Dragon Star Varnir

Dragon Star Varnir is a highly enjoyable RPG with its emphasis on friendship development, interesting battle mechanics, and strong plot that frequently tugs heartstrings and is not afraid to use surprising and dramatic plot twists. The repetitive nature of some dungeon environments and overall dark theme may not be for everyone, yet there is so much to enjoy with the devour system and trying not to send everyone insane to get the best ending, that the less desirable elements don't matter much. The post-game content includes new parts to the story and new bosses to fight, and coupled with the inclusion of DLC from other consoles makes Dragon Star Varnir a must buy on Nintendo Switch.

Dragon Star Varnir is a fun JRPG overall, and, while it might be a little on the niche side, I’d still recommend it. Unfortunately, I’m not sure which version to recommend. Sure, the Switch version comes with a bunch of DLC and is entirely uncensored (did I forget to mention that?), but the graphics are, like, really crunchy—and I say that as someone who normally doesn’t care much about graphical quality. If that isn’t enough to drive you away, though, then the Switch version’s probably the way to go. The more content, the better, right?

Dragon Star Varnir is surprisingly fun even though it is a victim of its own ambition. The game is overall satisfying and enjoyable, but starts to crumble a little under closer scrutiny. There is a lot to love here if you don't mind overlooking some of the flaws, especially if you are looking for a story-driven adventure.

All in all, as you can probably guess, Dragon Star Varnir is quite a mixed bag in terms of enjoyment. While it provides an intricate and engaging combat system as well as some solid alternate modes, the rest of its elements are unfortunately rather lackluster or just plain inconveniencing.

Dragon Star Varnir is a step up from a lot of Compile Heart's games, but the Switch version is a technical mess.

This port of Dragon Star Vanir for the Nintendo Switch includes all the game's DLC, a good point to begin with. Its theme and combat system also score well with the game. Not all works as good as expected, though: the game has too many technical issues and performance flaws that can render the experience a real ordeal, not to mention its rather dull dungeon exploration. In the end, there's a feeling of lost opportunities to make a much better game that were wasted in this conversion.

Dragon Star Varnir is exactly what it wanted to be: a safe game. Most of the ambition went into the combat system, where it succeeded. There are moments where players can lose themselves in the story, only for the presentation to bring the excitement to a screeching halt. Most annoying is how it feels like it punishes the player for spending too long exploring through the frustrating little sister system that creates some tension, but is much more tedious than it’s worth. These time constraints make the playable cast feel much smaller due to an inability to use them all consistently. Dragon Star Varnir has it’s positives: witches are all heartwarming and interesting in their own way, while combat is also fun, with devouring dragons for cores a notable perk. It is just not enough to take this game higher than being adequate.