Dragon Wars

About

The designers of the Bard's Tale series, Wasteland, and Battle Chess pooled their talents to create the ultimate role-playing fantasy. They knew it had to be a first-rate story with sophisticated graphics. The result was Dragon Wars. Sailing across uncharted seas, you and your party are in search of a legendary paradise called Dilmun — a place where the streets are paved with gold and no one want…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

graphics6 negative mentions

Brings back nostalgic memories for players who enjoyed classic RPGs in the late 80s and early 90s.
Offers a unique character-building system without a class system, allowing for diverse gameplay styles.
The game features a large, open world with multiple paths to progress, encouraging exploration.

The graphics and sound quality have not aged well, with default settings being particularly poor.
Gameplay can be slow and grindy, especially during battles with many enemies, leading to repetitive combat.
Save files can be lost, and the game lacks modern conveniences like a tutorial or smooth gameplay mechanics.

graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
59%
27%
The graphics in this game have received significant criticism, with many users noting that it defaults to a low-quality CGA mode and lacks the ability to easily adjust to better settings. Comparisons to other versions, particularly the Amiga, highlight a stark difference in quality, with the Amiga version being described as vastly superior. Overall, the graphics are considered outdated and disappointing, failing to meet even the standard expectations for the game's capabilities.
- “You can then change the graphics to 16-color mode (woohoo), instead of 4-color CGA, then hit 's' to save.”
- “This was a game from back in the day when you had to tell the game what type of monitor you had and what type of graphics it could display.”
- “I tried searching on the web but the only thing I could find was that the Amiga version was 10x better in sound and graphics and that it's shameful they didn't put that version up for sale.”
- “First off, the game defaults to crappy graphics.”
- “Unfortunately, the graphics don't represent this as mobs are only ever one size and position.”
- “It's sad the game requires you to set up its graphics and the sound is so poor.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The story is described as slow-paced and sparse, with an open-world structure that allows for extensive player exploration, similar to the Fallout series. Most narrative elements are optional, requiring players to seek out the story themselves, which may detract from the overall engagement.
- “The story unfolds quite slowly, allowing for a gradual exploration of the narrative.”
- “Like Fallout, it's open-world, and basically everything but the starting area, final boss, and a few quests needed to access the final boss are optional and open to player exploration.”
- “From there, I suppose you're meant to discover the story at your own pace.”
- “The story unfolds quite slowly, as do the side quests.”
- “The story element was sparse as well.”
- “From there, I suppose you're meant to find the story.”
gameplay
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The gameplay is noted for its great replay value and fun mechanics, especially once players become familiar with them. However, it lacks the smoothness found in similar games from the same era, such as Might and Magic or the Pools and Krynn trilogies.
- “Great replay value and once you understand the mechanics, it's super fun.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Dragon Wars offers great replayability, with many users noting that once players grasp the mechanics, the game becomes highly enjoyable. Its design is considered more accessible and engaging compared to older titles like the original Bard's Tale games, contributing to its lasting appeal.
- “Great replay value and once you understand the mechanics, it's super fun.”
- “Similar to Wasteland and The Bard's Tale (and made by the same people), Dragon Wars was never as famous, but still a groundbreaking work in its time, and probably more playable than the older games, especially the original Bard's Tale games.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The music aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with users appreciating the option to supply their own music but criticizing the loading screen's music as jarring and outdated by modern standards.
- “The loading screen's music is jarring for today's standards.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have noted that the game can be quite grindy, particularly if poor decisions are made regarding skill points, necessitating additional leveling to compensate for deficiencies. High levels alone do not guarantee success unless character points are allocated wisely.
- “The game can be grindy, especially if you make bad choices with skill points, and need to keep leveling up to make up for deficiencies, since high levels mean nothing unless you spent the character points wisely.”