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Sacred Reviews: Dragon Fantasy - The Remake

Introduction

"Dragon Fantasy: The Remake" was developed by Ephiam using RPG Tsukuru 2000 in a bid to capture the old school look and feel of the early Dragon Fantasy games. And while I'd like to claim this game knocks it out of the park when it comes to this aspect. I'm forced to admit that really didn't get into RPGs until the PS2 era gaming. As such, I'm really not familiar with old school NES and SNES titles, but based on my experiences with similar RPG Maker projects I'm going to assume this one really nails that old school appeal.

Story

On the story side of things the game seems to hit all of the usual cliches you'd expect from a game like this. After all, what sort of old school game doesn't include magic rocks and an ancient evil once more being unleashed on the world?

As you can imagine this means the game's story is highly familiar and predictable for those in the know, but considering the game is like this by design. I really can't hold it against the game. After all, this is a homage to old school gaming and should include all of the usual cliches we've come to expect from those games.

Gameplay

On the gameplay side of things the game features your usual turn-based battles where the player makes all of their decisions in a row, but the order in which characters act within a round of combat is dictated by their speed stat. As a result, you sometimes need to cast heal spells a bit earlier than you'd expect. Though, I imagine the biggest annoyance with combat in this game is how quickly the difficulty can jump between areas. As a result, it's possible for the player to be utterly dominating enemies in one area only to end up over the $%#@ barrel upon entering new one. As such, I usually suggest getting into fights with a couple of enemies near the start of the area before moving in deeper. After all, it's a lot easier to run away from an area in this game with under leveled party if you don't have to worry about being jumped multiple times on your way to the exit. After all, this game doesn't include any warp wires or escape ropes. So if you get into trouble a decent distance away from the exit you'll probably be royally screwed.

Graphics & Music

While, I'll admit I can't be a hundred percent certain about this. I'm going to assume the game uses a lot of sprites and music from the early Dragon Fantasy games. After all, it's pretty common for people on this site to use sprites and music that were ripped from NES & SNES titles.

Conclusion

"Dragon Fantasy: The Remake" is an enjoyable game if your looking for that old school "Dragon Fantasy" experience. On the other hand, if your looking for something a bit more modern then I'd suggest giving this one pass. After all, this one is meant to appeal to those with a love for the classics.