➤ The journey of the Arisen 🎮

A day like many others at Capcom. Who to call for a new fantasy RPG that rivals Western cornerstones? Let's take Hyroiuki Kobayashi, historical producer of series like Resident Evil and Dino Crisis, let's put Kento Inoshita next to him, a name inextricably linked to Monster Hunter, and let Hideaki Itsuno (Devil May Cry) direct everything. Let's add a team of one hundred and fifty people and three years of hard work, what do we get? The biggest challenge of the Japanese house since its inception.

Dragon's Dogma is the son of many things, of the success enjoyed by Bethesda probably, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is the declaration of intent of the whole of Japan, of the desire to renew itself and get out of the suffocating schemes of the oriental role-playing game, and to do this a new identity is needed. Who better than the Osaka house, so lucky in getting new intellectual properties, can win this bet? We finally managed to play the definitive code, available in a few days in all stores, let's find out if they succeeded.

Le ali della libertà

Every self-respecting great fairy tale has a beginning, and this beginning usually has very small dimensions, like the beloved Cassardis, the village where we begin our adventure. The placid monotony of the days is disturbed by the arrival of a terrible red dragon, who, not content with scaring the villagers to death, thinks well to take away our precious heart too. A bad story? It depends on your point of view. Still amazed to find ourselves alive despite the deprivation, we discover that we are chosen with a special bond with the legendary creature, but with details that we will discover only through a long journey in the lands of Gransys, the game world. Having assumed the new identity of Arisen, we leave the doors of our home for the first time, but if the future and destination are uncertain, our company is not.

An Arisen is not an Arisen without his main pawn, or pawn, faithful servant ready to follow him and protect him in any situation and better still, we decide his appearance and character ourselves through a complete editor. What follows is a series of functional missions to learn the dynamics of the game, which result in a few inevitably linear hours. Once you arrive in Gran Soren, the main city in the world, however, things change and it is at this point that the true soul of Dragon's Dogma it reveals itself to the player, churning out an open world of considerable size, completely explorable and without particular limits. The impact refers to Bethesda and its The Elder Scrolls, there is no doubt, with a scenario particularly close to Oblivion. We then see beautiful clearings, green and lush forests and poignant cliffs overlooking the ocean. If we were to imagine a temperature for the world of Gransys we would certainly be very far from the harsh climate of a Skyrim, so much so as to tempt us to immediately dive into the sea, an irresistible urge on the part of the writer when engaging in this kind of titles, do not ask yourself the because. And here comes one of the bad news, there is no interaction with the liquid except in an extremely moderate way, under pain of being magically teleported to shore after being attacked by some mysterious force. Too bad, but there are so many other things to love in Capcom's latest effort.

Never alone again

It is impossible to continue in the review without talking in depth about the pawns, one of the peculiar characteristics of this production and an ideal point of connection with the Monster Hunter saga. In addition to the main pawn, Arisen can recruit two more to make up a four-piece party. The choice is far more than vast, in addition to the myriad of characters recoverable in the game world (behind money), through the use of a special stone we enter a persistent online dimension, used as a real market for pawns to be shared with the players. other users. That's not all, the spectrum of possibilities expands further as anyone can borrow our token to upgrade it or equip it with exclusive items, or buy it for all purposes.

The process is facilitated by an impressive search engine, which allows you to choose class, gender and skill level (in case be prepared to shell out considerable sums). The validity of this idea is noticeable only after several hours spent in the world of Gransys: in contrast with the oriental role-playing school, where a natural empathy with the characters is developed, Dragon's Dogma contrasts a frenetic exchange of elements in the party, linked to situations and needs. As a general rule it is necessary to compose a versatile group, made up of different classes. Each has a specific offensive behavior that the player must make the most of if he is to have the hope of coming out unscathed from the numerous fights. The warriors obviously prefer sidearms and throw themselves headlong into the fight, while the wizards keep their distance using healing or elemental magic. Even in the management of the classes, the RPG Capcom is characterized by a dizzying eclecticism: by spending the experience points we can even change them at will among the nine available, including mixed classes, really interesting, able to offer an excellent balance. The system of changing the pieces certainly has side effects on the emotional involvement of the player, thanks to the bland general design and a little more than pretext story, even if the numerous textual dialogues of the characters are made in a truly commendable way, so much to remember in various occasions a real MMORPG.

