Dragon Fantasy

Dragon Fantasy is a retro-style role-playing game developed by The Muteki Corporation.^[1] It was originally developed for iOS, where it launched on August 23, 2011, and was subsequently released for Mac, Windows, and Android phones.^[2] On April 9, 2012, Sony Computer Entertainment of America announced on their blog that a greatly enhanced "16-bit" version of the game would be launching on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita.^[3] The game was originally created as an homage to series designer Adam Rippon's late father, sculptor and professor Thomas Rippon, who died in December 2010.^[4]

Dragon Fantasy features classic JRPG gameplay, including random battles, lengthy treasure-filled dungeons, and a story about a lone hero saving the world. The game features numerous homages to other games in the genre, most notably Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, but also Lufia and EarthBound, amongst others.^[5]

With the release of Dragon Fantasy Book I and Dragon Fantasy Book II on PlayStation Network, an enhanced mode with updated 16-bit styled graphics and orchestrated audio was added. This enhanced mode may be turned on or off at any time to allow the player to experience the game as either a Nintendo Entertainment System-style or Super Nintendo Entertainment System-style game. The compiled Volumes of Westeria that is available for Nintendo 3DS as of mid-2015, via digital download on the Nintendo eShop, includes this feature as well.

Plot

Dragon Fantasy Book I features three separate canonical chapters, plus one intermission chapter based on Minecraft.^[6]

Chapter One, simply titled "Dragon Fantasy", centers around the character Ogden, who is based on the series creator's father, and focuses on the idea of a washed-up former hero getting back into the business of world-saving. It also sets up many of the characters and themes for the rest of the game.

Chapter Two, "The Heir Unapparent", tells the parallel story of Prince Anders, brother of Prince Marlon, who was kidnapped at the beginning of Chapter One. During his travels, Anders discovers an important artifact that becomes central to the story in later chapters, particularly in the sequel, Dragon Fantasy Book II.

Chapter Three, "Operation Desert Plunder", introduces new characters Jerald and Ramona, a thief and his niece trying to escape the eastern desert empire of Sandheim. They rob a ship that the heroes from the first two chapters are traveling in, and find the artifact found in Chapter Two, to their great peril.

Finally, Intermission M features a non-canon side-story about the heroes traveling to a Minecraft server and retrieving Notch's magic Swedish hat from an Enderdragon in order to return to the real world. It was created in honor of the game's first appearance at a convention during Minecon in 2011.

Reception

In addition, RPGamer editor Michael A. Cunningham gave the game a 4 out of 5 ("Great"), saying that it "has the distinct honor of being the first iOS game I've ever felt compelled to play".^[6]

References