Customizable dragon
First, note that I wanted to get Scalebound‘s Hideki Kamiya to say, “Ask your mom” on video, but gamescom meetings are too tight, too perpetually behind to get much good one on one in.
Still, I got to see an extended playthrough of Scalebound‘s gamescom showing (trailer below) as the man of the golden Twitter account narrated (via translator). Please, please, please take a moment to click on this [NSFW] link. Kamiya is the best.
He makes good games, too, and this one is something of a departure as a more open-world action-RPG. Kamiya noted, “this game is not a simple action game that Platinum is sort of known for.” Here, there’s a mana bar (called “pulse” in-game), you have to “keep an eye on the durability of your weapon,” and there is mad dragon customization (buy armor; give it new elemental powers; change its tail, knuckles, and “rex type.”)
Kamiya noted that Scalebound is, “a story about Drew…who has been transported from our modern world into this fantasy world,” and by some held back plot point ends up in union with Thuban, the last of his kind. Very Dragonheart. Drew’s devil may care attitude (and Devil May Cry Dante comparisons), “might be too early,” according to Kamiya, who noted Platinum has released little information thus far. The “partnership between Thuban and Drew” is one of the many themes, both within the mysterious story and in gameplay.
You’re able to issue the AI-controlled Thuban basic commands which fall into 1) attack (at varying levels of scorched earth) and 2) fall back a bit. The latter is important because Thuban’s stronger attacks can wipe enemies clean out of existence. If Drew downs them, he is able to crystallize them and collect the resulting red gems which can be used to customize Thuban. It’s a bit weird you can actually change what kind of dragon he is, but hey, RPGs.
“Pulse” drives the world of Draconis with its floating islands and colorful palette. It’s also what powers Drew’s Mega Man buster cannon-reminiscent pulse shot and the “colored accents on Thuban.” I believe Kamiya called them green and I don’t want to disagree, but they look pretty blue to me. I will ask my mother.
Aside from incentivizing you from not leaning too much on Thuban through the gem system, the demo continued past defeating the mantis boss in the trailer and into a much more narrow area where Thuban has to fly ahead and thus isn’t free to use in combat. That means that, because of Thuban, “the world can’t be too small,” so there’ll be plenty of open plains like the ones seen in the trailer.
Other tidbits: Drew’s transformation is “dragon mode” as it stands. Some trailer-like features montage showed off a large, NPC-filled city. There is also some sort of skill point system that seems like it’s based on how well you perform combat. Drew also has access to a wide variety of weapons (halberds, enormous anime swords, etc.) that appear to be housed in a block-based inventory system (think Resident Evil 4). And, as learned yesterday, there’s four-player co-op.
“As kind of a policy for myself when I start creating a game, I am not creating to please everyone,” Kamiya said. “My job is that you fall in love more and more with what I created.” From what has been released, this feels like the most straightforward Platinum/Kamiya game. Basic action RPG stuff is appropriate for trade show reveals. Still, I think as crazy story details and mechanics are unveiled en route to the holiday 2016 launch (crossing back into the modern world? increased dragon skills and combo attacks?), I will get more and more into what is already a pretty, nice looking action game.
