| Dragon Valor | |
| Developer: | Now Production |
| Director: | Atsushi Nakanishi |
| Producer: | Yukito Ohayashi Masami Shimotsuma Yasuhiro Noguchi |
| Series: | Dragon Buster |
| Programmer: | Etsurō Kishi Naoki Hashitani Seita Miyauchi |
| Composer: | Nobuhiro Ōuchi Ayako Yamaguchi |
| Platforms: | PlayStation |
| Genre: | Action role-playing, platformer |
| Modes: | Single-player |
is an action role-playing platform video game developed by Now Production and released by Namco for the Sony PlayStation on December 2, 1999, in Japan. It is the third game in the Dragon Buster series, and features a platform and hack and slash elements.
In the Dragon Valor world, dragons are monsters with immense power; the player's role as a Dragon Valor is to slay them with a magical sword that is passed down through successive generations of the family. In a manner somewhat reminiscent of Phantasy Star III, the game differs from other platform action games of the time in that whom the protagonist marries during the game will influence who will lead the adventure in its next phase. There are two choices in the first chapter, and a possible two choices in the second chapter; hence, the game flow has three potential paths and thus three different endings.
In Dragon Valor, the player's character is placed on a stage, with the intention to get from where they start towards the end of the stage or to defeat specific boss enemies along the way. Ultimately, the player must fight and defeat a dragon at the end of each chapter (a chapter being a series of stages leading towards the dragon) in order to clear the chapter. Along the way, players can collect items to boost their hit points, magic points, attack, and defense. Players can also obtain 'tomes' after defeating specific enemies, which grant access to spells.
The game's currency is Val, and players can collect this to buy recovery potions (which are used immediately upon purchase), status-improving items, or items that may be sold for Val or traded for other items later on in the game. Furthering this topic, the items that the player usually gets in trade are status-improving items.
As stated above, the protagonist changes after clearing each chapter. There are three possible paths, coinciding with the three magic swords that are found on those paths: Azos, Soul, and Kadum. Players generally control a character for one chapter, though some characters can be played twice. The paths, as stated above, are chosen depending on certain triggers in the first chapter. Fulfilling the trigger in Chapter 1, for example, means that Clovis marries Celia and becomes King of Raxis, and the next player character is their son, Arlen. Not fulfilling the trigger means that Clovis instead marries Carolina, which results in the next player character being Kodel. There is a similar choice trigger as Kodel over whether or not to save Fannah in his chapter.
Regardless of the fact that the characters change every chapter, the basic commands remain almost the same, with some slight variations in how they are carried out visually, being the only telltale difference.
The player begins in the role of Clovis Barclay, a young man living in the land of Jirat. His sister Elena has been killed by a dragon. After a basic tutorial of the moves and how to use the game's magic, Clovis fights and vanquishes the dragon however the same dragon emerges as an alternate form from its corpse. Clovis, in a fit of rage, swears vengeance and that he will find and kill this dragon.
(Clovis does not belong specifically to any path, but he can set the choice as to whether the player embarks on the Azos, Soul, or Kadum paths)
Having tracked the fugitive dragon for 5 years, Clovis arrives in the kingdom of Raxis, where he engages in combat with bandits. After the brawl, Clovis is introduced to Carolina, an inventor who was shopping for parts when the bandits attacked, and she informs Clovis of the background:
The Azale Knights are a military force of Jirat led by Volef, the Black Knight. They had turned rogue, attacked Raxis Castle, home of the royal family and taken Princess Celia hostage. Also siding with Volef is Raimun, an alchemist and samurai; both had received their powers from a mysterious source which turns out to be the dragon pursued by Clovis.
After some gameplaying stages, the player may choose to rescue Princess Celia or not, which will determine both the protagonist and the subsequent story of the next chapter. Having made the decision, the player (as Clovis) duels Volef, who runs off when beaten and heads for the alchemist's tower (where Raimun resides). After killing Raimun, Clovis' magic sword reveals that the dragon is hidden west, deep within the catacombs.
Clovis now faces a revived Volef, who now uses lightning based magic. Again, Volef runs away in defeat, only to lead Clovis to the dragon, who considers Volef's usefulness to be at an end and burns him to death just as Clovis arrives. Once the dragon is dead, Clovis realises that his vengeance has left him with nothing to do.
