Drakkhen

Moby ID: 1969
DOS Specs
Buy on SNES
$14.70 used on eBay
Buy on Windows
$7.99 new on Steam
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Description official descriptions

The prophecy has been fulfilled. The world shall be ruled by the dragons. On an island far away, their lords prepare for the conquest of the lands. There is only one hope for mankind. The emperor sends out four heroes -- warriors and magicians -- to solve the puzzle of tears and prevent the invasion of the Drakkhen.

Drakkhen is a role-playing game with a visual presentation that combines 3D landscapes and 2D interiors. The player's party will travel overland on a flat terrain made up of vectors, on which 2D objects are zoomed (The same type of engine was later used in Eternam). The player will encounter monsters and fight them in real-time combat, and discover the palaces of the dragon lords. Indoors, the player has to find a way through the maze of chambers, solving puzzles and defeating the minions of the Drakkhen. Party members are depicted in four status windows on the left side of the screen, thus allowing to see their current status and equipment at once.

Spellings

  • ドラッケン - Japanese spelling

Groups +

Screenshots

Promos

Credits (DOS version)

25 People (16 developers, 9 thanks)

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 73% (based on 20 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.2 out of 5 (based on 28 ratings with 1 reviews)

An oddly compelling gem

The Good
The music in Drakkhen is probably its strongest selling point. We have a dark, foreboding tune for the title screen, cheery travel music, a slow, serene melody when the world turns to night, atmospheric tones when exploring the castles, and some really wonderful, bizarre little ditties when the big monsters come out.

Sound design is also a strong point. There is a great assortment of zaps, battle cries, clashes, clinks and so on that give battles a visceral, frenetic feel.

Art is perfect for a game from 1991. Monsters are imaginative, well-drawn and animated, your party gets to look highly stalwart when you start accumulating advanced weapons and armor, and the general color scheme is most pleasing to the eye. Watching the sun rise or set in Drakkhen is a satisfying experience, seeing pastelle pinks and oranges run into the sky.

Gameplay is sublime. You can simply wander around the wide, dangerous world and level up, fight some very strange creatures, and gather jade to buy better gear with. There is a sparse population of inns, temples and other buildings you can visit, plenty of water bodies to drown in, and interesting vibe to the world as a whole. All in all, Drakkhen is a hypnotic, soothing game -- provided that you can stay alive long enough to enjoy it.

The Bad
Given the limitations of the SNES, Drakkhen is a fabulous game. It's a precursor to EverQuest, as you can travel across a wide world freely upon starting the game, exploring and adventuring with a group of people. Of course, there is only room for four party members in Drakkhen, and there are all managed by you. It would take another eight years before the basic premise of Drakkhen was improved upon by Verant.

The Bottom Line
Drakkhen is a cool, weird, sublime little game that grows fond in the memory over time.

SNES · by Chris Wright (85) · 2010

Discussion

Subject By Date
FM Towns - JP credits Freeman (64840) Mar 19, 2019

Trivia

Engine

The 3D engine used for running around the world of Drakkhen was later redeveloped for use in Infogrames' Eternam.

Extras

The game box contained three 3 ½ disks, a booklet titled "How to play", a second booklet which told the background story and contained the magic formulas, a registration card and a tiny code sheet. The code paper consisted of row after row of five letter combinations, which were printed in black on a brownish, dotted background. It was almost illegible without a bright lamp and, preferably, a looking glass. This was a typical form of copy-protection at the time; the dark color combinations resisted photocopying.

Some editions also came with a small pewter fantasy figure, like the ones used for table top role-playing games.

References to the game

Eternam included a parody of Drakkhen at one point in the game.

Awards

  • Amiga Joker
    • Issue 01/1991 – #4 Best Role-Playing Game in 1990
  • ST Format
    • Issue 01/1990 - Included in the list 50 Games of the Year
    • Issue 01/1991 – #9 Best Adventure Game in 1990 (Atari ST)

Information also contributed by hydra9 and Michael Palomino

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Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 1969
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by -Chris.

Linux, Macintosh added by Cavalary. Windows added by Rik Hideto. SNES added by ark_thenka. Atari ST, Amiga added by Dietmar Uschkoreit. PC-98, FM Towns, Sharp X68000 added by Terok Nor.

Additional contributors: Jeanne, Patrick Bregger, Jo ST, Infernos.

Game added July 16, 2000. Last modified January 20, 2024.