Dragon Fantasy: Venaitura

Graphics - I could swear the graphic for that one boss was doing someth....nevermind...

I really like the use of older graphics in the games I play, even if the game isn't meant to be played with that retro feel. I suppose if you've been following the series you kind of know what to expect. Things look like they used to, but that is kind of the idea. So in that case, they look great. There are no real issues here besides the fact that after awhile, moving back and forth through the dungeons might make your eyes hurt a bit. They kind of suffer from that old problem with a scrolling blur effect.

Sound - Where have I heard this before..?

The use of sounds should be familiar to most people, and suit the game rather well. The choices in music were pretty spot on also. This isn't going to be very long since well...I didn't really figure much was going to come from the sound section. I was wrong though with the music. I felt it added quite a bit, since some catchy tunes were chosen that made me actually want to progress forward.

Story - Hey you're evil....DIE!

The story is pretty generic in theme overall, but a few twists here and there made things not seem completely outdated. One particular scene of the past was really well done. Still at the end of the day it came down to good versus evil. I can't really fault it, but it wasn't particularly amazing in any aspect. Also you are just kind of thrown in there, and that might be a bit confusing for some.

Gameplay - I guess I don't have to kill every monster in sight...

This game puts into use a system with Blunt / Slash / Pierce weapons which you use to fight your enemies. Certain enemies are strong against Blunt, slash, or pierce attacks, so the game wants you to keep a balance between who is using what, and it's never much of an issue, but it ultimately feels like something you decide in the first part of the game, and very rarely change. The same aspect of weaknesses goes towards your armor. Your characters can equip a Shield which protects against various types of elements, Helmets to boost a certain character statistic, Armor to protect a certain type of physical attack, and a Necklace to protect against a certain status ailment. These felt far more important overall, and I found myself switching them often for certain characters.

So you find yourself thrust into a dungeon, and what do you do? Well, you kick some monster butt. Monsters drop gold, and some loot items which can be sold for gold, but never experience. So how do you level up? Well....you don't. All skills and attributes are bought from a store, and then applied to whichever character you feel needs that statistic/skill. This is a double edged sword though. Do you want to make a completely balanced party? Go ahead. Unfortunately you can also make a one man killing machine(Pimp my Aaron) who will likely break the game in half. This is a choice the player has to make, and I get the feeling most people will realize a bit into it that one character can probably handle just about anything.

The dungeon design is exactly what I expected going into this. It looks like a classic dungeon setup with hallways all over, and poison on the ground in places. You will find monsters crawling absolutely everywhere on most floors, however there are no random battles, which is pretty nice. Sometimes you'll be treated to a puzzle type floor, which while easy in general are a nice way to add some variety. Every so often you will find yourself on a shop floor where you can take a break, and prepare for the boss ahead. The layout became predictable regarding what was coming up, but it wasn't an annoyance in any particular way.

Overall - I bet you're expecting something here...wait...NO!

If you're looking for an adventure that isn't particularly lengthy, and won't have you going through mounds of items and so forth. This is a pretty good choice of a game to play. However, if you're looking for some huge 30 hour adventure with 50 sidequests, well, this isn't the game for you....it's for people like me.