In Dragons Heart, a visual novel RPG hybrid, players guide teenager Zale through a calendar-driven world in Arcadia, where humans harbor deep hatred toward dragons. Each day offers limited actions for activities like fishing, town decoration, and befriending locals through 20 distinct favors such as planting flowers, hide-and-seek, or delivering love letters. Time advances only after choices, pulling the story forward amid knight academy training in swordplay and elemental magic.
Combat unfolds in turn-based battles blending elemental attacks, timing, button mashing, and key presses, where players decide to aid monsters or obey orders. Peering into hearts reveals traumas, demanding empathy, blunt truths, or favors like stargazing and cooking to forge bonds. Every tracked action shapes consequences in this point-based time system, appealing to RPG fans who value story depth and moral choices.
Dragons Heart is a visual novel RPG hybrid. It’s primarily focused on telling its story and uses varied gameplay to reinforce its themes. There is a calendar system where you have a set amount of actions you can perform each day. As you do activities like fishing, decorating the town, and befriending new people time will progress, which means the story will pull you along for the ride!
In Arcadia, there exists a strong hatred between two species. Humans and Dragons. At the highest point of tension between the two one-man, knight, and a father named Ronin tries to protect the Dragons from a one-sided setup that will lead to mass extinction. To stop Ronin his friend and fellow knight betrays and kills him. Ronin is branded a traitor to the public, and the truth of his death remains a secret. Ronin’s family, a wife, baby son, and kid daughter, leave their home to escape the daily harassment.
14 years later, that same baby son, Zale, now a teenager has stumbled upon one of the last Dragons left. She entrusts Zale with her power. It allows Zale to peer into other people’s hearts and live, feel, and understand their trauma. Zale and his sister decide they should use this power to help people who are in trouble, misunderstood, and even the same types of people who called their father a traitor. To them, the only way to do that is to do what their father did and become knights. Unknowing to them following under the very man who killed their father. Will Zale and his sister be able to change society for the better, or will they end up like their father?
You’ll play as Zale as he tries to connect with people. You’ll do this by helping them with favors like planting flowers, hide & seek, delivering love letters, and much more! There will be times when you’ll need to be a good listener and empathize and other times need to be honest with the person. The most optimistic people tell uncomfortable truths because they believe people can change. So don’t conflate being blunt with pessimism. Just be gentle and empathetic with others and try to tell them what they need to hear.
Along with helping the townsfolk, Zale will attend the Knight Academy, where he will learn how to use a sword and use elemental magic. He’s told that monsters are the greatest threat to humanity, but is that really the whole truth? Monsters, just like the humans in the game have problems of their own so when you engage in combat, you’ll have to save the monsters or give in to the knights and do what you’re told. Just remember that your actions have consequences and that bad actions can lead to a day when you’ll wake up and not recognize the person you’ve become.
-A village hub world to meet new people and participate in activities that build your ties to the town.
-20 distinct favors. Favors are opportunities to help people sort out their trauma by helping them by star gazing with them, helping cook for their restaurant, or helping them sell the inventions they make.
-A point-based time system. Meaning time doesn't progress until you decide how you want to spend it!
-A battle system where you can either help your opponent or fight them. The battle system is turn-based with elemental-based attacks. The battle system also incorporates timing, button mashing, and pressing the correct keys at the right moment.
-A story that was written first and was over 300,000 words that have now been adapted into game form with very appealing illustrations of the character faces and scenes.
-Your actions are all tracked and everything matters.
