Japanese gaming has been in trouble for a long time, so it’s not surprising to know how hard their RPGs are failing. This is the precise reason why one certain developer has decided to try its hand at making a “western” RPG, known for its open-world environment and wide-open storylines… and they’re doing it so much better than we are. I’ve played a mere demo of Dragon’s Dogma, and I can already tell it’s just the tip of the iceberg that can change RPGs as we know it.

Before anybody asks what I’m doing referencing a console game on this PC blog, I’d like to point out the game in question is developed by Capcom, known very well for bringing its titles to PC and doing a damn good job of it. I’d also like to point out that Dark Souls wasn’t coming out for the PC until a petition overwhelmed Namco Bandai (hint, hint). Even if it never does make it to the PC, this could be the start of a trend that changes the face of PC RPGs as a whole.

Let me try and put it into perspective for you: I’ve been a huge Elder Scrolls fan for years, and I waited—very impatiently—four long years for Skyrim to come out, and it was the greatest thing I’d ever experienced. Now I’ve played the demo for Dragon’s Dogma, and I wouldn’t care if Skyrim accidentally fell into the garbage (okay, maybe that’s going a little far… I still do enjoy the game).

Here’s what Skyrim can do: You can punch a dragon or spam your magic attacks until it falls, every single time. Same dragon, same story. Dragon’s Dogma? You have unique enemies based on real mythological stories like the Chimera, and each one has a specific way you need to kill it. I fought a giant bird that needed to have its wings cut off to keep it from flying away.

The part that really gets me is the character customization. It’s seriously in-depth to the point that other character creators look stupid. You can create any kind of person from an old, decrepit man and a skinny emo boy to a large, hulking man to a young boy barely in his teens, and you even get unique voices to accompany the character. The young boy I created actually has a young boy’s voice to follow.

One can only hope that Dragon’s Dogma finds its way to PC like the rest of Capcom’s titles, because I think that’s one thing that would seriously blow away gamers and could absolutely set a new trend for PC RPG developers to follow.

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