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Developer: Marvelous
Publisher: Ubisoft
Genre: RPG
Region: NTSC
Format:
Release Date: 27 Sep 05
User Rating
8 (8 votes)- Preview
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- This RPG exudes some of the series' old school charm, but its dated combat and uninspired visuals fails to impress modern gamers.
Overview
After almost a year of existence, the Nintendo DS has really shown that it is a platform that can span many different genres, except the RPG genre. For whatever reason the DS has not been receiving any love from this genre. In turn, there have been many who have been looking forward Ubisoft’s Lunar: Dragon Song, which comes from the long line of old classic RPG’s last spotted on the Sega CD. So can Lunar: Dragon Song impress old school and new school RPG fans alike? Read our full review to find out!
Gameplay
As every RPG enthusiast would know, RPG’s cannot really be RPG’s without having a storyline to really drive the game. In Lunar: Dragon Song, you play as the young Jian Campbell, who never can keep himself out of trouble. Of course Jian isn’t without a lover, who is Lucia Collins who you will be frequently involved with throughout the game. The whole storyline of the game is rather vague and has you being placed into the middle of this battle between the humans and beastman, and from there you are thrown into the game.
To say the least Lunar: Dragon Song, is a very standard RPG that doesn’t throw all that much new out to you. The gameplay itself is rather linear, and has you go on mission after mission with the ability to go on side missions throughout as well. But for the most part you will stick to a pretty set pattern that doesn’t give you a whole lot of options to choose from. One of the things the developers of Lunar: Dragon Song did attempt and do was to change the combat system, which has two different ways to about it. There is the normal mode, which is just a normal play that just allows you to get the normal items. Then there is the virtue mode, which means you have to defeat all of the bad guys in a certain amount of time and then you are rewarded for it. The idea is strong but the execution is just so-so, as this really does not change the whole feel of the gameplay.
The reason this didn’t feel all that fresh was because the actual combat seems like something from ten years ago. The game tries to use the dual screen for making the top screen useful during battle, as the top screen is for aerial attacks, where the bottom screen is for the ground attacks. The whole combat system has been done before and in most cases better. It is easy to pick up and play and you will have plenty of leveling up to do but for the most part the game just feels bland.
Lunar: Dragon Song stays at a constant pace throughout. The game doesn’t really use much of the DS’s functionality either, which makes it even more like a normal RPG. The game’s story doesn’t really do anything to draw you in, and so in the end you are left with a rather average experience. Although this may be one of the better RPG’s on the DS, it is still nothing overly impressive.
Graphics
The visuals of Lunar Dragon Song are also along the very typical line of RPG’s, as this game really hasn’t gone away from the old school RPG’s look. Lunar: Dragon Song is a title that does well with character models, as they seem to have a good sense of detail. However, the environments are so bland that it is hard to really be impressed by anything this game has to offer. The visuals are really more non-existent then anything in this game, as they really don’t have a huge role in how the game plays, which is a shame.
Fun Factor
The thing about Lunar: Dragon Song is that it has a lot of potential, mainly because it comes from a pretty successful series, and it is on a platform that desperately needs an RPG. With that being said, the developers did not capitalize on this, as the game still does not have enough new or interesting features to really separate it from other RPG’s on the market. The game has a good story, but it doesn’t take full advantage of it. The gameplay has some new ideas as well, but they just don’t turn out to do much for the game.
Overall
It may seem like I really hated this game. In all truth the game itself was quite decent, but it was very disappointing as I have thoroughly enjoyed the series in the past. Unless you are really desperate and need an RPG for your Nintendo DS, you can probably do without this game. But if all else fails, you can always use this game as a rental as it isn’t a bad rental choice.
- Gameplay
6.0 - Graphics
6.0 - Fun Factor
6.0 - Overall
6.0
