Dragon's Dogma Game Review

Dragon's Dogma Review

Capcom's Latest RPG/Action Game is a big hit!

Dragon's Dogma, From Capcom, is a great, unique Role Playing Game that offers lots of gameplay and unique character customization and player interaction. In this game, you play as an Arisen, one chosen to slay the Dragon and recover your stolen heart. 

                                                 Your Character and Pawns

  In this game, you get to design your Arisen with plenty of character customization options, such as facial editing, physical appearance (height, weight, muscle tone, skin tone, etc), hair and facial hair options and multiple colors, their name and moniker, and even their voice! Soon after you get to customize your main Pawn, who is your personal assistant/servant, with the exact same customization features offer to your main character.

  Your main Pawn will be with you throughout the entire game and with certain items, like the "Secret of Metamorphosis", will offer you to redesign your character and pawn, at the cost of Rift Crystals.  Your Pawn, will learn how to defeat enemies as you play the game, such as if he discovers a weakness to them or learns better ways to destroy them.

 Once you reach the point to make your own pawn, you can also gather 2 more "support pawns", which are other character's main pawns you can take with you to help you out. They too, will learn from your adventures as well as their master's journeys, and your own pawn can be recruited by others in the same way, and you will earn Rift Crystals this way, as well as items gathered on those adventures too, experience and so forth, plus learning any new techniques.

  Your pawn has a personality all his own and you can customize your pawn's attitude and style by using the Knowledge Chair, which is found mostly near inns and resting places. This chair can be used to teach your pawn inclinations, such as his attitude in speaking, or his combat style, like scouting, assisting characters, or fighting the strongest/weakest enemy first and more! If you have Rift Crystals you can purchase potions from a man named Johnathan at the Encampment, which are used to change your pawn the way you want without using the Knowledge Chair.

                                                 Vocations (Skill Classes)

Vocations are skill classes which allow you powerful skills, augments, core skills and more! Each Vocation offers their own set of skills you can purchase with Discipline Points (DP), which are gained from slaying enemies, and each Vocation has 10 ranks. These ranks will unlock more powerful skills to purchase, which offer basic skills, and advanced versions of said skills. Core skills are skills that are passive and affect the Vocation in various ways, like double jumps, rolls, levitation, and more, and Augments are skills which can be used even in different vocations, and usually offer bigger stat bonuses and other features, such as extra health, stamina, movement speeds, Strenght bonuses, and other passive boosts.

  There are 9 different Vocations in this game (Fighter, Warrior, Strider, Ranger, Mage, and Sorcerer) and the other 3 are only available to the Arisen and are hybrid classes, (Assassin, Magick Archer, and Mystic Knight). Three Vocations are basic (fighter, Mage, Strider) and the 3 are advanced versions of said class (Warrior, Sorcerer, Ranger), and all of them are unique in their own way, and has different weapon and armor restrictions. Switching between vocations to rank up and purchase skills is not only beneficial, but encouraged, and are available to switch at your leisure.

                                                  Gameplay

  This game offers much in the way of combat, even fighting huge creatures you can climb on, similar to Capcom's other franchise, Monster Hunter, to damage their weakspots and do serious damage or keep them from moving better.  You can find many items out in the world and can combine them to make stronger health items, or other items to help you on your journey, and some items, like oil Flasks for example, can be thrown on an enemy, then touched with fire, to cause serious fire damage, or throwing water on an enemy and then hitting them with Lightning is a good way to cause big damage, and maybe even give your pawns some ideas and taking out the enemy.

  Weapons and armor can be enhanced to 3 levels by spending gold and having the right items to upgrade it and make it tougher or stronger, sometimes even getting some nice defense bonuses or element bonus. Fighting Dragons will give you a chance to have your weapons and armor "Dragon Forged" which gives a very nice bonus to armor or attack damage. 

  The weight system in the game is very important as well, as the heavier your load is, the slower your stamina will regenerate, which is used for running, using physical and even magical skills, so its important to keep a low weight limit by taking only what you need for the journey. Also, when night comes, you need a lantern as it gets very dark or entering caverns, plus stronger and more monsters and items only appear at night. 

 Rift Crystals are items gained from some monters, and from those who use your pawn in their own adventures, and these Rift Crystals are used to recruit stronger pawns, and a shop in the encampment to buy unique items and stuff for your pawn, such as the pawn potions mentioned above.

  Dragon's Dogma features multiple quests, the story missions, the side quests, as well as the Notice Board Quests. Notice board quests are usually minor quests who offer XP, gold, and items, but are relatively easy to complete. Most of these Notice Board quests have conditions, like kill x amount of enemies, gather x amount of items, and so forth, and make for a nice diversion from the main quest.

  The world of Gransys is quite large and feature multiple landscapes and environments, like crags, fields, mountains, swamps, and caverns. These areas have their own unique geography and can be dangerous if you aren't careful.

                                                  Story

Without offering any spoilers or anything of the sort, I found the story to be quite intriguing, with emotional cutscenes and great story play, offering great plot twists, and keeps you involved with the main story.  You will meet those are aren't what they appear on the surface, and some who are genuinely sincere and those who are truly evil. You will uncover several plots and learn more of your connection with the dragon and more of the pawns. Overall, the story is unique and very well written for my taste and enjoyed it thoroughly.

                                             Conclusion

Overall, I found the game very enjoyable, with offers you lengthy gameplay with great cinematics, combat, customization and much more to keep you playing this game for a long time and is highly recommended if you enjoy a good RPG with great story with great action to go with it!