Y2K Game: Draconus - Cult of the Wyrm

Draconus: Cult of the Wyrm

This game is hideously outdated. Yet, for some reason, I kept coming back for more. It’s one of those games that is dumb, clunky, and yet loads fun. I don’t think there’s much more to add than that, but I’ll do my best to describe my experience.

Draconus takes place squarely in a dark fantasy setting. A catastrophic event called the "Backlash" occurred, and now mankind must fight for survival against other races like trolls, goblins, and the undead. This recalls the Conjunction of the Spheres from The Witcher. To give humanity a fighting chance, you assume the role of either Cynric or Aeowyn, traveling the world to collect artifacts that provide an edge over other races and help fight against the forces of evil.

It’s crazy to think that George Takei lends his voice to this super-obscure Dreamcast game. The quality of the voice acting is all over the place—sometimes quite good, other times questionable. However, I was never put off by it; I found it charming most of the time. Some might say it's cheesy, I say it's got personality.

The missions boil down to retrieving key items and killing any bad guys in the way. Once gathered, these items can be used to open doors, hand off to NPCs, or access new areas to progress. There are also a few NPCs that provide hints or key items to help you out. Most levels feature a boss fight, though they don’t play fundamentally differently from regular overworld enemies. They just deal more damage and have higher health.

The combat is both enjoyable and frustrating. You wield a sword, so you’ll be hacking and slashing. You can also block, roll-dodge, side-step, and jump. Interestingly, enemies can perform the same actions. In fact, they use these maneuvers in a surprisingly intelligent way. Some enemies genuinely block, which can be frustrating, and they will even search for a counterattack once they block your strikes. They also employ jumps and rolls to dodge your attacks. It’s not super advanced AI, they’re still somewhat dumb, but you won’t be able to mindlessly spam the attack button to prevail. You have to carefully coordinate your blocks, dodges, and attacks to slay your foes.

As much fun as I had engaging with the combat, there were frustrations. The camera was definitely the biggest annoyance. There is no second thumbstick, meaning no manual camera control. It floated around however it liked, and in tight spaces, it would rotate wildly, leaving me unsure of which direction was which. I lost hit points, and even fell to my doom, because of this. I made a point to avoid tight enclosures to trigger less wild camera behavior, and I also avoided the edges of highly elevated platforms.

Another notable point is the "floaty" controls. For the most part, they were fairly responsive. However, once an action was committed, the character felt stuck in an awkward way. That sounds negative, but it generated the sensation of swinging a heavy blade. If you’ve ever swung a heavy stick, you know you can’t instantly change direction or stop mid-swing. Once you attack, there’s little you can do to change course. This feeds into the combat being more strategic. If you attack, you will be committed and open yourself up for a counter-attack if you miss.

What must also be commended is the level design. It is clear that each level is hand-crafted. They take place in a variety of settings: forests, castles, mines, a mage’s observatory, swamps. These different locations keep the game from becoming drab and keep things visually interesting. There where a few times I would get lost and wonder what I'm suppposed to do, exactly.

After completing each level, you will have an opportunity to level up your character. White fairies will be available for collecting throughout each level. You will be awarded one skill point for every five fairies. You are automatically granted a point just for completing the mission. You can beef up your defense, bolster your attack, or increase the power of air, earth, fire, and/or water magics. It's a neat little mechanic that makes exploration rewarding and implements some RPG elements.

Overall, my experience with Draconus was quite pleasant. It has a lot of that old-school, early-3D jank, but it also has character. I rather enjoyed the weighty combat, the varied levels, and the cheesy dialogue. This is another game I would love to see remade. Keep the levels as they are, beef up the enemies, improve the camera, and refine the combat to be snappier. I believe we would have a winner. I’d much rather have something like this remade than Oblivion.