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| Edge = 8 / 10<ref>''Edge'', issue 45 (May 1997), page 90</ref>
| Edge = 8 / 10<ref>''Edge'', issue 45 (May 1997), page 90</ref>
| EGM = 37 / 40<ref name=EGM>''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', issue 90 (January 1997), page 60</ref>
| EGM = 37 / 40<ref name=EGM>''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', issue 90 (January 1997), page 60</ref>
| GamePro = 4.5 / 5<ref>{{cite web|url=//www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/587.shtml |title=Dragon Force Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com |website=Web.archive.org |date=2004-03-15 |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040315020049/www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/587.shtml |archivedate=March 15, 2004 }}</ref>
| GamePro = 4.5 / 5<ref>{{cite web |url=//www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/587.shtml |title=Dragon Force Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com |website=Web.archive.org |date=2004-03-15 |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040315020049/http://www.gamepro.com/sony/psx/games/reviews/587.shtml |archivedate=March 15, 2004 |df= }}</ref>
| GI = 8.75 / 10<ref>{{cite web|url=//www.gameinformer.com/jan97/df.html |title=Dragon Force |website=Web.archive.org |date=1997-08-13 |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970813044023/www.gameinformer.com/jan97/df.html |archivedate=August 13, 1997 }}</ref>
| GI = 8.75 / 10<ref>{{cite web |url=//www.gameinformer.com/jan97/df.html |title=Dragon Force |website=Web.archive.org |date=1997-08-13 |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970813044023/http://www.gameinformer.com/jan97/df.html |archivedate=August 13, 1997 |df= }}</ref>
| GMaster = 86%<ref>''[[GamesMaster (magazine)|GamesMaster]]'', issue 58 (August 1997), pages 32-33</ref>
| GMaster = 86%<ref>''[[GamesMaster (magazine)|GamesMaster]]'', issue 58 (August 1997), pages 32-33</ref>
| GSpot = 9.1 / 10<ref>{{cite web|last=Fielder |first=Joe |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dragon-force-review/1900-2533911/ |title=Dragon Force Review |publisher=GameSpot |date=1997-03-04 |accessdate=2016-03-11}}</ref>
| GSpot = 9.1 / 10<ref>{{cite web|last=Fielder |first=Joe |url=http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/dragon-force-review/1900-2533911/ |title=Dragon Force Review |publisher=GameSpot |date=1997-03-04 |accessdate=2016-03-11}}</ref>
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| rev4Score = 5 / 5<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/sega/dforce/reviews/dforcerdrev1.html |title=> Reader Retroview > Dragon Force |publisher=RPGamer |date= |accessdate=2016-03-11}}</ref>
| rev4Score = 5 / 5<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rpgamer.com/games/other/sega/dforce/reviews/dforcerdrev1.html |title=> Reader Retroview > Dragon Force |publisher=RPGamer |date= |accessdate=2016-03-11}}</ref>
| rev5 = RPGFan
| rev5 = RPGFan
| rev5Score = 96%<ref>{{cite web|url=//www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Dragon_Force.html |title=Dragon Force Review |website=Web.archive.org |date=2000-03-03 |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000303215551/www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Dragon_Force.html |archivedate=March 3, 2000 }}</ref>
| rev5Score = 96%<ref>{{cite web |url=//www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Dragon_Force.html |title=Dragon Force Review |website=Web.archive.org |date=2000-03-03 |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20000303215551/http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Dragon_Force.html |archivedate=March 3, 2000 |df= }}</ref>
| award1Pub = ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]''
| award1Pub = ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]''
| award1 = [[List of Game of the Year awards|All Systems Game of the Year]] (Runner-Up), <br> Saturn Game of the Year, <br> Strategy Game of the Year,<ref name=EGM92>''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', issue 92 (March 1997), pages 82-88</ref> Game of the Month, <br> Editors' Choice Gold<ref name=EGM/>
| award1 = [[List of Game of the Year awards|All Systems Game of the Year]] (Runner-Up), <br> Saturn Game of the Year, <br> Strategy Game of the Year,<ref name=EGM92>''Electronic Gaming Monthly'', issue 92 (March 1997), pages 82-88</ref> Game of the Month, <br> Editors' Choice Gold<ref name=EGM/>
}}
}}
''Dragon Force'' won ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'''s Game of the Month award,<ref name=EGM/> and its Saturn Game of the Year award for 1996.<ref name=EGM92/> It was also runner-up for the [[List of Game of the Year awards|All Systems Game of the Year]] award.<ref name=EGM92/> ''EGM'' later ranked the game at #111 on its list of '[[List of video games considered the best|The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time]]'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3147448 |title=The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time |website=1up.com |date= |accessdate=2016-03-11}}</ref>
''Dragon Force'' won ''[[Electronic Gaming Monthly]]'''s Game of the Month award,<ref name=EGM/> and its Saturn Game of the Year award for 1996.<ref name=EGM92/> It was also runner-up for the [[List of Game of the Year awards|All Systems Game of the Year]] award.<ref name=EGM92/> ''EGM'' later ranked the game at #111 on its list of '[[List of video games considered the best|The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time]]'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3147448 |title=The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time |website=1up.com |date= |accessdate=2016-03-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://archive.is/20120713133949/http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3147448 |archivedate=2012-07-13 |df= }}</ref>


