"A little bit of fighting, a little bit of levelling up, and a whole lot of items."

After reading a bit about Flying Dragon, I was eager to see how they would achieve mixing in some RPG elements into a fighting game. I must say, I'm quite impressed at how the RPG element was integrated, but there were some other points that bring down Flying Dragon's mark.

Story...

Many fighting games contain little to no story at all. Flying Dragon is no exception. The game is simply about some random fighter going around beating people up and sometimes entering a tournament. There may be bits and parts of story where the characters are somehow connected, but it isn't emphasized. But you never buy fighting games for story...at least I hope you don't...

-/10

Gameplay...

This game has two modes, one is SD (super deformed, or people who watch anime: chibi) mode, and another mode where the characters look normal. First, the chibi mode, or in other words, the RPG aspect of the game. Like I said, I believe that the RPG element of Flying Dragon was pretty well done. You collect certain items after tournaments and these items collect experience points as you fight. When they obtain enough experience points, they may evolve into more powerful items. You can also collect other items that teach your characters special moves that will help you. And like every other RPG, there are potions for both health and your meter to perform special moves. But other than that, there aren't many other RPG elements, (well, you character can level up, but there isn't much change). They got the RPG element well done, but the fighting is where there are quite a few flaws. One of which is paticularly annoying. There is a certain item that allows your character to be able to hit their opponent higher into the air, thus letting you perform many combos and may induce an astonishing amount of damage. Well, this seems fine, until you play VS against another player who has this item. Once you're stuck in a combo is this game, you're done, there is no way to get out without using a certain item you must equip. Another big flaw is the speed of the fighting. The fighting is not very fast paced or exciting, it's pretty much who can knock the other person in the air and perform the biggest combo. Now, you may be wondering why this game got such a high rating with all these flaws, well, there is another mode for those seeking a faster paced fighting game. Remember the ''other'' mode I mentioned? Well, this mode is for those who want a pure fighting game without all the icing on top with items and such. The characters are no longer little kids but full grown adults. The fighting is much more defined in this mode, it feels like Virtua Fighter. Although there aren't many characters, this mode isn't why you buy this game. For me, this is just to play VS, I never play VS in chibi mode for reasons stated above. Overall, it was a good choice to put another mode in this game who feel like they were let down by the fighting system of the chibi mode to quench the thirst of gamers looking for the traditional fighting game.

8.5/10

Graphics...

The graphics aren't too nice. They seem (and probably are) very poorly done in the non-chibi mode as you can see the joints of the characters separate a bit when they do certain moves. But graphics don't make the game (although they do make it easier on the eyes). I didn't buy this game for the graphics, but I can tell you it's nothing you should look forward to.

4/10

Sound...

Nothing special here. The voices are pretty good, but nothing that will convince you that the characters are right beside you. Some of the music is real good though, but again, it's nothing revolutionary. But as long as it's not mediocre, it's tolerable.

7/10

Replayability...

If you love the RPG mode, you will be playing this game for ages. However, if you don't like the RPG mode, the fighting mode won't keep you busy for long. For those who like the RPG portion, this game will own your life as you complete many tournaments, hoping to get that awesome item you've always wanted. There are many many items to collect and this game will hold you forever if you wish to seek them all. But, for those who don't like the RPG, you're gonna hate this game for the fighting mode's lack of depth. Overall, it all depends on how willing you are to try to get all the items.

-/10

Buy, Rent, Trash?

Well, here, it all comes down to you. I cannot really recommend this to many people because for fighting certain people in this game, you will simply be doing the same move over and over again until their health finally withers down to nothing. So again, this game is one of those where you love it or hate it. If you do love it, you will probably have a hard time finding it unfortunately. Try scouring bargain bins or used games and you're bound to find something. But, if you do find this game at some video store, I would really recommend that you give it a go, you never know if this game is the one game you've been looking for for a long time...

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/19/03