Remember when Microsoft was making a conscious effort to get the Xbox 360 under TVs in Japan? Yeah, we barely remember it either, but Yukio Futatsugi’s Crimson Dragon is one of the last remnants of such a desire from the company. Conceived as a spiritual sequel to Panzer Dragoon, the jewel of Futatsugi’s legacy, it quietly abandoned the 360 platform in favour of getting in on some launch day XONE action. But is this the next-gen Panzer Dragoon we’ve been clamouring after for so long?
Right now? No, not so much. Crimson Dragon needs to seriously refine its control mechanics, which have, funnily enough, been scaled back from Kinect to gamepad. While it originally relied on full body movement for control, Crimson Dragon is now employing a dual analogue stick system – sounds great in concept, but in execution the speed of the on-rails action can be overwhelming, leaving your dragon to be pummelled to death as you try to find and centre the reticule amongst the fray. We aren’t condemning it just yet, in fact Crimson Dragon shows plenty of potential, but these last few weeks of development are going to be critical to its overall success and playability.
Crimson Dragon is coming to Xbox One on 22 November. The title will be digital only and cost $19.99, no UK pricing had been announced at time of writing.
