My Played Video Games Review: Dragon's Fury for the Sega Genesis
Dragon's Fury was a 1992 Sega Genesis port by developer Technosoft of Devil's Crush. Devil's Crush was a pinball video game developed by Compile for the TurboGrafx-16 console and released in 1990.
I was surprised that a pinball video game had horror/occult themes like this one back then. There were even rumors that the developers had to tone down the demonic signs and imagery on the game before release for fear of upsetting the Christian community.
The Story
An amazing gothic chamber of horrors awaits you in this, the crazy video pinball game. Great 2D graphics and spectacular action-packed playfields. 6 bonus rounds and the chance to score a billion points - if you are skilled enough!
The Graphics and Sound
The graphics and design are good and add fun to the gameplay. The game seems to take place somewhere between Hell, and a medieval fantasy place. Even though this version toned down the demonic symbols, there are plenty of creepy ghouls creeping about. And it has an eerie atmosphere to keep the proceedings interesting.
The sound is a little weirder than your normal pinball bells and whistles, but it achieves the same effect. It also has the "evil laughter of failure" sound effect. If you fail, an evil laugh will sound.
The music is not that great, but it does not get annoying. And seeing that the Sega Genesis console is known for its sometimes high-pitched and piercing soundtracks, that says something, if not a lot.
The Gameplay
Dragon's Fury takes the basic pinball concepts (ball, flippers, gravity) and gets fancy with it. There are no bumpers, but rather groups of creepy creatures that march around the game deck. No ramps available there, just only warps. Even the ball looks strange.
The pinball deck is split into three mini-decks, top, middle, and lower deck. All with their own set of targets and goals. Your ball falls from the top, you are in the middle. Fall from the middle, you hit then the lower deck. Fall from the lower deck, you die. That is easy enough.
Within the decks, the ball warps can suck your ball into the bonus stages. These are basically boss battles, where you must hit a zombie, demon, dragon, or their kind, armed with only your ball and flippers. The game mechanics are not that deep, but if you wanted some depth, then you would not be playing pinball to begin with. It is all about aim, reflexes, patience, and little luck in scoring.
The nudge button does not seem to move the ball to any desired extent.
Replay value is good. Play it again sometimes to aim for higher scores and to let off some steam.
My Verdict
Dragon's Fury is nothing like the real pinball, and for once, that is a good thing. It is a fantasy spin of it and takes the concepts, and enjoyment of pinball, and successfully translates it to 16-bit visuals. It is worthy of your entertainment play time.
Play it on the enigmatic Sega Genesis/Mega Drive or play it on any damn, easy to use emulator.