Wait, have I used this platform to shout out my adoration for one of the most underrated gems of all time, yet? Back when I used to have friends, this would be the kind of thing that I would shower them with at every waking moment. (You can probably take an educated guess why I don't have them anyone.) But now I have you, proverbial abyss of nothingness that is the Internet, so I can satisfy my fandom by screaming at literal emptiness, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. So without further ado, let me introduce you to the greatest RPG that you've never played: Dragon's Dogma.
I can't rightly say when I first was turned onto this game, but I spent a fair few months obsessing about this fantasy gem that no one seemed to be talking about. This was also a point at which I had learnt about the usefulness of YouTube, and so I spent more than one night watching an hour-long dev showcase for this game. (Gosh, who remembers when games used to do that? CD Projekt Red don't, apparently.) I was that enamoured by the direction of the game. Maybe it was the robustness of the combat, or the perfect thematic cues, or maybe just the prevailing sense of a game that seemed instantly recognisable but still somehow mysterious. Whatever element of the game caught my attention, it kept it.
Every single piece of press surrounding this game on the leadup to release seemed to show off how this was going to be a fantasy like no other. Most prominently because, none of the monsters that you fought in the game would be pushovers. Whilst Dark Souls made every encounter memorable by raising the stakes and ensuring that you are never too high on the foodchain, Dragon's Dogma leaned heavily into the 'power fantasy' aspect of it's world and tasked the highly-capable player character with huge endurance bouts at every turn. You would be constantly engaging in, what amounts to, boss fights; but with all your cool tools and flashy moves, you never bemoaned the chance to slay another beast, you welcomed it.
This is all achieved thanks to Dragon's Dogma's fantastically simple combat system. Note my use of 'simple' instead of 'simplified'. (The difference in definition may be semantic, but in context it is game changing.) The game utilized a standard hack-and-slash formula (Only face buttons) in order to build the bones of it's combat, with one of the triggers acting as a modifier key. With that measly toolkit, they managed to build a vast array of action that didn't require any fiddling of the sticks. (Take note: every fighting game ever.) They used time delay combos, (Popularized in 'Devil May Cry' but also found in 'Lego: Star Wars'), secondary weapon combos (A favoured technique from hack-and-slash aficionados: Platinum Games) and class abilities, (Found in every fantasy RPG ever made. Except Elder Scrolls games for some reason.) to provide a variety of tools for the protagonist as they went about their merry way.
But, despite how incredibly tight the combat is, that wasn't the big selling point of Dragon's Dogma. They had a much more flashy gimmick to show off in all the trailers. Seeing how most of the mythical beasts in Dragon's Dogma were large hulking things (Much as the original legends would portray them.) one could opt out of kneecap slashing (Dark Souls style) and instead choose to climb these monsters and cut them down from there, just like in 'Shadow of the Colossus'. Monster climbing would drain stamina and require pinpoint timing to pull of successfully, but when you managed it you felt like an unquestionable badass.
Another interesting gimmick, although perhaps not as 'trailer worthy', is the the mechanic involving Pawns. After you've progressed a little into the game and learnt the controls, the game forces you to design your very own closest companion who will join you on your adventures. This is your 'Pawn', an interdimensional being without a will of it's own who exists only to serve you. Your party will be made up of 3 Pawns, ideally with differing specialties, who are all designed by other players. UGC at it's most integrated and useful.
The integrated online aspect doesn't just end there, as perhaps it's greatest form is realized in the infamous Ur-Dragon. The Ur-Dragon is an endgame boss that becomes available after the dimensional rift that rips it's way through the game's capital after you beat the main campaign. What players find with him is an asynchronous online battle in which players all over the world wage war against the same enemy but instanced to their game. Players have roughly 8 minutes to do as much damage as possible to the dragon until it flies off and they must unlock the chamber again to face him. The rewards are plenty for all who participate but legendary for those who kill him. (After he is 'killed' by the first player, all others can finish him off in their worlds for a limited time) Each time the dragon has killed it has come back more powerful in it's next generation, (or at least it did for it's first 100 generations, now it's too powerful for people to accurately calculate.) meaning that there is never a point in the game in which you have mastered every challenge. Not even Dark Souls has conjured a boss that ingenious before.
