Senior Staff Writer Chris "Pwyff" Tom flew to Taiwan to attend the Gamania Game Show, where he got to experience the best of what's to come from Gamania. Today he focuses on Dream Drops and Langrisser Schwarz!

Dream Drops

Adorable was probably the first thought to cross my mind when we entered the Dream Drops station. In a unique twist of fate, iconic characters from our childhood fairy tales have fallen prey to some so-called "Time Thieves," and it is up to the player to partner up with the stylistically and temperamentally reformed Queen of Hearts to do battle against these unknown villains. Currently, one of the major bosses of Dream Drops appears to the once-defenseless Snow White, who is now a demanding fashionista, hell-bent on selling the world her designer clothes (which reminds me of every fashion designer I know).

As a premise, Dream Drops' fairy tale setting has almost limitless possibilities, and I was pleasantly surprised to see how far they have embraced this theme, especially in class selection. There were four playable classes for us to try at the demo: the Nutcracker Soldier, the Blue Bird Magic Painter, the Candy House Pastry Chef, and the Indian Warrior of Neverland. On a basic level, these four classes comprise the basic MMORPG staples of tank, mage, healer, and rogue, but on an aesthetic level they are so unique that it becomes forgivable.

For example, the Nutcracker Soldier, who is essentially the tank of the game, runs around with a little wind-up key in her back, and by switching keys, she changes fighting stances and gains different persistent bonuses. The Blue Bird Painter is another great example, as she casts spells by painting them into the world, thereby allowing her to launch suns or bird cages at her enemies. Even the Candy House Pastry Chef tosses out bread whenever he heals, or he can throw a lollipop on the ground to give his team an AoE buff.

In addition to the basic premise of Dream Drops, we were also introduced to the game's expansive guild city system. Much like customizable guild housing in other MMORPGs, Dream Drops utilizes a fully customizable plot of land where guild leaders can erect various buildings for convenient resource access, or even to gain access to guild-wide statistical bonuses. One concept I was fairly impressed with was the "guild job board," where players from outside the guild can come to work on freelance jobs, thereby benefitting them both. I did ask if they would consider implementing a PvP-based land invasion system, which they said they were considering.

Overall, I would say that the largest appeal of Dream Drops is certainly its premise, which the development team has gone to great lengths to embrace. Everything, including the monsters, player abilities, and the environmental design, strike a whimsical appeal. Regardless of Dream Drops' more traditional approaches to MMORPG combat, it's impossible not to smile when you're running around in a teddy bear suit, throwing loaves of bread at your teammates. If Gamania wants Dream Drops to penetrate the North American market, however, I hope that they'll be able to smooth out the gameplay before it gets released.

Langrisser Schwarz preview on Page 3.