Draglade Review
Out of all the current DS publishers out there, Atlus stands out in delivering some of the oddest niche titles on the system. Some of these games are must-own pieces of software, including the cult classic Trauma Center, which has since moved over to Nintendo Wii and enjoyed a ton of success. Others, like the newly released Draglade, for example, are brought over from Japan with very little fanfare, hitting shelves and silently awaiting the few people that give the game a chance. These titles aren't always for everyone – usually you know if you're a fan before even popping the game in – but they certainly add to DS's already diverse catalog, and are a welcomed change from the norm if nothing else. This one won't be for everyone, but it is – if nothing else – an interesting concept with some solid gameplay throughout.
In the case of Draglade, players are getting one of the most Japanese-inspired titles we've seen from Atlus thus far on DS. What we mean is that unlike many of the other titles, Draglade could be considered in all ways the "token generic anime" fighter. The game features one of four starting fighters on a quest to become a "Major Grapper", which is essentially a professional arena fighter. Grappers make use of a wrist computer known as a G-Con, which takes random matter from the air and creates a unique weapon for that fighter. Grappers summon their weapons, do battle, and rise the ranks of fighters in hopes of attaining the elite title of Major Grapper – Draglade's equivalent to being a Pokemon Master, if you will.
From top to bottom Draglade acts like every other anime-inspired game out there, with a young spike-haired boy encountering a hero figure during some otherwise-horrible point in their life. After the familiar "Everyone says you're the guy. I want to be the guy too!" interaction between the boy and his hero (apparently Homestar Runner has played Draglade already?), he's told that if he practices every day for five years, he could achieve his dream of being a Major Grapper. It comes as no shock, of course, that after a quick "five years later" narrative players take control of the fighter, and embark on a quest to become the best grapper in the world.
From the presentation side of things, Draglade is about as basic as it gets, with the expected slide-in portraits for any text conversations, tons of giant art and scrolling speed lines to show off moments of action, and the most generic cast of characters possible. If you're in it for the story, you'll need to find it somewhere else, as Draglade might as well be a copy/paste effort from things like B-Daman, Beyblade, or the like. Every text box, menu screen, and options list can be found in a dozen other games just like Draglade. It's thin; really, really thin.
The game has a hook though, and it's a decent one. Draglade is a music-based fighter, and the combat – while following suit with every other element of Draglade in being totally basic overall – can be pretty entertaining. Players have not only an overall health meter and what boils down to being dispensable action points, but also a small DDR-like music bar across the bottom of the main screen. After building up enough energy through light and heavy attacks (Y and X), the L button begins a "beat combo", which is a short tab of music made up of a dozen or so beats. Hit them in rhythm, and you'll create a huge combo along the way.
The general combat feels like something out of Flame of Recca on GBA, or Namco's "Tales" series. Using the bottom screen players can equip up to three attacks – known as bullets – assigned to A, up and A, or down and A. Throw in a double jump for good measure, touch-activated "stock" skills that can be swapped for the three A slots, and some pretty generic monsters and you've got Draglade's battle system down.
And while the rest of the game's shell is amazingly basic, the fighting system holds up for a while, making for a decent experience overall. Combos are fast and deadly, players can use the touch screen out of battle to create their own note strings by simply sliding their stylus across the bars of music, and a few simple options allow for a small amount of personalization with eight different tone sets to work with, and the ability to save 20 different beat combos for later use and local trading.
In fact, it's the multiplayer aspects that make Draglade a solid choice for fighting fans that don't mind a little anime influence along the way. Local wireless play allows for one-on-one vs. play, a co-op mode, and of course the trading of any collected bullets or created beat combos from the main game. Since the main story mode inherently has four saves – one for each of the starting characters – each fighter can be pulled directly from their story mode, making use of any items you've found, or the strength that comes with level-ups. On Wi-Fi, players can again take any fighter they've leveled up in the main game and either play against friends or random fighters, gaining a worldwide rank in the process. Multiplayer is essentially the same core experience as you'll find along the story mode, and there aren't a ton of options to work with, but as far as pure competitive play goes Draglade is right up there with Bleach DS as being a great online fighting experience on the system.
