Draglade

Draglade

While the martial art of Capoeira has been bringing rhythm and fighting together for hundreds of years now, it's a combination that's been barely explored in the world of videogames. On the evidence of Nintendo DS's latest title, Draglade, this has been something of an oversight as the 2D beat 'em up is revealed to be an ideal fit with Guitar Hero-style rhythm/action.

Set in the future, the game focuses on the martial art of ‘Grapping’, a sport that was invented following the development of ‘Glades’, weapons that absorb energy from the atmosphere and form it into a sword. When Glades make contact with another object they emit a sound, turning battles into live music performances for the crowd. In the game you assume the role of one of four main characters, the hot-blooded Hibito, confident pirate Kyle, the overweight but gentle Daichi or Guy, a young man with a dark past. Each character has set their sights on becoming the Master Grapper, a title given only to the country's very best grapper fighter.

Much of the game has you traveling from town to town, fighting off monsters and challenging other grappers as you rise up the ranks towards your goal. Battles take the form of one-on-one matches, viewed from a sideways perspective. You have at your disposal all the usual best ‘em up moves including a light attack, a heavy attack and a jump manouevre which can be combined in interesting ways to create combos. 'Bullets' are the game’s version of spells, projectile attack or defense moves that must be equipped before fights and can only be used a limited number of times.

While the combination of traditional attacks and ‘bullets’ already makes for a good tool set, Draglade's real invention is in its ‘Beat Combo’ system. By pressing the left bumper trigger you activate a kind of musical stave filled with ‘notes’. If you manage to match your attacks to the notation (kind of like hitting the buttons in Guitar Hero) then you execute stunning special moves. It's even possible to write in your own rhythms for attacks and, in this way, the possibilities in battle become almost endless.

The game uses bright and big 2D sprites, which call to mind the very best Super Nintendo and Megadrive work of the 1990s. In between battles you get to explore towns, converse with residents and follow little subplots that enrich the experience greatly. Draglade's is an inventive, good-looking and polished experience that widens and deepens the DS beat ‘em up library with its ideas and execution. With versus and co-op multiplay as well as four single player stories to work through it offers good value and breadth of content and comes recommended to beat ‘em up, RPG and rhythm/action fans alike.

3 out of 5