The Arisen and his pawn fight the Seneshal, known as Savan, and his pawn. In return for defeating the Seneschal, he/she takes Savan’s place, becoming a new fount of will to the world. Before dying, Savan reveals information about being the Seneschal, and tells the Arisen, that he is not the only Arisen currently, as there are multiple universes with their own respective pawns, and as a result, he is only the Seneshal of this universe. Though it is a bitter reward, as the Arisen cannot be seen by anyone in the world once they return from their throne. Using the Godsbane, a sword granted to him by Grigori and Savan, the Arisen stabs themself in the heart. The body of the Arisen and the main pawn are sent hurtling back to the world. The pawn wakes up on the beach, and it is revealed by the change in his/her voice that the pawn’s form has changed into that of the Arisen. The pawn is then greeted by the Arisen’s love interest, and they walk along the beach to Cassardis.

By starting a new game plus after this, it is revealed that generations have passed since the death of Grigori and Savan, and the attack on Cassardis happens again, in which the events of before are repeated. The difference between the attacks in the current generation is that The Arisen (who may or may not maintain their appearance from the original play through) has the skills and equipment from the original, and the cycle of the Arisen repeats themselves again.

Development

The game was developed by Capcom staff members that had previously worked on series such as Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Breath of Fire. These include director Hideaki Itsuno, who previously directed games such as Devil May Cry 2, 3 and 4; producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi, who previously produced games such as Resident Evil 4 and Killer7; and Breath of Fire designer Makoto Ikehara, who worked on creating the fantasy game world and script elements during the early stages of production.

During the press conference at Capcom’s Captivate event in 2011, director Hideaki Itsuno said that Dragon’s Dogma is a game he had been dreaming about making since his school days. He was able to realize it now due to advancing technology, and has been directing a staff of around 150 people at Capcom Japan for the past two years development time (three years including conceptual phases). As of April 2011, the game’s development status was at 50 %.

Itsuno stated that his team has «made Dragon’s Dogma and come up to this point through our experience of action games. We’re trying to make a new genre: We’re using our action heritage and putting that into an action RPG.» In addition to Capcom’s previous works (such as Breath of Fire, Resident Evil, Devil May Cry, and Monster Hunter), Itsuno also cited the influence of other Eastern RPGs such as Dragon Quest and Western RPGs such as Fable and Oblivion. Itsuno later explained that they have "seen a great deal of open-world action RPGs over the years, " but that «there’s never been one that really put everything together in the action parts. We figured that if there hasn’t been a game made by people who understand how action works, then we ought to do it ourselves. We wanted a game where the player is thrown into the world and needs to figure out how to stay alive via nothing but his own controller.» However, it will also be possible for characters to take a less action-oriented approach, with Itsuno stating that they are "making this game such that you can beat the monsters even if you build up EXP, collect good companions and/or pawns, and sit back and watch the battle unfold, " and elaborating that while it is an action game, «that’s not all that it is. You can fully configure your party and put as much thought as you like into battle, which is something we’re doing for people who really want to get into this world.»

It was announced in January 2012 that the game would include early access to a playable demo of Resident Evil 6, which released October 2, 2012 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Загружаемый контент

Два набора дополнительных квестов, названные «Избранный» и «Претендент», были выпущены в виде downloadable content (DLC) в Июне и Июле. Так же, серия квестов выпускаемая в течение 10 недель, названная «С другого неба» выпускалась с 22 мая по 24 июля. Есть также несколько пострелизных предметов-DLC, таких как оружие, броня и дополнительные возможности настройки настройки внешности персонажа.

The game director, Hideaki Itsuno, said that the team would be preparing «Future Play Elements», but would not disclose any more details. It was announced in the Tokyo Game Show that Capcom is preparing a major expansion titled «Dark Arisen», to be released in 2013, which will contain other undisclosed content. A Hard difficulty and a Speedrun mode were released earlier in fall of 2012.

Reception

The number of pre-orders for the game in Japan exceeded half a million. The game sold 331,064 copies during its first week on sale in Japan, including 302,040 for the PlayStation 3 and 29,024 for the Xbox 360, making it the fastest-selling new IP of the current console generation; as of June 4, 2012, sales for the PlayStation 3 version increased to 418,210 units sold in Japan. In the United States, the game sold 92,000 copies within five days. It debuted at third place on the UK charts. As of June 30, 2012, a month after its release, the game has sold 1.05 million units worldwide.

The game has been well received in Japan, where gaming magazine Famitsu gave the game an overall score of 34 out of 40, based on four reviewer scores of 8, 9, 8, and 9. Famitsu gave it a «Hall of Fame: Gold» award, praising «the game’s variety in combat, the effectiveness of working together with Pawns, the exceptionally fun sidequests, and the uniqueness of each vocation.»

In the Western world, Dragon’s Dogma received generally positive reviews. Aggregating review website Metacritic gave the Xbox 360 version 76/100 and the PlayStation 3 version 79/100. Game Informer gave the game an 8.5 out of 10 and stated that «I left the game feeling that I made my mark on Gransys the way I chose to, instead of being escorted from plot point to plot point. When you’re talking about an open-world game, I can’t think of higher praise.» Eurogamer Italy said that «Dragon’s Dogma is a great fantasy game, where the lack of a multiplayer experience is compensated from an impressive single player.» UK magazine PSM3 wrote, «Big, challenging and imaginative, but its hardcore nature won’t appeal to everyone.» GameSpot gave the game a score of 8 out of 10. The review praised the "Fantastic combat encounters, " one of "the best boss fights in any role-playing game, " atmospheric touches, and «striking choices» that lead to «an unforgettable ending.» The review notes that the game "takes chances, and it’s that riskiness that makes this role-playing game so unique among its peers, " concluding that, «Engrossing and frustrating, Dragon’s Dogma is a flawed and unique gem.»

Play UK criticized it for low framerates on the Xbox 360 version. IGN stated, «Dragon’s Dogma has the scale and challenge of a great action RPG, but not the character or polish. Nevertheless, there’s a lot to love here, like some great ideas that make you want to give it a chance.» The reviewer ended the review with a score of 7.5 out of 10. GameTrailers praised the challenging combat and the gameplay mechanics, though they criticized the story as «flat». Their rating for the game was an 8.7.

Развитие событий

В связи с большим количеством положительных отзывов, а также благодаря коммерческому успеху, Capcom намерены сделать Dragon’s Dogma крупной франшизой.