Video Game Vintage Title: Dragon's Dogma

Dragon's Dogma

Dragon's Dogma is an action role-playing video game developed and published by Capcom for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game features an open world fantasy setting, in addition to hack and slash and survival horror gameplay elements, and was released in North America on May 22, 2012, in Japan and Australia on May 24, 2012 and in Europe on May 25, 2012. The game was developed by staff members that worked on previous Capcom franchises such as Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Breath of Fire. Following the game's successful launch, Capcom is planning to develop a sequel.

Dragon's Dogma Plot

The game begins with an unknown knight proceeding through a deep canyon and eventually a temple. After fighting a Chimera, he goes into a set of doors leading to an unknown beast. The game then passes through a number of years until the next appearance of the Dragon, a sign of the end of days.

During its raid on the fishing village of Cassardis, a dragon approaches the hero of the story, telling them that he or she - depending on the choice of the player - is the "chosen one", and proceeding to tear out their heart. Due to having their heart taken, the hero is revived as an "Arisen", and is destined to find and kill the dragon that stole their heart. The Arisen proceeds to an encampment along the way to the capital, Gran Soren. During their stay at the encampment, a hydra attacks. The Arisen cuts off one of its heads, and proceeds to the capital with the head to be presented as a gift to the duke of Gran Soren. After reaching Gran Soren, and investigating a hole known as the Everfall, he works for the Wyrm Hunt, where the Arisen proceeds to do various tasks, including uncovering a cult known as Salvation, who want the dragon, known as Grigori, to destroy the world.

After working for the duke, the Arisen is tasked with stopping the leader of Salvation, Elysion, who is attacking a castle. After reaching the top of the castle and defeating the attackers, Grigori arrives and kills Elysion, and it is revealed that Grigori has captured the Arisen's love interest.

The Arisen arrives at the Tainted Mountain to fight Grigori, and is presented with a choice, to sacrifice his beloved, or to face the dragon. The Arisen fights the dragon, and stabs it in the heart. The Arisen recovers their heart, and goes back to Cassardis with his beloved. After a few days of peace, the Arisen treks back to Gran Soren. Along the way, several details are revealed. The sky has been blotted out and replaced with greenish gray clouds that rain ash, and all normal monsters have been replaced with much stronger versions. After the Arisen reaches Gran Soren, it is revealed that half of it has collapsed, leaving a gaping hole. The Arisen goes to meet the duke, and is surprised to see that the duke has turned into a frail old man. It is revealed that the duke made a deal with Grigori to make himself immortal, but without Grigori, the deal is now forfeited. The duke attacks, blaming the Arisen for his condition, but he is swiftly beaten. Guards arrive, and the duke accuses the Arisen of placing a curse on him and of making a deal with Grigori. The Arisen is then hunted by the guards. Faced with death, the Arisen dives into the hole.

The hole is actually The Everfall, a center for the strongest monsters in the world and a nexus that connects all worlds together. There Arisen meets a pawn named Quince, who tasks the Arisen with collecting 20 Wakestones to unlock a portal. After unlocking the portal, the Arisen enters the portal and finds the Seneschal, the mastermind behind the workings of the entire world. The Seneschal is a mysterious being, covered in a glowing light and having two voices, one a woman, and another a man. After a short fight, the Seneschal is revealed to have been the knight at the beginning of the game, having defied Grigori after entering the temple, choosing to fight him and succeeding.

The Arisen and his pawn fight the Seneshal, known as Savan, and his pawn. In return for defeating the Seneschal, he/she takes Savan's place, becoming a new fount of will to the world. Before dying, Savan reveals information about being the Seneschal, and tells the Arisen, that he is not the only Arisen currently, as there are multiple universes with their own respective pawns, and as a result, he is only the Seneschal of this universe, though it is a bitter reward, as the Arisen cannot be seen by anyone in the world once they return from their throne. Using the Godsbane, a sword granted to him by Grigori and Savan, the Arisen stabs himself in the heart. The body of the Arisen and the main pawn are sent hurtling back to the world. The pawn wakes up on the beach, and it is revealed by the change in his/her voice that the pawn's form has changed into that of the Arisen. The pawn is then greeted by the Arisen's love interest, and they walk along the beach to Cassardis. If the player romanced Selene (who was earlier revealed to be a former pawn from a past Arisen, her grandmother, who had given Selene her body and will to allow her to live as a human), she reveals that the Arisen has given his/her pawn their will and body to free them from the eternity of a pawn's life.

By starting a new game plus after this, it is revealed that generations have passed since the death of Grigori and Savan, and the attack on Cassardis happens again, with the events repeating. The difference in the attacks in the current generation is that the Arisen (who may or may not maintain his appearance from the original playthrough) has the skills and equipment from the original.

Dragon's Dogma Gameplay

The player is able to select between various types of the vocations: Fighter, Warrior, Mystic Knight, Strider, Ranger, Assassin, Mage, Sorcerer, and Magic Archer. Gender choice and appearance settings are also available. The class system, or vocation, makes a difference to the gameplay and tactical options available to the player, ranging from Fighters relying on hack and slash combat (with a move-set similar to Capcom's Devil May Cry) to Striders' skill at climbing on large enemies (like in Shadow of the Colossus).

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 the orders to them: "Go", "Help" and "Come". One of the party members is a non-playable character (NPC) and belongs to the main character's world. The other two party members are NPCs, which can be NPCs borrowed from other players by connecting online or 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 on to 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 ability to climb enemies has drawn comparisons to Shadow of the Colossus.

The game's large open-world environments have drawn comparisons to Capcom's own Monster Hunter series as well as The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. In addition to the large open world, Dragon's Dogma will also feature a large city environment with over 200 NPCs who will move about according to their own time schedules. The player will be able to communicate with the residents in full voice. The game features a persistent world with a day-night cycle; this affects the gameplay during the night, when the game takes on a more survival horror feel reminiscent of Capcom's Resident Evil series. In addition, the game's art style and character movements have been compared to Dark Souls, the hack-and-slash combat elements have been compared to Devil May Cry and Dark Souls, some of the fantasy elements have been compared to Breath of Fire, and the combat and party systems have been compared to Monster Hunter.

The game is designed to be playable even by those who are not too skilled at action games. These types of players can recruit strong NPCs and let them do the fighting during combat as they watch over the battlefield. Players have access to 40 to 50 hours of main quest play and up to an additional 70 hours or more of side quests.