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Draglade

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8.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 23 critic reviews
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Based on 1 vote
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Game Info

Publisher: Atlus USA

Developer: Dimps Corporation

Genre(s): Rhythm Action, Fighting

Players: 2

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Release Date: December 4, 2007

Summary

In Draglade, it's not just about how hard you hit or fast you move, it's also how well you can groove. An innovative mix of music and fighting means you will have to use your rhythm as well as your reflexes if you want to overcome your foes and show everyone that you’re a Draglade master. In the world of Draglade, Grapping has become the world's premier spectator sport. Scientists will discover how to turn atmospheric Matter into energy. Soon thereafter, a means of harnessing this energy – G-Cons – will allow for the conversion of this power into a weapon called a "Glade". When a Glade hits something, the Glade emits a sound. Fighters and entertainers quickly realized the potential of Grapping, as the music generated by the clashing Glades in combat provided an experience that couldn't be matched in any other sport. In this world overcome by Grapping fever, four young indie Grappers – Hibito, Guy, Kyle, and Daichi – will strive to reach the ranks of the Major Grappers. [Atlus USA]

Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

NintendoWorldReport

Draglade is a brilliant marriage of music and fighting.

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Deeko

In the end, Draglade suffers from a severe identity crisis, yet still manages to provide a coherent and competent experience that is enjoyable to play.

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GotNext

It's shallow, very easy, and tells a goofy story with all the sap of an after school special. That said, it's a very good kids' game, with some fresh ideas, and a unique blend of gameplay styles that make for a very appealing package.

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NGamer UK

The controls are solid and satisfyingly straightforward. [Mar 2008, p.71]

Cheat Code Central

It's easy to get a little hung-up on the presentation, but Draglade is a good fighting game when you look deeper beneath the exterior trappings. The controls are tight, and the action blows by at a steady pace. Adding a touch of rhythm into the mix is a fresh and exciting idea.

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GameZone

Draglade has a really unique premise that will keep players attention for a while, especially with the multiplayer aspects.

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Gaming Nexus

It may look like it is based on a Japanese TV show, but I assure you that this game is not based on a licensed property. And maybe that's a good thing, because Draglade proves to be an interesting take on the fighting genre that perfectly fits the Nintendo DS' limited hardware.

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Nintendo Power

The game offers a lot and it's all well-tuned. Just don't expect the publicized music element to be a big part of your playing experience. [Jan 2008, p.88]

n-Revolution Magazine UK

The combat system's not particularly deep and there's a fair bit of faffing around talking to people, but Draglade is a quirky, fun and accessible game that will appeal to anyone looking for a different approach to a standard fighter. [Issue#23, p.74]

IGN

The story mode can be played through with each character in just over two hours, the story is token "I want to be the very best." commonplace, and the characters did absolutely nothing to pull us in. What Draglade offers, however, is some solid battling centered around a unique beat-based combo system, allowing for a ton of customization and depth within a basic three-button fighter.

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GamerNode

If you get Draglade expecting a nice mix of rhythm and fighting, you're in for some disappointment. Get it expecting a decent brawler with some simple controls, and you'll like it much more.

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Gamer 2.0

So if you have some spare time on your hands, Draglade is worth picking up to get your fighting fix. Fighting based around beats is interesting but not enough to carry the game the way it’s supposed to. Mortal Kombat will probably be able to suit your fighting needs better, but Draglade is a decent addition to the DS’s fighting catalog.

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Zentendo

Each character's story, however, is extremely short, lasting at about two-hours for an average player.

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Pocket Gamer UK

Convincingly crossing dancing with beat-'em-up, Draglade is a fun, frenetic and hugely likeable DS B-movie.

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AceGamez

Draglade is a big, brash and bombastic game that wears its influences proudly on its matter-manipulating sleeves, but also isn't afraid to try something a bit different.

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Game Informer

The controls are responsive and the anime-styled graphics are crisp, but the campaign is short - even with multiple characters to select - and the combat is far too shallow to hold everything in Draglade together. [Feb 2008, p.102]

Official Nintendo Magazine UK

Good fun for a couple of hours, but then its lack of depth starts to show through. [June 2008, p.85]

GameSpot

Draglade's rhythm-based combat isn't as robust as it could be, but the story mode and competitive online play are still fun.

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Gamestyle

There's a lack of scope to Draglade that makes repeated play-throughs an easy and unrewarding chore, something that a sequel should aim to address in the future.

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Cubed3

Draglade screams of missed potential.

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Modojo

Draglade won't change the way you game, and Atlus has released more memorable games than this in the past.

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netjak

Within Draglade, there are several good ideas and the basic seeds of a solid fighting game. At its best, it plays like a stripped-down version of Jump Ultimate Stars.

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GameShark

With four character story lines to complete, dozens of bullets to find, multiplayer modes and the ability to create custom beat combos, there’s a lot to do in Draglade, it’s just not all that exciting to actually do it.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Rachel M. gave it an8:
Draglade is basically a fighting game, which I normally hate (eww, street fighter, MK, shaq fu, etc.) but this one's different... I'm actually having fun with it. Why? Well, when you start out you get to choose from four characters, who each have their own little story lines. You go to the same places no matter what (but some places branch and you can decide), but there are different characters, cutscenes and dialog for each. Each character also has different fighting styles... the default one has a sword, another has a two-sided-giant-spear, another has gauntlets, and another has a huge hammer. Besides your attacks, you have "bullets" which are essentially magic, and you can have six equipped at a time. The combos for them are "A", "Up+A", and "Down+A", and you can switch out spells by tapping the touch screen (You put two bullets in a row and just tap a row to toggle between). You have 5 MP to start with, but it regens pretty quickly. This also means you can basically heal yourself infinitely if you can find an opening in the enemy's attacks... which is easier said than done later on in the game! Also, you have the "musical" portion of the game, which doesn't seem to be very big part of the game. You can compose short "songs" that are maybe two measures long, and you hit "L" in the battle to go into some sorta mode and where you attack faster and your weapon makes noise, and if you time it right you get a higher bonus at the end of the battle. The game isn't just fight-after-fight-after-fight like story mode in other fighters, you can walk around town and talk to people, though they don't really have much to say and the only things of interest in towns are shops and the tournament places where you get quests and fight in the tournament to become a Major Grapper. Quests themselves generally consist of "defeat this" or "open a box at the end of a level", and you're warped immediately to them from the quest center. It's like part platformer and part beat-'em-up here, and it's pretty fun. But they can be insanely hard for some reason, and others can be easy. After you beat the game you're able to go back to any town or area and re-do quests and such. It even plays the cutscenes and such from that level, so you can sort of re-play-through the game with your spiffed-up character. You can also fight against someone else with the game, but it sets both your levels and stats to base so it's more like a normal fighting game (after all, it would suck to fight a higher-leveled friend with tons more HP!). You can use any of the four base characters, or any of the four unlockable characters you get after you beat the game with a certain character. Oh, and on a last note, the graphics are pretty nice as well. It's very polished and the sprites animate really well, and there's even some scaling during battles where the "camera" will zoom out when you two are far away form each other. The music is decent but really over-used. But the game is great fun. Not much replay value aside from the multiplayer part after you've beaten it with all four characters.

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