Ah yes, bullet hell, my eternal nemesis. I have been a shooter fan my entire life. At one point I even prided myself at being pretty good at them, if I do say so myself. Then the bullet hell brigade took over and made me realize I am still a mere mortal. While I like the occasional danmaku shooter I tap out when I see something like this:
That’s a little too hardcore for me. I know my limits god damn it. It takes a special game for me to overlook my disdain for the genre and Dragon Blaze is one of those titles. This little-known arcade port got a European release and is probably one of the most accessible bullet hell games I’ve come across. Honestly that just means it will kick your ass 5% less but at least you will enjoy it.
Dragon Blaze is a shooter with a plot, as thin as it may be. Four knights are on a journey to collect four jewels needed to open a portal to hell and face Satan. That is so metal. Each has their own reasons for undergoing this quest, and some are actually funny. Compared to other Psikyo shooters like Sengoku Ace the playable roster is small but incredibly varied, giving this some replay value.
Mechanically Dragon Blaze is simple. Each character has a main weapon, a rapid shot, and a magic meter that slowly charges as you attack. When it fills your dragon will unleash a massive damaging attack. The most interesting mechanic is the dismount system. At the touch of a button you can send your dragon rocketing forth in a dragon shot. It is incredibly strong and after the initial burst it will stay in place, providing fire and collecting coins. It enables you to cover two spots at once although the rider isn’t strong. You can recall it at any time, and mastering this mechanic is key to making progress in the game.
Dragon Blaze isn’t as insane as bullet hell titles like Death Smiles or Mushihimesama but it has its moments. Managing the chaos is key and the scoring system is incentive to master and exploit the dragon shoot mechanic. Destroying enemies like normal will drop silver coins. Using a dragon shoot will make them drop gold coins which are worth more. More points equal extra lives. But to make the most of your unmounted dragon requires you to hover close to the top of the screen. Its equal parts risk and reward and a must to prevent the screen from becoming littered with bullets. Unless you are a daredevil, able to dodge bullets with the greatest of ease, it is a must.
The levels in Dragon Blaze are pretty short, lasting a scant few minutes at most. If you are really good it goes by even faster. The amount of time it will take to reach that point is significant however. Despite its brevity there is plenty of replay value as each character is vastly different. Each knight and their dragon possess different abilities that alter the experience considerably. Sonia has two smaller dragons that function like options. Her bomb attack only fires in a straight line, unlike Quaid’s which blankets the entire screen. Ian moves the fastest and is decently strong while Rob the dwarf has a default wide beam but is the slowest. Usually I pick a favorite character and stick with them but I enjoyed playing around with each hero in this case. This is a case where the game’s short length works in its favor.
I said Dragon Blaze was accessible. I didn’t say it wasn’t hard. The game is brutally difficult, to the point it might be demoralizing to some. Learning and mastering the game’s mechanics will go a long way toward surviving more than a few seconds at a time. In fact you can get away with spamming bombs semi-consistently with some success. The game drops power-ups at a decent clip and bombs are replenished after death, making this a somewhat viable strategy. But that will only go so far. The last two stages send you back to the beginning when you continue, meaning you can’t brute force it. Every boss has two or three phases that only get worse. Once you’ve mastered the use of your dragon shot it is even possible to take them out in one hit. I did it by accident and know it will never happen again.
In Closing
So with all that in mind why do I speak so highly of Dragon Blaze? Because the game is so fricking good. With its novel fantasy setting and unique mounting system Dragon Blaze is an immaculately designed package. The challenge is high but well worth it. You’ll have to put in some serious time to plum its depths but that is time well spent.
