Dragon Kingdoms: Birth of a Legend

Dragon Kingdoms Birth of a Legend is part of a long-running series of Dragon Kingdoms games by VideoWizard. Unfortunately, the series has not improved much over time.

The Graphics:

The graphics in this game stand out like no other. VideoWizard has chosen to overcome RMVX's tileset limit by drawing all the maps himself as picture backgrounds. I have to give VideoWizard some credit here, as this is a bold move and making custom stuff is always encourageable in indie game-making. But, the problem is he's still using a mix of the RMXP and VX RTP character graphics. The hero is from XP and twice as tall as everyone around him. The NPCs are from Vx and look like dwarfs by comparison. But, the biggest problem is that these RTP graphics clash 100% with VideoWizard's art style. High resolution sprites do not look good on maps that look like they were hand-drawn in MS Paint. The art isn't particularly good, but I feel that if Videowizard had chosen to make the character sprites himself instead, the consistency of the graphics would make it okay. But, as it is, it's just bad art with a huge clash between the RTP and custom work.

The Mapping:

There are some issues here that result from VidWiz's choice of style. The maps are all drawn by him, as I said before, and passability is set for them so you can't walk through buildings and stuff. Except, there are several places where you can walk through buildings/trees/etc., stuff you shouldn't be able to walk on. Furthermore, the game has no upper layer, so things that you should be able to walk behind (like a tall tree) are either totally blocked or allow you to walk on the tree where you would've been behind it. I don't know if there's a workaround for this, but maybe placing a picture event of the upper layer stuff on the center of the map might do the trick. Whatever the case may be, the maps are very vague and it can be hard to tell where you can walk, where you can't, and where the teleports are (some of which are definitely missing).

The Sound:

Standard RTP stuff. It seems like they'll never give us a new sound set for the RM* platforms. I wouldn't have a problem with this since I don't usually mind RTP anything, but some of the sound choices are a bit strange, particularly the enemy attack noise. It doesn't sound like anything a monster might do when attacking, unless it were perhaps a mage casting a spell. Most of the sounds are okay, but I think VW needs to reconsider some of them.

The Music:

The music choices aren't too bad. Most of the songs fit their settings just fine, but there was one in particular that I just couldn't let slide. It was on a map with a barn, and it was just about the most hyperactive obnoxious song I've ever heard. For a map where nothing's happening except enemies pacing slowly about, it didn't fit in the least. Like I said, though, the rest of them were fine.

The Story:

This game has no story, as far as I can tell. You start outside a house (that isn't yours) and you can't walk inside it. There's no introduction, no direction given, you just wander around town talking to guards who threaten to throw you to "the mountain kid" if you cause trouble (there is no way to cause trouble). You eventually wander out of the town and fight slimes and such. The monsters are all represented by the same sprite that appears more like a dark spirit than anything else. You eventually find your way to an ice cavern full of bees. Yes, bees. Killer bees, apparently on the rampage killing people. But, they don't leave the ice cavern, and it's unknown why they're there. You can meet a beekeeper before the cavern who agrees to help you solve the mystery, but that's as deep as the plot gets. That's also as far as I got in the game, for reasons I'm about to describe.

The Gameplay:

This game is a grind fest, nothing else. This wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but there are two major problems I have with it: the balance is terrible and the monsters all look the same on the field. You can't tell if you're about to fight the same weak bats you've been stomping since the start or the fearsome Bumblebees that will rape you upside-down (pardon my French). With fireballs, no less! Fire-breathing bees in an ice cavern. Plot reason or not...come ON. You have to fight a lot of weak bats and slimes before you can handle the red bats and red slimes, and even more of the pallet-swapped variants before you can handle the bees and their boss. The beekeeper who you bring along to calm them down makes no difference. You're either strong enough to fight the Queen Bee or you're not. The game lets you save anywhere, and there is a point of no return before the boss where the monsters are exceptionally difficult. This is where I got stuck, frustrated, and quit for good. VideoWizard needs to take a serious look at how this game is balanced, because something just ain't right!

The Characters:

...are barely worth a mention. The dialogue has no personality to it, and the most I could construe about the main character is that he's a little arrogant. I couldn't figure out anything about the 2nd party member, and all the NPCs fell into serious tropes or laid flatter than pancakes.

This game needs a lot of help. More consistent graphics, improved dialogue, rebalanced stats, the works! VideoWizard may have come a long way, but it's going to take more than a platform updgrade to save this series now.

Sorry, VW. I hope this advice can help you improve.

2/10