Capcom Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

[Falksi]

I think it's more like a modern day Beat 'Em Up.

I said it before, but this game is liske an "all grown up" or spiritual successor to Tower of Doom/Shadow over Mystara without the D&D license. The way it integrates RPG mechanics while not taking away from the core gameplay should make it mandatory playing for future game developers of RPG projects.

In fact, if Capcom ever got the D&D license again and put the people in charge of Dark Arisen on that with tons of budget I'd probably become such an insufferable shill of the game they'd have no choice but to ban me from this site after unanimous vote.

Personally I find this game easy to come back to even after having beaten it. It's one of my "I don't know what else to play but I want to play something" games at this point. Bitterblack Isle is a great dungeon experience and dark fantasy done well is always appreciated.

Aye. The base for a great sequel really is there. A D&D licensed game would be the cherry on the top (in the unlikely event that they did it justice of course).

I'm gonna give it another go as Assassin at some point again, and concentrate on Bitterblack. My main issue with the later playthroughs was mainly that all the other classes were boring as fuck compared to being an Ass-master.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

Try out a Mystic Knight. They are pretty fun to play, I'd rank it just after Assassin in terms of fun factor.

 

[Puukko]

Capcom has history with D&D but I wouldn't want to taint DD with modern Wizards of the Pozzed.

 

[Machocruz]

Capcom never forgets its history at least. Older games continually inform newer games. Comparisons to their DnD arcade games is fully warranted, and I see Magic Sword in there as well. And these are conscious decisions on their part, I'm sure of it.

 

[cruel]

Thanks for the tips, I will try rolling an Assassin then, or maybe even try Warrior once. I just hope that his video is NOT representative for Assassin gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OJMtYeFrVg

I really don't get it while the game allows for inifinite consumable spam during pause menu.


When I mentioned 'no impact' for combat, what I meant, two examples:
- playing as a Strider and slashing monsters / goblins with daggers: felt like cutting a cardboard basically
- first Cyclops encounter: battle takes forever, but at the same time it shows zero risk: you just spam the guy with flaming arrows while he runs back and forth, with no danger on his side. Either sub-optimal monster AI or I'm doing something wrong? I felt that this was one of the moments when I should be shitting my pants and shaking while fighting such a foe, but instead it felt just... tedious?

For some reason, I never like Monster Hunter games, and it was also hard for me to narrow down 'why'. Something about engine + fight mechanics + arcade feel I guess. But I will try once again with DD, too many people like this game, so it must do something right.

 

[Puukko]

Capcom never forgets its history at least. Older games continually inform newer games. Comparisons to their DnD arcade games is fully warranted, and I see Magic Sword in there as well. And these are conscious decisions on their part, I'm sure of it.

Compare that to how the other big devs treat their old IPs... Capcom obviously has series that are gathering dust, but at least they're not being raped and turned into pachinko machines or mediocre overpriced ports.

 

[Siveon]

Daggers in this game usually function by "death by a thousand cuts", which means there's low impact/stagger (base but with skills you'll get some pretty hefty moves) but you'll typically get the highest DPS. Weapons with the most stagger would be maces or two handed swords.
I can't really argue against sitting back using arrows being kind of dull, arrows are strong and can be made very interesting with Mystic Archer, but like the mage classes mostly involve dodging around attacks and proc'ing your ranged attack. If you find that dull, well, don't play the class. You'd also take out the Cyclops a lot faster if you grabbed onto it and stabbed it in the eye, just sayin'

 

[ERYFKRAD]

First cyclops is a pussy anyway.

 

[Zombra]

I played as 100% Fighter and never felt the combat was "low impact"

 

[Sinatar]

Playing as a warrior and landing a fully charged Arc of Deliverance/Obliteration is about as high impact as it gets.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Thanks for the tips, I will try rolling an Assassin then, or maybe even try Warrior once. I just hope that his video is NOT representative for Assassin gameplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OJMtYeFrVg

I really don't get it while the game allows for inifinite consumable spam during pause menu.


