Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll
Reviewed by Shea Pointifeau
Hir-Yu-No-Ken is the ultimate fighting stance. It gives the impression
of a flying dragon. The power of Hir-Yu-No-Ken is recorded in the secret
scrolls. The scrolls were held by master Juan until one day, when an
evil underground group known as the Tusk Soldiers tried to steal it
for their own corrupt purposes. Now it resides in the hands of Genji
from Shorinji. A young pupil named Ryu steps forward to retrieve the
remaining scrolls and learn the way of the dragon-to defeat the unhuman
Tusk Army.
Graphics: 66 out of 100
Graphically, Flying Dragon is on par with most NES games of the time.
The character sprites are small and animation is limited. However,
during the fighting phases of the game, there is a remarkable amount
of detail on the fighters.
Music and Sound: 81 out of 100
The music in this game really gives you a sense of Asian culture.
Immediately you are thrown into the Eastern traditions by the engrossing
tunes. The sound effects during battle are also poignant.
Game Challenge: 83 out of 100
This is where Flying Dragon really steps up to the plate. There are two phases
of the The Journey and the Tournament. During the Journeys, you travel like a
side-scrolling action game and punch and kick Tusk Soldiers as they come along.
After killing so many of them, you will fight a mini-boss. Killing the mini-boss
will give you an item. Collecting 5 items (the last being the key) will allow you
to leave the level. Next comes the Tournament phase, where you must fight it
out ala Street Fighter with a wide variety of punches, kicks, sweeps and throws.
There are even special moves, including a Fireball, and the all-encompassing
Flying Dragon Kick. Some of your opponents must be defeated in a special way,
otherwise you will not collect a secret scroll from them. For instance, one Tusk
Soldier may require being beaten with the Flying Dragon Kick in the stomach to
transform him to his true self, a hideous Tusk Warrior. Upon beating his true
form, you will receive one of the scrolls, which gives you a special fighting
ability. Master Juan will help you know which Tusk Soldiers give scrolls and
how to specifically beat them; by collecting his icons in the Journey mode,
he will lend advice in Tournament mode.
Game Play-Fun: 82 out of 100
Flying Dragon is a surprisingly fun game that will have you hooked to
the screen, if for the mere reason that the game is so unique and unlike
any other games on any system. I have never played a game like this before.
There just aren't that many games that give you a traditional sense of
Eastern culture and martial arts and combine it with a grade-a story
and an innovative gameplay engine that requires a steel trap for a mind
and lightning-quick reflexes.
Frustration
The only major frustration with this game is that after apparently
beating it, it pulls a Super Ghouls and Ghosts on you; it starts you over
from the beginning, and makes you travel through the entire game again,
where you must collect all of the scrolls (otherwise the game cannot be
beaten, for you cannot face the final boss without all the scrolls) and
defeat the final Tusk Soldier. And after all this, you get a less-than-rewarding ending.
Replayability: 76 out of 100
Because Journey mode requires so little time and Tournament mode is so
unique, complex and fun, you will want to play through the game several
times and enjoy yourself, finding new ways to demolish the Tusk Soldiers.
Even after you've beaten the game, you will still go back to play it every
now and then and not be bored, for it has a sense of timeless classiness
and mystery to it.
Game Value: 85 out of 100
You'll be lucky to find a copy of this game these days. Try looking on eBay,
but even they rarely have on. You can also download the ROM, but nothing's
as good as the old-fashioned NES. And no other martial arts game ever
made is as interesting as this. It was definitely worth the price when I got
all those years ago, and it's worth the same even now.
Overall: 85 out of 100
What it all boils down to is this: The greatest martial arts video game ever
and one of the most unique and interesting NES experiences you'll ever have.
If you like fighting games you'll like this, but if you like Bruce Lee movies,
you'll love this game!!!