114 | RETRO GAMER
» Namco’s arcade game might look prettier than this NEC
PC-8801 conversion, but Enix went the extra mile when bringing
it to the home platform. As well as adding a new introduction
sequence, a fully illustrated ending was added to replace the
arcade game’s sprite-based celebration, in which various Princess
Celias show up to give the hero a big kiss. Let’s take a look and
see how Enix decided to do things...
» Closing her eyes, Celia tells him that she got herself kidnapped
on purpose, and per the Damsels In Distress Act 1533, he’s
now required to deliver the kiss that all princesses receive upon
rescue. Clovis stares at her incredulously. “My arm’s hanging by a
thread. Could I maybe go see the medic first?”» Celia begrudgingly agrees to his request on the promise that
he’ll deliver later, holding his good hand as they begin the long
walk back to the castle. “But only because it’d be illegal not to,”
declares Clovis. “Mad people who abuse the law and nearly get
me killed, just for a kiss? Not my type.”» Thankfully, our hero Clovis (yes, like the
cat from Stephen King’s Sleepwalkers)
seems to be okay. He’s definitely taken a
beating and his arm’s looking a bit worse
for wear, with a large cut by his shoulder,
but he’ll survive.» Princess Celia, complete with the kind
of voluminous hair possessed only by the
women of Eighties anime, has tears in her
eyes. Not only has she been rescued from
the dragon’s captivity, but her beloved
Clovis is alive. Her plan worked.» A blood-covered sword lies on the
ground, in front of a man whose knees
look like they may buckle at any moment.
There’s no room for misinterpretation –
this is the aermath of a titanic struggle,
where lives were at risk.DRAGON BUSTER
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