Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

From Sega Retro

For the Sega Master System and Sega Game Gear versions, see Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (8-bit).

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Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Acclaim Entertainment (US), Virgin Interactive Entertainment (Europe)
Developer:
Distributor: Ecofilmes (PT), SF Interactive Media (SE rental), Tec Toy (BR)
Licensor: Universal City Studios, MCA/Universal Merchandising
Sound driver: GEMS
Peripherals supported: Six Button Control Pad, Team Player
Genre: Action

















Number of players: 1-3
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
US
$69.9569.95[1] T-81496
ESRB: Teen
Sega Mega Drive
EU
T-70286-50
ELSPA: 11+ OK
Sega Mega Drive
PT
MD70286
Sega Mega Drive
UK
£44.9944.99[5][6] T-70286-50
ELSPA: 11+ OK
Sega Mega Drive
FI
Sega Mega Drive
SE
(Rental)
Sega Mega Drive
AU
$119.95119.95[7] FDRA04SMC
OFLC: G8
Sega Mega Drive
BR
046980
Tectoy: 13+
Non-Sega versions

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story is a Sega Mega Drive versus fighting game based on the 1993 film Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story.

Story

The game follows the events of the film, a semi-fictionalized account of the life of renowned martial artist and actor Bruce Lee.

Gameplay

The game is a versus fighting game where the life story of Bruce Lee is told through several fight scenes in different locations and time periods. Bruce uses a variety of martial arts moves to defeat his opponents in a manner similar to fighting games such as Street Fighter. Fights are usually one-on-one, though Bruce occasionally fights two opponents at once. The game supports up to three simultaneous players, though Bruce Lee is the only playable character, even in the multiplayer modes.

Bruce moves with Left or Right, crouches with Down, and jumps with Up. He flips with Down-left or Down-right, which can pass through opponents and evade attacks. He punches with X (fast) or Y (hard) and kicks with A (fast) or B (hard). When using a standard three-button control pad, he performs a fast kick with A, a fast punch with B, and a hard kick or punch with C (with  START  toggling between the two), and  START +A+B+C pauses the game.

Blocking is done by holding the D-Pad away from the opponent. He can throw a nearby opponent by pressing the D-Pad away from the opponent while pressing the fast punch button. While being thrown by an opponent, he can perform a counter throw by pressing the D-Pad away from the opponent while pressing the hard punch button. If Bruce is knocked out, he can be revived by pressing buttons repeatedly. He can perform a recovery kick while downed with the hard kick button.

His techniques vary depending on whether he is standing, crouching, or jumping or whether he is near or far from his opponent. Repeated attacks can be chained together to perform combos. He can stomp a downed opponent by pressing Down at the peak of a jump when over the opponent's chest. He performs a roundhouse kick by pressing the hard kick button twice, a reverse kick by holding the D-Pad away from the opponent and pressing the hard kick button twice, and a sliding grasshopper kick with Down and towards the opponent while pressing hard kick.

Bruce has three fighting styles: Mantis, Fighter, and Nunchaku. Bruce builds up a chi meter throughout the game, representing his inner strength, which is carried over between stages. The meter is marked with two notches, one for Fighter mode and one for Nunchaku mode. When the meter reaches the corresponding mark, Bruce can switch into Fighter or Nunchaku mode.

Mantis is Bruce's standard fighting style. It has the highest tolerance to injury and lowest chance of being stunned. Fighter mode is the fastest fighting style, but he cannot throw, stomp, or block in this mode. Pressing the attack buttons rapidly performs "ultra fast" punches and kicks in Fighter mode. He can also leap much farther. Nunchaku mode arms Bruce with a pair of nunchaku that increase his attack distance, but he cannot punch or kick in this mode. His throw is replaced by the "Neck Tie," a choking technique.

Landing attacks on opponents while in Mantis mode increases the meter, while missing attacks in any mode or using special moves in Fighter or Nunchaku mode decreases the meter. Extra chi can be earned by getting the first hit in a fight or performing well in the bonus stages. When the meter falls below the mark needed for a special mode, Bruce reverts to his Mantis style.

