Crimson Dragon Reviews
Given how poorly designed some parts of the game are, its hard to recommend it to anyone. And yet, like I said, I had some good fun with it, despite everything else. As long as you go in not expecting a life changing experience, there's an afternoon or two of enjoyment to be had here.
Crimson Dragon is an impressive game that falls short of Panzer Dragoon's lofty heights. Visually, it looks better in every way but playable character design.
I can't say the actual product is too appealing, as repetitive, short levels and a requirement to repeat levels to gather XP and money makes this a tedious game.
Another magnificent Saori Kobayashi soundtrack and some visually arresting scenery can't save Crimson Dragon from the mean-spirited cynical sickness at its core. What could have been a gorgeous and uncomplicated shooter has been hacked into tiny chunks in the name of microtransactions, butchered almost beyond recognition until you push through several miserable hours. Microsoft And Grounding broke their own game. Willingly.
In 'Crimson Dragon' it seems, there aren't dragons, just an incredibly unwieldy turkey. We have a turkey with a fat ass, magically given the power of flight, asked to navigate through a veritable waterfall of chunky gravy without getting wet. If you do make it through, you're asked to do it again, but this time with extra salt and sugar pouring along the gravy. Finally, after retries, augmentations to the turkey – it's ass is ever-so-slightly less fat – acquired by capturing that salt and sugar, you're finally given free reign of a stage. Only the turkey never learned to fly anywhere but straight, so the boss at the center of the stage is literally doing circles around you while you barrel roll into turkey oblivion.
It's nice to have some variety in the Xbox One launch lineup, but Crimson Dragon doesn't offer anything groundbreaking nor takes advantage of the new platform's capabilities.