The King of Dragons
Introduction
The King of Dragons was developed and published by Capcom, released in arcades in 1991 as one of the studio’s earliest attempts to blend traditional beat ’em up combat with genuine role-playing mechanics. Up to three players choose from character classes including Fighter, Cleric, Wizard, Dwarf, and Elf, each with distinct weapons and, for the spellcasting classes, a limited pool of magic to use against the game’s fantasy monsters, working their way through a kingdom overrun by an ancient evil dragon and its horde. Players gained experience and could level up their character between stages, unlocking stronger attacks and more powerful spells, a genuine progression system that was still fairly novel for an arcade brawler at the time. Its detailed medieval fantasy art direction and layered combat system helped distinguish it from Capcom’s more straightforward brawlers like Final Fight, and it is often seen as an important stepping stone toward the studio’s more fully realized Dungeons & Dragons arcade games that followed a few years later.
