E3 2013: Hand-On with ‘Dragon’s Crown’

When gamers think of Vanillaware, most would associate the developer with some of the most beautiful 2D side scrollers of the last half decade. Both Odin Sphere and Muramasa proved that in a gaming industry dominated by 3D and HD, side scrollers could offer deep, challenging combat while still looking pretty. Their newest title, Dragon’s Crown is aiming to keep this tradition intact, and if my time with the game on the E3 show floor is any indication, this beat em up is well on its way of doing just that.

Dragon’s Crown lets players choose from one of six warriors, each one fitting different fantasy archtypes. Want a armored clad knight? You got it. A magic wielding sorceress? Yep, she’s here too. Personally, I wanted the Elf, complete with bow and arrow. Each character is accompanied by up to two support characters that aid players in battle in different ways. For example, the theif was able to snatch items from enemies and add them to your pool. If this isn’t enough, the game will feature 2 player co op if you want to dungeon crawl with a friend.
While playing throught the demo, I definitely got a strong Golden Axe vibe from the mechanics. My archer had two main attacks, using her bow for long range or close range melee attacks. Beating up seemingly endless amounts of enemies was fun, but what was even better was learning that I could steal enemy mounts and use them to my advantage. Finishing each fight rewarded me with a rank, telling me how well I did at finding the treasure in the room.

Outside of dungeons, a multi-tiered town can be explored to upgrade equipment, sell treasure and chat with non playable characters. True to Vanillaware form, both the towns and the dungeons were some of the most gorgeous looking environments out there. Judging from the hints picked up from this demo, you’ll get to enjoy the in game artwork more and more, because there’s bound to be tons of items and skills to collect. With six unique characters to do so with, local and online multiplayer and plenty of hidden items, Dragon’s Crown is looking like a game that will be worth exploring over and over again.

I’d be hard pressed to think of a time that a 2D beat em up was one of the most anticipated games of the year, but Dragon’s Crown easily fits that mold for me. The demo alone had tons of secrets, rewarding combat, a variety of playable characters and a varied upgrade system. Just thinking about how much farther the final game can take these ideas makes the approaching release date that much more anticipated. Great gameplay, beautiful graphics, challenging AI and the option to tackle all of this with a friend? What more can you ask for?

Retro, beat em up and modern gamers would do well to keep an eye out for Dragon’s Crown, which is coming to the PS3 and PS Vita on August 6th