If Princess Celia has been rescued earlier, the following chapter focuses on Arlen Barclay, heir to the throne of Raxis, otherwise it focuses on Kodel Barclay, who makes a living stealing from pirates. These characters have slight variations in fighting style.
(Playing as Kodel occurs if Princess Celia was not rescued in Chapter 1. Kodel is playable on both the Azos and Kadum paths, as choosing whether or not to rescue Fannah determines whether you play as Phillip or Gerome in Chapter 3)
Time passes after the events of Chapter 1, where Clovis leaves for Kadeli with Carolina. They settle down, but Clovis leaves without word one day. Carolina continues waiting for him, while Kodel, partly to support his mother, and partly out of frustration, earns his living stealing from pirates. Eventually, he steals from the pirate Robere, who is holding the sword Azos, which belonged to Clovis. As such, Kodel takes the weapon as his own, and rescues Fannah, who is actually the daughter of Robere.
Fleeing the ship after the knights attack Robere's pirates, Kodel and Fannah swim for Kadeli, and while in the city, are attacked by a knight, who bears a message for Robere from Clovis. This message comes by a ghost appearing from the knight's corpse and taking Fannah's soul from her body. This leads to a fight between Kodel and Robere, after which Robere explains to Kodel that Clovis left the sword in his care. One day, Clovis would send a sign to Robere that he needs to be stopped, and that sign would be the theft of his greatest treasure.
Kodel refuses to give Azos to Robere, deciding to face his father and to go and rescue Fannah. Eventually arriving at the abandoned fortress near the destroyed city of Linton, Kodel searches the fort for his father. (Here, the option is presented about saving Fannah or not. Saving Fannah makes Phillip the main character for the next chapter, while not saving her makes Gerome the main character.) Kodel finds Clovis, and they duel. After Kodel wins the fight, Clovis explains that there was evil growing in his heart, and that is why he left, in addition to trying to contain a dragon currently residing within the volcano near Linton. Kodel swears to his father that he will defeat the dragon, however then his father is to return home with him.
Kodel journeys to the Volcano, and faces a two-headed dragon. Eventually besting it, he returns to Clovis' fortress, to find Robere and Fannah also waiting for him there. Depending on whether or not Kodel released Fannah's soul from the room it was imprisoned in, the ending will differ, between Fannah falling in love with or hating Kodel. Clovis returns to Carolina, and, again depending on whether Fannah's soul was freed or not, Kodel either settles down with her or travels. This leads to Chapter 3.
(Playing as Arlen occurs if Princess Celia was rescued in Chapter 1.)
We learn that Clovis found peace with Celia and his wounded heart was soothed. Later, the Kingdom of Raxis split into two factions, the East, which was ruled by the royal family, and the West, retitled Alkemia, led by Lodonya, Volef's son, and commander of the Azale Knights. However, the West Raxis Liberation Army, a resistance movement to Lodonya's rule, wishes to reunite Raxis into one Kingdom.
The whole dispute started because Celia married Clovis, a commoner. After the split between East and West, Lodonya turned up and took control of the West. Lodonya's despise of the Raxis royal family comes from the fact that he holds Clovis, who has died before the independent kingdom of Alkemia was founded, responsible for the death of his father, Volef. After his encounter with Lodonya, Arlen is knocked off the battlements of the East Raxis castle while trying to rescue his mother, Celia.
Arlen is swept downstream to the Falayd Caverns, where he is found (knocked out) by Shalya, the leader of the West Raxis Liberation Army, and her two lieutenants, Simon and Franco. After Arlen recovers, he leaves, headed towards Alkemia, being the unwitting decoy for Shalya's forces as he decimates the Alkemian garrison, and fights through the guards at the execution grounds where Queen Cilia is being held prisoner in anticipation of her execution. While Arlen is doing that, Shalya rescues the queen. After being berated by his mother for time-wasting (and a slight bit of possible confusion as to whether or not he wasted time, courtesy of Shalya), Arlen then learns of Lodonya's true intent: to revive the dragon. Moving onwards to the glacier, Arlen eventually faces Lodonya and bests him. Lodonya flees to the Dragon's cavern, where he asks the dragon to consume his soul, that their powers might be joined in defeating Arlen. The dragon complies, but Arlen prevails.