If you're willing to put in the time, the main story mode is a decent – though again, very generic – experience as well. Each of the four starting fighters is a stand-alone story, and although each can be beaten in about two hours they open up an additional five more battlers along the way, making for a decent overall list. The campaign isn't much more than randomly chatting with NPCs, getting in battles with monsters and other grappers, and navigating an overworld map circa Final Fantasy Tactics, but it works.The script is a bit hokey for our liking, and every NPC talks and acts alike, but the character building, customization, and battle system holds the package together pretty well; especially when you can mash the start button to get to the next actual battle automatically when NPCs get long-winded. Battle animations are pretty fluid though, and the overall art design is pretty slick despite being – yup, we'll say it again – extremely generic. The characters are forgettable, as are the enemies and locales, but the speed and fluidity of battles makes the experience.
source:http://ds.ign.com/articles/840/840312p1.html
In the case of Draglade, players are getting one of the most Japanese-inspired titles we've seen from Atlus thus far on DS. What we mean is that unlike many of the other titles, Draglade could be considered in all ways the "token generic anime" fighter. The game features one of four starting fighters on a quest to become a "Major Grapper", which is essentially a professional arena fighter. Grappers make use of a wrist computer known as a G-Con, which takes random matter from the air and creates a unique weapon for that fighter. Grappers summon their weapons, do battle, and rise the ranks of fighters in hopes of attaining the elite title of Major Grapper – Draglade's equivalent to being a Pokemon Master, if you will.
 Grap License |  Prep for battle. |
From top to bottom Draglade acts like every other anime-inspired game out there, with a young spike-haired boy encountering a hero figure during some otherwise-horrible point in their life. After the familiar "Everyone says you're the guy. I want to be the guy too!" interaction between the boy and his hero (apparently Homestar Runner has played Draglade already?), he's told that if he practices every day for five years, he could achieve his dream of being a Major Grapper. It comes as no shock, of course, that after a quick "five years later" narrative players take control of the fighter, and embark on a quest to become the best grapper in the world.
From the presentation side of things, Draglade is about as basic as it gets, with the expected slide-in portraits for any text conversations, tons of giant art and scrolling speed lines to show off moments of action, and the most generic cast of characters possible. If you're in it for the story, you'll need to find it somewhere else, as Draglade might as well be a copy/paste effort from things like B-Daman, Beyblade, or the like. Every text box, menu screen, and options list can be found in a dozen other games just like Draglade. It's thin; really, really thin.
The game has a hook though, and it's a decent one. Draglade is a music-based fighter, and the combat – while following suit with every other element of Draglade in being totally basic overall – can be pretty entertaining. Players have not only an overall health meter and what boils down to being dispensable action points, but also a small DDR-like music bar across the bottom of the main screen. After building up enough energy through light and heavy attacks (Y and X), the L button begins a "beat combo", which is a short tab of music made up of a dozen or so beats. Hit them in rhythm, and you'll create a huge combo along the way.
The general combat feels like something out of Flame of Recca on GBA, or Namco's "Tales" series. Using the bottom screen players can equip up to three attacks – known as bullets – assigned to A, up and A, or down and A. Throw in a double jump for good measure, touch-activated "stock" skills that can be swapped for the three A slots, and some pretty generic monsters and you've got Draglade's battle system down.
And while the rest of the game's shell is amazingly basic, the fighting system holds up for a while, making for a decent experience overall. Combos are fast and deadly, players can use the touch screen out of battle to create their own note strings by simply sliding their stylus across the bars of music, and a few simple options allow for a small amount of personalization with eight different tone sets to work with, and the ability to save 20 different beat combos for later use and local trading.
 Co-op mode. |  Zigzagoon? |
In fact, it's the multiplayer aspects that make Draglade a solid choice for fighting fans that don't mind a little anime influence along the way. Local wireless play allows for one-on-one vs. play, a co-op mode, and of course the trading of any collected bullets or created beat combos from the main game. Since the main story mode inherently has four saves – one for each of the starting characters – each fighter can be pulled directly from their story mode, making use of any items you've found, or the strength that comes with level-ups. On Wi-Fi, players can again take any fighter they've leveled up in the main game and either play against friends or random fighters, gaining a worldwide rank in the process. Multiplayer is essentially the same core experience as you'll find along the story mode, and there aren't a ton of options to work with, but as far as pure competitive play goes Draglade is right up there with Bleach DS as being a great online fighting experience on the system.
If you're willing to put in the time, the main story mode is a decent – though again, very generic – experience as well. Each of the four starting fighters is a stand-alone story, and although each can be beaten in about two hours they open up an additional five more battlers along the way, making for a decent overall list. The campaign isn't much more than randomly chatting with NPCs, getting in battles with monsters and other grappers, and navigating an overworld map circa Final Fantasy Tactics, but it works.The script is a bit hokey for our liking, and every NPC talks and acts alike, but the character building, customization, and battle system holds the package together pretty well; especially when you can mash the start button to get to the next actual battle automatically when NPCs get long-winded. Battle animations are pretty fluid though, and the overall art design is pretty slick despite being – yup, we'll say it again – extremely generic. The characters are forgettable, as are the enemies and locales, but the speed and fluidity of battles makes the experience.
source:http://ds.ign.com/articles/840/840312p1.html
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