Blazing Dragons

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Genre: Point and Click	CDs: 1
Publisher: Crystal Dynamics	Released: October 3, 1996
Developer: Illusions Gaming Company	UPC: 0 24294 12578 2
Sony ID: SLUS-00100	PSRM: 000300
Players: 1 Player	Memory: 1 Block
Accessories: None
ESRB: Kids to Adult – Comic Mischief
Box Copy: The knight’s a pathological liar. Rapunzal’s schizophrenic. Forget the sword, bring a psychiatrist. From the twisted mind of Monty Python Troupe member Terry Jones comes Blazing Dragons. This warped medieval adventure brings over 40 wacky characters to life with a freakish mix of voice-over talents like Cheech Marin, Harry Shearer and Terry Jones. The wild arcade action (like dragon thumb wrestling!), kitty-hurling villains, brain-liquefying puzzles will grip you with laughter – even as you lose grip of reality! As the evil knight, Cheech shows us there’s a cuddly, funny side to vicious, criminally insane behavior. Bizarre cast of over 40 characters, from redneck hillbilly hunters to syrupy-sweet critters. Over 50 scenes with Monty Python-esque sequences and subplots. You’ll go crazy over the tricky puzzles and brain teasers

Review

Blazing Dragons is a point-and-click adventure from the mind of Terry Jones – of Monty Python fame. In this world, dragons and humans live side by side in the towns of Camelhot and Grim. On the dragon side of things, King All Fire is set to wed his daughter Flame off to whatever knight wins the tournament.

Our playable and lovable character Flicker will have none of that, as he and Flame are in love with each other. The problem is that Flicker is not a knight, and that must be corrected sooner than later.

The game opens up with Flicker rising out of bed having nothing but the clothes on his back and his trusty Clicker on him. Flicker is a budding inventor and his invention book holds several clues to certain puzzles in the game. Players can secure that from the table in front of him along with several other items. From here on out, both the player and Flicker must use their wits to figure out how to solve problems and puzzles in order for him to gain his squireship and eventual knighthood.

Blazing Dragons is a 2D, sprite based game with some wonderful visuals and fun voice acting. Terry Jones and Cheech Marin along with fan favorite Michael Bell and more lend their voices to an eclectic cast of dragon and human characters. Flicker has the perfect inflection for his lines as he jabbers with the entire castle household, humans who are tired of the evil Sir George, and even Rapunzel from fairy tale fame. There’s a charm to the game that can’t be denied and it runs the full length of the game.

Controls are super simple and easy to manage. Players use a selection wheel with different Action Icons to interact with characters and the landscape. This includes talking, investigating, picking up and using various items in not-so-typical ways. Part of the title’s endearing charm is the creativity that went into all the different puzzles and mysteries to solve. Fans of Terry Jones’ Monty Python run will find much to love as they get help from ants, fling a poor cat multiple times from a catapult (get it?) and use manure to outwit Sir George’s bathroom attendant.

And…that’s really all there is to it. The only faults to bring up are minor ones. The first is that not all items are clearly separated from the background they are placed on. I missed about 3 objects because they looked like a permanent part of the background art. Secondly is that there are a few puzzles whose answers don’t have any real correlation between them. Crystal Dynamics tries to get around this by providing ample amounts of little clues and hints in the instruction manual.

Much of the correlation the player needs to make between a set of items is either a silent visible clue, or tied to a comment Flicker makes about the item. By the time it’s realized how to proceed, there’s already been more than enough time wasted.

To help break up the puzzle solving are several mini-games: a dance off, using the catapult multiple times, and of course….thumb wrestling. Yep, you’ll eventually thumb wrestle a dragon. Be prepared!

But really, for the 3 or 4 hours it will probably take players to sort everything on their first try it really was worth the play-through. I’ve essentially played the game 3 times for this review. Once for the experience on real hardware, the second to video capture on the Polymega, and then a third time to write the FAQ and test passwords.

That’s right, Blazing Dragons becomes the first game to have its own walk-through written by yours truly on the site. Just ding the Guide Tab at the top of the page to enjoy. Hopefully, there are more of them to come down the road.

One of these days I’ll run through it on the Sega Saturn, just to see if I remember everything. It’s a short, sweet, enjoyable romp that may be low on replay value for most, but the once-through is worth it for the smiles it generates.

