Rise of the Dragon

Did You Know?

• The Sega CD version added voice audio, with Cam Clarke voicing William 'Blade' Hunter.
• A scene with a French kiss and implied sex was removed from the Sega CD release.
• The Sega CD version was given an MA-17 rating by the Videogame Rating Council.

Gameplay

Gameplay in Rise of the Dragon resembles that of Dynamix's other adventure games from the 1990s, such as The Adventures of Willy Beamish and Heart of China. The screen displays the current room from roughly Blade's perspective. The cursor changes to an arrow for moving to another room or a magnifying glass for examining a part of the scene. A time meter tracks the passage of in-game time; each action consumes a set amount, and certain events occur only at specific times. Players must strategically plan their moves, as traveling between locations can consume significant time, and failing to delay the villains' plans results in the game ending after three days. Several puzzles offer multiple solutions, and Blade's actions influence later plot developments. Characters remember his earlier behavior, and saying the wrong thing to key figures can make the game unwinnable. The game includes two action scenes and one aim-and-shoot scene, though it is possible to complete the game without playing all of them. If the player fails an action scene several times, the game offers to automatically complete it.

Plot

In 2053, William 'Blade' Hunter, a former LAPD officer turned private detective, is called to investigate the death of the mayor's rebellious daughter Chandra, who died horribly mutated after using a new designer drug called MTZ. Blade contacts a streetwise friend of Chandra's known as 'the Jake', who identifies Chen Lu as the dealer who supplied the lethal drug. Blade goes to Chen Lu's apartment but finds Lu assassinated with an overdose of MTZ, punished for attracting attention by causing a politician's daughter's death. Blade enlists the help of his girlfriend Karyn, who works at the Crime Records Bureau, to track down Lu's accomplices and learn about MTZ's mutagenic nature. The MTZ operation is revealed to be run by an underground Chinese Mafia led by Deng Hwang, a megalomaniacal drug kingpin. An old fortune teller tells Blade that the present year coincides with the foretold coming of the Chinese dragon Bahumat. Blade blows up the local drug plant, but Hwang's men spot him. Hwang captures the Jake to lure Blade into a trap, but Blade rescues him and later sabotages the Triad's plan to poison the Hollywood reservoir with MTZ. In retaliation, Hwang kidnaps Karyn and threatens to inject her with MTZ. Blade infiltrates Hwang's headquarters and, depending on player actions, either rescues Karyn or fails. Blade confronts Hwang, who transforms into the dragon Bahumat. Blade defeats Bahumat in a final battle. Outside, Blade punches the mayor for using him as a pawn, then walks away either with Karyn or alone.

Reception

Rise of the Dragon was a commercial hit, later described by Craig Ritchie of Retro Gamer as 'very successful'. Computer Gaming World stated that the game depicted a cyberpunk atmosphere more effectively than other games, praising the story, non-text parser interface, audio, and the optional arcade sequences, concluding that it 'points the way for the future of graphic adventures'. Dragon gave the game 5 out of 5 stars. The One gave the Amiga version an overall score of 92%, noting stylistic influence from Blade Runner and praising the detailed artwork. The One called it a 'very entertaining futuristic tale' with plot twists and multiple endings, but criticized the controls and UI as 'a little limiting'. The One's review of the DOS version gave it 89%, praising its graphics and 'near-faultless' design. Jim Trunzo, writing in White Wolf #30, rated it 4 out of 5, stating that the game 'mesmerizes the gamer, drawing him into the story'. In 1991, Rise of the Dragon won a Special Award for Artistic Achievement from Computer Gaming World. In 1996, the magazine ranked it the 83rd best game of all time, noting its use of rotoscoping, hot spot mapping, and cinematic cuts before they became standard, and also named it the 12th most innovative computer game for pioneering a dynamic, hot-spotted map as the travel interface. In 1991, PC Format named it one of the 50 best computer games ever.