Drakkhen

Developer: Infogrames     Publisher: Kemco/Seika     Released: 1991     Genre: RPG

It was an unwritten law that RPGs were usually the last genre to release for a new platform. By their very nature role playing games take longer to develop and even then the first ones for any new system are usually terrible. Drakkhen isn’t quite that but is certainly a unique take on the genre. This incredibly PC game was an odd choice to port to the SNES. While I can certainly appreciate the diversity Drakkhen adds to the SNES library it isn’t a game that I can actually recommend.

Drakkhen is very light on plot. Most of what you need to know is explained briefly at the start. The world was divided in two between man and dragons to keep everyone safe. Somehow dragons have found a way to cross the streams, putting the world at risk. Four lone adventurers are tasked with finding a way to stop this from happening.

Before you begin your journey you’ll have to create your team. Character creation is only an illusion however. There are only four classes and you have to create one of each. The only factor you control is their gender and where you’ll allocate stat points before you begin. It’s disappointing, especially when other PC ports such as Might and Magic 2 feature more robust options in comparison. It would have been cool to be able to create a party composed of whatever classes you like as in the original Final Fantasy but no dice.

Drakkhen’s gameplay is a mix of various styles, many of them obtuse or unintuitive. The first you’ll have to come to grips with is the overworld map. Exploration takes place in the first person over a flat polygonal map. While it is flat there are numerous landmarks and other objects such as trees, bodies of water, monuments and graves. Just as a FYI, never touch a grave. For its time the overworld was impressive if slow. But navigation is a complete mess. There is no on screen compass, forcing you to check the world map constantly to make sure you are moving in the right direction. It is easy to become disoriented and end up in the wrong side of the map. On top of that movement is agonizingly slow. It’s frustrating but at least manageable which is more than I can say for the battle system.

There is no sugar coating it, the battle system is awful. When fights occur your party will appear and auto attack. You can issue simple commands and take direct control of any member but for the most part battles are on auto pilot. It isn’t the least bit satisfying and you still have to pay attention due to a number of factors. Your weapons and armor can and will break, leaving you exposed. Your party members can be instantly killed at any time. This happens constantly as there is no rhyme or reason as to where and what enemies appear. Enemies strong enough for the end game can appear in the opening moments. Even the god damn constellations come to life for a piece of the action. The only saving grace is that battles aren’t frequent but for such an important part of the game they should have been better.

You’ll spend the majority of your time exploring the various Dragon castles and this is where Drakkhen shines. You explore and interact using a point and click style interface, that, while not the most intuitive, works. Each castle has NPCs, puzzles, and even hidden rooms and items to find.  In fact exploiting this can save a lot of trouble. All items inside castles respawn after you leave, allowing you to steal full sets of armor for free if you are willing. These parts aren’t without their frustrations but for the most part manage to be compelling. But not enough to overcome the game’s various flaws.

On some level I like Drakkhen. While exploring the castles it is incredibly atmospheric, with great music and an air of mystery about. But every time you start to enjoy yourself some janky aspect of the game ruins your fun. The game is incredibly obtuse, and while it offers some general direction how you get there is up to you. Most puzzles are simple but some can be nasty. The pacing is also bad. There is a set order you must explore the world and there is frequent backtracking. Unfortunately this is incredibly tedious and should have been cut short. On their own these flaws are bad but together they add up. To get the most out of Drakkhen you’ll have to accept a lot of bad design decisions.

Whether you can do that is subjective. Drakkhen is more interesting than most SNES rpgs. But interesting doesn’t mean good. There is a lot to like but ultimately you should spend your time elsewhere.