When Dragon Star Varnir was released in 2019, it was one of the most unique RPGs I had seen come from Idea Factory and Compile Heart. I reviewed the PlayStation 4 version and greatly enjoyed my time with it. It takes the Compile Heart formula of RPGs and adds a few unique elements. The Nintendo Switch version is no exception, bringing great mechanics and an interesting story in a portable way that you can enjoy at home or on the go.

Dragon Star Varnir is set in a dark world where humanity fights against Dragons. They also demonize and vilify witches, who are cursed to consume dragon blood and ultimately give birth to a dragon at the cost of their own life. The Knights of Requiem believe that all witches must be destroyed so they cannot give birth to more dragons, while the witches attempt to find an end to their curse.

You play as Zephy, a young knight who almost gets killed by a dragon, only to find himself saved by witches. The witches try to heal him with magic but must resort to giving him Dragon Blood instead. Somehow, Zephy becomes the first recorded male witch and now finds himself on a journey with the other witches to break the curse or die trying.

The main progression element of Dragon Star Varnir involves devouring enemies. By devouring dragons, you can gain dragon cores. Each dragon core has its own skill tree, so as you fight enemies and level up, you can gain Factor points. You can then put those points into your acquired cores.

As you explore environments, you are able to collect materials and items, along with various weapons and armor for Zephy and the other witches. Leveling up your gear and your characters themselves can be just as important as getting points to put in your cores. This is especially the case since the death of party members (and your party as a whole) can have negative effects on the storyline.

You should also be aware that this game is not for kids. The game itself deals with heavy topics such as madness and death, along with blood and other mature elements. So, please use your best judgment about who watches as you play through this game. Additionally, as with any Idea Factory game, there are fanservice-y elements and romance elements sprinkled in as well.

This mostly factors in due to the Madness mechanic, and the Feeding mechanic. Before we get too deep into those, let’s discuss combat, because combat can actually affect the Madness level of your characters as well. Combat takes place on a multi-tiered battlefield, as the witches are able to move between the top, middle, and lower tiers.

Enemies can move between tiers, and certain enemies may even take up multiple tiers. By dealing damage to an enemy, you can raise their fear level. If you raise their fear level high enough, you can devour them, which allows you to get the enemy’s core. Some enemies (non-dragons) don’t have a core, so devouring them won’t make much sense.

As you fight, once your Dragon Gauge fills, your characters will undergo a Dragon Awakening. Be warned, you get access to powerful skills called Dragon skills in this form, but if you use them, your Madness level will increase.

The Madness level affects the ending of the game. As you progress through the story, certain dialogue options will affect it, as well as the Feeding mechanic and the usage of Dragon skills. If you want to get any ending other than the bad ending, make sure to keep your Madness level as low as possible. If it gets over 75% by the end of the game you’ll be locked into the worst ending.

The Feeding mechanic involves the little sisters Pio, Chiquita, and Monet. If the little witches aren’t given a dragon’s blood (or meat) often enough, they will go mad. However, if you feed them too much, the dragon inside of them will grow and kill them. This also affects the ending, and is a delicate balancing act between feeding the girls to get gifts and affection level from them, and making sure not to accidentally kill them.

This is just the tip of the iceberg though. As in most Compile Heart and Idea Factory projects, there are quests, side quests, and a plethora of other bits of content. The Switch version comes with all of the DLC from the original release, including items and equipment. Personally, I think this makes Dragon Star Varnir an even better value on Switch, because you don’t have to pay for any of that separately, and you can take this RPG on the go.

There’s enough replay value here for several playthroughs, especially if you don’t get the True Ending the first time around, and want to play through in a New Game Plus scenario. As you can probably tell if you’ve seen enough of our reviews, I’ve really been enjoying Idea Factory’s darker offerings, and Dragon Star Varnir definitely qualifies.

If you like Idea Factory’s brand of RPGs, then this will scratch the itch nicely. If you’re looking for something a little different, with some unique plot elements and combat mechanics, Dragon Star Varnir has what you’re looking for. I wouldn’t recommend playing it with kids around or giving it to someone under the age of 18, but your mileage may vary on that one.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Dragon Star Varnir was provided by Idea Factory for this review.

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Dragon Star Varnir

$29.99

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Multiple Difficulty Settings
• A lot of Replay Value
• Unique Combat Mechanics
• Beautiful Visuals

Cons

• Fanservice can get a Little Annoying
• Not Suitable for Kids so Parents Will Have to be Careful
• A few Annoying Characters