==Sequel==
==Sequel==

Revision as of 20:26, 13 September 2017

For the power metal band, see DragonForce.
Dragon Force
North American Saturn cover art
Developer(s)J-Force
Sega
Publisher(s)Sega
Director(s)Tomoyuki Ito
Producer(s)Hiroshi Aso
Tatsuo Yamada
Makoto Oshitani
Artist(s)Koh Tanaka
Writer(s)Makoto Goya
Composer(s)Tatsuyuki Maeda
Platform(s)Sega Saturn, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Network
Release
March 29, 1996
  • Sega Saturn
    • JP: March 29, 1996
    • NA: November 30, 1996
    • EU: August 1997
    PlayStation 2
    • JP: August 18, 2005
Genre(s)Real-time strategy, real-time tactics
Mode(s)Single-player

Dragon Force[1] is a real-time strategy and tactics video game from Sega created for the Sega Saturn. It was created in Japan and translated for North American release by Working Designs in 1996, a translation that was also used by Sega in Europe under license from Working Designs. The game's main selling point was that battles involve up to 200 soldiers fighting on screen in real time, causing them to be often likened to the battle scenes in the then-recent film Braveheart.[2] A sequel, later translated by fans, was released for the Saturn in Japan in 1998. The first game was re-released for the PlayStation 2 as part of the Sega Ages series.

Gameplay

The player assumes the role of one of eight rulers vying for control of Legendra.[2] Units travel between towns and castles via fixed routes on an overhead scrolling map, much like the earlier Saturn game Romance of the Three Kingdoms IV: Wall of Fire.[2] When armies of different nations meet, they engage in battle.

Although both the world map and battles unfold in real time, the game pauses when the player enters a menu.

At the outset of the battle, the player must choose to Attack, Talk, or Retreat.[3] If the player chooses Retreat, their army loses the battle and some troops, and moves out of the victorious army's path on the world map. The Talk option opens negotiations with the enemy. The enemy may then leave their castle or join the player's monarch, but if the enemy refuses to negotiate, battle will start with the player bereft of all troops; because of this tremendous advantage, the enemy will nearly always refuse to negotiate.[3] If Attack is selected, each side chooses a general and corresponding company of troops to send into battle, and then chooses a formation which determines the arrangement of troops. The enemy side always chooses first in both cases, allowing the player to determine an appropriate counter-strategy. During battle the player can select commands or special attacks from a menu. Each individual skirmish ends when one general runs out of hit points or retreats. If both generals' armies are depleted, both generals are given one last chance to retreat before they are thrust into a one-on-one battle. Generals who run out of hit points are, depending on the general, captured, injured, or (rarely) killed in action. If the player's ruler is defeated in this manner, the player loses the game and must restart from the last save. The skirmishes continue until one army's generals have all been defeated, at which point the battle ends.