On Game-Rave’s grading scale, it’s a “Solid” 7 / 10. It’s got heart, and wit, and can be finished in an evening or two.

The Good

Great writing and humor
Some creative puzzle designs
Colorful graphics and voiceovers

The Bad

A few puzzles are too abstract
Replay value depends on the player
Some items blend into the background

Final Score: 7 / 10 – Solid

Blazing Dragons is a charming adventure that makes the perfect palate cleanser between longer and more time-intensive games.

Blazing Dragons Guide

Welcome to the Blazing Dragon’s guide!

This is a spoiler-free walk-through of Crystal Dynamic’s cheeky point-and-click game. Only the essentials are listed to help players who are stuck. To fully enjoy the game and use this guide, you will need to make sure you do the following in-game:

a. Choose every dialogue option.
b. Use the Look Icon (the Eye) on everything.
c. Use this as a last resort. : )

For this walk-through, location screenshots are presented only the first time you arrive at them. Important items are highlighted in blue. This way if you just need help n a single moment, you can easily find what you’re looking for. All item names are taken directly from the manual for consistency.

Controls

This point-and-click adventure uses a simple Icon Scroll and storage system.

D-Pad: Moves the cursor around the screen.
Cross (X): Uses your selected Action. Accepts fast-forwards dialogue.
Triangle: Opens up and closes Flicker’s Bag.
R1: Cycle through the Action Icons.
Start: Pauses the game and provides options like Saving and more.

Actions

Actions are how Flicker interacts with the world. You have the following moves:

Eye: When droopy, there is nothing to see. When it opens wide, press Cross will have Flicker inspect, comment or read something. Several puzzle solutions in the game require you to have read something first to have the proper dialogue option.

Foot: This moves Flicker around. Move this on doors and the edge of the screen to transition between locations.

Jaw: Use this to talk to characters and animals.

Claw: Its default is an open “hand”, but if you’re able to take or interact with something, it will turn into a closed fist. Can use this to open doors as well.

Flicker’s Face: This is when you’re in his bag. You can press on this to leave the bag.

Walk-Through

Flicker’s Bedroom

Once you have control of Flicker, you will need to grab Pavlov’s Jar and his Invention Book from the table. Then snag his Tail Warmer from the foot of the bed. Head out the door to the Hallway. You will already have his Clicker invention in his bag.

The Hallway

You will need to grab the yellow Candelabra from the wall shelf. Now mosey into the Library next door.

The Library

There will be a lot more happening here in the future, but for now, we just need to read the poster on the left wall. Head back out into the Hallway, and then move down and to the left, walking off-screen. This will take you to the Square Table area.

Square Table

The entire main cast of characters is here. King All Fire, his daughter Flame (and Flicker’s love interest), Sir George The Human, Merlin, the Chancellor, and all four of the king’s knights. A cinema here will set up the game’s main story. Once done, you’ll find yourself in the Kitchen.

Kitchen

Well, we’re going to wash some dishes, and there is a whole lot of them. This is where you will get your first real taste of how you’ll need to approach puzzles. First, let’s grab the Salad Tongs from right above Flicker. We’ll need those much later in the game. We already have what we need except for one item, and it’s right in front of us. Grab the Mop from the sink area and use it on the cup rack above the sink.

From here, we can open Flicker’s bag and apply the Candelabra to the teapots. Back into the bag to grab his Tail Warmer on the Candelabra to create a steam-powered dish washing machine. Neat! Several automatic conversations will be had while you do this, but once you’re free to leave, you can leave the kitchen…but not the castle.

You will end up back in the Square Table area. Head to the farthest right doorway, which will bring you to the Royal Hall with two doors. Head into the left room, which is the King’s Chambers.

King’s Chambers

Here you will need to pick up two items: the first being a Pipe Cleaner from the pile spilled on the couch in the back of the room. The second item is the Monarch Quarterly magazine on the bed. Once you have both of these, you can head back into the Royal Hall and through the right door into Flame’s Room.

Flame’s Room

Ah, Flicker’s romance option. Though she’s his only option so it’s more a lack of one. But hey, they’re cute together! Here’s where you get the first taste of important dialogue conversations. You can run through all of them, but the important one is the second choice, “Do you have any more advice for a knight?” She’ll blow a kiss that Flicker fails to catch. Now use Pavlov’s Jar on her, and he’ll successfully trap Flame’s Flying Kiss in the jar.

