So I’ve been playing one of Idea Factory International’s newest games called Dragon Star Varnir. I believe I’m half way through the game so I wanted to give my impressions of what I’ve played so far.

Dragon Star Varnir is the latest rpg offering from developer Compile Heart. I say rpg but it’s more of a visual novel. So far I’ve spent the most time viewing cutscenes more than anything else in the game and that’s not a bad thing. Two of this game’s greatest strengths are it’s characters and story. The story revolves around witches who were into cruel circumstances. They are forced to eat dragon meat or risk going mad but after eating enough dragon meat they themselves may become dragons. Our protagonist, Zephy, is a knight whose duty is to hunt down witches. He comes across a dragon during one of his hunts and is gravely injured. Due to the kindness and quick thinking of a witch by the name of Minessa, Zephy’s life is saved but in turn he becomes a witch himself. There is a lot of story to take in as Zephy comes to terms with his new living situation and getting closer to the witches he once hunted. This being a Compile Heart game there has to be a healthy dose of waifu. You have the big sister type, the loli, the tsundere, and an enigmatic character with a mysterious past.

Even though I said the story is where the game is strongest that doesn’t mean the gameplay itself isn’t great. You’re given control of a party explore dungeons and fight turn based battles. All of that is your standard jrpg fair but where this game differs is in that battles take place in the air. There are three planes that combatants can fight on and this can effect whether your attack can reach certain opponents if you use spells or attacks that would normally reach a row or plane of enemies. Most bosses stand all three planes and you need to attack it on each individual plane in order to stop their most devastating attacks. There’s a lot of strategy involved as you add in elemental weaknesses and character transformations. I’ve lost quite a few battles already and that’s just on the normal difficulty.

There are a bunch of other systems at work as well back in the hub town as well. There are side quests you can take on but most just boil to fighting special monsters or fetch quests. You can also take part in the game’s elixir making shop. After making an elixir you can have a particular character drink it and a battle will commence. If you win this battle you the chance to earn special equipment for the character who drank the elixir. Not only that but you can also shower your witch buddies with gifts which leads into increasing your affinity. Doing so leads to events where each girl becomes closer to Zephy. You also have to feed the younger witch sisters to help prevent them from going mad but you also have to be careful how much you feed them because it may lead to them becoming dragons. All of these activities can be ignored but they add to the game so I recommend doing them.

My only negative is the presentation. Most cutscenes are told through static images with no audio to accompany them which is a shame because from the few scenes that are voiced, the cast sounds great. While there are some events told using the in game graphics, the models themselves are minimally animated so they really add nothing to the experience. The character designs are attractive and in battle the models look great. The music is also pretty forgettable, doing a serviceable job filling the silence. My favorite part presentation wise is when the characters transform into they’re dragon forms and unleash their special moves.

So far I’m enjoying what I’m playing of Dragon Star Varnir. There are still so many things I haven’t talked about yet and I’m excited to see where the dating sim elements lead and how Zephy’s journey ends. I’m have another write up for my final recommendation but I can’t see this game doing anything to sour my experience.

If you’re interested you can pick the game up here: https://amzn.to/2LB4j4d