Dragon Breed © 1989 Irem Corp.

Dragon Breed is a side-scrolling shoot-em-up in which the player controls the game's hero, Kayus, who is riding on the back of a fully articulated dragon named 'Bahamoot'. The dragon is immune to enemy attacks, capable of blocking most projectiles and of damaging and eventually killing enemies on contact. Dragon rider Kayus is armed with a forward-firing crossbow but unlike his steed, is not invulnerable and will be killed by contact with either enemies or their projectiles.

What separates Dragon Breed from other games in the genre is in how the Dragon can be utilised. Bahamoot's body is flexible and responds to Kayus' movement, enabling Kayus to use Bahamoot as both a mobile shield and a whip-like weapon. It's also possible to encircle the tail around a group of enemies to kill them. The tail of the yellow or blue dragon can be coiled around the dragon's rider to offer almost complete invulnerability for a limited time.

Bahamoot can also spit fireballs. By holding the fire button down, the dragon will build up fire in its mouth; the longer the button is held down, the more powerful the fireball will be. There are four levels of fireball power and at its strongest, the fireball resembles a dragon's head.

Power-ups appear in the form of orbs, acquired by shooting small green dragons that appear intermittently throughout stages. There are four different types of orbs, each of will change Bahamoot to a different colour and grant him a new attack power:
* Red orb enables the dragon to breathe a flame.
* Gold orb enables Bahamoot's body to fire crescents in all directions.
* Silver orb enables the dragon to produce up to four miniature dragons, which home in on enemies.
* Blue orb enables Bahamoot to fire bolts of electricity downwards from its underside.

The player can enhance a specific power by picking up the same type of orb, this can be done up to three times.

Dragon Breed also includes platforming elements. At certain points during a stage horizontal platforms appear, these often have power-ups on them and the dragon rider can dismount and run along the platforms while the dragon waits above.