RandomNPC – Video Game RPG Reviews, Editorials, and Features

George Kamitani, director of the upcoming PS3/PSV RPG brawler Dragon’s Crown, spoke with Famitsu Magazine this week and laid bare a few new details about the game. Amongst the gameplay details and design notes comes the unexpected tidbit that Dragon’s Crown was in fact initially slated to appear on the Dreamcast, but that the developer could not find a publisher for the title.

Mr. Kamitani spoke at length about the philosophy behind the multiplayer aspect of Dragon’s Crown. Teamwork, he said, was a focus, with players having to work together in order to maintain fighting strength. For example, weapons can be damaged and lost in combat, and a Fighter may find himself unarmed until, for example, a Thief could steal him a new blade. Players without anyone to fight alongside will have access to AI allies, thankfully, and players are allowed to select the same character. Mr. Kamitani said that they would add palette swaps of characters in order to help differentiate between players if they had time, but otherwise the player’s names would appear over their respective characters.

Dragon’s Crown will feature a couple of communication-based features, including the ability to leave a dying message in the style of Demon’s Souls. Player to player communication otherwise seems relatively limited, with chat limited to greetings. Dead players will appear in game as bones, which surviving players can examine, and even convert into an NPC for the party to use.

In closing Mr. Kamitani said that Dragon’s Crown was a game he genuinely wanted to make, and that players should expect further announcements about features in the game. Vanillaware is currently adding staffers in order to finish the game in time for its 2012 release date.