Advanced Dungeons Dragons DragonStrike

You battle through fantasy encounters that lean hard on action timing and constant movement. The game asks you to manage threats quickly, because fights get messy fast. It’s a “stay alive first, attack second” kind of challenge.

Mount your dragon and take to the skies in a battle against dark magic and ancient evil.

Dragon Strike places players in the role of a lone dragon rider tasked with defending the land from an evil wizard and his monstrous forces. Flying high above forests, mountains, and castles, you’ll engage enemies in aerial combat, complete dangerous missions, and strike from above in a world where the sky is your battlefield.

Epic in scope and daring in design, Dragon Strike offers a rare fantasy experience on the NES—one focused on flight, strategy, and survival rather than traditional ground combat.

Dragon Strike is best described as a fantasy flight combat game, a genre almost unheard of on the NES.

Core Mechanics
Continuous forward flight on dragonback

Full control over altitude and direction

Projectile-based combat using fireballs

Momentum-based movement

Unlike side-scrollers or shooters, movement here is three-dimensional in feel, even if rendered in 2D. Managing speed, height, and turning radius is critical. Overcorrect, and you’ll slam into terrain or enemy fire.

Mission-Based Structure
Levels are structured as missions rather than linear stages:

Escorting or defending locations

Destroying enemy strongholds

Surviving waves of airborne threats

Players must often locate objectives while under constant pressure, making awareness just as important as reflexes.

Difficulty & Learning Curve
The controls are intentionally demanding. Success depends on learning how the dragon handles in the air. Early failures are common, especially for players expecting arcade-style simplicity.

Once mastered, however, flight becomes smooth and deeply satisfying.

The land is under threat from an evil sorcerer who commands armies of dark creatures and flying beasts. As one of the last dragon riders, you are humanity’s final defense.

The story is delivered mostly through the manual and implied through mission design. Each successful sortie pushes the enemy back and brings you closer to confronting the source of the corruption.

Rather than a hero’s journey on foot, Dragon Strike tells its story through aerial warfare, emphasizing scale, isolation, and the danger of fighting far above the ground.

Released in 1990, Dragon Strike was developed by Westwood Associates, a studio that would later become legendary for strategy games like Command & Conquer.

At the time, Westwood was experimenting with simulation-style mechanics, even on limited hardware like the NES. Dragon Strike reflects that mindset—it prioritizes systems and control depth over accessibility.

Westwood Associates – Developer
Later famous for defining the real-time strategy genre.

Strategic Simulations Inc. – Publisher
Known for deep, complex games that favored strategy over accessibility.