There are games that need little to make a mark . And coming from a company as experienced as Capcom (but also given to exploitation without qualms), it was no surprise that we were captivated by their particular vision of the action-RPG with ‘Dragon’s Dogma’, six years ago.
What does surprise us is that in all this time we have only received one expansion, ‘Dark Arisen’ , a PC adaptation (January 15, 2016), and an online free-to-play on ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ that follows being exclusive to Japan.
But we do not lose hope for Capcom to reconsider and realize the potential within this IP that emerged on May 22, 2012 on PS3 and Xbox 360. Because it enjoyed its own style , something very difficult when it comes to creating a RPG that hooks. Think how long it took From Software to be successful with the Souls. We refer, of course, to the germ of that saga, the ‘King’s Field’ . However Capcom was immediately recognized with his IP.
Although it would be daring to compare both sagas, apart from a blunder, there are certain parallels , not only for the obvious (its high difficulty), but rather for having renewed the formula of role-playing games to such an extent that considered canon in the case of Souls, a subgenre itself . Capcom would have to give it more continuity if it wants them to end up imitating its style. The problem is, we don’t know if it will.
Why we liked Dragon’s Dogma so much in 2012
Although initially it felt very accessible, almost arcade , like in the days of Mystara’s ‘Dungeons & Dragons’, ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ put us on the ropes when we faced each of its creatures.
Because of that rabid difference between each mythological fantasy being, because of that refreshing verticality , as if it were a ‘Shadow of the Colossus’ (like climbing up to the hump of a Helmeted Cyclops to hit its weak point), or in short , for offering us an avatar that was not a clumsy one who did not know how to move before a world with barriers. Capcom got them out of the way.
But it is not only that ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ was a joy at the playable level , but it also knew how to take risks with the implementation of an asynchronous game. This came from the Pawns, a series of characters that we could not control but who learned from each game as we visited each region and fought against more monsters. In fact, together with the avatar that we used, we were required to create a Pawn associated with it to accompany it at all times. And if we so wished, hire the services of two other Pawns (from other players) to help us while they obtained information for their respective owners. We were all winning.
His creatures, the great protagonists
It was also appreciated that ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ did not waste our time. Because who has not had any doubts when creating a class? In an RPG we have to choose at the beginning and then we still don’t like it as much as we expected … There wasn’t that problem here: we could change our vocation.
But it is not that it was only an option, feeling between each class to see which one we felt most comfortable with, but that we could maintain the capacities of each one (which would be the passive skills), creating a character of the most complete pecking between each style. Although the active abilities obviously depended on the vocation and the weapon. This, in any case, offered additional variants at higher levels, leading to advanced and combined vocations , which provided greater wealth.
In any case, the most colorful aspect of the whole game were its creatures, and especially, how could it be otherwise, its dragons, of enormous size . Thanks to that ability to hold onto them, some battles took place outside of our comfort zone (the ground), even seeing how we could amputate certain of their limbs , as in the case of the Chimera.
Apart from being highly enjoyable combats due to the strategies to follow (and where the Pawn played a very important role; hence not everyone liked it equally), there was that surprise for not knowing which creature we were going to run into . Because with some it was almost impossible to escape later.
But in the end his dreams were breaking
‘Dragon’s Dogma’ was far from perfect , but without a doubt it was a promising start for a genre that was not dominated by Capcom (if we were talking about turn-based fighting, there are ‘Breath of Fire’ , for example). And we all thought it would have continuity, like a sequel with online mode.
However, the vision of the Osaka company was different: it did release a kind of sequel with the spirit of MMO, but the essence (especially in the control) was a bit different. Not to forget what was stated at the beginning, which is still exclusive to Japan for PC, PS3 and PS4, with no intention of crossing the pond for now .
Nor can we forget the situation of ‘Deep Down’, despite having nothing to do with ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ except when it comes to sharing certain aspects of combat and little else. But we were not a few who saw in him a kind of spiritual successor (also because ‘Deep Down’ was his code name and if you look at it he shares the same acronym, that double D). Silly we have been without news of this project for more than four years , since his last video of TGS 2014.
Be that as it may, we hope that Capcom will listen to its followers again, like when that conversion of ‘Dragon’s Dogma’ was demanded for PC. You could start by offering backward compatibility with Xbox One, but it is clear that we want something new. When will the official sequel? Or are we going to have to wait another six years to rethink the situation with this undervalued IP?
| Analysis of Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen for PC, the return of an RPG that deserves more recognition