With the fact that Lodonya's body was never recovered, the civil war in Raxis came to an end. Realizing that the dispute causing the war came in part from his father being a commoner, Arlen married Shalya, also a commoner, to permanently end the dispute. In time, they had a son, whom they named Felippe.
Felippe is the son of Arlen and Shalya, the king and queen of Raxis. Having had warriors for parents, Felippe quickly learned their skills. He wanted to journey and have an adventure, so he disguised himself and entered a martial arts tournament in the neighbouring kingdom of Jirat, which he won. This led to an exhibition match between Vilherm, one of Jirat's strongest knights and the protector to Jeanne, the princess, and Felippe, with Jeanne and the prime minister, Zomas, watching.
Partway through the duel, Zomas takes Jeanne hostage, demanding the sword Azos, which Felippe is currently using, in exchange for her life. Felippe surrenders the sword, which Zomas takes with him as he flees back to his estate. As Felippe borrows Vilherm's sword to hunt down Zomas and recover his own, Zomas presents Azos to Krassel, who promised to give Zomas the power of a dragon halfling in exchange for it. Krassel, after finishing this, encounters Felippe while the latter is searching the Zomas estate for Azos. Vilherm's blade is chipped as Felippe strikes Krassel, and seeing that he cannot defeat the dragon halfling without a magic sword, flees.
Felippe learns of a magic sword being sealed in the ruins near Jirat, and journeys there, defeating the guardian to claim the magic sword, Soul. On his journey back, he encounters Jeanne, who reveals that Zomas has led a coup against the kingdom, and seeks the sword herself that she may save her people and repay the sacrifices made to ensure her escape. She confesses her feelings of inadequacy, despite her being a skilled swordswoman. Felippe consoles her, saying that she was facing demons, and he discloses his identity to her.
The two reach an agreement, as Felippe cannot surrender Soul to Jeanne, that he will, while searching for Azos, liberate the Jirat castle. He encounters and faces Zomas, who has become mentally deranged by the transfusion of dragon cells into his body. Upon Felippe defeating him, Zomas flees to his estate. Felippe does a more thorough search, and faces Zomas again, whose body transforms into that of a monster. After defeating Zomas, who is left unable to move or speak by the transformation, Felippe searches for the sword. Krassel appears, revealing that he double-crossed Zomas, knowing that the latter would only turn into a monster by the process, and then kills him.
Felippe confronts Krassel on the rooftop of the Zomas estate, where Krassel reveals his identity and calls a dragon to take Felippe out, that he might also claim Soul in addition to Azos. Felippe prevails against the dragon, however, and Krassel flees with Azos. Felippe is hailed as a hero, although regretting the loss of Azos. He and Jeanne marry, and the kingdoms of Jirat and Raxis are unified by their wedding into the Empire of Jirat. They have twin children, Anna and Mihael.
The chapter opens with Anna journeying to Saldo in search of a magic sword, accompanied by a now elderly Vilherm. Vilherm instructs her to wait at the entrance to the ruins, until concern creeps in and she goes looking for him out of worry. Journeying through to the deepest part of the ruins, Anna finds Vilherm battered and wounded, but alive. Halfas then attempts to attack, but is thwarted. Halfas feels he has finally found a worthy opponent, and as such decides to "Strengthen" Anna, attempting to kill her. Vilherm sacrifices himself to save her life. This sacrifice arouses hatred for Halfas within Anna, as she swears to attain vengeance by killing Halfas.
Before Halfas departs, he leaves to Anna the information that he will be awaiting her arrival in Verea, and offers a chance to claim the other two magic swords.
Anna journeys to and then through Verea into the lair of the Demons. On her way to facing Halfas, she encounters and defeats Vappula, who then flees. Upon her arrival where Krassel is waiting, she arrives to find Vappula dead, killed by Krassel. Krassel says that she actually killed Vappula, and says so to Vappula's face before he is killed. Anna then defeats Krassel and goes in search of Halfas.
