Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara Review

Lots of Unlockables
Another great feature about this re-release is the amount of content that you can get to unlock. There are lots of concept art and even old advertisements of the two games that you can view and earn when you finish the game. Not only that, you can also unlock new modes to play such as a survival mode and more. This adds some replay value since the (both) games are relatively short.

Epic Boss Fights/Presentation
After each level is complete, be prepared to face huge and awesome looking bosses. The bosses include monstrous dragons to even dark elves with lots of magical powers. These boss fights look awesome and remind me of some of the monsters seen in any of the Lord of the Rings movies. The bosses here are also 2D versions of some of the bosses I saw in Dragon’s Dogma. I thought the overall presentation of the game looked awesome too considering these games are in 2D and were made back in the ’90s.

Not

Only For Retro Fans
As much fun as I had playing the game, I don’t think it would appeal to a wider audience. This is because this style of game is simple and Capcom left the game as it is. They did not tamper with the graphics or the gameplay in any way. Fans of the game will love this, however I don’t think any new school gamers will appreciate a game like this. It’s way too simplistic and it only lasts for a short while.

A Very Short Experience
With Capcom’s fighting games, I would say they have more replay value because you can virtually challenge anyone and never get bored. I still play rounds of Street Fighter II with my brother to this day and we’ve had our copy of the game for years now.

Sadly, Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is an adventure game and the experience only lasts for a short while. I completed both Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystara and Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Doom in around two hour’s time with my brother. This may even be shorter if you’re playing the game on an easier difficulty setting. Still, it’s still a short experience and I’m sure many other gamers will feel the same way.

Verdict

Overall though, Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara is a fun game and it’s nice to see that Capcom is rummaging through its archives to re-release some hidden arcade gems from the 20th century. I never knew these games existed, but I still had a lot of fun playing this game because I’m a fan of retro gaming in general. The RPG elements are what made the game more fun for me to play because it made the combat less repetitive. If you’re willing to bypass the short length of the game, I suggest all retro fans should give this game a try.

[Editor’s Note: Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara was reviewed on the Xbox 360 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]