Thoughts on Drakkhen (SNES Western RPG port developed by Kemco)

[Victar]

In 1991, Kemco developed and Seika published an adaptation of the western RPG Drakkhen for the Super Nintendo System. Drakkhen was originally a computer game, made for PC and other archaic hardware (Atari ST, FM Towns, Amiga, and Sharp X68000 according to GameFAQs).

The Kemco version of Drakkhen on the SNES looks drastically different from the computer version of Drakkhen - so much so, that I wonder if it's more of a remake than a port. Did Kemco just take the core documentation of the original version, and program the SNES adaptation from the ground up?

Like most western RPGs of the era, Drakkhen didn't have a character-driven story, because the player created and named their party of heroes from scratch. Combat resembled a real-time strategy game more than a traditional turn-based RPG; when random encounters happened, the party would automatically attack enemies, although the player could call up a menu mid-battle and give overall guidance to the party's actions (such as telling a badly injured party member to withdraw to a far corner).

Drakkhen had a simple plot about "confronting the ruling dragon princes to restore world peace"; in practice this was "travel to different castles and solve their puzzles, fight monsters, try not to die". It was a short game, and not hard to beat, as long as one didn't get stuck on a puzzle. I remember a certain, very lethal moat with sharks in it.

The world map of Drakkhen was pseudo-3D, and explored in first-person perspective. I have a strong memory of wandering too far south on the world map, when suddenly an optional boss that looked like a giant Jabberwocky-dragon flew down from the sky. It utterly destroyed my party, even though they were strong enough to beat the game. I had no idea how to level grind the party up to the point where they could stand a chance against it. If Drakkhen had been more interesting to play, then I might have tried... maybe.

SNES Drakkhen was never released for virtual console, and isn't on the SNES Classic. Unlike most ancient SNES RPGs, SNES Drakkhen carts are quite cheap on eBay... which goes to show how underwhelming and forgettable this part of Kemco's legacy is.

In 1994 Kemco published a sequel to Drakkhen. It was called Dragon View (a.k.a. Super Drakkhen or Drakkhen II), an action-RPG on the SNES. Its gameplay didn't resemble the original Drakkhen very closely; the player controlled a single hero instead of a party of heroes. The world map was pseudo-3D and explored in first-person perspective, but towns and dungeons appeared like a side-scrolling action game.

One glance at eBay prices for Dragon View reveals that it is definitely held in higher regard than its predecessor. I can't give a personal opinion, because I haven't played Dragon View as of this writing.

 

[Travelman31]

Takes a lot of getting used to but it is a good game in the end, beat it twice.  Dragon View is way better though and, IMO, has aged quite well.  Sadly, Kemco does not make 'em like that (like Dragon View) anymore.

Both games are short and can be beaten in under 10 hours.