With all this praise that I have been showering the game with, you might be wondering why it didn't perform as well as it could have. Well, that's because it was unfortunate enough to share a release window with one of the greatest RPG's of all time (and an undeniably more popular one) Skyrim. Capcom had enough sense to wait 7 months after Skyrim to release their game, but the space wasn't enough and no one picked up the game that critics took one look at and labelled; 'Same-y', like the short-sighted fools that they were. This is likely the reason that we still haven't got any conformation on a sequel. (Outside of China's Dragon's Dogma: Online) Every now and then we hear lip service about how 'important' the franchise is to Capcom, but never any idea on when it will be developed again. Even last week we heard the "Nothing to say right now" response from Hideaki Itsuno (The game's director) so at least we know they still think of the thing now and then.
It is hard to convey exactly what it is about this game that is so special and unique, given that it borrows so heavily from other RPGs, but I think I've figured out a simple way to make it clear whilst only taking 3 minutes of your time. (In addition to however long it takes you to read this.) All I ask of you to do, dear reader, (imaginary or otherwise) is to access whatever music listening medium you prefer, and listen to the theme to Dragon's Dogma. But first, let me specify; I am not referring to the original intro the debuted with the 2012 release of the game, but the amended (and much superior) intro from 2013's Dark Arisen expansion release. Additionally, you should search for the full theme, entitled 'Eternal Return'. Then you will start to see what I mean.
I realize that this isn't a music blog (and I am by no means an expert of music or musical terminology) but I am a big fan of all facets of the creative process that goes into video game development, and so I can appreciate an incredible, encapsulating theme when I hear it. The song starts off in much the way that one would expect from the main theme of a fantasy game, a soft piano tune accompanied by indecipherable singing (Although this is different in that the lyrics aren't in Latin, but just old English.) At this point you've figured out the song, you know exactly where it's going and you likely aren't optimistic knowing that this particular type of theme was mastered by Divine Divinity and will never be topped. (Huh? I'm literally the only person in the world who would make, or get, that reference. This is way I have no more confidants, isn't it...)
The tune than builds up naturally to what feels like an intense 'boss-like' theme. The kind of tune that you expect to hear in a Dark Souls encounter (Even though memory always fails when it comes to capturing the exact tone of Dark Soul's boss themes, I always imagine it to be a shade more cut-and-paste than it actually is.) This seems safe, you think, still nothing to get excited about but this might turn out enjoyable. Except, then the music suddenly shifts, now it's adventure music! The tempo picks up and you're slightly taken by the swashbuckling nature of the thing, wondering how far they're going to take it. Then the electric guitar kicks in. At this point your enjoying what is basically a decent Final Fantasy theme, and it's starting to kick ass.
Things heat up into a crescendo of drowned-out chorus' and an epic sounding beat. At this point you've definitely figured out the tune, there is no way that this theme has any more surprises left for you. And then the interlude drops and you are thrown for a loop once again. This part is weird, it goes back to the feel of the beginning of the song but a whole lot weirder. They even play with some discord notes to contrast the harmony, it's actually rather attention grabbing. Whilst you're still reeling and confused from that, the song builds up once more into easily my favourite part.
All the pieces come together into a final verse that I just absolutely adore. The singing, the harmony, the chorus and the drums all collaborate to something that is undeniably epic. All these separate elements of the song that are borrowed from other fantasy properties join up to form a unique, and thrilling, entity. After that soaring crescendo, the song ends with a genre-typical trumpet charge into nothing for good measure; and if you're me, you're left with the urge to depart on adventure. But not just any adventure. Grand Adventure. Mystic Adventure. Epic Adventure.
At the end of the day, that is what Dragon's Dogma is; an epic adventure. 'Eternal Return' makes for a great case study for the game, as it's elements are a perfect microcosm of the entire product. Ideas and tropes lifted from contemporaries and bought together in a way that, by all that's right, shouldn't work; but, oh my goodness, does it! And I haven't even gone into the story of the game and explaining what the 'Dogma' itself is. Maybe that's for the best, as it leaves you, dear reader, (Who may or may not exist) to discover it all for yourself. I would recommend this game, but that isn't good enough. I demand that you look this game up, at least watch some gameplay on YouTube, something to let Capcom know had badly the world needs a sequel. (Heck, forget the world, I need a sequel.) Make it happen!
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