Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen (NSP, XCI) ROM + v1.0.1 Update

Dragon’s Dogma Dark Arisen was later released for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Set in Gransys, a high fantasy world inspired by Sicily, the player takes on the role of a human protagonist dubbed the Arisen on a quest to defeat the dragon Grigori, a being said to herald the world’s end, while uncovering a deeper conspiracy along the way.

The gameplay focuses on the Arisen—a customizable avatar—exploring Gransys completing quests and fighting monsters in real-time combat. The protagonist is accompanied by Pawns, characters who provide combat support and advice; the protagonist has one customized Pawn, and two additional Pawns either pre-set within the game or other customized Pawns shared by other players through an online lobby. Both standard combat and boss battles involve grappling with or climbing on enemies.

The design document for Dragon’s Dogma was created by director Hideaki Itsuno in 2000 before working on Devil May Cry 2. Itsuno successfully pitched the project and production began in 2008. The 150-strong staff, who had previously worked on Capcom franchises such as Street Fighter, Breath of Fire, and Devil May Cry, took inspiration from Devil May Cry 4. The music, led by Tadayoshi Makino and including contributions from Israeli-American composer Inon Zur, used a full orchestra and focused on ambiance. Dark Arisen was designed to incorporate fan feedback and offer a complete experience for both old and new players.

Dragon’s Dogma received positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay but generally criticized the narrative for being lacking. The original game and Dark Arisen had sold 7.9 million units by September 2023. A Japan-exclusive massively multiplayer online role-playing game titled Dragon’s Dogma Online was released in 2015. An original net animation adaptation was globally released on Netflix in 2020. A sequel, Dragon’s Dogma 2, is scheduled to release on March 22, 2024.

GAMEPLAY

Dragon’s Dogma is an action role-playing game set in an open-world environment and played from a third-person perspective. The player can select between various vocations: Fighter, Strider, Mage, Warrior, Mystic Knight, Ranger, Assassin, Sorcerer, and Magic Archer. Gender choice and appearance settings are also available. The vocation, or class system, changes gameplay and tactical options available to the player. For example, the Fighter has abilities that focus on hack-and-slash combat and the Strider is skilled at climbing large enemies. The game was designed to be playable even by those who are not skilled at action games.

One of the game’s main innovations is the “pawn” system. While the player’s party is exploring the world, the three party members who accompany the main character are controlled by artificial intelligence, but the player can issue orders to them, including “go”, “help” and “come”. One of the party members is a non-playable character (NPC) and belongs to the main character’s world, while the other two party members are NPCs borrowed from other players by connecting online or are locally generated by the game.

The party members, referred to as pawns, can talk, seek the main character’s help, and provide information about enemies. The player must work on strengthening the main character and the party members. The pawns are vocal, yelling out useful hints and strategies, which are often vitally important to surviving tough boss encounters and dungeons. The pawn system also features social networking features.

The game features a “grab” action, where the main character can grab or cling to enemies, objects, or NPCs. The player can use this feature for more advanced attacks. For example, the main character can either grab onto a griffin’s legs and attack it directly, or climb up to reach its head for a more lethal blow.

“In a lot of action games, with big enemies, the tendency is just to have you hacking away at the shins. You don’t get the full effect of fighting a giant boss,” Hideaki Itsuno, the director of Dragon’s Dogma, said. “With this game, you can climb all over it. If it has a body part, you can attack it.”

The game’s large open-world environments have drawn comparisons to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In addition to the large open world, Dragon’s Dogma features a large city environment with over 200 non-player characters (NPCs) who move about according to their schedules. The player can communicate with the residents in full voice. The game also features a persistent world with a dynamic weather system and a day-night cycle.

The game’s hack-and-slash combat elements have been compared to their own Devil May Cry series and Dark Souls. Some of the fantasy elements are reminiscent of Breath of Fire, and the combat and party systems have been compared to Monster Hunter.