Classic Games Database
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Rise of the Dragon

Review
Also known as
Blade Hunter: Rise of the Dragon Rise of the Dragon: A Blade Hunter Mystery RoTD ライズ オブ ザ ドラゴン ~ブレイド・ハンター・ミステリー~

This cyberpunk adventure uses time management and branching dialogue to solve a conspiracy in 2053 LA.

Rise of the Dragon was developed by Dynamix and published by Sierra On-Line for MS-DOS in 1990, which is the earliest commercial release of the game on any platform.


							Rise of the Dragon cover
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About Rise of the Dragon

Rise of the Dragon is a first-person adventure set in a crime-ridden Los Angeles of 2053. The player controls William "Blade" Hunter, an ex-police detective investigating the brutal murder of the mayor's daughter, a case that leads to a wider conspiracy involving a powerful syndicate and a dangerous drug.

Its gameplay departs from typical adventure conventions of its era by emphasizing time management and dialogue choices over inventory puzzles. An internal clock requires planning the protagonist's schedule to advance the story, while conversational decisions can lead to immediate failure if selected incorrectly, making the pacing challenging. The visual style combines hand-painted backdrops with digitized actor photos, creating a comic book aesthetic.

Two side-scrolling action segments are included, which the DOS version allows the player to skip after repeated failures. The Sega CD port differs by making these sequences mandatory, adding full voice acting to dialogues, and employing a distinct greenish color palette.

Rise of the Dragon Screenshots

10 images
Title Screen
Blade Hunter's Apartment (VGA)
Blade Hunter's Apartment (EGA)
Blade Hunter's Apartment (CGA)
Subway terminal
Talking to a street bum
City Hall
Cinematic cutscene
Blade thinks to himself
Examining your environment