Dragon Star Varnir | |
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Developer(s) | Compile Heart |
Publisher(s) | Idea Factory |
Director(s) | Makoto Kitano [1] |
Producer(s) | Norihisa Kochiwa [1] |
Composer(s) |
|
Platform(s) | PlayStation 4, Windows, Nintendo Switch |
Release | PlayStation 4Windows
|
Genre(s) | Role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Dragon Star Varnir [lower-alpha 1] is a 2018 role-playing video game developed by Compile Heart and published by Idea Factory. It was released for the PlayStation 4 in Japan in October 2018 and worldwide in June 2019, for Windows in October 2019, and for Nintendo Switch in 2021. [2] The game follows a knight named Zephy who is tasked to fight witches and dragons, but is turned into a witch by his enemies in order to save him from death by the hands of a dragon. The game received generally favorable reviews from critics, who praised its battle system as an improvement from past Compile Heart games but criticized other aspects of its presentation.
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | PS4: 75/100 [3] NS: 64/100 [4] |
Publication | Score |
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RPGamer | [5] |
RPGFan | 79/100 [6] |
Dragon Star Varnir received "generally favorable reviews" according to review aggregator Metacritic. [3] Matt Sainsbury of Digitally Downloaded rated the game 90/100, saying the game "ratchets things up" from the developer's "budget, fanservicey JRPGs" with a "rich bit of storytelling", and saying that "battles [...] never become rote". [7] Zach Wilkerson of RPGFan rated it 79/100, calling the battle system where the game "truly shines", though criticizing the story as "never reach[ing] the potential of its engaging premise", and saying that "too much happens at the beginning", with every major character introduced in the first half hour, hurting their character development. [8] Brian Santana of IGN Spain rated it 65/100, criticizing the plot as simplistic with "flat characters", but praising the battle system and its tactical components. [9]
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