Halfas, meanwhile, is waiting. He mockingly offers to fully heal Anna, who counters by saying his confidence will be his undoing. Anna defeats Halfas, who awaits the deathblow, saying that only all three swords combined will kill him. Krassel appears, however, before she can deliver it, taking Azos and Kadum with him as he flees. Anna rushes off in pursuit, ignoring Halfas' pleas for death. Anna then faces and defeats the dragon Talon (believing it to be Krassel), and lowers her guard as she plants Soul in the ground under the belief that the fighting is over.
Krassel then steals Soul, and by uniting the power of the three swords, is able to call directly upon the magical powers of Dahaka. He sets off a violent explosion, and Anna disappears. With no word heard of her, Mihael organizes the Azale Knights and heads off in search of his sister, praying and hoping that she still lives.
Having lost contact with Anna, Mihael organizes the Azale Knights and sets off in search of Anna. Along the way, he is separated from the Azale Knights and continues on alone, to the now fallen Kingdom of Raxis. Fighting through the ruins of Raxis City and then its now-dilapidated castle, Mihael finds some renewed hope upon seeing a wounded Anna within the dungeon of Raxis Castle. Upon their reunion, Anna assures Mihael that she will be alright, but that a dragon has stolen the swords, and that Mihael is the only one who can reclaim them. Taking heart at this, Mihael heads further towards the site where Clovis defeated the dragon Titan. A passage to the underworld now stands here, and Mihael ventures through it, hoping to reclaim the swords and thus be able to ensure Anna's safety.
Upon entering the underworld, Mihael finds the guardian of the sword Igunis standing before him. Igunis goes on to reveal the origin of dragons, along with the origins of the magic swords. During this, Igunis reveals that Mihael, along with Anna, are descendants of the gods, and thus stand the best chance of defeating Dahaka. Upon completion, Igunis entrusts itself to Mihael. Mihael then ventures deeper into the underworld, encountering and defeating Krassel. As Krassel lays dying, Mihael rushes off to stop Dahaka. He arrives too late, as Dahaka is released, along with eons' worth of evil. Dahaka then begins toying with Mihael, trying to manipulate his emotions to foster rage, to turn him into a dragon. Mihael almost gives in, when Anna's voice breaks in on his thoughts. Her words snap him back to reality, upon which he and Dahaka fight. Upon gaining an upper hand, Dahaka absorbs a lot of the evil that is lingering, and fights with renewed vigor.
Mihael eventually prevails, and then uses Igunis to seal the gates of Gehenna forever. Dahaka is sealed away, but his final words linger: as long as evil exists, Dahaka will one day return. Mihael leaves the underworld, heading towards Raxis Castle. En route, a red crystal appears before him; Anna is inside. Upon it reaching him, the crystal shatters, releasing an unconscious Anna into Mihael's arms.
Mihael gives Anna a piggy-back ride, which she initially complains to. Mihael refuses to let her down, after seeing how injured she had been before. The two speculate more on their ancestry, as revealed by Igunis. Together the come to the theory that it was the divine blood in their veins that helped them find each other, that formed the crystal Anna was within, and that allowed her voice to reach him when he needed it most. Giving up on speculation, Anna gently 'spurs' Mihael, to make him go faster. Mihael tells her to hold on, and breaks into a run. Laughing, the two head off towards home.
Kodel and Fannah settle down as sailors before Phillip is born. Due to Fannah's good head for business, her company flourishes, and eventually, Phillip also becomes a sailor, taking Azos with him. During a voyage, the ship he is on is attacked by beasts, and the dragon halfling Vappula reveals himself. Vappula knocks Phillip overboard, then flies in search of a different magic sword. Phillip is washed ashore on the island of Paley, where he meets Jeanne and Vilherm. Jeanne keeps her identity a secret for now, merely telling Phillip the way to the village.
Phillip travels the way Jeanne suggested, planning to either wait for a ship back to Kadeli, for his captain to find him, or else to settle down in the village. The village is attacked, however, by Vappula's forces. Phillip then journeys to the ruins where he was told a magic sword resides. On the way, however, he encounters Vappula, who is searching for the same thing. Vappula unleashes the dragon accompanying him to attack Phillip, in the hopes of claiming Azos. Phillip manages to defeat the dragon, and Vappula subsequently flees.
