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intric8
Seattle, WA, USA

Posted Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:29 pm

When I was in the midst of playing Curse of the Azure Bonds, I found myself researching several of the SSI classics that emerged in the late 80s and early 90s. One stood far above all the rest in terms of its uniqueness: DragonStrike.

This bizarre title is actually a flight sim - a "dragon combat sim" to be precise. You're a knight riding the back of a giant dragon flying through 3D space. Flight simulators aren't for everyone, but how can you say no to a Dungeons and Dragons flight sim mashup? What a bizarre idea, but I had to track it down so I could give it a shot soon.

And holy smoke - the box contents are just fantastic!
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This right here is one seriously badassed box cover.

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Inside the box are really large "cards" that describe the various dragons and other important pieces of the game. They're sort of like baseball cards, but about 100X more awesome. Note the floppy disks in the picture to get an understanding of the size of these things - they're the size of the box.

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Stats can be found on the back of each framing-worthy card.

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The cards are not playing card sized - they're about 3X bigger.

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This is why I just can't get into emulation for games like this. Look at the amazing detail found on the pages of this manual describing your knight's saddle. It even shows a detailed mechanical breakdown of how your lance is attached to your saddle. The user experience of the entire package is incredible.

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The intro screen for DragonStrike is breath-taking. An acquired physical game fine and dandy, but when it works. Well, that's gold. (plus it has no copy protection AND it has an excellent HD-install routine).

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DragonStrike title screen as seen on my Amiga 2000.

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Shot of the dragon combat sim as seen from the demo. Can't wait to play this game all the way. Looks really cool!






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