When I mentioned 'no impact' for combat, what I meant, two examples:
- playing as a Strider and slashing monsters / goblins with daggers: felt like cutting a cardboard basically
- first Cyclops encounter: battle takes forever, but at the same time it shows zero risk: you just spam the guy with flaming arrows while he runs back and forth, with no danger on his side. Either sub-optimal monster AI or I'm doing something wrong? I felt that this was one of the moments when I should be shitting my pants and shaking while fighting such a foe, but instead it felt just... tedious?

The first cyclops encounter, outside the Encampment, is essentially a tutorial, similar to the hydra encounter at the encampment or the chimera encounter during the prologue before you even create your character. Striders have an advantage in climbing monsters, which is one of the more interesting aspects of combat in Dragon's Dogma, but you'd probably be happier starting as a fighter, switching to a warrior, and eventually switching again to either a mystic knight or an assassin. If you're conscientious in pursuing side-quests, you should reach rank 6 (of 9) in your third vocation by the time you fight the Dragon, having reached maximum rank in your first two vocations.

 

[Lyre Mors]

I've played with all the melee vocations from daggers to greatsword and combat was glorious with each and every one. Even had a lot of fun with the bows. There is really no other action RPG that plays and feels like Dragon's Dogma, regardless of the class you're playing. Really can't see how someone wouldn't find at least the combat to be remarkable, if not a number of other elements.

Can't wait to see where they go with DD 2, but with the resources and time they need for it this time. Going to be so good.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

I don't tend to like playing magic in games (unless it's something like illusion/alteration or necromancy) but DD makes the spells feel like some serious shit just happened without overdoing it. It's pretty cool when you're in the darker depths of Bitterblack Isle and a Sorcerer lights the entire area ablaze with fire and obliterates anything in its vicinity or calls down an entire Meteor Swarm.

 

[Siveon]

It helps that spellcasting does matter a lot and has viable reasons for both a sorcerer and a mage.

This may sound like heresy but I'm pissed we never got that MMO. At the very least, this engine with these mechanics deserve to be in some kind of constantly updated game. It has some of the best game feel ever made, and I could take hundreds of hours in different dungeons with new quests (maybe not as harsh and obscure as some of the quests in Dragon's Dogma) and dare I say... mechanics or classes?

That's what Dragons Dogma 2 should be. Go even further on the D&D feel, go full NWN and have a side team just make expansions that I'd shill for. I can only hope the success of DMCV really does mean we'll see it some day...

 

[mediocrepoet]

Glad to see this game still gets such respect here.

I've said it before but, this is literally the game I've bought the most versions of. I'd picked it up the original release on PS3, then the Dark Arisen version, then again on PS4, then on PC, and finally on Switch. Despite all that, I've never felt ripped off.

It just really captures the feeling of adventuring around in a D&D style world well. That is, up until you break the difficulty wide open and start farming Gorecyclopes, Cursed Dragons, and Death, etc. because the entire world is your toy. But even that kind of captures high level play fairly well.

And I can't think of another game that can have a dragon flying around, breathing fire at you so you can't melee him, but you can bring him down by casting massive ice spires that pierce its heart and crash it into the ground where it thrashes in pain. But yeah, boring combat or whatever. Totally.

 

[Zombra]

This may sound like heresy but I'm pissed we never got that MMO. At the very least, this engine with these mechanics deserve to be in some kind of constantly updated game. It has some of the best game feel ever made.

Ugh, no MMO please. Something Valheim-like with servers for small groups would be fine but I don't need xXxYOURMOM420xXx doing squats in front of me in pink armor. Just make the game good and do post-release Season Passes to bring in income to support updates and new content.

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

This may sound like heresy but I'm pissed we never got that MMO. At the very least, this engine with these mechanics deserve to be in some kind of constantly updated game. It has some of the best game feel ever made.

Ugh, no MMO please.

