Dragon Knight is a fantasy-themed erogerole-playing video game and the original entry in the Dragon Knight franchise that was originally developed and published by ELF Corporation in 1989. Its remake was created by NEC Avenue in 1995. Both versions were released only in Japan. The game was adapted into an anime film in 1991 and was followed by Dragon Knight II in 1990.
Gameplay
Gameplay-wise, Dragon Knight is a dungeon crawler typical for its era. The exploration and combat are shown from the first-person perspective using a 2D engine, combat in the game is turn-based and enemies are encountered randomly. With each new floor, the mazes becomes more sophisticated, and enemies are getting stronger. The fights in the first game are difficult and unbalanced. The protagonist can attack, defend, and use spells and items to fight monsters.
Plot
In the kingdom of Strawberry Fields, a place inhabited only by women, the Goddess' Tower has protected the land and its people for generations. Then one day, the monstrous Dragon Knights, corrupted by evil and led by the demon Gazelbaan, descended upon the tower, and the people of Strawberry Fields suddenly find themselves threatened by his army of monsters, who have turned the goddess Aquarina to stone and captured the warrior women, demanding the six gems that are a source of magical power of the goddess to be delivered to them or else they would kill their hostages. Answering the plea for help from Queen Luna , the young warrior and traveler Yamato Takeru takes them on. Luna's mother is voiced by Rei Sakuma. On each floor of the Tower there are captured females for Takeru to rescue from rapists.
Release
The game was originally released in 1989 for the PC88, PC98 and MSX, followed by the Sharp X68000 version in 1990. The 1995 remake Dragon Knight & Graffiti for the PC Engine was developed and released by NEC Avenue. Two soundtracks: Dragon Knight: Treasure King of Water Chapter and PC Engine World—Dragon Knight & Graffiti were released in Japan by Datam Polystar in 1990 and by NEC Avenue in 1995, respectively. An OVA anime adaptation was released by Polystar on the VHS and LD in 1991. Soft Cel Pictures distributed the English version in the VHS format. It was also re-released on DVD in 2003. The cast included Yasunori Matsuno as Takeru and Yūko Mizutani as Luna.
Reception
On release, Famicom Tsūshin scored the PC Engine remake a 22 out of 40, also giving it an 8 out of 10 in their Reader Cross Review.
