After playing titles such as Lunar: The Silver Star and Grandia Gamearts became one of my most favorite video game developers of all time. Their RPGs are excellent, but I eventually came to learn that this was not their starting point. Alisia Dragoon is a platforming/shooter hybrid that was released only on the Sega Genesis in the early 90s. It just so happens that this is one of Gamearts early titles before they made a name for themselves with Lunar. This was a rather limited release, and despite garnering a cult fanbase Alisia Dragoon is mostly unknown. I found it to be one of the system’s best hidden gems; the game melds the best elements of the two genres and throws in excellent graphics and music. The end result is a legitimate classic that’s simply amazing.
The story here is a little difficult to follow. We’re given only a vague introduction and small amount of in-game dialogue. The setting is your typical medieval fantasy style world with anime style characters, and from what I can piece together the story focuses on the heroine Alisia who sets out to defeat an evil wizard whom killed her father. It’s not particularly interesting, and so let’s move on. As I’ve already mentioned Alisia Dragoon is a hybrid platforming game and shooter. You walk left, right, and can jump as per your standard platform conventions, but rather than stomping on enemies’ heads Alisia defeats them using a bracelet that shoots magical bursts of energy. What’s interesting is the fact that these lasers auto-aim at your enemies, and you can hold down the attack button to cause constant damage to your foe. Fortunately this is limited by an energy gauge at the top of the screen that depletes as you use this attack, and automatically recharges while Alisia is idle. This prevents you from being able to simply spam the attack button which is smart.
Throughout the game Alisia is accompanied by a dragon helper. This sidekick character follows you around automatically, and attacks incoming enemies. They are not invincible however and each has their own life bar that, when depleted, will put them out of commission until you reach the next stage. What’s interesting is the fact that there are four different dragons to choose from. You begin with just three, and the final one is hidden in one of the stages. When Alisia’s health is full and she picks up healing items the regeneration will go to the currently equipped dragon instead of being simply wasted. This will keep you on your toes and encourage you to cycle through them to make each is at perfect health. Generally there aren’t a lot of differences between these guys; it’s mostly aesthetic, but their projectile attacks do have slightly different trajectories. You can easily complete the game without using any of the dragons, but it’s still a cool feature.
The level design is very interesting. Some levels force you to move in more vertical directions, and one in particular even features the action at a forty five degree angle. There’s a pleasant amount of diversity here, and level is interesting with new elements introduced to the very end. In the beginning Alisia may seem a little overpowered with her auto-targeting magic, but the game loves to throw large groups of enemies your way at once. Though the attack hits multiple enemies at once when they are in range you’ll still need to be quick on your feet in order to dodge them. The game features a vast number of secrets areas in most stages. In these you will find various power-ups that give Alisia numerous advantages. One increases her health (she can have up to six notches on the meter) while another upgrades the fire power of the default weapon. You’ll find others that perform similar functions but for your dragon sidekicks instead. Even with all of these power-ups the game is never particularly easy though thankfully the game is not overly long.
Alisia Dragoon is very good looking by Genesis standards. The only issue I really had here was that the colors are very dull; this really takes away from the fantasy setting as the whole world just looks drab. Aside from this the graphics are quite pleasant. The characters animate wonderfully though they suffer slightly from a lack of animation frames. The art style is wonderful; I’ve really grown to love the old anime infused 16-bit titles in modern times. What’s particularly impressive is that, in one of the final stages, the background scrolls during a boss encounter at a very fast rate (think Sonic the Hedgehog) and there’s never a single moment of slowdown. It’s really impressive. The soundtrack fares even better than the graphics. The composers definitely knew how to play on the hardware’s strengths. The fantasy world comes to life with some absolutely wonderful music that’s not only unique but highly memorable. The soundtrack is incredible, and it goes beyond what I thought the Genesis was capable of though that might not be saying much.
While the Genesis is well known for it’s run and gun games as well as platforming titles Alisia Dragoon manages to stand out from the crowd. It isn’t the best one available, but it’s unique, and does not by any means feel like a copycat of anything else. This is one of the biggest Genesis hidden gems, and I highly recommend it to fans of the aforementioned genres. This one is solid.
