Dragon Valor

"Not the best, not the worst. A happy medium."

Welcome to a Crazee review. 'Nuff said. This is for the game Dragon Valor, but you knew that. Before I start, let me say that this is a somewhat simple beat-em-up game, with some excellent (in my opinion) music. Anyway, on we go.

Graphics: 7/10 - Good
Not the best, not the worst; once again. Nowadays, the graphics are awful. Blocky, choppy, nasty textures, etc. But For it's time, I'd say it looked rather good. Of course, this is a PSOne game, you aren't expecting incredible graphics. (And by that, I mean the PSOne is dated now, not that it's a bad system)

Sound: 5/10 - Meh
Mediocre in this department at best. There are some generic sword 'whoosh' sounds, and metalic clings and clangs for when you're clashing swords with an enemy. There are a few moans and groans for enemies, and a few roars, but they're nothing special. Again, mediocre.

Music: 8/10 - Great
I know it's a matter of personal taste, but I rather enjoyed the music to this game. While there's no sweeping orchestras, the music is... colorful. The music when you're walking through the forests is light, though somewhat dark. And the music when you face off with a dragon is fittingly dramatic. (What's odd, though, is that all dragons have different music to start, but after they lose about half their health, it becomes the same tune for all the others)

Gameplay: 8/10 - Great
Somewhat simple, as was aformentioned. It's rather simple; you run around, beating the daylights out of enimies. The levels are linear, no branching paths. And while a few levels do branch... they all lead to the same goal. Or you have to go down one, get a key, go down another, use it, etc. Can get repetive, but fun in bursts.

Controls: 9/10 - Excellent
The commands are easy to use, and a variety of cool attacks can be done with little effort. FOr example, a three-swing combo is done by pressing square three times. Or you can jump, press R1, and do an impaling thrust. You can use magic with O... but it's useless, other than the healing spell. Overall, fitting for the game.

Story: 4/10 - ......Yeah.
The story... uhm.... well..... uh.... I don't know. I think there's a story... somewhere.... Okay, I'll be serious. There's multiple stories. The game features branching. After each chapter, your character gets married, has a child(s)... or adopts/takes in a child... yada yada... But I warn you, this is NOT a dating sim! You have little (usually no) say in who you get married to! But the stories usually end with a climactic battle with the leader dragon. (I forgot his name. And it's not a big spoiler, either. Dragons are the main enemy here.)

Overall: 8/10 - Great
The game is great, in my opinion. It's a beat 'em up, so beware, turn based RPGers. If you're looking for a short, fun game that involves simple combat and dragons, pick it up. If not, the sun will still rise tomorrow.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/12/05