Developed by HUNTERS
Released for XBLIG (1/2011)
Also on PC
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School was released for the Xbox 360 via XBLIG back in January 2011 and also received a port for the PC. The PC port does have a trial up for download but if you can't read Japanese it can be a bit of a pain to get it running. The developers of the game were obviously inspired by the 8-bit NES classic River City Ransom, to the point where you can pretty much call it a rip-off. That's not to say it's bad as I actually enjoyed my time with the Legend of the Dragonflame High School, though it is a very short experience. Overall the game running time is maybe 1/4 of the length of River City Ransom and can be cleared within an hour or two, depending on how much grinding for cash you do.
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School is a simple beat 'em up with some light RPG elements in the form of levelling up your attack, defense, overall HP and acquiring new moves. New moves are gained via books you can buy at one of several shops you'll encounter. Each of these shops carry different inventory and overall there's a pretty good range of moves you can arm yourself with. Your attack, defense and HP can be boosted by purchasing various food items. The game has something of an open-world, allowing you to backtrack though it doesn't serve much purpose other than going back to shops or beating up the easier enemies for some easy cash. Every foe that you beat down will leave a coin which you'll be spending at the shops. It's a bit of a bummer that every enemy gives the same coin value ($50) as it really feels like some of the tougher bosses should give you a bigger money bonus. The game allows you to save at any point and when you return all of your character's attributes will remain intact. Some of the enemies and bosses can be a bit tough at first, but a little time spent levelling up will make it easier.
The main protagonist, Ryuichi, is trying to save his sister Miyuki who's been kidnapped and is being held at the school by Enma. You have punch, kick and jump buttons at your disposal in order to beat your way to justice. There are also a few weapons scattered about, such as a baseball bat or a bamboo stick, that can be picked up and used to hit your opponents. Other weapons like the trash can and soccer ball can alternatively be kicked, sending them flying towards your enemies.
The graphics in Legend of the Drgonflame High School are incredibly basic, even less detailed than the NES game that inspired it. Everything looks like it could have been made with MS Paint and the use of color is very basic, but it does look like some effort was put forth especially in regards to the enemy design. I really appreciate how just about every screen presents a new group of thugs to beat up rather than just fighting the same handful of sprites repeatedly. When defeated, enemies will usually have some dialogue and some of them are quite funny due to the mangled translation. The music sounds like Midi music from an early '90's PC and some of the tunes are quite catchy. After beating down the final boss on the rooftop of the high school the player is presented with the stage one music now featuring a Japanese female vocalist singing over it. The oddly translated ending and song lyrics are very amusing. If you don't mind a spoiler (I doubt anyone will play this but just in case), check them out here. The sound design is very simple but the hit impact sounds good which is very important to me in my beat 'em ups. While the game is quite short and not as good as River City Ransom, it's a safe bet that beat 'em up fans will enjoy it while it lasts. It's a shame it didn't sell better on the XBLIG marketplace, which perhaps could have prompted HUNTERS to make a sequel as there was lot of promise in this one.
Final Verdict: The Legend of the Dragonflame High School is a nice River City Ransom clone that is an enjoyable play for beat 'em up fans that unfortunately ends a bit too soon.
Released for XBLIG (1/2011)
Also on PC
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School was released for the Xbox 360 via XBLIG back in January 2011 and also received a port for the PC. The PC port does have a trial up for download but if you can't read Japanese it can be a bit of a pain to get it running. The developers of the game were obviously inspired by the 8-bit NES classic River City Ransom, to the point where you can pretty much call it a rip-off. That's not to say it's bad as I actually enjoyed my time with the Legend of the Dragonflame High School, though it is a very short experience. Overall the game running time is maybe 1/4 of the length of River City Ransom and can be cleared within an hour or two, depending on how much grinding for cash you do.
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School is a simple beat 'em up with some light RPG elements in the form of levelling up your attack, defense, overall HP and acquiring new moves. New moves are gained via books you can buy at one of several shops you'll encounter. Each of these shops carry different inventory and overall there's a pretty good range of moves you can arm yourself with. Your attack, defense and HP can be boosted by purchasing various food items. The game has something of an open-world, allowing you to backtrack though it doesn't serve much purpose other than going back to shops or beating up the easier enemies for some easy cash. Every foe that you beat down will leave a coin which you'll be spending at the shops. It's a bit of a bummer that every enemy gives the same coin value ($50) as it really feels like some of the tougher bosses should give you a bigger money bonus. The game allows you to save at any point and when you return all of your character's attributes will remain intact. Some of the enemies and bosses can be a bit tough at first, but a little time spent levelling up will make it easier.
The main protagonist, Ryuichi, is trying to save his sister Miyuki who's been kidnapped and is being held at the school by Enma. You have punch, kick and jump buttons at your disposal in order to beat your way to justice. There are also a few weapons scattered about, such as a baseball bat or a bamboo stick, that can be picked up and used to hit your opponents. Other weapons like the trash can and soccer ball can alternatively be kicked, sending them flying towards your enemies.
The graphics in Legend of the Drgonflame High School are incredibly basic, even less detailed than the NES game that inspired it. Everything looks like it could have been made with MS Paint and the use of color is very basic, but it does look like some effort was put forth especially in regards to the enemy design. I really appreciate how just about every screen presents a new group of thugs to beat up rather than just fighting the same handful of sprites repeatedly. When defeated, enemies will usually have some dialogue and some of them are quite funny due to the mangled translation. The music sounds like Midi music from an early '90's PC and some of the tunes are quite catchy. After beating down the final boss on the rooftop of the high school the player is presented with the stage one music now featuring a Japanese female vocalist singing over it. The oddly translated ending and song lyrics are very amusing. If you don't mind a spoiler (I doubt anyone will play this but just in case), check them out here. The sound design is very simple but the hit impact sounds good which is very important to me in my beat 'em ups. While the game is quite short and not as good as River City Ransom, it's a safe bet that beat 'em up fans will enjoy it while it lasts. It's a shame it didn't sell better on the XBLIG marketplace, which perhaps could have prompted HUNTERS to make a sequel as there was lot of promise in this one.
Final Verdict: The Legend of the Dragonflame High School is a nice River City Ransom clone that is an enjoyable play for beat 'em up fans that unfortunately ends a bit too soon.
Related Links:
Beat 'em Ups - Xbox Overview
XBLIG Games - Xbox Overview
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School - Ending Spoilers
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School Trailer - YouTubeBeat 'em Ups - Xbox Overview
XBLIG Games - Xbox Overview
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School - Ending Spoilers
The Legend of the Dragonflame High School Trial for PC - DLSite
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