Dragoon (XBLIG): "A Simple Yet Beautifully Rendered XBLIG Fighter"

Many of those who know me, both online and offline realize how much of a fighting game fanatic I am. I've played many different fighting games in my years as a dedicated gamer. In fact most of my money has went towards supporting that particular gaming hobby of mine. Today I researched past XBLIG fighting game titles, and discovered a game called 'Dragoon'. Dragoon is an XBLIG fighting game that was developed by 'XELF'. When I first watched the trailer it reminded me of Killer Instinct mixed with Soul Calibur. Needless to say my undivided attention was immediately turned to seeking out the developer's permission to review this game. I was definitely glad they had a spare review code, and that they were kind enough to share the game with me.

Dragoon is a basic 2D style fighter with 3D renderings. The graphics were amazing, and the in-game effects were top-notch. The game features a single player, and 2 player versus mode that lasts one match. There is also only one available character with 2 costume variations. The variations of the female character 'Lulie' are basically palette swaps, but go by different names. The black outfit is titled 'Candlelight Lulie' while the white, and blue costume is titled 'Skylight Lulie'. If I had to compare Lulie's look to any fighting game it would be a mixture of a female character from the 'Tobal' series, and from the 'Killer Instinct' games. She is by no means a copy though.

The start menu in Dragoon features several options. It gives you a DEMO of the gameplay, and a 'How To Play' section. I found that the 'How To Play' section was very detailed, and was displayed in an arcade move list style. You also had the option to change the language to English if you can't read the Japanese/Asian script that the game originally came with. The 'Settings' section was quite detailed, and featured several unique in-game customizations. You have the choice of 2 - 5 rounds, a 60' - 99' sec round, a visual framerate (counter), Bloom (which I assume is the lighting effects), Orthographic mode, and the choice of a visible actor guide (wire character framing/movement). Each of these options can be enabled, or made visible in the game. The orthographic mode was really interesting, and reminded me of a 'Super Smash Bros. Melee' type of perspective. I thought the unique options were definitely cool.

Gameplay in Dragoon is fairly basic. I assume that the game's strong point will actually be the 2 player versus mode. I believe it would actually be more fun playing against another gamer. Like I mentioned previously the game features the 2 variations of the one female character. As one of these Fighters your goal is to get a KO, or a 'time out' win within the given time (or when time runs out). Lulie the main character of the game can perform combos, sweeps, and lance (her dragoon weapon) strikes. I was surprised that Lulie had a lot more movement options than I had expected. She can roll, and even do an evasive backflip. As for combat/fighting she mainly does different types of kicks, and weapon strikes. The character movement seemed similar to that of the 'Killer Instict' characters I used to play as at the arcades. I think the developer actually did a good job considering this is a low-budget XBLIG title. In fact I'd go as far as to say it's one of the more visually, and mecahnically impressive fighting games available for the Xbox 360's XBLIG library.

In the end I found Dragoon to be quite a stunning little fighter. The visuals definitely caught my attention, and were part of my reason for seeking it out for review. The gameplay mechanics were very responsive, even more so than MK9 which is saying a lot. If you don't know what I mean by that it's simply that the controls in Dragoon respond much better than those for MK9. I've found that MK9's moves are hit, or miss most of the time. I would have loved to have seen more moves/combos but the developer did good with what they delivered. I would have also loved to have seen more levels/stages, characters, and weapon types. I do realize however that the game is already made, but if XELF were to make a sequel with these said changes I believe it would be a true success.