Phillip then arrives at the Paley ruins, where he encounters, then defeats the guardian, thus acquiring the sword Kadum. As he exits the ruins, he finds the captain of his ship, Vilherm, and Jeanne waiting at the entrance for him. Jeanne asks to borrow one of the swords, but cannot, as Phillip has been chosen by both Azos and Kadum. Phillip, however, helps Jeanne end the strife in her kingdom that was caused by demons, and the two eventually marry.
Vappula, meanwhile, meets with his fellow minions, Halfas and Krassel. Both are displeased that he lost to a Dragon Valor, stating that his brawn was his only redeeming feature. As such, Vappula is executed by Halfas.
As time passes, the sword Azos is stolen, and Mihael and Anna are born.
The chapter opens with Mihael journeying to Saldo in search of a magic sword, accompanied by a now elderly Vilherm. Vilherm instructs Mihael to wait at the entrance to the ruins. He complies, noting that he's happy Anna didn't come because she had a date with a prince to worry about, until waiting grows thin. Journeying through to the deepest part of the ruins, Mihael finds Vilherm battered and wounded, but alive. Halfas then attempts to attack, but is thwarted. Halfas feels he has finally found a worthy opponent, and as such decides to "Strengthen" Mihael, attempting to kill him. Vilherm sacrifices himself to save Miahel's life. This sacrifice arouses hatred for Halfas within Mihael, who then swears that he will kill Halfas and avenge Vilherm.
Before Halfas departs, he leaves to Mihael the information that he will be awaiting his arrival in Verea, and offers a chance to claim the other two magic swords.
Mihael journeys to Verea, fighting through the city. It is here that he encounters Grusamseus, who plans to gain Dahaka's power and thus become a dragon halfling. Besting Grusamseus, Mihael rushes onward, to pass through and eventually reach the lair of the Demons. Facing and defeating Krassel, he then searches for Halfas. Halfas mockingly offers for Mihael to be fully healed before they fight, but Mihael counters, claiming that Halfas' confidence will be his downfall. Halfas is bested, and waiting for the finishing blow. Mihael intends to end Halfas' life, but Krassel steals the swords Soul and Azos, thus preventing Mihael from doing so. Mihael then faces the dragon Talon, defeats it, and lowers his guard by planting Kadum in the ground.
Krassel then steals Kadum, and by uniting the power of the three swords, is able to call directly upon the magical powers of Dahaka. He sets off a violent explosion, and Mihael disappears. With no word heard of him, Anna eventually sets out to find her brother, believing and praying that he is still alive.
Having lost contact with Mihael, Anna goes searching in the fallen Kingdom of Raxis. Fighting her way through the ruined Raxis City, then the dilapidated castle, she manages to find a wounded Mihael, who explains about the theft of the swords by Krassel. He exhorts Anna to go and stop Krassel's plans: to revive Dahaka and unleash him upon the world. Anna agrees to this, and heads off towards where Clovis defeated the dragon Titan. Awaiting her there is the path to the underworld.
Anna ventures through the passage, eventually coming out in the Underworld to come face to face with the guardian for the sword, Igunis. Igunis has been waiting for her, as it begins its revelation upon the origins of dragons, and how the gods sought to fight them. Eventually, the magic swords were made by the forbidden arts. After the war, Igunis was created against the worst-case scenario. After its revelations, which include that Anna, and her brother Mihael, are descendants of the gods, Igunis entrusts itself to Anna. Taking up Igunis, Anna sets off to find Krassel.
When she eventually reaches him, it is almost too late. Dahaka is almost revived. In a last-ditch effort to stop the attempted resurrection, Anna charges into battle with Krassel, defeating him. As Krassel lays dying, Anna rushes off to stop the revival. She arrives too late, as Dahaka is unleashed on the world, with ages of stored evil coming forth to herald the resurrection.
