Geek of Oz

Positively dripping with old-school retro appeal, Dragon’s Crown  (ドラゴンズクラウン)  from developer Vanillaware and publisher Atlus is a throwback to the glory days of 8 and 16 bit side scrolling beat em’ups like Double Dragon, Streets of Rage and, of course, Golden Axe. Bucking the market wide trend of 3D graphics, Vanillaware have instead opted for 2D, hand painted imagery with naturalised movement implemented through a process which looks like sophisticated Flash animation. In short, it looks like moving pictures. This somewhat lo-fi approach to the game makes for an original experience which is both completely fresh and yet delightfully archaic. For some reason, it’s exactly how I remember Golden Axe. I don’t remember it being as pixelated as it actually was. In my rose coloured memory, Golden Axe and Streets of Rage (including subsequent sequels) were every bit as fluid and vibrant as Dragon’s Crown. This in itself makes this beat em’ up all the more enjoyable.