Draglade

 DS
  • Publisher: Atlus
  • Release Date: Dec 4, 2007
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. NintendoWorldReport
    85
    Draglade is a brilliant marriage of music and fighting.
  2. Deeko
    85
    In the end, Draglade suffers from a severe identity crisis, yet still manages to provide a coherent and competent experience that is enjoyable to play.
  3. GotNext
    80
    It's shallow, very easy, and tells a goofy story with all the sap of an after school special. That said, it's a very good kids' game, with some fresh ideas, and a unique blend of gameplay styles that make for a very appealing package.
  5. Nintendo Gamer
    79
    The controls are solid and satisfyingly straightforward. [Mar 2008, p.71]
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  6. GameZone
    78
    Draglade has a really unique premise that will keep players attention for a while, especially with the multiplayer aspects.
  7. Cheat Code Central
    78
    It's easy to get a little hung-up on the presentation, but Draglade is a good fighting game when you look deeper beneath the exterior trappings. The controls are tight, and the action blows by at a steady pace. Adding a touch of rhythm into the mix is a fresh and exciting idea.
  8. Nintendo Power
    75
    The game offers a lot and it's all well-tuned. Just don't expect the publicized music element to be a big part of your playing experience. [Jan 2008, p.88]
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  9. Gaming Nexus
    75
    It may look like it is based on a Japanese TV show, but I assure you that this game is not based on a licensed property. And maybe that's a good thing, because Draglade proves to be an interesting take on the fighting genre that perfectly fits the Nintendo DS' limited hardware.

Awards & Rankings

55
#55 Best DS Game of 2007

User Reviews

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User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Luigibarqs
    Nov 25, 2012
    5
    Draglade is a DS game that happen to be a hybrid of rythem, rpg, platformer and fighting game mechanics. The game features nine playableDraglade is a DS game that happen to be a hybrid of rythem, rpg, platformer and fighting game mechanics. The game features nine playable characters, four of which are default, four are unlock for completing each of the four story modes, and the last one is unlocked for perfect completion of gaining all attack cards and beating every story mode sub-quest with all four story characters. The core of the game is based around music, both its soundtrack and the rythem system used to pull of special maneuvers. The music in the game is hit and miss, some tracks are amazing and memorable while others are bland and forgettable. The battle system resembles Smash Bros. somewhat, you can move and jump around and you use a combination of a direction and a button to do different types of attacks. You do special moves by activating your rythem meter and pressing attack button in a rythem similar to Guitar Hero to attempt to do a special combo which can be modified to your liking. In the story mode, your character can level up and get stronger and you can buy attack cards to use in battle. The difficulty tends to be all over the place in story mode which is kind of off putting to some people. A notable game breaking glitch in the game regarding the computer AI is to stand facing away from the opponent and use attack that strikes both in front and behind you at the same time, due to poor coding of the AI, they will NEVER block any attacks if you don't look directly at them, this works for every normal opponent, with makes the game so ridiculously easy that there is no point. There is a wifi battle mode is decent for some fun. Overall, the game is bland, short, inconsistent in difficulty, pretty boring and glitchy, but the music is pretty decent, and wifi battling can be fun if you are bored. I'd say its average overall.… Full Review »
  2. RachelM.
    Jan 19, 2008
    8
    Draglade is basically a fighting game, which I normally hate (eww, street fighter, MK, shaq fu, etc.) but this one's different... Draglade is basically a fighting game, which I normally hate (eww, street fighter, MK, shaq fu, etc.) but this one's different... I'm actually having fun with it. Why? Well, when you start out you get to choose from four characters, who each have their own little story lines. You go to the same places no matter what (but some places branch and you can decide), but there are different characters, cutscenes and dialog for each. Each character also has different fighting styles... the default one has a sword, another has a two-sided-giant-spear, another has gauntlets, and another has a huge hammer. Besides your attacks, you have "bullets" which are essentially magic, and you can have six equipped at a time. The combos for them are "A", "Up+A", and "Down+A", and you can switch out spells by tapping the touch screen (You put two bullets in a row and just tap a row to toggle between). You have 5 MP to start with, but it regens pretty quickly. This also means you can basically heal yourself infinitely if you can find an opening in the enemy's attacks... which is easier said than done later on in the game! Also, you have the "musical" portion of the game, which doesn't seem to be very big part of the game. You can compose short "songs" that are maybe two measures long, and you hit "L" in the battle to go into some sorta mode and where you attack faster and your weapon makes noise, and if you time it right you get a higher bonus at the end of the battle. The game isn't just fight-after-fight-after-fight like story mode in other fighters, you can walk around town and talk to people, though they don't really have much to say and the only things of interest in towns are shops and the tournament places where you get quests and fight in the tournament to become a Major Grapper. Quests themselves generally consist of "defeat this" or "open a box at the end of a level", and you're warped immediately to them from the quest center. It's like part platformer and part beat-'em-up here, and it's pretty fun. But they can be insanely hard for some reason, and others can be easy. After you beat the game you're able to go back to any town or area and re-do quests and such. It even plays the cutscenes and such from that level, so you can sort of re-play-through the game with your spiffed-up character. You can also fight against someone else with the game, but it sets both your levels and stats to base so it's more like a normal fighting game (after all, it would suck to fight a higher-leveled friend with tons more HP!). You can use any of the four base characters, or any of the four unlockable characters you get after you beat the game with a certain character. Oh, and on a last note, the graphics are pretty nice as well. It's very polished and the sprites animate really well, and there's even some scaling during battles where the "camera" will zoom out when you two are far away form each other. The music is decent but really over-used. But the game is great fun. Not much replay value aside from the multiplayer part after you've beaten it with all four characters.… Full Review »
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