Dragon Sinker
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Critic Reviews for Dragon Sinker
Dragon Sinker is fortunately no ‘Dragon Stinker'. True, there is nothing you haven't seen before a couple of decades ago and there is little reason to once again venture into this quest if you happen to have played it on another platform previous to this release. But nostalgia is a powerful force and what the game does, it does so quaintly and provides many hours of blissful, care-free JRPGing tropes. Not revolutionary but still a very welcome choice for Switch owners with a retro itch. If you do love JRPGs, miss the simpler days and enjoy getting out of a game as much as you put into it, we have little reasons not to recommend you give this quest a go.
A well-crafted RPG experience that trims a lot of the fat and focusses on its solid combat system. If reduced to $10 I would recommend it to anyone looking for a turn-based retro style RPG that won't take more than 10-15 hours of their time.
Dragon Sinker might be one of KEMCO's best titles to date. With some 50 games already in their catalogue, Dragon Sinker stands out because it doesn't just settle for being like its influences. It finds incredibly clever ways to enhance the experience it has, and while much of what the player is doing is the same old song and dance, those little off beats more than make up for it.
In being a slavish homage, the Dragon Sinker also opens itself up to comparisons with the game it's derivative of. And, sadly, it doesn't come out well in those comparisons at all.
Many gamers know KEMCO for churning out mostly mediocre RPGs at a high volume and unfortunately, that's exactly what Dragon Sinker feels like.
Dragon Sinker, by any metric, is one of KEMCO's finest outings. While a few of the usual KEMCO quirks still exist – awkward menus with randomly ordered items, lottery items that can imbalance the early game, and a screen size that looks a little too zoomed in – they are hardly game breaking. The gameplay, visual, and sound design all skillfully weave classic and modern components into one of the most satisfying budget RPGs currently available on the Switch.
It's a game that feels right at home on the Switch, and is well suited to ducking in and out, putting 20 minutes in to do a little grinding or wrap up a sidequest, or just get to the next point in the plot. Its writing is a bit archetypal but sells itself well, and the characters have just enough meat on the bones for me to really want to see them come together and win.
