Dragon's Dogma

I've been following this game like a hawk since it was announced. Many times I've wondered about making a thread about it but never really felt like it.

Also, the other party members are not all created by other people. Some Pawns wander the world and are for hire with a currency called "Rift Crystals". Pawns do not die, they just go into the Rift and need to be paid for to be usable again.

There's a lot of info that can be found in these links:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CapcomUnityVideos/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/DragonsDogmaOfficial/videos

Capcom Unity's two live streams(2 hours each) have a lot of stuff in them. Apparently there is permanent damage that accumulates as you take hits which cannot be recovered with magic but only with potions. There's 9 different classes. 3 regular classes, 3 advanced classes(basically upgrades of the original 3), and 3 hybrid classes which are only available to the Arisen(main character).

The regular classes aren't entirely useless even though there are advanced classes. Mages have healing magic where their advanced class, the Sorcerer, has no healing magic. Of the nine classes, my favorites are the Magic Archer and Assassin. Both are hybrid classes. Magic Archer = Mage+Strider while Assassin=Fighter+Strider. Magic Archer can "lock on" multiple times or onto many opponents with magical arrows. Firing arrows seems to take up stamina as the Magic Archer. Assassins have access to all weapons except the staff(and Magic Archer bow) and are basically some sort of extremely well-rounded class.

Also, for those who like archers, the Strider and Ranger have unlimited arrows but this only applies to the basic arrows and not any that you craft or find(if you find them that is).

 

The demo for this game is coming out tomorrow for both PS3 and 360.

You can make your character(with the complete customization thingy) and import it to the main game if you decide to buy it. THIS GAME NEEDS MORE ATTENTION. Capcom hasn't done many things right recently but Dragon's Dogma has given me faith in Capcom again! ...Well, at least for this game!

 

Alright so I finally had time to play the demo and I've gotta say that the character creation system for this game is much better than Skyrim's in my opinion. You don't get to pick races(there's only humans...and Pawns since they're less than human) but that's not really a minus with how good you can make your characters look. I kinda made my main into a guy who looks sorta like a black-haired Fabio. In the character creation screen he looked alright but in the gameplay with him wearing armor, he looked awesome!

You can change how your character sounds which is pretty cool. Six different voices for males and six for females. Only three out of six female voices are worth using though since the other three were really man-ish. Though it was hilarious. Also, it seems that all hairstyles are available for both sexes so yay! The funny thing is, the more feminine hairstyles still look legit on the male characters.

You can change how your characters stand too! I knew that already but it looks pretty good. Weight apparently affects several things and I'm just now learning specifics about it. The heavier your character is, the more weight you can hold before becoming over-encumbered. Heavier characters also have a higher maximum stamina gauge. They also tend to stagger and fall over less. The downside is that they're slower, probably have a harder time climbing, and regain stamina much slower than lighter characters. Lighter characters can also be thrown much higher into the air(for catching a flying enemy!).

Height also affects your characters! I'm not sure about there being any pluses to having short characters(maybe they have an easier time climbing on enemies?) but taller characters have greater reach in their attacks. Height does affect your weight however(as it should).

As for the gameplay itself, I'm playing on a PS3 and everything seems to run smoothly. The lighting for this game is GREAT. I was fighting a Gryffin(so many ways to spell it so I won't check if this is right) and decided to let the battle drag on to see how that would affect my battle. In the end, when it got to nighttime I couldn't see the beast flying around so I was screwed. It would swoop in and knock my character down while my main Pawn took out a lantern to see better(which doesn't help when we've got a flying enemy). Basically, as the developers have said, avoid fighting during the night. Unlike other games, it's actually dangerous no matter how strong you are. Seriously, I couldn't see the Gryffin until one of my Pawns lit the thing on fire! It's a fun game and the mechanics are solid even though the demo is an outdated build of the game!

 

Felt the same way he did in the beginning. Didn't really think much of it.
Still, the gameplay looks appealing and I enjoy being on a team instead of solo all the time. The time of day feature is a nice touch as well. The sense of realism and medieval fantasy is truly brilliant. Psyched to try this when it releases next month

 

You can import your main character and Pawn(sidekick basically) to the main game when you buy it. So that saves you the time of creating them. Other than that, the rest of the demo is a bit "meh" because it's so short and all the freedom is limited down to a linear prologue mission(in which you character named Savan) and an extremely short Gryffin battle where invisible walls are everywhere to keep you from exploring. ;_;

 

The game is out now.


I've been playing for about three or four hours(I don't really know). I've been playing as a Strider this whole time while my main Pawn has been a mage(she's a sorcerer now though). I have to say that this is a really good game. You start out doing a prologue quest as another character(the same one that's in the demo). As soon as you finish it you get to make(or load if you've played the demo) your character.

It's a little slow until you get your own pawn. Here's a little thing beginners should take to heart, I did but I wasn't strict enough for myself, don't go exploring too much off the beaten path. Hell, don't go anywhere except for where you're supposed to go for awhile. You will get owned. I lost my main pawn and the first pawn I got at my side because I wandered off just a little away from a larger group of allies. I was barely able to manage saving a pawn I hired from another player.

Also...for those who make it this far, this will help:

Spoiler

When you reach Gran Soren and do your first quest for the Pawn's Guild, you'll run into a tentacle monster thing. I'd suggest not having a full party with you. The basic enemies are a little strong but the tentacle boss is unbeatable. You have to run back to the entrance of the dungeon. Having a larger party makes this difficult. I wasted a lot of good items and at leat 40 minutes trying to kill it. You can't. Just run away.

For those playing on the PS3 version, if you ever see a pawn with the name of "Mara", hire her! She's mine. 8D I put a lot more focus on her than my main character. >>;

Anyways, take good care of your main pawn otherwise people like me will find that you suck at making them useful and will never hire them. Also, if you want your pawn to be a melee-oriented character...I'd suggest making them huge and manly(even if it's female).





tl;dr This game is awesome. Get it. Now.