Once I downloaded the relatively small file (less than 2GB) I was off to go quest and relive my childhood of playing the Dungeons and Dragons arcade games and Golden Axe. And relive them I did. Dragon's Crown captures the essence of early beat em ups in a way that hasn't been done among big budget games in a decade. It is a resounding success for anyone who is expecting and wanting a truly old-school-style arcade game with modern depth, loot and character building. The question as to weather or not it's a fun game though, is much more complex.
The most immediately striking thing about Dragon's Crown are the graphics. Put simply, they are stunning. There are no polygons here and everything is hand drawn and two dimensional. Unlike most 2D games these days, there is no low-res retro feel, the designers instead opting for gorgeous high resolution drawings in a vaguely anime style. The game looks and moves stunningly. This is what I imagined video games would look like in the future back when I was eleven.
Unfortunately, stylistically I have some complaints, namely the over-exaggerated breasts and butts of some of the female characters. The game is cartoony, so it doesn't exactly clash with the style, but the game also features relatively normal looking female characters, none of whome look out of place in the least. It's certainly not a deal breaker for me, but I'd like to be able to show this game to my girlfriend without feeling ashamed. I currently can't do that.
The game does its best to inject some variety into the age old hack n slash gameplay. Magic users have magic points which must be periodically charged; meaning that battles are a struggle between casting powerful spells and spending the two to three seconds it takes to recharge. Melee classes all have a variety of movies and can all temporarily lose their weapons. Several melee classes can even block, supplementing a dodge move that is available to all classes.
The right analog stick controls a pointer which can be used to direct an NPC thief that follows the party around. This thief provides access to any locked doors or chests, but will also loot any fallen objects which are left sitting for too long. He is both an integral part of the quest and a constant annoyance, creating an interesting dynamic. The pointer is also used to resurrect allies, find secrets and deprive enemies of their fallen weapons.
As a result, the game is pleasingly complex and players always feel like they have something to do, other than just jam on the square button repeatedly. Bosses are tough and require plenty of well timed dodges in order to exploit their attack patterns.
The game is not without weaknesses, my biggest complaint being the loot system. While nothing is fundamentally wrong with the in-game loot, the whole system feels just a couple of years too old. The menus and inventory management could use streamlining and the game doesn't constantly delight players with new and interesting weapons and armor in the same way as Diablo III or Borderlands II. Magnifying the problem is the need to identify all items, which is expensive enough that players will end up selling most of their loot without even knowing what it is.
Other minor niggles include the game locking its online portion until the players have completed a large portion of the single player quest. The game works great online, but don't expect to play it with friends until both parties have spent several hours with the game on their own. A curious choice for a game that is designed to be played primarily with other people.
The biggest fundamental problem facing Dragon's Crown, is convincing players to spend hours and hours on a genre of game that was originally designed to eat quarters in five minute intervals. The game does a masterful job at jazzing up the genre with a myriad of features, but it also steadfastly refuses to step too far out of the norm for what the genre offers. Being the deepest isometric beat-em-up ever made still doesn't guarantee that the game has enough depth for many modern gamers.
But for anyone who grew up playing and loving Final Fight, The Simpsons or X-Men, Dragon's Crown will likely delight. It pushes its old school inspiration to the technological limit without ever hinting that it's anything other than exactly what it is. It is unapologetic in its retroness while still utilizing modern game making techniques. And for anyone sure about what they're about to get into, it's a once in a decade kind of game.
