evil varieties, Color-Coded for Your Convenience.
- Reformulated Game: The NES version by FCI was a top down Shoot 'Em Up.
