Dragons Crown Pro (PS4) Review

Initially, I wasn’t super impressed with Dragon’s Crown Pro, which is an upgrade to a PSVita/PS3 beat-em-up RPG adventure featuring hand drawn animation by Vanillaware. What initially felt like a visual and audio upgrade for a game that would be easy to sink some time into, but would lack the energy I really wanted, transformed after sitting down for some couch co-op play. What resulted was a flood of memories of playing the classic Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara, but combined with new horizons, longer gameplay sessions, and a bit more depth than that title.

Immediately upon startup, like with most games, I found myself fiddling with the options menu, just to see what things I could change if need be. Under audio, I found original audio options, which when switched really shows the care put into the game’s soundtrack. The new version was performed by a live orchestra, permeating play in a tangible way. It’s not the most memorable soundtrack, not like Persona 5, but there are some really fantastic pieces sprinkled throughout.

After getting excited about the improvements and care put into the Pro version, I started up and created a character. Now, when the title first came out there was some criticism on the Sorceress character due to her blatant sex appeal. Never being one to care either way, this never bothered my time with the game, but I initially opted for the Elf, while creating a Sorceress for my co-op sessions.

Players will be going through a small hub area, upgrading their gear, visiting the various shops, picking up quests, and then setting out for adventure. The gameplay should be familiar for anyone who has played an arcade beat-em-up, especially those who have played some of the more modern games. Players can use basic attacks, cast spells, pick up special weapons, all depending on what type of character was made. Each of the six characters feel unique and are upgradeable with a few options. Combos can be expressed through using the left stick by having it neutral, up, or down. Up usually results in a juggle or a pop-up and down will do a slide on the ground or do a slamdown attack in the air.

As the elf, combos were fast and fluid, putting out high damage to a single target. Tossing my foes into the air, sprinkling in some bow shots, and then slamming them down is extremely satisfying and fairly easy to understand and execute. Now, as the Sorceress there was a lot of MP management, dropping spells as needed, and using physical attacks to regain MP. Both felt different and both were fun for different reasons.

The game’s art direction is the most prominent part of Dragon’s Crown, having this painted comic style that exaggerates the human form. Manly heroes are layered with absurd muscles and the women are for the most part busty with lots of curves. There is the juxtaposition of the Amazon though, who is a muscly woman who probably tosses lecherous men through walls daily at the tavern.

For those who are fans of the fantasy genre, there is a lot of enjoyment in seeing how classic designs are played with. There is a great moment where one of the bosses is a Beholder (but renamed for copyright purposes obviously) sporting all of the quirks we’ve been dreading since the 80s. It was a really awesome battle and had me and my best friend freaking out as we struggled to survive. We also ran into a mermaid with a butt, which is the first time I’ve seen this approach, and we took down a massive golem with a golem of our own.

Due to the RPG nature of the game, there is a lot of replay value in Dragon’s Crown. I found myself eager to pick up each character, just to give them a go. The system that this is done in is really simple and one can swap characters by just popping into the tavern. This is also where we can pick up to four local players, fill them in with AI heroes that we pick up along the way, or force the game to be played with just human players. For co-op, we opted to just have our two characters and once that option was found it was a lot more fun than having two computer heroes bouncing about.

Really, the main criticism here is the linear nature of the game in both level design and character progression and the chaos that can sometimes overwhelm the player. While there is some player choice in how weapons are setup and what powers are picked up, they mostly lead to similar builds, at least in the earlier levels. We only got our characters to like level 18 or so, so this could be different at the highest levels. Levels do have some branching paths for additional quests, but they all must be unlocked by this little thief dude who also helps appraise treasure at the end of a level. I found this character unnecessary, as he becomes just another thing on screen. Just leaving things open and needing special keys on occasion would have been better and would also speed up the pacing a bit.

Because of all the monsters, spells, and such happening all at once it can be hard to track where the player is sometimes. Some of the best fights had a single, big enemy, while ones with tons of smaller ones got to be a chore to manage and led to a lot of mistakes. It can be gotten used to, but it’s important to mention.

Now, for those who have already played previous versions of Dragon’s Crown, this new version features 4K resolution, the previously mentioned orchestral soundtrack, Japanese and English Audio options, online cross-play, and save compatibility. Being able to play with other versions is awesome and the improvements are certainly noticeable for those familiar with the first release. I also enjoyed being able to change the narrator’s voice for some variation. There are a lot of options for play and it’s nice to see so many ways to change things up in a game that could get repetitive.

Again, playing this with a friend in co-op completely changed my perspective on Dragon’s Crown Pro. I went from liking it, but not being overly amazed, to someone who was eager to play more with a friend. We hadn’t really had the chance to play much in the past few years as our interests have been different. He’s been really into PUBG, League of Legends, and random mobile timewasters, while I have been pursuing games like God of War, Nier Automata, and Super Mario Odyssey. Being able to come together and really enjoy something like this is something that just doesn’t happen often.

I should also note that I hooked up my PS4 arcade stick to really get a better feel for those nostalgic days and I think this will be my preferred way to play Dragon’s Crown Pro from here on out. Kinda makes me yearn for a full arcade cabinet, which would be a fairly easy thing to create.

While Dragon’s Crown Pro won’t be for everyone, those looking for an arcade style RPG with a lot of co-op potential should look into it and give it a try at the most. Those that enjoy Dungeons & Dragons will probably have a rocking time and honestly, Dragon’s Crown Pro would be the perfect break for those doing longer role-playing sessions. Due to the many ways to play, there are lots of chances for players to be able to get together, while also having the option to go at it alone or with some computer controlled characters.

For more information on Dragon’s Crown Pro, check out the official website. A review code was provided for the purpose of this review.