The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Collection Review

These intelligent folks at Ratalaika Video games are at it once more, with the discharge of not one, however two video games – all rolled up into one bundle of gaming goodness.

The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Assortment has gathered two video games as one – The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Half 1 and a couple of, promising to deliver to the Xbox all of the beat ‘em up motion you might ever want. However is that this one other case of good achievements, disgrace concerning the recreation, or does it truly present an honest problem? Nicely, let’s don our faculty uniform and discover out…

Now, as I’m positive you’ll agree, there’s nothing extra essential in a combating recreation than a coherent narrative. And fortuitously, there’s simply such a story right here. Whether or not it makes any sense I’ll depart as much as you to guage. 

It seems that we play a personality known as Ryuichi, a younger little one who goes to Dragonflame Highschool. The chief of the close by Hell Highschool kidnaps our sister in an effort to get us to struggle him; to show who’s the strongest. So off we go, battering anybody who stands in our means. The story of the second recreation is nearly similar, though this time we’re on a subject journey to Osaka, however once more, we find yourself combating all of the totally different Excessive Colleges on the way in which to the boss of the sport. You’ll wish to disconnect your mind and let your fists do the speaking all through your time at Dragonflame Highschool.  

What ought to come as no shock to anybody who has ever performed a Ratalaika Video games title earlier than is that this one is a retro styled, nearly 8-bit wanting title. The sport is offered as a collection of static screens, containing various numbers of tiny enemies, as we’re tasked with defeating everybody in an effort to progress to the following display screen. The character sprites are fairly small, and whereas they’ve a modicum of character, there isn’t a large quantity of element on show – both within the backdrops or within the characters.

Sound is okay as nicely, practical no less than, and whereas there are not any voice overs (the story, corresponding to it’s, is offered in speech bubbles), it does all really feel prefer it’s been ripped straight out of these tacky 1980’s martial arts motion pictures. All in all, the sport is offered in an affordable method, nothing extra. 

By way of the precise fight and it’s secure to say that we are able to deal with each video games as one, as they play out fairly identically. Avenue Fighter II this isn’t, with a button to leap, a button to punch and a button to kick. Leap kicks? All current and proper, and as soon as you determine that leaping kicks are essentially the most highly effective assaults within the recreation (which ought to take about thirty seconds, to be sincere) the remainder of The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Assortment turns into fairly surplus to necessities. Even the “hardest” bosses are capable of be locked right into a cycle of “soar kick, again off, soar kick, again off”, rinsing and repeating till they fall over. To name the combating system in these titles simplistic could be overstating the case a large quantity. 

There may be an try at making The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Assortment slightly bit deeper, which is at all times good to see. As you defeat enemies, they drop cash, and sometimes you will see that distributors which you can spend these cash at. These come within the form of both a restaurant or guide shops; the latter of which can allow you to use talent books in an effort to study new assaults and strikes to unleash in your foes. The one slight problem with these merchandise is that the fundamental soar assault is already the very best assault within the recreation, so these are pointless. 

That different store is a few type of cafe, the place you’ll be able to spend your hard-earned money on several types of meals. There may be meals that raises your assault, meals that raises your defence, and eventually meals that raises your most well being. These meals apply these buffs completely, so grinding some foes, after which spending the money on assault and well being, will quickly make you just about unbeatable. 

For a change for a title to come back from Ratalaika, the Xbox achievement listing is about up in such a means that not solely do you need to end every title to earn the complete quantity of candy Gamerscore, however there are even some hidden foes that should be discovered and defeated. That is lucky, in a means, because the combating motion is by no means robust sufficient to be the hook that can maintain you taking part in. The collision detection may be very a lot a difficulty hooked up to that, and as issues play out as some kind of pseudo 3D, it is vitally doable to your assaults to overlook fully, seeing your soar kick fly previous your foe. Lining your self up on the prime of the display screen is the simplest strategy to attempt to line the enemies up appropriately. 

All in all, The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Assortment is one other excuse to pad out your Xbox Gamerscore in a fast and simple method. To beat each video games, from begin to end, you’re taking a look at lower than thirty minutes, and so the time to Gamerscore ratio is fairly good. As a recreation in its personal proper, The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Assortment may be very a lot okay. There’s nothing overly good leaping out at you, and whereas the fight is ropey, the graphics are fairly poor as nicely, so all of it balances out. 

This isn’t a recreation that anybody will fondly reminisce about within the coming years, however for a fast Gamerscore hit, it nearly works.  

The Legend of the Dragonflame Highschool Assortment is on the Xbox Retailer