Vanillaware's "Dragon's Crown Pro" Returns To The Playstation In Glorious 4K Or Not!!!

I thought I'd never see Dragon's Crown reemerge on modern consoles. I thought it had lived it's course, and was long forgotten. Perhaps a gem, but forgotten. Thankfully that is not the case though, and a new generation of gamers can enjoy the experience in full with upgraded visuals to boot. For those of you who are new to Vanillaware games, George Kamitani's artwork, or Dragon's Crown you will find in place a fantasy masterpiece brought to life in the form of animated art. It is a beautiful side-scrolling co-op brawler with it's own slightly inspired story, a brilliantly read narration, and a cast of characters that make all the onscreen action worthwhile. You can go at it alone with NPC allies, or join up via the Playstation network with players across the globe. It is one of those buddy games that breaks the bounds of couch co-op, and brings to the gamer a competent online adventure that is worth taking on time, and time again.

Returning once again to Hydeland in pursuit of the fabled Dragon's Crown (a crown that can control dragons) your created character at the Dragon's Haven Inn will be tasked with using Hydeland's social hub area for quests, loot maintenance, and story progression. Initially you'll be able to choose from one of 6 character classes including the Dwarf, the Fighter, the Sorceress, the Wizard, the Archer, and the Amazon. Each adventurer comes as a blank slate that can be named, and customized (colors, quotes, spoken language ...) to your liking. Once they are created they will be guided through an in-game voice narration, and onscreen prompts to do as they are told. You will get a hands on tutorial through a short dungeon run, and will be introduced to the Hydeland town functionality as well. Shops, and places of interest like 'Morgan's Magic Shop', 'Lucain's Tower', 'The Castle', 'Dragon's Haven Inn', and the resident monastery known as the "Canaan Temple" will become focal points for intermittent quest activities, and story progression.

The gameplay, while complex, basically has your created character along with a group of three other NPC characters or player created characters battling through waves of spawning creatures on quest outings as well as defeating larger than life bosses. The catch being that each quest, once completed, will offer up more difficult versions of said quests with different bosses to defeat. Along the way you will also loot the locales with your accompanying thief Rannie in a point-and-click manner, and in doing so will secure hidden treasure as well as a treasure rank that will ultimately gift you better gear in ranked fashion. The loot in the game that can be appraised for a price a Morgan's Magic Shop, or after quest completion is a huge focal point in the game as it prepares you through items, and accessories to be better suited for the more challenging quests ahead.

Aside from loot that grants gear ranked from 'E to A' you will find that each character class has skills to be unlocked, and leveled up. Both in character specific form, and in a common form. These skills range from new special attacks, to buffs, and RPG element improvements. Each skill can be leveled up multiple times through points you earn via quest completion ultimately making them stronger. Between the looted gear, and the skill upgrades you can nurture a truly powerful character to be proud of. Not mention your character will level up as they would in an RPG through battle earned EXP, and according to a difficulty setting which is unlocked in order (Normal, Hard, Inferno) will allow you to raise that character's level cap making them even stronger.

As far as areas of interest go a couple of Hydeland's locales are for story progression, and a few for business matters. As mentioned before Morgan's Magic Shop offers some services to the player such as item appraisal. Morgan can also repair equipment, add bags for increased inventory capacity and organized loadouts, as well as offer consumables for your quests. The Canaan Temple also has a purpose in gameplay. A purpose that relates to fallen adventurers whose bones can be collected on your many adventures. At the Canaan Temple you can choose to revive passed adventurers for a price, and use them as NPC allies that can be assigned at the Dragon's Haven Inn, or you can put them to rest and sometimes gain loot for it. NPCs can be collected in both the online, and offline environments making them a crucial point for survival when you choose to adventure alone. Just know that the higher rank the fallen character is the more costly they will be to revive. Also note that when you or an online co-op partner dies on a quest your bones, and theirs will be left behind for other online adventurers to pick up and use. All with your given character quotes, and customization choices intact.

Another point of interest in Hydeland is the Guild Master's HQ. It is here you can take on quests for loot, and reward. As you progress in the game you will be privileged to main quests, and optional side quests with various completion objectives. At the Guild Master you can also learn, and upgrade character skills. Once you have a quest or quests assigned you will need to go to the town gate to cycle through the dungeon listings, and choose which path (A or B) you will take. As mentioned previously the 'B' paths, or new quest areas open up after you've completed a dungeon's 'A' path. The 'B' paths are more difficult while the 'A' paths are your standard affair.

When it comes to story progression Lucain's tower, and the Castle act as the storytelling portion of the game. Lucain's Tower also opens up later on as a ring, and runes dealer which will further open up secrets, and secret areas in previously played through dungeons. The runes will allow the player highlight environmental carvings that look like the obtained rune glyphs, and will sometimes cast a spell, provide treasure, or give access to once hidden areas/rooms. The rings on the other hand are limited use items that gift special elemental attacks/defenses depending on ring type. There is lot to discover in Dragon's Crown though it might not seem like it at the start. It should be noted that in some story panels you will be prompted to make a choice from multiple choices. This will sometimes lead to branching story paths, and sometimes end in a 'Game Over'. The choices will even at times reward you with gold currency or other items if you choose appropriately. Learning the correct responses will be a trial, and error ordeal, but in being setup that way it makes multiple playthroughs reasonable.

Whether you choose to play offline, or online via matchmaking (which is unlocked after making it to a certain point) you will find that the fun in Dragon's Crown comes mostly from the co-op experience, and that looting is the true end game outside of story completion. The game is one of decent replay value, and will have you invested for many hours no matter how you play it. It is an adventure chock full of 'Triple A' content, and includes an gallery of images you've collected through gameplay. That, and an optional newly arrange orchestral soundtrack by composer Hitoshi Sakimoto as well as the ability to change the language, and voiced narration via the included storytelling DLC. Japanese voice-overs are also an option. Nothing to frown upon at all.

The Presentation ...

This version of Dragon's Crown has "Pro" in the title for a reason. It is a visual upgrade meant to fully realized on a PS4 Pro, and on a 4K HDTV. That being said it can also be played on the standard and slim PS4 consoles, and still look just as beautiful. The latter claim I can attest to. Visually Dragon's Crown Pro' is an artistically animated masterpiece brought to life in the guise of George Kamitani's artwork. It animates perfectly, and plays out perfectly in HD. Control-wise the game functions seemingly more smoothly than I remember. Controls are super responsive as well as changeable, and the control setup itself user-friendly. The game, for the lack of a more descriptive description is perfection incarnate. It is a gem of a video game.

The Verdict ...

I knew I was gonna love "Dragon's Crown Pro" since I had already played through, and reviewed it when it was first released on the PS3 and PS Vita. It was great back then, and is great now. It's worth every cent that is asked for no matter what kind of TV you choose to play it on. I urge you, and beg of you to buy and experience this game! I'm hoping deep down that if the sales do well that ATLUS will re-release "Muramasa The Demon Blades" with all the DLC included in a similarly updated version on the PS4. Vanillaware games are true treasures, and come few and far between. Definitely get your hands on"Dragon's Crown Pro' while the getting is good. Trust me. You will not be disappointed.