I have a love / hate relationship with KEMO and the games the publisher puts out. Many are a bit generic and paint by numbers, and then you have titles that are very creative and genuinely fun. These later titles tend to be games that I am very excited for and often tend to be far better than many give the games credit for.
I was under the impression that Dragon Spira was the latter type of game, but it is more of a blend between the two. It has many of the generic elements I dislike about the RPGs from EXE Create and KEMCO, but it does have elements of what I do like as well. I will not go into detail about the story as it is a typical RPG fantasy tale that you will find in many of these games. This is not to say it is bad, but it does not especially stand out to me.
Where Dragon Spira does stand out is in how it puts a spin on combat, character growth mechanics and skills. Combat here is deeply firmly rooted in turn-based mechanics that call to mind SNES-era JRPGs, with battles that are strategic and require thoughtful use of skills, items, and your Spirit Beast companions. As part of this, you can customize a wide range of jobs, each of which come with unique abilities, which will let you experiment with party compositions and tactics.
That does not sound special at first, but it is what Dragon Spira does with these mechanics. You will gain access to Spirit Beast companions and abilities called Wonder Skills that will change the way you play as you progress. Wonder Skills are extremely abilities that you gain as you progress and they can turn the tide of combat, while Spirit Beasts evolve alongside the story and gain new power and utility. Knowing when, where and how to deploy them helps give Dragon Spira a deeper decision-making process that gives the game depth and rewards foresight and strategy.
The real standout of Dragon Spira though is how it handles character growth, and this is what attracted me to the game in the first place. Dragon Spira does this with a board game-like mechanic where instead of traditional experience points, you will spin a roulette to determine stat increases and growth opportunities. This is an unpredictable element and forces a balance between luck and planning as you try to make choices about character development, such as which paths to pursue, which jobs to unlock, and which stats are best to focus on.
And there is a lot of potential for which way you take your party with a wide variety of jobs and classes and you can experiment with combinations to find what works for you. Evolving your Spirit Beasts is also a well thought out mechanic that helps differentiate Dragon Spira from the typical EXE Create and KEMCO style and I rather enjoy finding all the different customization options. In fact, Dragon Spira feels like a game where the story is just window dressing and the real draw is all the various customization tools for playing how you want.
These customization options manage to give Dragon Spira a lot more replay value than other EXE Create and KEMCO RPGs and the different ways you approach will mean no two playthroughs are the same. You can focus on different strategies or jobs and Spirit Beast abilities each time and come away enjoying the game differently each time you do. It is rare that I want to replay these games more than once,m but Dragon Spira does enough to make me interested in multiple playthroughs.
Obviously, Dragon Spira goes for a retro style aesthetic in its presentation, with bold pixel art that is vibrant and detailed, towns, dungeons, and overworld maps that are rich in detail, and animations are extremely engaging. Character design is well handled also, with each job class feeling distinct and unique and the Spirit Beasts being excellently designed, and very memorable. The audio includes an excellent retro-inspired soundtrack, with amazing battle tracks that are energetic and strong, and overworld and town music that is both relaxing and inviting, while sound effects are handled well and provide a good impact.
Dragon Spira is not going to be a game for everyone, but I had a lot of fun with it. It was different from the usual offerings from EXE Create and KEMCO and felt unique enough to stand out. As stated, I can see myself coming back to Dragon Spira more than a few times, and I feel this is a good direction for the developers to go in. With Dragon Spira, they have found the right balance and it is very inviting to players.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided