Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll (1987). Play online

Summary

Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll blends classic side‑scrolling action with one‑on‑one tournament fights, echoing the series’ 1985 predecessor. In the “journey” stages you run, jump and slash through varied terrain while hunting down five boss guardians and a set of hidden scrolls. The “tournament” segments switch to a head‑to‑head duel format, testing timing and combo precision.

The game deliberately asks you to play twice: the first play‑through unlocks an early ending once all six scrolls are gathered, while the second run adds a quest for four crystal balls that appear only in later levels, unlocking the true finale when both scrolls and crystals are collected again.

Japanese magazine Famitsu gave it a respectable 28/40 upon release, and fans still appreciate the dual‑mode design and hidden‑item challenge as a neat evolution of the original Hiryū no Ken formula.

Storyline

In a remote Chinese mountain region, a boy named Ryuhi is raised and trained in Kempo by his wise master Juan, becoming a prodigy at a young age. When Juan is ambushed, thieves steal the Secret Scrolls of Hiryu‑no‑Ken, the legendary martial‑arts manuals he authored. Ryuhi manages to keep the sixth volume, the Shingan No Sho (Book of the Mind’s Eye), and vows to fulfill his dying master’s wish.

The bishop Gengai of the Shorinji temple welcomes Ryuhi, trains him in Shorinji Kempo, and six years later the temple receives a challenge from the Tusk Soldiers, a mysterious enemy organization. Determined to stop them from winning the World Tournament of Contact Sports, Ryuhi enters the competition as Shorinji’s representative. This is the storyline of Flying Dragon: The Secret Scroll, often simply called Flying Dragon.