Dragon Force
Reviewed by Jeremy Peeples
Dragon Force is a strategy/RPG created by Working Designs.
It was released in late 1996 to much fan-fare among hardcore
gamers. This game was unique for many reasons; among them
the ability to play out 7 storylines and the game's ability
to have over 200 characters (200 soldiers and 2 leaders)
on-screen at once.
Graphics-8/10- They may appear to be 16-bit quality graphics
on the surface, but look deeper and you'll find many great
graphical effects. The anime-style cutscenes looked great,
as did the spells. Oh yeah as for the 200 characters on-screen
feature, the soldiers can be a variety of things, from archers
to dragons, it doesn't matter, 200 of them can fit on-screen
with no slowdown at all, truly amazing. The battle leaders look
good as do the soldiers, they don't have too much detail, but
they look great all things considered. The intro movies are
well-done, especially the anime one, the CG one is decent, but
a little grainy. Overall, excellent, they're great where they
need to be and that's what counts.
Sound-10/10- The music is excellent, every song is memorable
and fits the situation. The sound effects are good too, the
death cries are well-done as are the sword slashes. Words
can't really convey how great the music is.
Gameplay-10/10- Limitless, you get the option to control 7
monarchs on their quest, along the way you'll gain castles,
generals and many soldiers. The battles are well-executed,
you can choose your battle plan; whether it's offensive or
defensive, it can be done.
Control-10/10- Excellent, it's an RPG, so it really doesn't
matter. The controls are responsive. The game is mostly
menu-based so you'll find yourself using the D-Pad a lot.
Story-9/10- The game gives you 7 strotylines to play out,
all of them and great and they link together. The basic
storyline revolves around trying to restore Legendra to its
former glory after it was attacked and taken over. You have
to play it to really get a feel for how good the stories are.
Presentation-9/10- Everything fits into the setting and
looks like it belongs. The menus are very user-friendly and
easy to navigate through.
Replay Value-10/10- There's so much to do in this game it's
scary. You can stick to one monarch and stay there or you
can spread your wings and try them all out, they all have
distinct personalities that help draw you into the game. You
have to be very careful when you save the game, you can only
play a saved game once; this means that if you save it, play
for an hour on the save, but don't save again, you'll have
to start over from the beginning, be very careful and save often.
Overall-10/10- The best strategy/RPG ever. Everything in
this game is well-done, from the graphics to the music and
control come together to make a gaming experience, you?ll
never forget.
Buy or Rent?-Buy- If you can find it, buy it, you will not
regret it. Shop around though, Funcoland charges about $40
for it, don't worry about the price though, it's worth every cent.
OR
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