Retro publishers Hamster have chosen a neat shmup classic for this weeks Arcade Archives release: Jaleco’s super-cyber shmup Saint Dragon, which is now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Launched in arcades back in 1989, before receiving a run of slick conversions on various home computers, Saint Dragon was one of a number of dragon-themed shmups that blew up in the late ’80s/early ’90s, (see also Namco’s Dragon Spirit and Irem’s Dragon Breed).
Saint Dragon is very similar to R-Type in visual style, control, and design, but features a unique mechanic where your vessel’s tail acts as a shield, and thus strategic movement can have savvy players shooting down throngs of enemies while defending themselves from returned fire. Saint Dragon was notable in its day for both this mechanic and its menagerie of cybernetic animals.
You can check out Saint Dragon in action below, courtesy of YouTuber RedSevenNine:
Source: Destructoid Jaleco’s cyber-shmup Saint Dragon returns on PS4 and Switch