Dragonslaying for generations to come.
Dragon Valor is an Action-Adventure game for PlayStation by Namco. It is the third game in Namco's Dragon Buster series.
Dragon Valor is a wielder of magic sword, whose job is to rid the world of dragons. The game's main selling point was that there were several generations of these Dragon Valors, and the player's choices would lead to branching paths with different playable characters.
Examples in this video game:
- Always Chaotic Evil: The dragons, as they are the embodiment of evil in the world.
- Ancient Tomb: The Catacomb, the hiding place of the dragon 'Titan', which is filled with traps and undead enemies.
- Animated Armor: The guardians of the magic swords.
- Antagonist Title: The chapters "The Renegade Knights", "Berserker", "The Evil Dragon" and "The Demonic Minister" are named after antagonists.
- Arranged Marriage: The real reason why Prince Felippe is visiting Jirat in "The Demonic Minister" chapter; he's there to check out his arranged fiancee, Princess Jeanne.
- Artistic License – Martial Arts: The jump kick move is pretty much the player character floating towards the enemy foot-first.
- As Long as There Is Evil: Azi Dahaka's parting words are a reminder that as long as there are men, there is evil, and therefore dragons.
- Asteroids Monster: Roper enemies split into two smaller ones after their HP bar is depleted.
- Attack Its Weak Point: All dragons can be hurt with regular attacks, but they also have a certain part in their bodies which acts as a special weak point.
- Avenging the Villain: Lodonya in "The Renegade Knights" chapter is the son of Black Knight Volef from the first chapter, and seeks revenge on the family of Dragon Valors.
- BFS: Giant Knights are armed with swords that are as tall as themselves.
- Big Bad: The ancient dragon Azi Dahaka is the ultimate villain of the game.
- The Big Guy: Franco of the West Raxis Liberation Army.
- Big "NO!": Robert's reaction when he hears that Kodel wants to marry his daughter.
- Breath Weapon: Most of the dragons breathe fire.
- Came from the Sky: Dragons came to the world on a meteor.
- Chainmail Bikini: Mystic Warriors. Who needs leg protection when you can run around in a G-string?
- Charged Attack: Every playable character has one, which varies from a single powerful strike to a Spin Attack.
- Convection, Schmonvection: Inevitable in a game with lava and fire-breathing dragons. Heat from either doesn't bother human characters.
- Crate Expectations: Clusters of crates appear from time to time, which contain money and healing items.
- Dem Bones: The skeleton enemies.
- Disappeared Dad: Kodel's main motivation in the "Berserker" chapter is to find his father Clovis.
- Distant Prologue: The Prologue chapter, in which Clovis discovers the existence of the dragons and decides to become a Dragon Valor, takes place 5 years before the rest of his story.
- Doomed Hometown: The game opens with Clovis arriving back to his hometown that has been set on fire by a dragon.
- Double Jump: Just press X twice.
- Dracolich: The undead Dragon 'Hades'.
- Dual Wielding: Executioner and Warrior enemies are armed with two hatchets.
- Everything's Deader with Zombies: Zombies are one of the basic and easier enemies. They are slow, but can poison you.
- Evil Makes You Monstrous: People who descend into too much evil turn into dragons.
- First-Name Basis: Playable characters and their love interests are all referred to by their first names.
- Flying Seafood Special: The flying electric manta rays of the Jirat desert.
- Fungus Humongous: Toadstools, which spew poison when hit.
- Generational Saga: Chapters preceding the two final ones feature a next generation family member as a player character.
- Guide Dang It!: Before the popularity of internet guides and walkthrough, how long do the players take to know that Dragon Valors can use fire magic to lit the torch so the Floating Platforms nearby will activate, or use ice magic to freeze the burning platforms so they can actually step on them without harm?
- Half the Man He Used to Be: When the zombies' HP is down enough, they'll lose their legs and start crawling around with the strenght of their upper bodies.
- Heroes Prefer Swords: Enforced by the fact that magic swords are the only things that can hurt dragons.
- Highly-Visible Ninja: The ninjas in the game don't even attempt to hide; they stand around dumbly like any other enemy wearing bright colors.
- Human Sacrifice: Sarah is to be sacrificed to Hades when Gerome meets her.
- Karmic Thief: Kodel and his adopted son Gerome are both thieves who steal from other thieves.
- Living Weapon: Demon Axes, who try to jump on you blade-first when you approach them.
- Lizard Folk: The spear-wielding Lizardmen.
- Love Interest: Early chapters have at least one. The last two chapters in each route focus on family members searching for each other, and feature none.
- Magic Knight:
- The Dragon Valors, thanks to the magic tomes they keep finding during their adventures.
- One of the bosses in the game is called Magic Knight, a wizard with armour who pelts you with fire and ice spells.
- Man on Fire: The unnamed Dragon Valor and Elena in the prologue burn to death right before Clovis's eyes.
- Mercy Invincibility: Given for both playable characters and enemies alike.
- Multiple Head Case: Kodel's chapter ends with a boss battle against a two-headed dragon (Hellfire and Inferno) inside a volcano.
- Nested Mouths: Dragon 'Talon' has two extra mouths, and its head hiding inside one.
- Noblewoman's Laugh: One of the artworks for the game show Fannah doing this.
- Our Centaurs Are Different: Female centaur archers are featured.
- Our Dragons Are Different: The game features classic looking dragons at first, then gets wierder with the likes of 'Talon' (a dragon with extra mouths) and dragon halflings (humans who were evil enough to become dragons).
- Our Orcs Are Different: The orc enemies exhibit "Tolkienian" traits; sharp teeth and clubs as weapons.
- Pirate: "Berserker" chapter features pirates as enemies and allies. Even the designated love interest is one.
- Poison Mushroom: And true to the name, the hurtful item is a mushroom.
- Power-Up: There's a magic potion that gives you unlimited MP for a short time.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: All three dragon halflings have red eyes.
- Religion of Evil: The cult of Dahaka.
- La Résistance: The West Raxis Liberation Army in the "The Renegade Knights" chapter, which fights against the unrecognized country that calls itself Alkemia.
- Revive Kills Zombie: The undead and some of the demonic enemies can be hurt with a level 2 healing spell or higher. In fact, this is the only way to kill the otherwise invincible ghosts.
- Shock and Awe: Dragon 'Thunder' attacks with thunderballs and electricity.
- Shockwave Stomp: The double-jump-crouch attack.
- Sliding Scale of Linearity vs. Openness: At first the game exhibits Level 2, as its progress is linear, but you can occasionally choose between two levels. However, the later chapters in the game are Level 1 linear.
- Smart Bomb: The Bomb item kills every enemy in the room if picked up.
- Standard Female Grab Area: Despite being a princess of a nation of warriors, clad in armour and having a sword in hand, Princess Jeanne is immediately incapacitated when Zomas grabs her.
- Sword Lines: Every playable character has sword lines based on their color scheme.
- Take Up My Sword: Clovis meets a dying Dragon Valor, who urges him to take his sword. Since there is some avenging to be done, Clovis accepts.
- Voice Grunting: The only noises that the characters make are grunts and yells during fighting.
- You Cannot Fight Fate: Regardless of the player's choice of path, Raxis (both the kingdom and the city) will fall from grace and turn into demon-infested ruins.
