Arcade Video game kit published 37 years ago:

Dragon Breed (c) 1989 Irem Corp.

Dragon Breed is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up in which the player controls the game's hero, Kayus, who is riding on the back of a fully articulated dragon named 'Bahamoot'. The dragon is immune to enemy attacks, capable of blocking most projectiles and of damaging and eventually killing enemies on contact. Dragon rider Kayus is armed with a forward-firing crossbow but unlike his steed, is not invulnerable and will be killed by contact with either enemies or their projectiles.

What separates Dragon Breed from other games in the genre is in how the Dragon can be utilised. Bahamoot's body is flexible and responds to Kayus' movement, enabling Kayus to use Bahamoot as both a mobile shield and a whip-like weapon. It's also possible to encircle the tail around a group of enemies to kill them. The tail of the yellow or blue dragon can be coiled around the dragon's rider to offer almost complete invulnerability for a limited time.

Bahamoot can also spit fireballs. By holding the fire button down, the dragon will build up fire in its mouth; the longer the button is held down, the more powerful the fireball will be. There are four levels of fireball power and at its strongest, the fireball resembles a dragon's head.

Player layout in our catalog: 2P alt.

If you are exploring by feel rather than by title, jump from the tags above into the matching genre rooms, or return to the Arcade hall for the full wall.

Open Play on this page to start Dragon Breed (World, M81 hardware). Keyboard, USB/Bluetooth pads, and the on-screen touch gamepad all work inside the emulator bar. Save states and fullscreen live on that same bar so you can pause mid-session and resume later.

Dragon Breed (World, M81 hardware) is filed in our catalog as a 1989 release.

Player layout on this cabinet: 2P alt.

Genre tags on Classic Arcade Games: Shooter.

Credit line lists Irem as developer.