One of the highpoints of this game is its graphics. Atlus is normally has superb anime styled graphics for its games, and they don’t disappoint with Draglade. The sprites are detailed and colorful, fitting in with the lighter tone of the game. You’ve got the option to change the color scheme for the four main characters into about 8 different forms. It’s a nice little addition that isn’t needed exactly; they could have done more with the story, or added more monsters in place of it. Regardless, it’s nice to be able to change your characters colors from a jarringly bright red, to something more manageable.
The sprites animations are also fluid and have little to no slowdown at all. I rarely saw any lag when playing, except when there happened to be several large explosions, or when I pulled off a exceptionally large combo. Even then, the slowdown was minor and didn’t really hinder the game play at all. Even with the ability to change the colors on your main characters, the animations were smooth and had no problems.
Monster sprites are interesting, what few there are anyway. While they’re as good as the character artwork, they're not as varied, with only a limited handful of different monster types to fight against. The rest are rehashed sprites with different colors, following the same styles that you can choose for your character in the beginning. The darker ones are usually tougher, following the ‘dark vs light’ theme. More models would've been nice, as fighting the same types of monsters over and over again gets really boring fast. It just seems as if the developers got lazy with the game, and stopped creating new models midway through development. It would have really added more to the game.
The non-sprite artwork is also superb. The backgrounds and other stationary screens are fantastic. Filled with detail and as colorful as the rest of the game, they compliment each area well. Even if areas are linear and unimaginative, the art style makes them look good. I’d imagine the graphics work to have been done by some major anime artist, as they’re quality enough to work as images for a TV show or movie.
The story is trite and short, a weak attempt at creating a fighting game. Dimps decided to go with the classic anime archetypes, split between four characters with individual stories. The story bleeds poor writing, and follows a sporadic and limited storyline with cookie-cutter characters. You’ve got the fiery justice driven youth, the pirate king's rebellious son, the nature loving oaf with an overly cute animal friend, and the overly confident master in need of some humbling. Each story intertwines a bit, having the main characters fight one another in a tournament, or fighting some supporting characters that are main characters in the other stories. There really isn’t any semblance of continuity between each though, and they could have done just as well with one, extended story.
The main game for one character alone took a measly two hours to complete, which is way too short for a game like this. Atlus usually publishes JRPGS like Odin Sphere, so I expected this game to be a decent length as well, but unfortunately the game is excruciatingly short. There's also little to no replay value in the game. You’re able to unlock different characters to fight other people with, but good luck finding someone else with this game. Also, there is little to no DS-specific support in this game (such as microphone use), which is another thing that could have been added value to it.
Bottom Line:
In the end, Draglade is a decent game for fighter and anime fans alike. It’s got all the elements of a kiddy anime show, with some fun and excellent combat, and is enjoyable if you’re willing to sit through the poor story. While Draglade has some problems, mainly the game's gimmicky beat combos, it still ends up as a decent game thanks largely to the combat and artwork.
| Pros: | Cons: | Final Score: |
|---|---|---|
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| 7.0 |
Posted: 2008-01-25 19:53:27 PST