Bruce switches into his Mantis mode with  MODE +X, into his Fighter mode with  MODE +Y, and into his Nunchaku mode with  MODE +Z. When using a standard three-button control pad, he switches into his Mantis mode with  START +Left, into his Fighter mode with  START +Down, and into his Nunchaku mode with  START +Up.

Modes

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Bonus Stage.png

Bonus stage

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Continue.png

Continue

There are multiple game modes:

  • 1-Player Story Mode: One player controls Bruce Lee in ten fights against different opponents, interspersed with short cutscenes. Fights are a single round with no time limit against one opponent, but two fights take place against two opponents simultaneously. The player starts with three mirrors (continues), and losing a battle costs a mirror. When all of the mirrors are lost, the player must fight the Phantom in order to continue. The final fight is also against the Phantom, and the game cannot be continued if Bruce is defeated here. There are three bonus stages where Bruce strikes pads on a target dummy to build up more chi. The pads spin faster when Bruce hits them and award more chi the faster they are spinning when they are hit.
  • 2-Player Story Mode: The story mode can also be played by two players, with the second player playing as a second Bruce Lee with different colored pants simultaneously. The players can hurt each other, and the stage is not finished until the computer-controlled opponent is defeated and only one human player is left standing. In stages with more than one opponent, the computer-controlled opponents only appear one at a time, so there are never more than three combatants on screen at a time. Both players have three mirrors (continues) and lose a mirror whenever they are defeated in a battle, with the game ending for a player who runs out of mirrors.
  • 1-Player Battle: A one-player mode where the player fights as Bruce Lee against a computer-controlled Bruce Lee. The player can set a handicap and the number of rounds and choose the stage.
  • 2-Player Battle: A two-player mode where both players fight each other as Bruce Lee. Players can set a handicap and the number of rounds and choose the stage.
  • 2-Player Battle Vs CPU: A two-player mode where two players and a computer-controlled opponent fight. All three combatants are Bruce Lee. Players can set a handicap and the number of rounds and choose the stage.
  • 3-Player Battle: A three-player mode where all three players (using a Team Player) fight to determine a single champion. All three combatants are Bruce Lee. Players can set a handicap and the number of rounds and choose the stage.

There are five difficulty levels for computer-controlled opponents (Piece of Cake, Easy, Normal, Tough, and Arcade).

Stages

A bonus stage is played after the second, fourth, and sixth stages.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 1.png

Lantern Festival, Hong Kong
While in Hong Kong, Bruce gets into a fight with a rowdy British sailor who is harassing a Chinese woman at a dance. The sailor fights with a chain.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 2-1.png

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 2-2.png

  • Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 2-1.png

  • Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 2-2.png

Gussie Wang's Kitchen, San Francisco
Now living in the United States, Bruce gets into a brawl with the cooks at the Chinese restaurant where he works (and in the alleyway behind the restaurant). The cooks are armed with cleavers.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 3.png

University Gymnasium, Seattle
Bruce enrolls at the University of Washington and gets into a fight with another student named Scott at the gymnasium.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 4.png

Secret Location, Oakland
Bruce establishes a martial arts school in Oakland, but his Chinese peers rebuke him for training non-Chinese students. They decide to settle the matter in combat, choosing a kung fu master named Johnny Sun to challenge Bruce.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 5.png

Film Set, Hong Kong
On a Golden Harvest film set in Hong Kong, Bruce fights a pair of female acrobats, who wield staffs.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 6.png

Bruce's Kwoon, Oakland
Bruce once again fights Scott, who is angry that Bruce is taking his students.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 7.png

Long Beach Stadium, Long Beach
Bruce speaks at an international karate championship at Long Beach and states that he can defeat any opponent with his techniques within 60 seconds. Johnny Sun is in the audience and challenges him to a rematch. This is the only bout in the game that has a time limit. The player loses if Johnny Sun is not defeated before time runs out.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 8-1.png

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 8-2.png

  • Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 8-1.png

  • Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 8-2.png

Film Set, Pak Chong, Thailand
After the cancellation of The Green Hornet, Bruce is hired to star in the Hong Kong production The Big Boss. While on set, Luke, the brother of Johnny Sun, finds Bruce and wants to fight him to avenge his brother.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 9.png

Film Set, Hong Kong
Bruce fights the "Claw Man" who famously antagonized him in the film Enter the Dragon. The fight takes place in the Claw Man's "museum" of weapons and torture devices.

