DoraKone

Genre: Visual Novel

Players: 1

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Review:

DoraKone is a Visual Novel released in 2019 on PC and then ported in 2023 to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. This game’s story puts players in the role of Dulce, a young South American woman who just got into the new Pokemon Go-esque smartphone game, Dragon Connection, or DraCo for short. As she learns the ins and outs of the game, she befriends three other young women in her area who are also into the game, potentially getting close to one of them.

These three characters are Brin, a competitive girl wanting to become the best, Honorée, a haughty young woman of wealth and Brin’s rival, and Rayen, a kindly girl struggling through her social anxiety issues. Surprisingly, even with only three characters and the game only taking about an hour to play through once, the game has thirteen different endings depending on whether your choices lead Dulce to solo the game’s final tournament or become doubles partners with one of the other girls, whether you win or lose that tournament, and whether you befriend or romance the girl you’re partnered with.

The romance here is all fairly chaste, with the majority of the game having Dulce form bonds with the other girls over their shared interest for DragCo. The writing and characters here are pretty good, though I would say that Dulce herself seems a bit generic as a typical optimistic friendly protagonist character, and conversely it’s hard not to feel that Rayen is by far the easiest character of the group to like, not only because her social anxiety is relatable and her shyness makes her adorable, but because Brin’s introduction makes her seem abrasive, and as for Honorée… well, she seems like a stuck-up rich girl at first, and does anyone like a stuck-up rich girl? Thankfully, I do think these characters become better later on.

The game does a decent job building these characters up despite that most of the game’s time is spent either discussing in abstract the mechanics and lore of the fictional game they’re all fans of, or squabbling with the boy working at the ice cream shop who is constantly irritated by the fact that his shop is DragCo’s equivalent of a PokeStop, attracting players who have no interest in being paying customers.

The presentation here is complimented by some really lovely anime-style character designs in front of some nice, colorful backgrounds. And this is joined by some nice upbeat synthesized music, which works well for the overall lighthearted plot even if it’s not especially memorable.

With only an hour of run time for a playthrough, there’s not a whole lot of time to build up these characters or make for much of a plot, and the stakes here are pretty low. Still, for only $5, this is a surprisingly satisfying Visual Novel, even if it’s not a very deep one. The character designs are great and the characters themselves are likable (especially Rayen), the writing is good, and the overall plot is an interesting and relatable take on the dating sim. Like the ice cream the girls all enjoy, this is a small, sweet snack that may just be empty calories, but it’s enjoyable all the same. If you’re looking for a Visual Novel that will be a nice palate-cleanser between heavier or more substantial fare, and in particular if you’re looking for something cheap but still satisfying, DoraKone is well worth trying out.

tl;dr – DoraKone is a Visual Novel about a young woman who has just started playing the Pokemon Go-esque game DragCo, and befriends and potentially gets close to three other local players. As Visual Novels go, this is a short and lighthearted game that only costs $5, but the premise is fairly unique, the writing and characters are likeable, and the character designs are very nice. This may not be an especially profound experience, but it’s an enjoyable one while it lasts, and I think it’s well worth the small price tag.

Grade: B

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