Dragon Force

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Review

One of the first real-time strategy games to hit the next generation console market is Dragon Force. The game places players in a fantasy world, where he commands numerous generals in an attempt to take over the land.

Standing in the player's way, are several other nations all trying to accomplish the same objective. Overlaying the gameplay is a complex political plot, that differs depending upon which nation you choose to play. Difficulty level is also determined by the nation you have chosen. Some nations are easier to win with than others given their starting positions and general's abilities.

While the main map screens are not graphically impressive, the zoomed in battles (which all take place in real-time) can encompass hundreds of individual warriors. Units include beasts, knights, mages, undead, monks, dragons and more. Futhermore, most generals have some sort of spells or special attacks that when used, can greatly turn the tide of battle.

The depth of the game is truly impressive, and certainly stands out as one of the better strategy games on any platform. It is strange that Sega didn't bring the title over to the US itself.

Hints / Tips

Avoid Desertions

     If you are tired of listening to your generals to see if they may desert in the next round, try this.
     Leave yourself some awards, save the game, select DONE in the Domestic Mode. Your
     chancellor will tell you who left your troops. Now simply remember these names and restart the
     game by pressing A + B + C + Start.

     Start the saved game, promote the 'disloyal' characters and they won't desert. If you have no
     awards left, you can donate a Faith Coin to them. This is also useful if you need to save your
     awards (and soldiers) for your main fighting characters.

     Mercenaries and thiefs normally get unhappy if they were used in combat and get no awards
     afterwards. To prevent them from desertion, deploy them to far-away castles for potato planting,
     but don't let them fight. They will not make trouble any more.

Bloopers

     For an audio treat, listen to the bloopers that occured while recording the voices in Dragon Force.
     To do this, beat the game, then watch the credits. Then at the "Fin" screen, wait about 5 minutes.
     After that the bloopers will start automatically.

Control the Zombie

To make the Zombie fight for you, send some of your intelligent fighters (INT => 70) to the towns
Magicka or Stalwart. Here you will find more than enough Spirit Crests to recruit the Zombie.

Debug Mode

     When the "Press Start" screen appears, hold L + R + X + Z and press Down, Down, Up, Down,
     Down, Left, Left, Left, Up, Down, Right, Right, Right, and Start. If done correctly, you will hear
     an error bleep and the words "Debug Mode" will appear on the bottom of the screen.

Don't Let the Bosses Escape

     If you fight one of the main generals (LEON, JUNON, REINHART, TEIRIS, WEIN,
     GONGOS, or MIKHAL) make sure that they have no castles left. Even when being captured
     during a struggle, they normally escape to a castle which belongs to their kingdom. With no
     hideout left they are forced to stay.

Getting Vlad with Teiris

     As Teiris, send one or more of your generals to the Fiend Tower and Vlad will tell you to send
     your leader. Then send Teiris to the Fiend Tower and you will fight Vlad. If you defeat him he will
     join you.

Getting Zanon with Gongos

     First use the debug code and select Gongos as your ruler. After the opening introduction when
     the first domestic affair appears go down to events. Select the last event and Zanon will be one of
     your generals. The cool thing is that Zanon will be equiped with the Eclisis and will be very
     powerfull only taking 1 hp damage per hit. You might want to save it right away and reset the
     game so you can play the game without debug mode on.

Hidden Character

In addition to the known fighters, there's a hidden dragon-man by the name of Vangal. His
location varies depending upon your chosen character. Here's how to find him:

     Wein:     Second village to the WEST of GALFIEL
     Mikhal:   First town SOUTH of DANYAN.
     Teiris:   Second village to the WEST of GALFIEL
     Leon:     Village EAST of Fiend Tower
     Gongos:   Village EAST of Fiend Tower
     Junon:    Village EAST of Fiend Tower
     Reinhart: Village NORTH to ESTONIA

How to get Hayate and Shirox

     North of Bozack castle there are two towns next to each other. Send your monarch to the left
     town and you will encounter Shirox, a somewhat powerful ninja. After defeating him, the ninja
     Hayate will talk to you. At your military conference, they'll talk about the incident. If your monarch
     knows he's part of the Dragon Force, then send him to that same town where you will duel
     Hayate. Whether you win or lose, both Hayate and Shirox will join you. Note:This will not work if
     you're Goldark.

Observe Thy Neighbor

Watch the neighbouring kingdoms for action to make conquering castles easy!

Deploy some of your armies in villages which are located near an enemy castle. If two enemy troops battle to conquer/defend this castle, just wait until the struggle has ended.

Now deploy your army to the castle immediately. If you're quick enough, the armies inside the castle will not have had time to reinforce their troops.