A classic action RPG full of challenge and cryptic secrets NOT for the impatient.
I finally broke down and looked for a guide online to help me finish this game. After figuring out what items I needed for each of the characters and the actual locations of the four crowns using a map, I was finally able to finish the game. Looking back on the experience, I can honestly say that it WAS pretty cryptic finding the way through secret passages, but overall I was actually very entertained.
The game is actually part of the "Dragon Slayer" series, specifically, Dragon Slayer 4: Drasle Family. However, though it had that title on the MSX and Famicom versions released by Falcom, when Broderbund released the game in the states, the name was changed. Why? No idea. Maybe because the Dragon Slayer series was pretty much nonexistent in America at the time? Anyway, let's get right down to the review:
Story:
A long time ago, a great wizard went into battle with a dragon named Keela that was terrorizing the people. Though he defeated the beast, he did not kill it, instead sealing it deep underground.
Two generations later, as his grandchildren Lyll and Roas are being told the story, the family dog Pochi comes in carrying a scale of the dragon in his mouth. Realizing that the dragon must be close to reviving, the wizard's family decides to take the initiative and destroy the dragon for good by using the "DragonSlayer" sword, which is protected by four magical crowns. Conveniently for them, the crowns, sword, and dragon are all located in a massive underground dungeon located directly underneath the house. Since the wizard is now too old to fight, his son Xemn, daughter-in-law Meyna, the two grandchildren, and the dog take up the fight started so long ago.
Not the most compelling of stories, but, one that at the very least doesn't involve saving a princess somewhere. It works for me.
Graphics:
The game was released in '88 for the NES, but you'd never think it. For the most part, the graphics are fairly basic and leave a lot to the imagination. It's not like you can't tell what anything is, though; the items all look like what you'd expect, and though some of the monster designs seem...uninspired...at least there's a lot of variety there. The MSX version apparently looked better, but the monsters were a variety of different monochromatic types instead of more detailed single types. Given that the NES even at this time had been pushed pretty well graphically, I'm not impressed overall. Still, I tend to focus more on gameplay than graphics, so this game gets a break since it's fairly good in the other areas.
Music:
The music in this game isn't all THAT varied (there's probably about 10 tracks in the whole game), but it is kind of nice to see one thing they did implement. I mentioned in the opening that the idea of the game is to find 4 crowns scattered throughout. In each of the four areas that contain crowns, the music is different, sort of like a theme for each one. I dunno. The music isn't all that spectacular (though I thought the final boss music was kinda cool), but having audio cues telling you where you are in the massive dungeon is helpful should you become lost. Still, it gets the job done, and isn't nails on a chalkboard either. It's...okay.
Controls:
Controls are pretty simple. The A button jumps or confirms a selection in a shop or menu, the B button attacks or cancels a selection, the D-pad moves the character, the Start button pauses and brings up the inventory screen, and the Select button pauses the action to let you select one of your equipped items with the D-pad. I never felt like I didn't have complete control of my character, so there you go. I'm quite satisfied.
Gameplay:
What matters at last. Now, I mentioned before the basics, but let me explain in slightly more detail:
You take on the role of the five party members, Xemn, Meyna, Lyll, Roas, and Pochi. Each one has differing special skills and items that will allow them to progress through the dungeon. Lyll can jump the highest and has a good attack range, but lacks attack power. Xemn is the opposite. He has the highest attack power, but can't jump or attack at distance for crap. Pochi also can't jump well or attack at distance, but since he is in fact a monster himself, the monsters in the dungeon won't hurt him (save for bosses). Meyna is the sorceress of the group, firing magic spells to defeat monsters from a distance. And Roas, well...he's pretty much crap all around. But conveniently for him, he's the only one capable of wielding the DragonSlayer, so he actually has at least one use in the game.
The items you find or buy throughout the dungeon also help as well, such as the glove, which lets you move blocks, the power boots that allow you to kill monsters by jumping on them, and the wings, which allow a character to fly.
The catch is this; only certain items can be used by each character, and in order to find the crown each character is responsible for, you'll have to know which combinations of items will help each character the most in obtaining it. This is the part where not having a manual or item list really kills you; without it, it's pretty hard to figure out what everything does or how to use them.
When you start the game, you pick a character, and then go into the inventory screen in order to equip items you'll need for a trip into the dungeon (you can't equip except at home or after staying at an inn, so come prepared). You then explore the dungeon which has MANY rooms, find items, and then return home, either by walking back there or defeating a boss, which allows you to keep any items you obtain while exploring.
At the top of the screen are four gauges, a life bar, a magic bar which goes down every time you attack or when you use certain items, number of keys, and number of gold pieces. Red represents ten and blue represents one. As you defeat enemies and open chests, you'll obtain more of each, though the monsters tend to drop what you have the least of.
There is no save system in the game; instead you are able to get a password from the grandmother if you select her at the home. Telling the grandfather the password at any point will restore you to the state you were in when you received the password. The passwords are fairly long, so you'll need to write them down carefully to avoid losing your progress later.
The real challenge of this game is that, as I mentioned in the intro, the crowns are VERY hard to find, requiring the use of specific characters and items to reach each one. In addition, you must also ride monsters on several occasions (holding up while doing so usually prevents damage), and there are false walls hidden EVERYWHERE. There was one instance where I reached a set of large pillars and could not progress further until I found out that you need to use Lyll and the jump shoes in order to go through a false block near the top. Thankfully, each of the four non-Roas characters is only responsible for one crown, so if you obtain a crown with one person, that person will no longer be needed to reach a crown (though, honestly, Lyll can actually get two of the crowns with her skills and items).
Once you FINALLY find a crown after exploring for a long time, you immediately go into battle against one of the game's four bosses. And these guys are freaking hard as hell. They spam like 10 projectiles at a time and their damage on contact is also fairly high. Luckily, they don't take too much abuse, but if you're killed as the boss is falling offscreen after dying, you don't get credit and have to do the whole thing again.
After finding all the crowns, you go back with Roas and search for the DragonSlayer and ultimately defeat Keela, who is seen in the central area of the dungeon every time you go crown hunting. The final battle is pretty cool; with Keela having a lot of HP and the music, it feels pretty epic, even if it is fairly easy. Then, it's over. After all the time spent spelunking, your adventure is finally at a close.
Overall, the game is really fun, even if it IS cryptic at times. Most of the time you can find your way through the dungeon pretty well as long as you're aware of the existence of false walls leading to other screens and your need to stock up on everyone's items before searching for crowns seriously. I still play this game from time to time (in fact, it was an urge to play through again that caused me to write this review), and its charm only grows on subsequent playthroughs because you actually know how to progress smoothly.
Stumbling through with some basic information about everything, you can probably finish the entire game in less than a day, and if you really know what you're doing, a few hours. As the title of this review states, this game is NOT for the impatient. You'll have to work at it in order to figure out the ins and outs of who does what, what areas are meant for which people, and what items to bring along (unless you use a walkthrough, which sadly doesn't really make the task much easier). But if you're looking for a challenging game not due to gamer coordination but rather tricky puzzles and secrets, you might want to give this game a try. I took a chance and enjoyed this game even though I generally don't play adventure games very much; I hope that those that do play will enjoy it as well.