Dahaka returns to torment Anna, trying to foster her rage so that he can coerce her to give into it and become a dragon. She almost gives in, but Mihael's voice resounds in her mind, telling her the words she needs most to release her anger: that he is alright, and by her side in this fight; that she is not alone. Anna rushes forward to attack Dahaka, and manages to get the upper hand. Dahaka, upon being bested, absorbs the evil and malice in the air around them, and uses that to magnify his power. Anna then fights a more desperate fight, eventually defeating the ancient dragon. As Dahaka lies there, Anna uses Igunis as the key to seal the gates of Gehenna forever.
As Dahaka is returned behind the seal, he leaves a final warning: as long as evil exists, he will once again return. Anna decides to return home with Mihael, while pondering this information and speculating how best to prevent Dahaka's return. As she is lovingly helping her brother limp home, a visibly embarrassed Mihael tells his sister that he can still manage to walk by himself and she doesn't need to support his weight. Anna just continues to do so anyway, affectionately reassuring him that since they're in a foreign country, nobody would know that they're related as the Prince and Princess (which some fans have interpreted as an implication of possible incest between twins, considering the intense level of intimacy between the pair; while other fans have interpreted it as merely just the personal freedom of the siblings to express their familial bonds sans expected formalities), despite Mihael's embarrassment.
During Kodel's travels, he encounters a young thief, whose name is Gerome. Kodel takes Gerome under his wing and begins teaching him swordsmanship. Gerome eventually surpasses Kodel's skill, and the two have a foster relationship of father and son. Kodel, however, catches a virulent disease and dies. After his death, Gerome again turns to thievery, stealing from thieves and others. Eventually, he is attacked by a mob of thieves, whom he overcomes and steals from. Among the things stolen is a map of the cathedral of the Dahaka cult. Gerome resolves to take the cult's treasure as his own.
Journeying to where the cathedral is located in Saldo, Gerome encounters the dragon halfling Halfas, whom he refuses to fight. Once in the Cathedral, Gerome enters the crypt, and eventually meets Sarah, the last survivor of the village of magicians, who is chained up as a sacrifice to the dragon the cult has revived using the Wisdom Stones stolen from her village. (Gerome can either release her or scare her, theoretically they lead to the same result.) After learning this, Gerome journeys further into the crypt, eventually reaching the last of the ruins, where the dragon resides. He defeats the dragon, only to find no Wisdom Stones.
Sarah reappears, telling him that the dragon's bones are now Wisdom Stones, too, and that, should they be processed, could be sold as such for quite a lot of money. Halfas appears, seeking another fight, but Sarah drives him away with her magic. Gerome offers a partnership to Sarah, who has nowhere else to go, and they sell the Wisdom Stones they make from the dragon's bones for a hefty profit, and eventually they marry. They give birth to a daughter, whom they name Anita.
Anita, Gerome's daughter, becomes an exorcist. With the magical power she inherited from her mother, Sarah, along with Gerome's skills as a swordsman and Dragon Valor, she quickly rises to be considered the best in her field. The kingdoms neighbouring the fallen Kingdom of Raxis petition her to go to Raxis castle and slay the demons there. She accepts the contract, chasing the demons to the Sorcerer's Keep on the Raxis-Jirat border. Upon clearing the keep, she finds a lithograph, containing information on the three magic swords.
Deciding that if she had all three swords, she would be unstoppable, Anita sets off in search of Soul and Kadum. She begins her search in Jirat, where she is intercepted by an elderly Vilherm and a Jirat soldier accompanying him. Vilherm insists she forget her quest and surrender Azos. Anita refuses, fighting and besting him. Vilherm then reveals why Jirat wants to confiscate the magic swords: they are the keys to Pandora's Box, and all three cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of one person all at once. The Kingdom of Raxis was destroyed by the efforts of Queen Celia, 50 years ago, to open Pandora's Box using Soul, Kadum, and a third sword she attempted to create herself.
Anita ignores Vilherm's warning, warning him in return that if he or any other Jirat soldier got in her way, that she would kill them, without hesitation. Upon fighting her way through the Jirat ruins, where she believes one of the swords is kept, she finds the guardian already defeated. She then surmises that somebody was already there. Halfas appears, praising her skills as a Dragon Valor. She denies them, stating she is an exorcist, and that is how she detected him. Halfas countermands it, stating that her power is still too weak, but that she has the potential to become a worthy opponent. He then curses her, informing her that she has a month in which time, she must kill him, else she will die. He then leaves, after disclosing that he may be found, along with Soul and Kadum, at Mount Verea.