He was probably referring to Dragon's Dogma Online and the fact that it was a Japan-only release. As much as I generally detest online multiplayer games, I would have made an exception for DDO since the fundamental gameplay is so excellent.

For the sequel, of course, we're all hoping for a singe-player experience that reaches, and perhaps even surpasses, the level of the first game.

 

[Siveon]

He was probably referring to Dragon's Dogma Online and the fact that it was a Japan-only release. As much as I generally detest online multiplayer games, I would have made an exception for DDO since the fundamental gameplay is so excellent.

Indeed, I was.

The gameplay of course isn't nearly as good or as smooth as Dragon's Dogma, but it already has combat that's leap ahead of 99% of MMOs anyway.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

I just want the next game to be like the leap Tower of Doom was to Shadow over Mystara. The DD you know and love, but heavily expanded on and improved in just about every way possible. Add more monsters, more vocations, more RPG stuff, more items. Maybe make something like cursed items that have a bunch of negative effects but it's the trade-off you make for power, you eventually find a rare spawn NPC that can purify them. Same with crafting, make it more like you recover the hide or scales of some tough to kill creature but you need a special blacksmith to lend their talents to making it into something truly remarkable.

Of course focus on the strength of how good the combat feels and build on that even more. With improved lighting a monster like the Displacer Beast would be a lot of fun to fight, having to keep a source of light handy so you can tell which is the real one and which is the illusion. Just ways to make an old school enemy feel entirely new.

 

[fork]

If anything, they'll add trannies.

Seriously, where do you guys take all that optimism from in 2021?
When was the last time a AA/AAA sequel to a niche hit improved upon the original in the way you're describing?

 

[Siveon]

If anything, they'll add trannies.

Seriously, where do you guys take all that optimism from in 2021?
When was the last time a AA/AAA sequel to a niche hit improved upon the original in the way you're describing?

Again, Devil May Cry V.

Edit: Dragon's Dogma did not have a low budget, it's not some indie game lol.

 

[fork]

If anything, they'll add trannies.

Seriously, where do you guys take all that optimism from in 2021?
When was the last time a AA/AAA sequel to a niche hit improved upon the original in the way you're describing?

Edit: Dragon's Dogma did not have a low budget, it's not some indie game lol.

Exactly, but it didn't sell very well, at least not from Capcom's perspective. And that's not because it was too casual or too bland.
Jesus Christ, I give up. Gamers are too demented.

 

[Generic-Giant-Spider]

The one franchise for Capcom you need to watch for them adding gay shit into would probably be Resident Evil since that's one of their big AAA series'. RE8's hypetrain came about because everybody wanted to motorboat a big titty vampire MILF and it didn't have gay shit festering in it, thank god. Their other franchises also don't have anything stupidly political or tranny to them. SFV even has a fuckton of fanservice outfits for their female characters, DMCV was as unmolested as you can hope to get and Monster Hunter has remained the same way.

So I doubt they'd do any dumb moves with Dragon's Dogma especially considering it's popular in Japan which is why they got the MMO to begin with. While Capcom has had a history of caving into dumb shit (removing Roxy/Poison from SNES Final Fight) they also realize Dragon's Dogma going overtly LGBT would alienate or disgust a lot of their Japanese audience and it's not like Dragon's Dogma has the brand recognition/legacy of Resident Evil or Street Fighter to where you can try to pull that off because it'll sell regardless.

If they ever make Chris Redfield a fag or make Cammy wear pants and Chun-Li a curveless wonder, that's when I'd be worried. Anyways who gives a shit overall, it's just fun to brainstorm what you'd want to see in the sequel if it ever comes to fruition.

 

[fork]

Even a truthful Dragon's Dogma remake (not remaster) wouldn't be viable financially, and you guys dream about more monster types and even more complex systems. I just.. I'm at a loss for words.

And about the woke shit. They're a couple of years behind Western publishers/devs in that regard at best.

 

[ERYFKRAD]

When was the last time a AA/AAA sequel to a niche hit improved upon the original in the way you're describing

Yakuza.