Dragon Spirit Level 8 Arcade game - flashlight NES - blinking lights Dragon Spirit was ported to a number of platforms, both computer and console. The NES version, similar to many Konami arcade ports, has a number of changes and enhancements, earning it the subtitle "The New Legend". Namco tried to edge a story in here, with a new intro and ending, along with small cinema scenes between each stage, showing each of the girls that you've rescued. There's a whole new prologue chapter that's actually pretty clever - it's a small level, filled with power-ups and a single, easy boss fight, but this acts as a barometer for the rest of the game. If you lose this portion, you end up playing as the Gold Dragon. This is basically the game's Easy mode, because the Gold Dragon is significantly more powerful, with full rapid fire and six hit points. However, you can only play about half of the stages, before it ends with a goofy little "bad ending" with cutesy characters proclaiming it was all just a dream. If you win, you play as the Blue Dragon, which is the game's Normal mode, and sends you through all nine stages.

Most of the levels are based off the arcade game's stages, but the layouts and enemy patterns have changed. Some have additional obstacles - for instance, the third stage, the jungle, has thickets you need to shoot through. In the sixth stage of the arcade game, you need to shoot through glaciers. In the NES version, the game speeds up and you need to weave between thin corridors while shooting out the ice, similar to the ending sequence of Salamander/Life Force. In the eighth stage of the arcade game, the Dark Zone, your dragon has a small headlight (??) that lets you see enemies directly in front of you. In the NES version, the lights simply flicker on and off. There's also a few completely new areas and final bosses at the end too. There's more than just the expanded content though. The NES version just feels different, as it runs at a slightly faster speed. There are less enemies, and your dragon is much smaller, even when powered up. And the hitbox is smaller still, so bullets can graze your wings without killing you. Power-ups are also much more common, and there's an extra item that create two mini-dragon options that fly at your side. As a result, it's a much friendlier, much more playable game. The graphics have obviously been downgraded a bit, with plenty of flicker and slowdown, and the soundtrack loses a lot of its flair in the converstion. Still, the extra stuff more than makes up for it. The Turbografx-16 port is much closer to original arcade game, with graphics and sound that hold up pretty well. However, after the sixth stage, much content has been cut. At that point, it completely removes the 7th (underwater) and 8th (dark) stages, replacing them with two new castle-like stages similar to the 9th stage of the arcade game. It's slightly easier, as the enemies are a bit less aggressive, but it's still incredibly difficult. Technically you don't get any extra credits, but there are codes that allow you to continue where you left off. TG-16 game changes most of the end game after the Glacier level No Deep Sea level or Dark level The Turbografx-16 version is fairly faithful to the arcade game, up until the end of level 6. The NES version has a few completely new areas and new bosses near the end.