Anita, desperate to save her life and seething with hatred, heads for Verea, seeking to kill Halfas and thus prevent her own death. On her way, she encounters and defeats both Vappula and Krassel, with her encounters with both beginning in a similar manner to how they began in Anna's story. Anita then goes in search of Halfas, and finds him.
Halfas, this time, stands and fights, eventually losing to Anita's skill. She prepares to kill him, as he requests, by using all three swords, but Krassel intervenes and takes Kadum and Soul. Anita goes in pursuit, believing Halfas that she needs to use all three swords together to kill him and break the curse. Anita then faces and beats the dragon, and plants Azos in the ground as she lowers her guard, believing everything is over.
Krassel then Steals Azos, and by uniting the power of the three swords, is able to directly call upon the magical powers of Dahaka. He sets off a violent explosion, and Anita disappears. After not hearing from her in some time, Gerome and Sarah go in search of their daughter. Gerome, following a rumor, heads towards Raxis castle, where a girl matching Anita's description was apparently spotted.
Note: Gerome is the only playable character to appear from a previous generation, and remains playable for the first two stages. Afterwards, play reverts to Anita.
GeromeFollowing the rumor, Gerome arrives in Raxis city, and begins to search for his daughter, besting demons along the way. Eventually clearing through Raxis City and the ruins of Raxis Castle, Gerome is reunited with Anita. Anita then explains to her father that she has been cursed, and must find the means to remove the curse that Halfas placed upon her. In addition, she refuses to let Gerome take over, as she has her pride to consider. Gerome, somewhat sarcastic about her pride, permits her to continue on.
AnitaAnita, after receiving her father's blessing, heads towards the old Raxis catacombs, which are now a portal to the underworld thanks to Krassel's use of Azos, Soul, and Kadum to break the seal of Gehenna. Journeying through the Underworld Entrance, she encounters an animated suit of armor, the guardian of Igunis, the fourth, and strongest, magic sword. Igunis then tells Anita the reason for its existence: it was created from a god, whereas the other three blades, Azos, Soul, and Kadum, were created from angels to end the war between Gods and Dragons that was destroying the world. While the war ended, the dragons survived by changing their shape, to become the evil in human hearts. This evil would then physically manifest by turning such humans into dragons or dragon halflings. With the fact that the sword's guardian feels free, in spite of the seals placed upon it, it reveals that the gates to Gehenna have been opened, and that Dahaka will be revived and unleashed on the world.
Taking Igunis in hand, Anita sets out through the demonic underworld, eventually making it to where Krassel is waiting. Using the power of Igunis, Anita defeats and kills Krassel. Before Krassel dies, however, Anita rushes off to try to prevent the revival of Dahaka. She fails, and Dahaka comes back after his initial flight, trying to turn this would-be Dragon Valor into a dragon. Anita nearly falls to this, but with some assistance from Gerome, manages to stand firm. Eventually, Anita fights Dahaka and defeats him, then using Igunis to seal the gates of Gehenna forever, and with them, Dahaka. Dahaka mentions that as long as evil exists, he will. This leaves Anita troubled.
As Anita begins the trek back home to Saldo, she find Gerome's body, encased in a crystal of blood. Upon her approaching it, the Crystal shatters, and Gerome stands up to greet his exhausted daughter. Then, as he carries her in a piggyback fashion, he talks with her. Anita asks why it is that humans haven't turned into dragons, considering that there is evil in human hearts. Gerome points out that she did not, and then asks if she loves him, to which a puzzled Anita replies that she does. Gerome then theorizes that as long as there is love in the human heart, humans will never turn into dragons. Seeing a town up ahead, Gerome runs off, still carrying Anita in a piggyback fashion.
The game received "mixed" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. Chet Barber of NextGen said, "It may not blow your socks off, but Dragon Valor is a solid title worthy of any gamer's attention." In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 25 out of 40.
GamePro said of the game, "With dismal features and an unexciting storyline, this is one RPG that doesn't have any valor to its name."[1]