Title: Dragon's CrownFormat: PS3, PS Vita
Release Date: August 6th, 2013
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Vanillaware
Price: $49.99
ESRB Rating: T
I've finally gotten to play the hotly anticipated new title from Atlus and Vanillaware, Dragon's Crown, and it's a great beat em up title. The PS3/Vita game carries a hefty price tag, but it's definitely worth the full asking price.
Story and Presentation: Out of all the strengths the game possesses, the game's narrative isn't one of them. The story is told through static artwork and narration. The story-telling is very old school, you don't have the fancy mo-capped characters or the lifelike NPCs. It's just very reminiscent of an old timey first person RPG. The narrator does a good job, but he can get a bit dull at times. When you explore the city and venture in and out of different areas, be prepared to hear the same bit of dialog over and over again. It can get repetitive pretty quickly. You can the dialog and text off if you wish, so if you don't care about the story, you don't have to pay any attention to it. Luckily enough, the game is filled with gorgeous artwork, with over-sexualized characters. Feminists are going to have a field day with the game, but I didn't have a problem with it. The completely hand drawn characters are all animated beautifully, and it's a real marvel to watch. There aren't that many different environments you'll be exploring, but the ones you do have are lush, and richly detailed. The music in the game is great, with a ton of diverse tunes to listen to as you traverse the nine detailed areas.
Core Gameplay and Multiplayer:Dragon's Crown is an old school side scrolling beat em up. It instantly reminded me of retro titles, TMNT and Golden Axe. Those were great multiplayer titles, and Vanillaware offers a taste of nostalgia with their game. You start off by a choosing a class, and each class comes with a different difficultly level. This creates an unprecedented amount of depth in the game, and it offers up a ton of replayability. There are six unique skill trees as well, so if you want to get the full experience, you'll need to playthrough the game multiple times. The game centers around a hub town that consists of a tavern, guild, shops, and plenty more. Hydeland is a vast area, and it contains a wide array of monsters for you to do battle with. Each area contains secret rooms and hidden treasure for you to find, so even though areas might repeat a bit, there's always something new to explore. At the end of every level, you will have two bosses to fight, and they can be pretty challenging depending on what character class you chose. Combat is a blast, with a ton of combos to learn. It can be chaotic, especially when there are tons of enemies on the screen and four players fighting together. The game is fun on your own, but it really comes alive when you play with friends. When you play alone, you can recruit A.I. controlled partners to help you with quests. Outside of battle, DC features a robust inventory and loot system. You always gain new treasure after every quest, and with tons of side quests to complete, there's a ton of loot to grab. Dragon's Crown can be played online or offline with friends, which is obviously the best way to play it.
Final Thoughts: Dragon's Crown is a great game, and an even better game when you play it with three other friends. Even though the story is a little weak, the gameplay more than makes up for it. Vanillaware has crafted a gem with DC, and I can't wait for their follow-up.
S&S Rating: 8.5/10 @whatsPlay
