The latest in my attack of (at least) one title from my 637 game backlog every day that the UK is in 'lock-down'.
I'm not planning on completing them, just playing them for long enough to know: A) What they're all about and B) If they're good enough to continue playing ASAP
Back in the eighties today, and the newly re-programmed random backlog game selector (need to think up a pithier name) has chosen:
Draconus on the ZX Spectrum
For the uninitiated (ie about 80% of people outside Europe) the ZX Spectrum was an early home computer released in 1982 by the Sinclair corporation. Much like the original Playstation it was the least powerful among it's peers (the C64 and Ampstrad CPC) but the most popular due in a lower price and vast range of software.
With just 48k of RAM and games that loaded from cassette tapes, programmers, a lot whom were teenagers, were able to do incredible things with the humble 'Speccy'; with notables such as Xcom's Julian Gollop cutting his teeth on the hardware.
Draconus was a 'budget game'. These were games that were either old and re-released or, as with Draconus, from smaller developers with no brand to bolster sales. Budget games sold for £1.99 or £2.99 and could be found in corner shops and WH Smiths and generally places where you wouldn't usually find games for sale.
As with any game of this age the the instruction manual is essential... unfortunately, as you can see from the picture, this game is in my collection on a Sinclair User cover tape (a free cassette stuck to the front of a magazine, they usually included demos and free, older, full games). The instructions for a game on a cover tape were printed inside the magazine itself - a magazine I don't have. Fortunately it's 2020 so I just looked them up online. No drama.
I play a lot of very old games but still, Draconus took a lot of getting used to. I guess it's the budget nature of it's development but even compared to spectrum games of the same era Draconus has very simple animation and very flakey collision detection. But, having read that was very well received upon release, I decided to persevere.
The game has you play as a humanoid-lizard who can also transform into an aquatic lizardoid-lizard, but not at will, you have to first find the 'morph helix' and then stand on a morph stone. Alongside the 'Morph Helix' there are other items that need to be collected in order to progress parts certain areas in the game, so it turns out, Draconus is essentially a Metroidvania. This is interesting for a number of reasons, not least that Metroid wasn't released in Europe until January 1988 - the same year that Draconus was published.
As much as I'd love pretend that Draconus holds up as well as Samus Aran's first appearance I'd be lying, to you and myself. The aforementioned collision detection and the inaccuracy of movement makes Draconus a difficult game to enjoy . It has impressive scale and detailed graphics for it's age but that can't excuse the issues at hand, issues that are exacerbated by the games choice of the kind of floaty enemy that I dislike to this day (I'm looking at you Rogue Legacy).
So I'm afraid I gave up on Draconus, 'Budget Game of the year 1988', without seeing the vast majority of its purported 100+ screen of action.
Draconus - Sadly, impossible to recommend for all but the die-hard Spectrum completist.
Previously...
Day One was the excellent Luminees II on PSP
Day Two was the fun-but-probably-better-in-co-op Sanctum 2 on PC
Day Three was the pretty ropey but maybe worth a second chance on PS2 Dead to Rights 2 on Xbox
Day Four was the utterly stunning Pyre on PC
Day Five was the horribly aged but undeniably addictive skate it on the Wii
Day Six was the endearing and surprisingly competent Enduro Racer for the Sega Master System
Day Seven was the fun for a (very) short blast Space Pirate Trainer in VR
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