Xbox 360 achievements

Dragon's Dogma features the classic 1000 player points, divided into 50 objectives. Half of these are related to the main story, while it is possible to acquire the rest by carrying out various tasks, from finding all the locations on the map to the typically Japanese follies, such as dressing a male character in women's clothes, in order to obtain the prestigious objective A Queen's Regalia!

Walking is good for you

Dragon's Dogma relies heavily on the combat system, so much so as to resize the role-playing elements, present but never invasive. Despite the clear inspiration, any comparison with the Bethesda productions is absolutely out of place, as the insights into the perks gained in the many editions of the Elder Scrolls and Fallout are completely absent. In the Capcom title we limit ourselves to associating special moves that can be purchased in stores to the keys of the pad, making everything similar to a gigantic and elaborate hack and slash. However, it is precisely on this occasion that we can admire the work done by Japanese programmers. Taking advantage of the proprietary MT Framework graphics engine, particularly suitable for managing remarkable physics, the title offers an often surprising sense of corporeality, thanks to the splendidly created animations (we forgive some typically Japanese licenses), with the result of offering fights that are not only satisfying to see, but just as engaging to play. Enemies can be lifted, blocked to offer their bodies to companions, and even climbed onto larger ones, such as giants or hydras, to find their weak spot.

The downside is a sense of chaos that is sometimes annoying, given that the myriad of opponents often receive hits from unknown directions, which can be mitigated by acquiring special moves, but the fact remains that those who choose a class without a shield must be very careful not to expose yourself excessively. This ends up exacerbating what turns out to be more of a feature, before a defect. The world of Gransys is anything but hospitable despite appearances, with dangers hidden around every corner. We have already mentioned in our preview the danger of nights, characterized by limited visibility that forces the use of the lantern, to be recharged with the appropriate oil, as well as the absence strongly desired by Itsuno of fast travel. The latter can be solved by purchasing or collecting rare and limited items in the game, such as special stones, but this does not detract from the need of the developers to give a decisive cut to the production. The result is that in Dragon's Dogma you die a lot, sometimes without understanding why, often for simple villainy in exploring without too many precautions, but on the other hand this was the precise will of the producer: to emphasize the adventure and the dynamics of action RPG to the maximum.

In short, you have understood the antiphon: save often. Unfortunately, the graphics engine is not free from defects, slowdowns and tearing are frequent, so much so that we are forced to lower the resolution of the dashboard to 720p to decrease its intensity. On the other hand, nothing can be done to eliminate the black bands that significantly reduce the visual area and probably testify to a work that is not without difficulty, see also the often cumbersome menus and coarse graphical interface. The main mode is very long, well over thirty hours, with secondary missions that mix with the main quest seamlessly, scenarios that alternate the world map with the inevitable dungeons and spectacular as well as endless boss fights, including a griffin and a giant hydra. Once everything is finished, there is always the additional co-op mode called Ur-Dragon, which unfortunately we have not been able to test due to the servers not yet working. In the margin, a note on the audio which is presented in English with Spanish subtitles.

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Version tested: Xbox 360 Resources4Gaming.com

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Dragon's Dogma it represents an impressive effort on the part of Capcom to offer not only a production capable of rivaling the western market, but above all to break the chains with the past. The result is an action RPG heavily focused on combat and a sense of adventure in a gigantic and freely explorable map (if we exclude the water). A product for many but not for all, with a distinct personality and requiring dedication from the player. The flaws are not lacking, but the foundations to create something great are all there; in the meantime, this new beginning deserves to be absolutely rewarded.