Review: Dragon Takers (Nintendo Switch)
Rarely do I see an RPG stubble and fall in such rapid succession, but Dragon Takers does just that. Despite some initial promise, it quickly makes one blunder after another. Sadly, this release is one of the most boring RPGs I’ve ever played.
The main gimmick in this game is the protagonist’s newfound ability as a “Skill Taker.” He’s able to take moves from monsters during combat and pick and choose which to equip, limited only by what level you’ve reached. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this idea. In fact, the variety of monsters (viewed in a first-person perspective) had me somewhat intrigued. But with the focus on combat, you’d hope this area excelled. Unfortunately, it’s not even close.
Rather than break into a long-winded rant, I’ll limit my complaints to two key areas. The first (arguably foremost) is the curious decision to omit any means to escape a battle. Buried in the press release, it states, “escape is not an option.” A bold choice, perhaps, but certainly not a smart one. It simply doesn’t fit this style of turn-based RPG. If the enemies were visible on the map, maybe I could be swayed, but it’s entirely random. And the combat is nowhere near enjoyable enough to justify the lack of such a fundamental option.
To further weaken combat, enemy resistances and weaknesses are listed on the side of the screen. I didn’t even notice this until I was a few hours in, as playing in handheld mode, the text was small. But it’s always present, even when playing in “Normal” difficulty. Add in the fact that the game autosaves nonstop, and it eliminates any challenge the lack of escape could’ve leant. All you’re left with is the mundane tedium of combat that never really goes anywhere to reach its potential. Swing and a miss.
At least the game presents a solid audio/visual package. The music is very listenable, giving a blend of creepiness and relaxation that works better than you might expect, and I kind of like it. Characters bob their heads, move their arms, their hair flaps… little things like that make them seem livelier. Of course, their expressions never change regardless of what is happening in the story, good or bad.
Speaking of story, there’s a reason I haven’t talked about that until six paragraphs into my review, and it’s not because of spoilers. It’s not done well. Dragon Takers is filled with long stretches of cliched dialogue. Sometimes, you’ll have several minutes of generic conversation, take a step or two, and more will follow. I actually don’t mind this so much in the towns, as the NPCs feel more real. And talking to them is all you’ll do in towns as items get acquired not at shops, but during combat or found in dungeons. But outside of this, the lead and his female allies chatting about another fantasy trope just made me want to take control and get on the move. Not that there is much to move to. Dragon Takers is an especially linear game, with tiny distances between towns and short maze dungeons. No allowance is there to go off the story path and explore.
Dragon Takers feels haphazardly slapped together, and the longer I played it, the more boring its stale gameplay became. I don’t know much about the developer (Vanguard), but if KEMCO is going to keep working with them, I hope they can steer them in smarter directions. Dragon Takers is a poor game that I can’t recommend.
