''Dragon Blaze'' is a

shoot 'em up Shoot 'em ups (also known as shmups or STGs ) are a sub-genre of action games. There is no consensus as to which design elements compose a shoot 'em up; some restrict the definition to games featuring spacecraft and certain types of chara ...

arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade v ...

developed and published in 2000 by

Psikyo Psikyo was a Japanese video game developer and publisher known for its shoot 'em ups and undressing mahjong games. It was founded in 1992 by former Video System staff who worked on the ''Aero Fighters'' series. Psikyo was mainly an arcade game de ...

. It was ported to the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

as part of

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

's ''Psikyo Shooting Collection Vol. 3: Sol Divide & Dragon Blaze'' compilation in 2005. The game was later also released on its own as a budget range title for the PlayStation 2 in Europe by

505 Games 505 Games S.p.A. is an Italian video game publisher based in Milan. It was founded in 2006 as a subsidiary of Milan-based Digital Bros. History 505 Games was founded in 2006 in Milan as a subsidiary of Digital Bros. The company found its earl ...

on 2006. In 2018 the game was ported to the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

by ZeroDiv as part of their series of re-releases of classic Psikyo games. The game was later ported to

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

Gameplay

''Dragon Blaze'' plays like many typical 2D vertically scrolling shooters by

, although this game is closer to the bullet hell genre than most of the company's other output and the color of the enemies' bullets has been changed from Psikyo's trademark orange to a neon purple. The game gives each character (Quaid, Sonia, Ian, Rob) the standard normal shot, charged shot, and magic bomb, but each character also rides a

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

, which can be dismounted and be used as a weapon itself. The dismounted dragon initially acts as a piercing weapon, and then remains stationary shooting until the player calls it back using the same button. It can also be used to collect items.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Dragon Blaze'' on their November 1, 2000 issue as being the fourth best-performing arcade game at the time.

References

External links

* *
''Dragon Blaze''
at Hardcore Gaming 101
''Dragon Blaze''
at the International Arcade Museum

at World of Arcades 2000 video games Arcade video games Video games about dragons Fantasy video games PlayStation 2 games Psikyo games Vertically scrolling shooters Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring female protagonists Nintendo Switch games Multiplayer and single-player video games 505 Games games {{scroll-shooter-videogame-stub