Summary
Excellent classic adventuring
The Good
There is a lot to like about "Dragonsphere". The most noteworthy point is that it looks so ordinary on the paper yet manages to deliver a very solid adventure experience. I heard Microprose made this game to prove they could also create great adventures if they wanted. The game's graphics and similar are very similar to
Rex Nebular, but it's not a comedy adventure, but a rather serious fantasy story.
Everything in "Dragonsphere" is presented with taste and style. The first impression is perhaps that this game is yet another imitation of Sierra or LucasArts classic adventures. In fact, the puzzle design and the classic, logical story development remind of LucasArts, while the interaction with characters and objects is entirely Sierra style. The result is a true traditional adventure, that is perhaps not strikingly original, but that delivers everything a fan of classic adventure needs.
The story might seem to you pretty banal in the beginning, but somewhere in the middle of the game there is an absolutely shocking plot twist, that will for sure break any monotony the story could have before. Still, even if it were a simple tale of a "good king fighting the evil wizard" (which it is
not!), "Dragonsphere" would be a fine game. First of all, it has one of the best scripts I ever encountered in a game. The dialogues are cleverly written, with a lot of attention to details that enhance the gaming experience enormously. Having a classic SCUMM-like interface with many possibilities to try, the game encourages exploring and experimenting. Even in many LucasArts games most "wrong" choices usually lead to sentences like "I can't do that". In "Dragonsphere", there are many things you can do which are not necessary, but which you can simply try. Almost always you'll receive some interesting, often humorous remark from the game. This adds a lot to the sense of credibility that accompanies the entire game. You also get really attached to the main character, and to many others you'll encounter on your quest. The characters are colorful and are convincingly portrayed.
The puzzle design is excellent, the puzzles can be sometimes very tough, but are always strictly logical. Many puzzles will require serious thinking, but I didn't encounter even one that was out of place (except the vines' questions, which was after all not a puzzle, but a copy protection)! This is one of the rare games where I really enjoyed solving tough puzzles.
Finally, the game's graphics are marvelous, the animations of character movements are terrific, and the music is strangely appealing, being somewhat different to what we are used to hear in adventure games.
The Bad
The problem with this game is that it is just not original enough. If it were a sequel in a row of a well-established franchise, it would be much more popular. But the point it, it appeared as a standalone game in 1994, where adventure was already heading into its "romantic" epoch, with all kind of experimenting, full-motion video, Myst-clones, and other stuff on the horizon. "Dragonsphere" does everything right, but it firmly steps on a path that was already set for several years, and doesn't enhance it or add anything new to it. The setting is pretty standard, all the interesting species and other elements are not enough to distract the player from the fact this is yet another medieval fantasy. The plot is cool, but once the plot twist is over, there is not much more, and you'll finish the second part of the game in the same way you have completed the first. The mild comic relief doesn't make it a true comedy adventure, at the same time it is not dark and dramatic enough to be considered "serious". The gameplay mechanics are also pretty standard. It is a pity, I really like "Dragonsphere" and I feel this game should have drawn more attention to it, but the fact is, it came a little bit too late.
There are some other, less significant issues such as the rather dry and shrill sound of the MIDI synthesizer used to record the game's music, and the somewhat encumbered interface.
This has nothing to do with the game itself, but I found the copy protection (the questions the vines ask you near Sanwe's tower) pretty irritating. I thought it was some kind of a puzzle, but as a puzzle, it makes no sense at all - you have to answer correctly three questions in a row, otherwise you'll die; however, you don't get any hints from within the game for the correct answers. The point is, I do own an original copy of this game, but I bought is for a budget price without box and manual. A similar thing happened to me in
Space Quest 6 with its datacorder puzzle which is in fact also a copy protection. I think they should have at least insert this copy protection right in the beginning of the game, so that the user would immediately know that his copy probably lacks some important documentation.
The Bottom Line
"Dragonsphere" is an underrated adventure game, it is a pity such a fantastic game never enjoyed the popularity it deserved. With clever puzzles, excellent writing, and interesting plot, "Dragonsphere" is a worthy member of adventure game community. If you don't mind the lack of originality in setting and gameplay and want to have another example of quality adventure art in classic period, this is a fine choice.
