Saint Dragon (Amiga) - A Playguide and Review - by LemonAmiga.com
68🕹️ St. Dragon, or Saint Dragon, is a conversion of the 1989 Jaleco Arcade original, and was produced by The Sales Curve. It features 5 long scenarios on just one disk, and loads the levels on the fly. Quite an impressive title, and very close to the arcade in NTSC mode.
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💾 Production Notes:
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Footage Recorded: 12th and 18th May 2018
Edited: 19th June 2018 - 26th Nov 2018 (5 sessions)
Narrated: 16th Oct 2018
I remember getting some help from a friend to play this back in the day, but I never got anywhere beyond the boulders of level 2. That was the last time I played it until Saint Dragon came up in the Lemon Vs EAB compo in May of 2018 (it was Round 6 - along with Paradroid 90), and we all got stuck in to this hoping to master it. Once I'd memorised the bounders on level 2, I realised half of them had powerup triggers just before they spawned, so this was a good indicator. On level 3 it was very difficult to get through the small fire of the robots in the small tunnel, and the end of level boss held me back for quite a few plays. By week 3 of the competition, I had started to make it to level 4, but memorising the garbage to avoid was also a little difficult at first, but then I noticed the enemies which move quickly left and right can be used as markers. On the final day of the round, I had a final try and reached the end of level 5, but could not beat the boss.
This footage was recorded while the compo was happening, with the first part up to the third boss being one of those many attempts to master the third world boss. Then a week later I played up to that point, and started the recorder as I was going on to level 4. This was just another warmup try as soon as I died on level 4, so I didnt bother to save the score, but to continue. Im glad I did, as it was the first time I'd seen level 5, and it gave me good preparation for beating it during a dedicated try. But try as I might, I only saw this level once more before the close of the round.
Danscore:
After practising this, it left me with a very healthy respect for it, and it was great to find the experience was incredibly polished all the way through. Unlike many shooters which seem to get tougher before becoming impossible, this has a couple of difficult parts in the levels; mainly a case of memorising the danger and moving to avoid it. Certainly not a bullet hell! Id say the graphics are a step up from R-Type and Menace, but not quite Disposable Hero. They compare almost 1:1 with the arcade with NTSC speed and screen size, although I found the 50hz PAL speed much easier to play. The WHDLoad version moving the second level shield to a better place is also a welcome addition, and makes the game very much more enjoyable. I usually cant play horizontal shooters, but this one is definitely among the exceptions to that rule, and I give it 8/10.