Dragon Prana (Switch) Review
Release Date: November 3, 2022
Publisher/Developer: Kemco
Platform: Switch (reviewed), PlayStation platforms, Xbox platforms, Steam, iOS, Android
Price: $14.99
I would best describe Dragon Prana as a “comfort food RPG.” An ancient evil was defeated by humans, dwarves, and elves, but as time goes on the humans have let their power and ego take over to where the elves and dwarves have to fight for their equality. As tensions rise to the brink, the ancient evil awakens and forces a team of heroes to embark on a mission to save the day.
Graphically, Dragon Prana brings the rose-colored glasses attitude to life for 8-bit gamers. It looks and feels 8-bit, but the slight improvements: idle animations, eight angles of character sprites, and small environmental animations definitely bump it up and make it a lot prettier.
Battle takes place on a grid, with character abilities often hitting multiple blocks. Maximizing damage is best done through finding the right angle and combinations to take out the enemy efficiently. There are also Link Skills that involve multiple characters attacking together that can cause extra damage or simultaneously healing your party.
Character upgrading goes beyond the traditional “hit things numbers go up” attitude too. Job classes can be equipped by all party members, and those jobs can be leveled as well. Your heroes also have skill trees to craft them into what you need.
Dragon Prana is an old-school RPG made in modern times with plenty of quality-of-life improvements. It’s a delightful little title with plenty of good ideas. It was originally released on mobile devices, and sadly some of the pay-to-win attitude is present. Shortly after release, several DLCs have been put on the market to triple experience points, double gold, and such. While these downloadables are entirely unnecessary (the game can be fully enjoyed without them), their sheer existence is frustrating to me, showing that the developers don’t see their game’s main hook as valuable. The game (and some corresponding DLC) can be started on a mobile device for $3.99, so starting this at nearly four times the price and still having the DLC shots is sadly disappointing.
If those DLCs can be ignored, Dragon Prana is a wonderful, inexpensive romp through classic RPG tropes with plenty of upgrades to make it interesting to modern gamers, especially at it’s affordable price. If you want a taste of the game, I’d recommend trying the mobile edition, as it is on the cheaper end of the spectrum. But if the screenshots are right up your alley already, I can say that Dragon Prana gives you exactly what you would expect from them and more.
Pros:
-A perfect “rose colored glasses” retro style RPG
-Unique leveling mechanics allow you to customize your party to your liking
-Well written story and plot presented in the 16-bit style
Cons:
-The mere existence of pay-to-win DLC
-Disparity between console and mobile pricing
-It is “bare bones”, I haven’t seen character portraits, special openings, et cetera. Classic RPG through and through.
Special thanks to Kemco for providing a code for review!