[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Dragon Power

August 1st, 2011 by Benj Edwards

Bandai Dragon Power for NES Advertisement - 1988I think he’s going to miss the dragon.

[ From Nintendo Fun Club News, April/May 1988, p.19 ]

Discussion Topic of the Week: What’s your favorite martial arts-themed video or computer game?



13 Responses to “[ Retro Scan of the Week ] Dragon Power”

  1. Multimedia Mike Says:

    Kick Master, also an NES game. An action game where your character knows how to kick. But he gets fancier and more powerful kicks as he gains experience points throughout the game.

    I also have to express fondness for Double Dragon games II and III for the NES, silly though they may have been.

  2. JackSoar Says:

    I really can’t think of any martial arts-inspired game I like better than Street Fighter. Pretty much any of them. Boring answer, but accurate.

  3. Eagles409 Says:

    Karate Champ, I love that game. “FULL POINT”

  4. Donn Says:

    What? That’s like choosing your favorite child! I have fond memories of many.

    Sentimental fave is Karate Champ, the sound effects couldn’t be beat.

    Between Street Fighter and MK, it’s hard but I’ll go MK, because single player I could actually get somewhere, on my PC anyway. In the arcade – forget it!

    I played a LOT of Double Dragon back in the day, but I don’t really consider that a martial arts game, just simple punches and kicks (and bats, and trash cans…)

    Honorable mention to Budokan, that was a lot of fun to fight in all the different disciplines.

  5. jan Says:

    yie-ar kung fu!

  6. Braybett Says:

    I like Spartan X and Spartan X 2. a.k.a. Kung Fu

  7. TheSaintOfPain Says:

    I’m gonna have to go with “Kung Fu Heroes” for the NES for this one. I have no idea how often that game has both enthralled and aggravated me, but I could never get enough of it.

  8. The Doctor Says:

    Double Dragon. The graphics were nifty (for their time, anyway) but the soundtrack was amazing, and gets me to this day.

  9. Matt Says:

    Another vote for Karate Champ. Along with the memorable sound effects, the number of attacks provided by the double joysticks actually made for some exciting matches. And I had more trouble with the damn stuff they threw at you between fights than the fights themselves.

  10. Donn Says:

    I must admit, my memory failed me. I said Karate Champ, but what I meant was Kung Fu Master. Delightfully cheesy, great sound effects, and awesome soundtrack.

    Karate Champ was also great, but I was never terribly good.

  11. Wes Says:

    Nobody might know, but Dragon Power is actually the first NES Dragonball game. The Manga and the animated series were not known to the states until nearly ten years later. The best martial arts game has to be Yie Ar Kung Fu, it’s the original 1 vs. 1 fighting game, as for NES it’s Little Ninja Brothers, it’s a little known game just like Kung Fu Heroes but it’s an RPG, very ahead of it’s time.

  12. Thomas Says:

    I’ve played a lot of them but never really hade that much fun. That is, when I think back on games that I know I spent way too much time with, I don’t get that special feeling that compells me to get hold of it and play it again.

    With that being said, there’s two game’s that sticks out among the rest and they are International Karate+ (C64/Amiga) and Battle Arena Toshinden (PSX). I remember the latter being a much better game than Tekken before they completely ruined the series with the next installments.

  13. roflmao Says:

    Ninja Spirit for the Turbografx-16 is probably my favorite martial arts themed game. I still enjoy playing through that game.

    Runners up would probably include: Revenge of Shinobi for the Genesis and the Street Fighter II and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles arcade games.

    Now that I think about it, I played a ton of Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast back in the day. And Tekken 2 on the PS1. Ok, I’m stopping now.

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