Dragon View

Developer: Kemco     Publisher: Kemco     Released: 1994     Genre: Action RPG

I’m sure Drakkhen was the first RPG many played on the SNES. Unfortunately as ambitious as it was it was not a good game. I will give the developers credit; heavily PC focused games like that generally did not usually come to consoles. But the interface and mechanics meant the game would fight you at every turn. I played through it but did not really enjoy it. Dragon View is the sequel that no one asked for but is worth playing nonetheless. It fixes most of the flaws of the original by switching genre and is a much better title. The game is tedious at times but a solid romp overall.

It is hard to believe that Dragon View is a sequel to Drakkhen as it shares very little common with that game. Outside of the dragon gods and the first person overworld there is little to associate the two games. In fact it might as well have been a new intellectual property. As an action RPG Dragon View has a unique structure that keeps the pace quick outside of its late game backtracking. It is not up there with the likes of Soul Blazer or Secret of Mana but is still entertaining nonetheless.

The story in Dragon View is not original but its method is. The game uses a first person narrative in dialogue which is odd but certainly unique. I will admit that I’m not sure how I feel about it. It is not bad per se but can leave you disconnected from its events. The dialogue is also very verbose and melodramatic at times. Very few if any games used that style at the time so I will give it points for that.

The more things change the more they stay the same. Exploration on the overworld is still in first person. The 3d world looks much better than its predecessor and the framerate is higher making travel faster. It is still slow when turning but remains a massive improvement. Another change is an onscreen compass that reduces the need to look at the map just to know what direction you are facing. It makes navigation significantly easier although it isn’t perfect. Random battles still exist but rather than facing enemies on the map they are represented as clouds. Touching it will take you to a small battleground in the first of many departures.

In Dragon View you control a single character. When fighting enemies it is done in a belt scroll fashion like a beat em up. You can move around freely to attack and use magic and items like an action RPG which is a god send. The auto combat in Drakkhen was its weakest element and left you disconnected from the action with little input. Now combat is snappy as you face up to four enemies at once. You get multiple weapons in addition to your sword like the Hauza and Bow that also have special techniques. There is also some light magic to spice things up.  It does get repetitive after a while so do most RPGs in general.

New to the game are towns where you learn information and buy items in shops. This uses the same side scrolling view as combat. In many ways Dragon View is like Zelda 2 but not as obtuse. The game does a good job of guiding you and providing maps of the many regions you will visit. Even with the compass navigating the world map can still be a pain in the ass. There are a ton of secrets hidden throughout the world, many that don’t become available until close to the end. But pray to god you don’t overshoot and have to backtrack if you don’t have a map of the current area. I appreciate the additions made to the overworld but still feel the game would have been better off with something else.

Dungeons are massive and full of combat. Since this is mostly an action game now the puzzles have been dialed back sadly. If there was one thing Drakkhen got right it was its puzzles and atmosphere. The point and click adventure elements in castles and caves made those parts of the game compelling. The most you have to contend with in Dragon View are one way doors and trap floors that force you to retrace your steps. The dungeons span multiple floors and unfortunately you do not have maps. At the very least the at times aimless wandering helps you build levels quickly and become overpowered for the length of the game.

I know it sounds strange but I miss the atmosphere from Drakkhen. The graphics as a whole are better but missing the minutiae that helped Drakkhen stand out. The day night/cycle and the changes it brought are gone. The world is split into various distinct regions but they don’t have the variety of creatures of its predecessor. Mind you Drakkhen got pretty weird at times with its enemies. But I’ll take that over fighting the same scorpions and bugs for hours on end.

In Conclusion

In spite of its flaws Dragon View is a solid game overall. Don’t let Drakkhen deter you from playing this unique action RPG that has enough content to last for days or weeks.