This game is one of few in term of originality,gameplay,and story.....
innovation is hardly seen in these days and copying others ideas is on daily basis.however there are luckily still some developers, who care about originality and so from time to time,we get to get our hands on something new.
I should start with explaining the story.the mankind has destroyed the whole planet which became hell on earth.to preserve their lives people from whole world build the shelters to survive the apocalypse.this happened so long before the story,that even oldest of inhabitants of shelter dont know what daylight looks like nor what earth before devastation looked.
the shelter is commanded by a political sphere,which leaders are named Regents.
this is something i never heard in other games[except fallout series],and because its interesting ill give it 9.0 [1- cause the hero is named ryu in every game in the series and it gets a bit repetitive,plus its strange considering he saved the earth one day and he is living in suburban slums another,but we are getting to hero now]
you begin the game as lowly young member of rangers named ryu,who is living in world where d-ratio means everything.the d-ratio is is ranking of human based on his strenght,abilities,and also describes the chance of linking with dragon.the lower the number the better.as you can see,this game isnt named dragon quarter just for fun,but it indicates highest d-ratio possible[which is 1/4].unfortunately with his ratio 1/8192,he is doomed to work as a grunt in deepest parts of shelter,which is 1000 meters underground.
he is assigned with a mission to guard an important cargo,along with his friend and partner Bosch,which d-ratio is 1/64 and thus he is a hot candidate for a Regent,but he needs some REAL assignment than guarding a simple cargo.he will then try to convince ryu into being his pawn to help him get up the ranks.as ryu thinks about this,a member of organization of rebels named trinity,who oppose the policy of judging human beings just by d-ratio.cargo is destroyed and ryu falls into depth below.when he wakes up,i am stopping to spoil the story and rather tell you something about gameplay.
gameplay
since this is RPG most of the gameplay is about fights[no dont worry,i said most,not all,and there is plenty of things to do besides combat].the combat system is very crafty,unique and fun,as it allows you to deploy traps,lures and it also allows you to launch preemptive strikes,and suprise attacks.
very varied but there could be a few more things. 8.5
combat
the combat its self is a hybrid of real-time and turn-based strategy.you cotroll your party of heroes through turns.you start your turn,after you done what you needed[attacking healing,weapon switching]you will pass the turn to enemy,and he will do the same.but you are limited by the ap gauge.limited
in good way,because you must conservate ap points for attack,moving,using items and so on.
after linking with dragon,you will also gain ability to transform into dragon and use its power.however using it also increases the D-counter.once it is at 100% you will transform into dragon and the game ends.this also gives the birth to thinking whenever to use it now,or conserve for later.the palette of equipment,skills,spells,and items is very healthy and there are lots of secrets and bonuses too.
the combat system is great and innovative,so there is nothing to complain about. 10.0
difficulty
when i mentioned the difficulty is hard then i mean HARD to every last letter.the game sometimes[especially when nearing the end]feels a bit unfair[especially with bosses and their zillions of HP] and you will probably be reloading your game often[of course by the time you will get into it,and it will be only occasional but still YOU WILL die from time to time.
i will give it 8.0 because of overpowered bosses,but over all,its whitstandable,and and once you will get into it,you will enjoy the difficulty.
replayability
once you will be nearing the end of the story,you will start to wonder if it last even after you finish it.lucky you,because of the Scenario OverLay system[SOL].after you finish the game you will be given an option to start new game with all items skills weapons and accessories you found,along with reset of D-counter and also a new level of D-ratio,which allows you to explore areas that were previously locked and inaccessible.
overall
the developers of this game did great job.i would wish all RPG learnt from this,and stop copying everything from others.too bad this is only a wishful dream.
score:9.0