Game for the evening is Dragon Busters. It’s an RPG-accented platformer. Tonight was my second attempt and I managed to pass level three, where I died last time, without enough vitality left to sustain one more hit. Skin of my teeth! Managed to get to the boss of level five this time.
You choose your destination in the overworld map, and you can go any direction in the dungeon, so in that respect it has a little Super Mario Bros. 3 vibe. The RPG elements are really generic and not a lot of choice is involved, but like in most RPGs, you can get health augmentation, spells, weapon upgrades, attack upgrades, special items that confer bonuses, etc. Doesn’t really satisfy the RPG itch, but it is a good environment and a fun game.
Each dungeon has a minor boss (in early levels, only requiring two hits, but around level 3 or 4 they started requiring three hits), and you might run into several of these boss-type characters, but one of them is guarding the secret exit for the level, so you need to get through that one to proceed. The last dungeon of each level is a boss fight. So far, it’s always been a big green dragon. Each level, its vitality increases by 10 and its attacks become more complex, and by level three you’d better have some strategy besides pushing forward and striking, or you’ll die. There’s a good variety of enemies in the game, each level introduces two or three more.
