I was playing the arcade Dragon Spirit on MAME and made it to the Graveyard level. Damn, this is SO much harder than the NES version!

Heh heh heh. Wait until you get to the Dark Road level. Instead of flickering on and off like the NES version, it's constantly dark, and the only way to see is by picking up "light" powerups.

I kind of like the NES game's play control more. The arcade feels a little sluggish, especially when backing up (unless it's just the emulation.)

It's probably not the emulation. It's like that on Namco Museum 5, too. However, in Namco 5, there is a way to change the control settings so that the dragon backs up at the same speed that he moves in the other directions.
I Crawl and 1000
My site - Flying Omelette's Kitchen
My ezboard - Port Saiid Forums
MIDI of the Month - Karnov's Theme
"I'll keep searching for freedom
In love's forsaken kingdom
There's no way out" - Kingdom
"You may've stepped in it kid, but you came out smellin like a rose." - Rattrap
"All part of being perfect!" - Cheetor