In my opinion, this is the best game I've ever played.
Dragon force is a refreshing game with a surprising game element, even by today's standards. Before the game start, you will be given a choice to choose one of the 6 overlords, 2 will be unlocked after you've beat the game at least once. Your goal is to unite the whole of Legendra and together, defeat the evil Madruk. If the story is a bit of a cliche( defeat the evil; same the world), then the gameplay certainly isn't.
The good: There are hundreds of characters to recruit. That itself, is already a bonus. Character developments on some dozens of them? Well, I'll just leave it to your imagination. What separates this game from the rest is definitely the battle system. This is a straightforward warfare/rpg hybrid, and the game did an excellent job on both aspects. In battle, you control a general who commands an army of troops( which range from soldiers to zombies) in an amount owhich ranges from 10-100. Think Langrisser with 10 times as many units when both generals maximises his/her army. There are certain type of troops which do very well against some, while weak against others and there goes our strategy aspect. The general also has some spells at his/her disposal to use against the opposition. In terms, of graphics, it's nothing short of breathtaking, considering Saturn's capabilities back in those days. Replayability wise, well I've played through the game 8 times to fully grasp the story from each overloads viewpoints, so is there anything else to say?
The bad: I would love to say none, but that would lose a bit of my credibility. My only fault with this game is that perharps after a few hours of play, when you fully understand the game's mechanic, battles may become a bit easy( you know what troops to use against). But which game isn't? Especially after playing through the game 8 times?
In my humble opinion, this is perharps the greatest game ever to be made. It's a bold statement to be made, as when people talk about the greatest game ever to be made, the final fantasy will always shed the first light. It's a pity this game hasn't had any better predecessor. Let's keep our finger cross for the ps2 remake.