• Add Review
  • Subscribe
  • Nominate
  • Submit Media
  • RSS

A Brief Introduction...

Road to Paradise: The Dragon is a traditional VX Ace RPG. In terms of mechanics, it doesn’t bring that much new to the table, but what’s there is worthwhile and decently solid. Although this is a complete episode, it feels more like a demo or the first chapter of a proper game.

Let’s Talk About Graphics!

For the most part, the game uses default RTP sprites. You’ll recognize the style in the mapping and character sets. There are some custom graphics being used, in particular for the invading humans who more closely resemble an older style of RTP. There are a few sources listed in the credits for where everything came from, but for the most part, it’s about what one might expect from VX Ace.

Let’s Talk About Audio!

It seems there are multiple sources for this as well. The ‘main’ soundtrack is by maoudamashii, along with a mix of RTP, other artists, and some borrowed music as well. I’m not too familiar with any of it, but nothing I heard felt out of place, so I was fine with it all. As for SFX, they’re mostly RTP with additional credit to maoudamashii as well. Sound-wise, everything is functional, but not much to write home about.

Let’s Talk About Story!

As before, this is the first episode of the series and feels more like a demo or a prologue. There really isn’t that much to it, since it’s mostly setting up for the game’s premise. You play as Izuno, a wyrmling serving under the Time Dragon. He is tasked with investigating something going on in a nearby tower, and joined by a few companions to see it through: a chronomancer named Teos, a warrior princess named Kara, and a death priestess named Lydia. Dialogue is well-written and characterization is decent, though I feel like I only have a basic grasp of what each character is like.

There are a handful of story scenes introducing the cast and showing how they interact with each other, but apart from that, the plot doesn’t go too far. You’re locked out of most places on your way to the tower (by means of text saying ‘you have no business here’), and you’re unable to leave once you get there. The episode ends after you clear the dungeon, so that’s mostly why it feels so insubstantial. Without spoiling too much, they encounter a group of humans from a modern Earth who rely on technology while you work with magic. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen such a clash of realities; The Longest Journey series comes to mind. It seems the rest of the game would be concerned with the further implications of this connection between worlds.

Although not much is seen in terms of plot development, there has been some effort put into the background of the setting. There are a few books in the library that detail various factions and the relationship to their dragon rulers. It’s good to know the groundwork is laid, but there’s so little of it you can see for yourself that it doesn’t amount to much on its own. Basically, it has the setup for an involved plot, but the substance just isn’t there yet.

Let’s Talk About Gameplay!

It’s traditional RPG stuff; explore maps, find treasure, fight monsters, etc. Overworld travel is easy enough. I didn’t run into any navigation issues that weren’t my own fault. You have to hold a button to run, so that kinda sucks, but at least there are times where it’s in your best interest to walk. The tower features holes you can use to drop between floors, some of which are much deeper than others. You need to pick and choose when/where to fall, and one wrong move could result in the party taking a lot of damage. I enjoyed the design of the dungeon, as it feels confusing at first, but makes more sense as you explore and get a feel for it. The pathway up is ultimately linear, but there are side paths that go between floors, from which you can see other rooms you haven’t explored yet. You need to stay aware of your position and how you’re exploring in order to see it all.

Combat is somewhat difficult. Most enemies can inflict status problems of some kind on you, and there’s enough variety in enemy types that you can’t rely on the same tactics for all of them. Trying to mash through will probably just get you killed more easily. It’s hard to tell how best to approach battles since the number of different foes is troublesome to keep track of, and you have a lot of options at your disposal (most of which are fairly circumstantial). Keeping up with healing was something I struggled with, mostly because healing skills have restrictions and some enemies can really dish out damage. One noteworthy battle mechanic is that Izuno can swap between two forms: human and dragon. His abilities change depending on what form you’re in, and furthermore, you get to choose the kind of dragon he is at the game’s start. I went with fire because I’m a basic b!+ch, but there are a few options to choose from. However, it seems a bug in this menu can cause the dragon’s portrait to stay on-screen forever, so you’ll have to restart if that happens. At least it’s right at the beginning, so it’s not much loss if it occurs.

Since you can’t leave the tower (for reasons that don’t quite make sense), there’s a healing crystal at the entrance which you can make infinite use of. I understand that this was necessary to prevent the player from running out of options if they were stuck inside and used up all their resources, but I don’t really get why they had to be locked in to begin with. The dungeon uses touch encounters that stand still at first and pursue when they notice you. Typically, that means they start to chase if walk into their field of view. This can let you sneak around things you don’t want to fight, but it can be hard to tell where certain enemies are facing if their sprites don’t have any facial details. I was amused to discover I could use my party’s caterpillar to block encounters from initiating combat. In theory, you can clear out all the enemies from any given floor, but they will reappear under certain circumstances. I’m not entirely sure what causes things to come back, but I was less inclined to destroy everything I met when I saw that they didn’t stay gone for good. Outside the tower, the world map uses random encounters, but you spend so little time out there it hardly matters.

Overall, I’d say the gameplay is enjoyable, but it feels like a bit much all at once. There’s no real pacing to the skills you gain since you start out with so many. I’m not sure the party members ever learned anything new along the way. The game throws you into the thick of it and expects you to figure it out, which might be good or bad depending on what you prefer.

Let’s Wrap This Up...

At the time of writing, this series is on hiatus due to what Stormcrow described as insufficient interest. While I always want to encourage game development, I can kinda see why a game like this might not generate too much hype. It’s well-made, but unremarkable as an RPG Maker title, and doesn’t feel like it has much to help it stand out. I wouldn’t say there’s anything inherently wrong with it, just that it seems generic and could use a better sense of identity. The short length of the episode leaves it feeling like an incomplete experience, which isn’t what you want out of a completed chapter. All things considered, I would give it a...

3.5/5 “A good game that needs to do more to really shine.”


It's free if you don't count travel time.