Dragon's Curse
Reviewed by Michael LoCascio
Generally regarded as one of the very best video games that
the Sega Master System had to offer, Wonder Boy III was
redone by NEC and dubbed 'Dragon's Curse' upon its release
for the Turbografx-16. If anything, NEC might have made a
mistake by altering the game's title, as the name
recognition that Wonder Boy had garnered would have, in all
likelihood, drawn more attention to this HuCard. It's too
bad that Dragon's Curse went basically unnoticed, because it
is a challenging, enjoyable adventure game that is
guaranteed to please any player who seeks depth and
complexity in their action-platform games.
Dragon's Curse places you in the role of Hu-Man, a powerful
young stud who one day decides to take a trip to the Dragon
Castle and slay the evil Mecha Dragon just for the heck of
it. After you lay down the law, however, the sneaky,
sinister Mecha Dragon places a curse on you. Transformed
into a strange, dragon-like creature, you must explore a
variety of different worlds until you find the Salamander
Cross, the one item that can return Hu-Man to his normal
studly form.
Interestingly enough, you begin Dragon's Curse with the
strongest sword and the most durable armor and shield in the
entire game, along with a life meter that consists of eight
hearts (which is the maximum amount that you can obtain).
However, after you cruise through the Dragon Castle and make
Mecha Dragon ancient history, you'll be transformed into the
weak, meager Lizard-Man. Not only will you be deprived of
your powerful equipment, but your life meter will be reduced
to just one measly heart. It's up to you to eventually find
your weapons and build your life meter back up to its
previous size.
There are five different major areas that you'll have to
explore thoroughly if you're ever going to turn Hu-Man back
into a regular person: Sea World, Desert World, Jungle
World, Cave World, and Sky World. You'll have to return to
each area numerous times as you gain in strength and
ability. A horrific dragon resides in each of the five
worlds; after you kill one of these ghastly villains, you'll
be transformed into a new shape. The characters that you can
assume (besides Hu-Man and Lizard Man) are Mouse Man,
Piranha Man, Tiger Man, and Hawk Man. Particular worlds call
for the abilities of specific characters. For instance,
Piranha Man's swimming skills will be necessary in order to
explore the deep, dangerous depths of Sea World, while Mouse
Man's wall-climbing ability will allow you to traverse the
high, daunting walls that are prominent in Jungle World.
Eventually, you'll discover secret rooms that contain
special magical devices which will allow you to transform at
will into any of the forms you have already obtained. This
ability to change into different characters is probably the
most appealing aspect of Dragon's Curse, and putting their
skills to good use while exploring can lead to some
astounding, essential discoveries.
At the center of the Dragon's Curse universe is a peaceful
little village that you will be returning to quite often
during your quest. This is where you can find the church,
which you will need to visit if you wish to save your
progress. The town also features a hospital where you can
hand over some of your cash in order to replenish your
energy, and a weapons shop where you can purchase some weak
weapons that will serve you well during the earlier stages
of the adventure.
There are plenty of other weapons shops that you may stumble
upon during your journey. Interestingly enough, the
shopkeepers that you come across may initially be unwilling
to sell certain items to you. This is where your 'charisma
points' will come into play. If you have a sufficiently
high number of charisma points, your personality will win
over the shopkeeper and he'll be willing to do business with
you. One way of raising your charisma is by picking up the
magical stones that are occasionally dropped by monsters
after you kill them. Another method is by trying on
different types of armor. If you walk into a store wearing
the hideous Goblin Mail, the shopkeeper will probably be
offended by your appearance; on the other hand, if you get
dressed up in the Prince's Armor, he'll be more than willing
to assist you. Keep in mind, however, that not every piece
of weapon or armor can be bought.
The side-scrolling action in Dragon's Curse contains all the
standard elements that you'd expect from a platform game of
this nature. Pressing Button II will cause your character to
swing his sword (or breathe fire if you happen to be playing
as Lizard Man), while Button I is used to control actions
such as jumping, swimming, and flying. Each enemy that you
slay will leave some sort of item behind - usually gold that
you can use to buy items in the shops. Occasionally you'll
stumble upon a heart that can refill some (or all) of your
life meter, a key that can unlock certain doors, or a
medicine vial that will replenish a portion of your health
should you be defeated. You can hold up to three medicine
vials at any one time. Should you be unable to stumble upon
these goodies in combat, there is a shop that sells them at
a reasonable price. It's somewhat interesting to note that
the game will not allow you to keep your medicine vials when
you continue a saved game, but it will compensate you for
them in gold.
Along with the items mentioned above, your enemies may also
drop various types of special weapons after they've been
vanquished. You can save these items and make use of them
whenever you want. Most of them aren't worth the effort that
it takes to equip them, however. While the boomerangs and
fire balls can be used to attack enemies that are out of
your sword's range, they are rather weak and the tougher
monsters can easily defend against them. Arrows can be used
to shoot upwards, but flying villains are often extremely
fast, and you'll have to time your shots just right, which
really isn't easy. Thunder can inflict damage upon every
enemy on the screen, but again, most of the tougher monsters
will simply shrug it off. The one item that did come in
handy is the tornado, which causes a reasonable amount of
damage, is difficult to defend against, and comes in handy
when dealing with enemies that you'd rather not engage in
hand-to-hand combat.
Dragon's Curse is a relatively difficult game, mainly due to
the fact that it really requires the player to search every
area thoroughly and experiment a little. For instance, some
characters prefer certain types of weapons over others, and
sometimes their items of choice will surprise you a little.
After purchasing a fancy, expensive weapon, it probably
wouldn't occur to you to use a cheaper item that you've been
lugging around for quite a while. However, that may be just
the right item that you need to get your character through a
certain portion of the game. Similarly, your choice of armor
can often determine whether or not you have any chance at
all of making it through a certain segment. For instance,
only one type of armor can protect you from lava; should you
try to swim through the streams of lava without equipping
this armor, you'll have absolutely no chance of surviving.
As long as you have the proper items equipped, most of the
monsters won't pose much of a threat to you. Even the boss
dragons are rather easy to defeat. Each one of them can be
done in by a few sword blows to the head, although some are
a bit more difficult to hit than others. The final dragon is
actually quite challenging, even if you've acquired all of
the best weapons and armor.
Despite its high level of difficulty, Dragon's Curse is
really a lighthearted adventure, which is reflected in the
game's sounds and visuals. The music and sound effects are
simply adequate; there really isn't anything particularly
noteworthy about them. The musical tracks are generally
fast-paced and upbeat, and even a bit catchy at times. The
graphics are quite colorful and cartoonish. There aren't any
fancy scrolling effects to speak of, and it really doesn't
take advantage of the Turbo's capabilities, but Dragon's
Curse is still an attractive game. With the exception of the
boss dragons, the sprites are quite small and nondescript.
Palette-swapping occurs with alarming frequency in this
game; it would have been nice to have a little more variety
thrown in with all of the bright colors.
While there isn't anything particularly flashy about
Dragon's Curse, it is still a very enjoyable game that
provides a deeper, tougher challenge than most
side-scrolling hack-and-slash titles. If you can manage to
find it at a reasonable price, I'd recommend that you snatch
it up immediately. It's a game that will occupy you for
quite some time, and entertain you all the while.
Overall: 8 out of 10
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