5 Things You Might Not Know About Dragon's Crown

George Kamitani is a master of 2D gaming. Developing titles that boast hand-drawn animations, amazing artwork and an attention to detail not found in many games today, his studio Vanillaware has opted for 2D style and flair in a gaming world increasingly obsessed with 3D realism.

The studio's latest game, Dragon's Crown, unsurprisingly follows in these footsteps. A spiritual successor to Vanillaware's debut Sega Saturn title Princess Crown, the game is a side-scrolling 2D beat-em-up with heavy RPG elements. The game will be released on the PS3 and PS Vita, and features heavy online integration — a first for the studio. But in all the hullabaloo surrounding the game's reveal, a few interesting tidbits may have missed your eyes. But fear not. VitaGamr is here. And we're about to level up your intelligence.

5. Dragon's Crown Was Originally a Dreamcast Game

George Kamitani first came up with Dragon Crown's' concept — an online-enabled 2D Action RPG — for Sega's Dreamcast. The system was no stranger to online RPGs, housing the likes of Phantasy Star Online, but Kamitani temporarily canned the project when he struggled to find a publisher. After Ignition published Vanillaware's Muramasa: The Demon Blade on Wii, he went back to work on the game:

It was hard to convince a publisher to greenlight the idea, but I rewrote the project plan after finishing up Muramasa and finally managed to get Ignition to sign on with the game.

4. There Are No Stages to Clear

Oh, Dragon's Crown will have stages — 40-50 hours worth in fact — but you won't be “clearing” them in the traditional sense. Unlike Odin Sphere and Princess Crown, Dragon's Crown instead employs a quests system to dole out objectives to players, requiring them to explore or revisit the multitude of branching pathways and hidden corridors tucked deep within the game's many dungeons.

3. Environments Are Destructible

Dragon's Crown will feature touch screen support for navigating menus and selecting items, but that's not all you'll be doing with your fingers. Transforming your digits into fleshly little wrecking balls, the touch screen can also be used to destroy elements of the backgrounds, which could reveal new items or hidden passageways.

2. It Picked the Bones of Demon's Souls

In Demon's Souls, dead players left behind bloodstains in the spot of their demise. Other players could use these stains to watch the final moments of the player, and glean some information about their death. Player's could also read messages left by other warriors for hints or warnings.

In Dragon's Crown, defeated players will leave behind bones, which can be collected offline and allow you to see the status of the player at the time of their demise. These long-gone fighters can also leave behind messages to forewarn other travelers of the dangers that lie ahead.

1. Two of the Character Classes Are Unplayable

You may have noticed that in some of the screenshots for the game, Fairies can be seen hovering above the party. These little nymphs won't be directly controllable by players, but instead fill a support role. Just what that support will be is still unclear though.

The other character class that will remain hands-off is the Thief. These characters will travel with you and help you obtain new items. They can aid you should you happen to lose your weapon, meaning that you may have to wait for a Thief to steal you an new axe or sword before jumping back into the fray.

If you're still itching for more Dragon's Crown content, be sure to browse the game's screenshots and art in our gallery below.