Turn around to the mantel and snag the blue bottle of Hair Tonic. Now return to the Square Table area, and head out the center hallway to the Castle Entry.

Castle Entry

Talk to the receptionist, and she’ll eventually give you the Camelhot Map. This acts as a wonderfully useful fast travel map. But not right now – for now head into the door on your left.

Chancellor’s Quarters

Another room that will play a bigger part later on. For now, glance around the room while the Chancellor chastises you. After he’s done you’ll find yourself back in the Castle Entry. Now you can head out the upper door to freedom. This will bring up the Camelhot Map.

Camelhot Map

The map is actually really useful. Besides showing you all the places you can go, it won’t reveal new locations until certain puzzles have been solved. Right now we need to track down all the knights, but we’ll have to go about this the comical way. The first location we need to go is the Grimmly Insane, found at the fallen beanstalk at the bottom left of the map.

Grimmly Insane (Outside)

Right away you know crazy things are afoot. First, you’ll need to grab the Magic Bean from the ground near your feet. Now use the Hair Tonic on Rapunzel. She’ll immediately chop off her long blonde locks. Pick up Rapunzel’s Hair and stash it. Talk to her again and she’ll eventually trade you her Clippers (shears). Time to see the doctor. Enter the tree.

Grimmly Insane (Inside)

We’ve got a party! We’ll have to come back, but for now, use Pavlov’s Jar with Flame’s Flying Kiss on the gentleman who thinks he’s a frog in the lower right of the screen. He’ll actually turn back into a Frog. Snag him and stash him. Head back to the map, it’s time for a little detour.

Once on the map, choose Downtown Camelhot, the brown-colored village right of the beanstalk.

Downtown Camelot

For right now, there’s nothing to do here, but there will be a LOT to do later on. Right now our concern is with the Tournament Entrance. Head left through the archway with the crows.

Tournament Entrance

Well well, if it isn’t a local contractor taking care of his duties. First, talk to him so he climbs down from his stilts and takes a coffee break. We’ll come back to him later. Next, use the Pipe Cleaner on the Termite mound near the bottom right of the screen. They’ll stick to the Pipe Cleaner. Stash that gross new item, and then mosey on onto the right side of the screen.

Cat-a-Pult

Here’s the first real mini-game of Blazing Dragons. You will need to launch a helmet-wearing cat into multiple pop-up targets. The goal is to knock down at least 9 of the 10 targets you see. They’ll appear at multiple heights, but always in the same order. So if you fail, just memorize their sequence.

The Controls:
Left / Right: Moves the catapult left and right.
Cross Button (X): Launches the cat.

If you simply press Cross, that’s the 1st level of height you can reach. If you hold Cross before firing, Flicker will pull the cord further down, which is reflected in the animation. There are roughly 5 heights you can reach. Once you have successfully pulled off the training, the Cat comes stumbling out. Bag ’em and tag’em. With this out of the way, it’s time to head back to the Grimmly Insane.

Grimmly Insane

Now that we’re back, use the Pipe Cleaner Covered in Termites on the Pied Piper. After a fairly long scene unfolds, the knight will gift you his Tartan Ribbon. With everything tidied up here, use the map to fast-travel to the Back of the Castle – what looks like a garden behind the castle in the upper left of the map.

Back of the Castle

Well, a little bit of poor eyesight seems to be causing problems for the King. Use the Magic Bean you got from Grimmly Insane on the King’s garden soil. The thankful if embarrassed knight will gift you with Peruvian Coal.

Now use the map to warp to the Tranquil Pool, near the top of the world.

Tranquil Pool

Take the Frog you earned and use it on the other frog. Love at first sight! With his reflection gone, the knight will bestow upon you his Hand Mirror. With this knight taken care of, the final knight’s location will appear on the map. Head there.

Blazing Dragons Screenshot 15 - Bottom of the Hill Screenshot

Bottom of the Hill

The first order of business is to swipe the Pitchfork from the hay bale. Talk with the knight as much as you can, and then head up the hill via the path to the far left.

Top of the Hill

Jinkies, it’s Sir George! And he has his pet dog with him. Time to use the Cat we got from the Cat-a-pult on his dog. This will start a cinematic and eventually you’ll be back at the bottom of the hill with the last knight. Pick the third text choice to become his squire. He’ll give you his laundry Soap. Another cinematic will carry out, eventually landing you back in Flame’s Room.