Every in-game "week" (a fixed amount of time on the world map), the player attends to administrative duties. During this time, players may give awards to generals (increasing the number of troops they can command or items that increase their capabilities), persuade captive enemy generals to join the player's army, search for items, recruit generals in the ruler's territory, fortify castles, and save the game. Plot-advancing cut scenes frequently take place at the end of the week.

Plot

Dragon Force is set in the world Legendra, which lived in an era of prosperity under the watch of the benevolent goddess Astea, until it came under siege by the evil god Madruk and his armies. The Star dragon Harsgalt and his chosen warriors, the Dragon Force, come to stop him. Personal disputes among the Dragon Force led to their downfall and left Harsgalt to face Madruk in a fight to death. Harsgalt, unable to kill Madruk, sealed him away until eight new chosen warriors could rise to permanently defeat him.

300 years later, the seal imprisoning Madruk has weakened and two of his Dark Apostles, Scythe and Gaul, have begun working towards his release. To ensure none will stop their master, the two of them manipulate the eight nations of Legendra into warring among themselves. Eventually, one of the monarchs successfully ends the war, though the events of how it occurs vary depending on the monarch. Regardless, the monarchs discover that they are the eight members of the Dragon Force, and that the only way they can kill Madruk is by obtaining the Dragon Power left by Harsgalt.

Despite attempts to stop them by Scythe and Gaul, whichever monarch the player controls gains the power, and then has to use it to defeat Madruk's final apostle, a robot named Katmondo. Madruk's prison continues to weaken, allowing him to release his army of dragonmen. The Dragon Force fight their way to Madruk's prison and find his three Dark Apostles waiting for them. Whichever monarch has the Dragon power leaves to face Madruk, while the remaining seven fight the Dark Apostles. The monarch with the Dragon Power kills Madruk, finally ending his threat. The monarchs are saved by Astea, who leaves the world to be governed by the mortals, saying it is time for them to stand on their own.

Within the game, eight different storylines exist, one for each monarch.[2] The campaigns for Goldark and Reinhart can only be accessed after the game has been completed, as they contain spoilers from the outset.

Reception

Dragon Force won Electronic Gaming Monthly's Game of the Month award,[6] and its Saturn Game of the Year award for 1996.[16] It was also runner-up for the All Systems Game of the Year award.[16] EGM later ranked the game at #111 on its list of 'The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time'.[17]

Sequel

Dragon Force II: Kamisarishi Daichi ni was developed and published by Sega for the Saturn, and released only in Japan in 1998.

References

  1. ^ Dragon Force (ドラゴンフォース)
  2. ^ a b c d "Dragon Force: A Force to Be Reckoned With". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 85. Ziff Davis. August 1996. pp. 60–61.
  3. ^ a b "Battle Preparation Mode". Dragon Force instruction manual (Booklet). Working Designs. 1996. pp. 29–30.
  4. ^ "Dragon Force for Saturn". GameRankings. 1996-11-30. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  5. ^ Edge, issue 45 (May 1997), page 90
  6. ^ a b c Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 90 (January 1997), page 60
  7. ^ "Dragon Force Review for PlayStation on GamePro.com". Web.archive.org. 2004-03-15. Archived from the original on March 15, 2004. Retrieved 2016-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ "Dragon Force". Web.archive.org. 1997-08-13. Archived from the original on August 13, 1997. Retrieved 2016-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ GamesMaster, issue 58 (August 1997), pages 32-33
  10. ^ Fielder, Joe (1997-03-04). "Dragon Force Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  11. ^ Consoles +, issue 69, pages 118-119
  12. ^ "Dragon Force- Review - Games Collection". Gamescollection.it. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  13. ^ Joypad, issue 68, pages 96-97
  14. ^ "> Reader Retroview > Dragon Force". RPGamer. Retrieved 2016-03-11.
  15. ^ "Dragon Force Review". Web.archive.org. 2000-03-03. Archived from the original on March 3, 2000. Retrieved 2016-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ a b c Electronic Gaming Monthly, issue 92 (March 1997), pages 82-88
  17. ^ "The Greatest 200 Videogames of Their Time". 1up.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-13. Retrieved 2016-03-11. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
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