Game Reviews

Dragon Island Blue

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Dragon Island Blue

Given the insane popularity and longevity of Nintendo's Pokemon franchise, it should hardly come as a surprise to learn that other developers have been attempting to emulate the same success with rival games.

Dragon Island Blue isn't the first to try its hand, and we dare say it won't be the last, but it does offer a viable alternative to Pokemon-loving iOS fans.

You begin the game with a single freshly-hatched dragon, and work your way through a large fantasy world while engaging in random turn-based battles with various monsters.

These beasts can be captured and added to your own menagerie, and over time you can level-up their powers and evolve them into more potent beasts.

How to train your dragon

The combat is fairly standard stuff for this type of game - moves are taken in turns, in an order governed by the overall speed of each combatant. Simply put, faster monsters will strike more often.

Your beasts have different abilities and skills to utilise, and these grow as they become more powerful.

An elemental system based around water, fire, earth, and wind keeps things interesting, and allows you to get quite tactical when it comes to tackling the enemy. Quests form the backbone of the game, giving you impetus as well as providing you with a narrative string to follow.

With 200 different beasts to collect and a multitude of quests to partake in, Dragon Island Blue certainly isn't lacking content. Whether or not you'll have the stomach to see it through to its conclusion is another matter entirely.

Monster mash

While there's a surprising amount of depth - especially with all those monsters to capture - the game becomes very repetitive very quickly. It lacks Pokemon's charm and endearing characterisation - while you do meet other individuals along the way, they rarely provide anything beyond a wall of text.

Dragon Island Blue is likely to appeal to RPG-lovers and those who harbour an unnecessary urge to collect things. It can't hold a candle to Pokemon - the series it tries too hard to match - but it will keep your attention for a fair few hours at the very least.

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Dragon Island Blue

There are sadly no prizes for guessing which evergreen Nintendo franchise this game is trying to replicate, and while it's not in the same class, Dragon Island Blue should appeal to fans of the genre
Score
Damien  McFerran
Damien McFerran
Damien's mum hoped he would grow out of playing silly video games and gain respectable employment. Perhaps become a teacher or a scientist, that kind of thing. Needless to say she now weeps openly whenever anyone asks how her son's getting on these days.