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD, Stage 10.png

The Graveyard
The final fight is against the Phantom, the personification of Bruce's fear who takes the form of a samurai carrying a guandao. After the Phantom's health meter is depleted, the player must defeated him using the Neck Tie hold in Nunchaku mode (while near the Phantom, hold the D-Pad away from him while pressing fast punch).

History

Development

Graphics for the Mega Drive version of Dragon were draw in Deluxe Paint Animation, a 1990 art package for IBM PC compatibles[8].

Production credits

  • Executive Director: Colin Gordon
  • Producer: Dan Marchant
  • Asst Producer: Aron Phelan, Peter Hickman
  • USA Coordinator: Ken Love
  • Design Team: Ian Mathias, Dan Marchant, Peter Hickman, Ronald Pieket Weeserik, John Palmer
  • Programmer: Dave Chapman, Ronald Pieket Weeserik
  • Background Artist: Kevin Oxland
  • Animation Artist: John Palmer
  • Artist: Mark Smith, Stephen Cavalier, Mark Anthony, Paul Hallewell, Jonathan Green, Patrick Beirne, Simon Swift, Mark Bentley
  • Music and Sound: Allister Brimble
  • Lead Tester: Tony Hinds, Paul Welton
  • Assistant Tester: John Martin, Michael Wenn, Tony Byus, Kevin Turner
  • USA Testing: Paul Moore, Nick Camerota, Chris Nelsen, Chris Rausch, Chris Toft, Jeff Gordon, Jim Getz, Mitch Feldman
  • Respect to: Bruce Lee
Source:
In-game credits
Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD credits.pdf
[9]

Magazine articles

Main article: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Suuri lelukirja FI 1994 Sega.jpg
FI advert (1994)
Suuri lelukirja FI 1994 Sega.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Supersonic (FR) #25: "Octobre 1994" (1994-xx-xx)
also published in:
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Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Computer & Video Games (UK) #156: "November 1994" (1994-10-15)
also published in:
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Freak 26 IL SMD advert.jpg
Print advert in Freak (IL) #26 (1994-xx-xx)
Freak 26 IL SMD advert.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in VideoGames (US) #80: "September 1995" (1995-08-22)
also published in:
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Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Velikiy Drakon (RU) #60: "xxxx xxxx" (2002-09-05)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
1700 igr dlya Sega (RU)
60
[18]
Cool Gamer (RU)
70
[19]
Computer & Video Games (UK) PAL
75
[5]
Digitiser (UK) PAL
79
[20]
Game Players (US) NTSC-U
55
[21]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
65
[1]
GamesMaster (UK) PAL
90
[22]
Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL
78
[23]
MAN!AC (DE) PAL
67
[24]
Mega (UK) PAL
89
[25]
Mega Fun (DE) PAL
73
[26]
Mega Power (UK) PAL
78
[27]
MegaTech (UK) PAL
85
[28]
Megazin (SI)
76
[29]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
77
[30]
Player One (FR) PAL
82
[31]
Play Time (DE) PAL
73
[32]
Power Up! (UK)
84
[33]
Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
87
[34]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
91
[35]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
70
[36]
Sega Zone (UK) PAL
88
[37]
Sega Mega Drive Review (RU)
68
[38]
Sega Megazone (AU) PAL
63
[39]
Sonic the Comic (UK) PAL
90
[40]
Todo Sega (ES)
75
[41]
Tricks 16 bit (RU)
70
[42]
VideoGames (US) NTSC-U
70
[43]
Sega Mega Drive
76
Based on
28 reviews

Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

Mega Drive, US
DTBLS MD US Box.jpg
Cover
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Dragon MD US Cart.jpg
Cart
Dragon MD US Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, EU
DTBLS MD EU Box.jpg
Cover
Dragon MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Dragon Bruce Lee MD EU Manual.jpg
Manual
Mega Drive, FR

Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD FR Manual.pdf
Manual
Mega Drive, PT
DTBLS MD PT Box Back.jpgNospine.pngDTBLS MD PT cover.jpg
Cover
Dragon MD EU Cart.jpg
Cart
Dragon Bruce Lee MD PT Manual.jpg
Manual
Dragon Bruce Lee MD EU Manual.jpg
EU Manual
Mega Drive, SE (rental; SF)
DragonTBLS MD SE rental Box back.jpgNospine.pngDragonTBLS MD SE rental Box.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, FI

Mega Drive, AU
DTBLS MD AU cover.jpg
Cover
Mega Drive, BR
Dragon MD BR Box.jpg
Cover
Dragon MD BR Cart.jpg
Cart

Technical information

Main article: Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story/Technical information.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 GamePro, "November 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 80
  2. 2.0 2.1 Sega Magazine, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-15), page 30
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sega Pro, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 43
  4. File:DailyMirror UK 1994-10-28 Sup D.jpg
  5. 5.0 5.1 Computer & Video Games, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-15), page 90
  6. Mega Power, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-23), page 33
  7. 7.0 7.1 File:NewReleases 1994-11 AU Catalogue.pdf, page 10
  8. Mean Machines Sega, "December 1993" (UK; 1993-10-xx), page 22
  9. File:Dragon The Bruce Lee Story MD credits.pdf
  10. Mega Force, "Octobre 1994" (FR; 1994-xx-xx), page 132
  11. Ultimate Future Games, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-01), page 38
  12. Computer & Video Games, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-15), page 86
  13. Ultimate Future Games, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-01), page 8
  14. EGM², "September 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 47
  15. VideoGames, "October 1995" (US; 1995-09-19), page 57
  16. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 179
  17. Velikiy Drakon, "xxxx xxxx" (RU; 2003-02-07), page 68
  18. 1700 igr dlya Sega, "" (RU; 2001-xx-xx), page 63
  19. Cool Gamer, "9" (RU; 2002-10-13), page 67
  20. Digitiser (UK) (1994-07-01)
  21. Game Players, "Vol. 8 No. 10 October 1995" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 62
  22. GamesMaster, "June 1994" (UK; 1994-05-26), page 40
  23. Games World: The Magazine, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-10-28), page 18
  24. MAN!AC, "01/95" (DE; 1994-12-07), page 91
  25. Mega, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 34
  26. Mega Fun, "12/94" (DE; 1994-11-23), page 102
  27. Mega Power, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-23), page 32
  28. MegaTech, "October 1994" (UK; 1994-09-15), page 20
  29. Megazin, "Letnik 3, Številka 1, Januar 1995" (SI; 1995-xx-xx), page 73
  30. Mean Machines Sega, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-28), page 66
  31. Player One, "Novembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 146
  32. Play Time, "1/95" (DE; 1994-12-07), page 108
  33. Power Up!, "Saturday, January 07, 1995" (UK; 1995-01-07), page 1
  34. Sega Magazine, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 76
  35. Sega Power, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-05-05), page 38
  36. Sega Pro, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-16), page 42
  37. Sega Zone, "July 1994" (UK; 1994-06-xx), page 24
  38. Sega Mega Drive Review, "2" (RU; 1996-01-03), page 53
  39. Sega Megazone, "September 1994" (AU; 1994-0x-xx), page 27
  40. Sonic the Comic, "October 14th 1994" (UK; 1994-10-01), page 10
  41. Todo Sega, "Febrero 1995" (ES; 1995-0x-xx), page 58
  42. Tricks 16 bit, "Tricks Sega Gold 800 igr" (RU; 1998-03-20), page 56
  43. VideoGames, "September 1995" (US; 1995-08-22), page 77


Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story

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