

1990 · Namco · Shooter · Vertically scrolling shooter
Dragon Saber
Timed NEC exclusive
Dragon Saber is a vertical scrolling shooter arcade game, released by Namco in 1990; it runs on Namco System 2 hardware, and as its complete title suggests, it is the sequel to Dragon Spirit which had been released three years earlier.
- Released
- 10 December 1990
- Platforms
- ArcadeNintendo SwitchTurboGrafx-16Wii
- Genres
- ShooterVertically scrolling shooter
- Developers
- Namco
- Publishers
- NamcoHamster Corporation
- Series
- Dragon Spirit
- Perspective
- Bird view / Isometric
- Country
- Japan
- Age ratings
- CERO A
- Composers
- Shinji Hosoe
About
Dragon Saber is a 1990 vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It was released in Japan in December 1990, and in North America and Europe in 1991. It is a sequel to Dragon Spirit.
Keywords
- shoot 'em up
- wii virtual console
Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception
Gameplay
Players control Huey and Siria, who transforms into a dragon and navigates various landscapes by air. Two players can play together in cooperative gameplay. Like the previous game, the player can either hold the attack button to spit flames, but with the added feature of a more powerful shot charged by letting go of the button. Bosses must be beaten to finish levels, with the final boss having a time limit that causes a game over if passed.
Development
Dragon Saber was the creation of Namco artist Yoshihiro Sugiyama, being his first time as a planner for a game. Sugiyama wanted the game to feel like a true continuation of its predecessor Dragon Spirit in terms of its storyline and world, as he felt the NES sequel Dragon Spirit: The New Legend was mostly just a rehash of the original and had a rather generic premise. He also wanted the game to appeal to anyone instead of mostly hardcore shooter enthusiasts, and one that many could find a degree of satisfaction in. Once the story was completed, Sugiyama began work on the game's lore and fictional world, wanting it to be one that players hadn't seen before in similar games beforehand.
Reception
Game Machine listed Dragon Saber as being the most popular arcade game of December 1990 in Japan.
Releases by platformdates and regions as published
Editions and related releases
- Included in
- Namco Museum Encore
- Ported as
- Arcade Archives: Dragon Saber
In the same series
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Collections4 collections
Platform libraries
- TurboGrafx-16 gamesList of games
- Nintendo Switch games (An–Az)List
Publishers
- Namco gamesArcade-based games › Namco proprietary arcade systems
- Namco gamesArcade-based games › Namco proprietary arcade systems
- Virtual Console games for WiiTitles › TurboGrafx-16 / PC Engine
- Virtual Console games for WiiTitles › Virtual Console Arcade
Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.

