Review: Fat Dragons (3DS)

Aside from a couple highlight titles like Steamworld Dig 2 and Kirby Battle Royale, the Nintendo 3DS hasn’t been shaking up a storm so far this year. Obviously, the Switch has been increasingly stealing the spotlight with its fancier set of releases and accessibility. That still doesn’t mean the 3DS is to be counted out, however. The folks at Nostatic continue to release titles for the seven-year-old platform, this latest one being Fat Dragons.

Graphics

Nostatic consistently uses minimalist pixel art for the visuals in their games, perhaps most endearingly in the Quiet, Please series. Fat Dragons is no exception to the rule, but I do think the presentation as a whole is rather bare. The worlds have themes that make them stand out from each other, yet it feels like there’s a lack of detail present.

Audio

The audio drives this home. There isn’t any music, and the sound effects are tinny. I think an online sound effects generator was used to make them, but I’m sure it’s possible for there to be more convincing results than what’s here.

Gameplay

Fat Dragons is an arcade-like 2D platformer where the objective is to bop the heads of enemy dragons and kick them off the single-screen level. Defeat all the enemies in the room, and another wave comes in to replace them. If any of this sounds familiar, that may be because you’re thinking of Balloon Fight or Joust. If you are, then you’re in luck; Fat Dragons is almost exactly like those games.

The name of the game is getting as many points as possible by staying alive and kicking butts for just as long. The closest there is to any sort of level-based progression is the fact you unlock up to three worlds by meeting certain goals (which consist of beating an amount of waves). While the challenge is fine enough, there’s nothing more to this game other than beating your own scores.

Verdict

If you’re still fond of the days of home console ports of arcade games and don’t see a $0.99 price as a hurdle, I can recommend Fat Dragons as a little game that’s worthy of killing time with. However, most players will likely be looking for something with more punch.

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