I think I'm getting soft in my old age, because I really enjoy this silly little game. I wasn't crazy about it at first, as it seemed like a fairly uninspired run-and-jump-and-bop sort of thing with so-so gameplay, but the graphics encouraged me to maintain hope. Vibrant colors and a few well-implemented effects enhance the attractive scenarios, which include pretty blue skies with clouds calmly drifting by; cool desert ruins; and, my favorite, a log-riding strip where the undulating river reflects the sky and scenery.
I'm very thankful that the visuals are so appealing; otherwise, I might not have stuck with the game long enough to power up my dragon and realize that the gameplay, at least once you get going, isn't so bad either. Riding a full-powered dragon is so much more fun than bumbling around with the main character. You can shoot plenty of large, enemy-seeking fire bullets while using your dragon's soaring abilities to reach previously out-of-the-way platforms and icons. If you're a decent player, you'll reach big-lizard status very early on, meaning you won't have to spend much time goofing around with the lesser phases--unless, of course, you die.
But you won't die, not once you're powered up--unless you fucking suck. And that brings us to the main issue most folks will have with the game.
It's a complete cakewalk once you're riding the mighty dragon. Bosses (even the last guy) go down in no time at all, and you hardly have to put any effort into the stages themselves. Take the aforementioned log-riding scene, for instance. You can just stand in one spot and fire away for the duration of the level, and you won't take a single hit. Of course, you can avoid the dragon power-ups if you want some additional challenge, but then the game plays like an uninspired effort again; and, well, it's still really easy aside from the final boss.
Another thing that some won't like is the fact that, while the first three stages contain multiple areas to play through, the last three are very, very short. I can understand this with the log-riding in Stage 4, since that's basically a little "gimmick level" anyway, but there's no reason that the desert and castle boards shouldn't have featured more sub-sections to fight through. It makes you wonder if, at some point, they just decided to speed things up and get the project out the door.
Pleasant visuals inspired me to trudge onwards when the gameplay seemed unspectacular.
The third area is large and mazelike, but subsequent scenes--including the brief desert jaunt--are very straightforward.
Take a good look at the bosses now because most of them will last for only a few seconds onscreen before your mighty dragon destroys them.
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