Dragon Island Blue Review
Price: $0.99
Version: 1.0.2
App Reviewed on: iPhone 3GS
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In Dragon Island, players take control of a fledgling monster trainer who’s looking to make a name for himself. There’s something of an over-arching story that involves messages from a deceased father (among other things), but the bulk of the content involves guild missions. These can range from defeating special boss characters to capturing specific creatures, and can typically be completed in fairly short order. New monsters can be captured in battle using special cards - a task typically made easier once the target has been sufficiently weakened - and these recruits can either be kept or turned into stones to enhance other favorites. And, of course, every creature has an assigned element and different elements have strengths and weaknesses against others.
A good deal of it won’t be seen until significant progress is made, but Dragon Island sports some pretty cool creature designs. Some are rather standard fantasy archetypes but many of the higher-end evolutions look downright awesome. And really intimidating. Customizing an elite team of monsters is as addictive as it always has been, but being able to repurpose unwanted individuals in order to enhance more desirable creatures feels like a massive improvement to the formula. I also have to admit that, as “easy” as it might make things, not getting a Game Over screen upon losing an encounter is fantastic. Sure I get sent back to the last town I’ve visited, but all my monsters are healed and the only progress I’ve lost is experience earned from that one battle.
I want to encourage anyone who might be interested in Dragon Island to give it a try. It might feel like something of a waste for a little while, but stick with it. Once that slow start is finished it gets a lot more fun.