Meta Toy DragonZ SAGA

Toys? Good! Dragons? Good! Off to a great start right there! Meta Toy Dragonz Saga sets the stage where a variety of dragon personalities will be introduced in a story-driven game. The world it creates for you is one of not just battles with other toys but also that of a city builder/resource management system. With a variety of shops for you to produce resources at and gather resources to upgrade your dragon's army.

Gameplay

First off, let's check out the art. With a 2D art style heavily inspired by LEGO with its blocks and Dragonz, it's something that instantly looks familiar and will have broad appeal to a large audience. With its colorful and bright colors, it manages to create a happy and appealing world to explore. The "enemies" you’ll face along the way are done in a style where they are not frightening to the eye but still manage to clearly outline who the bad guys are, if that makes sense? Managing to keep the entire game child-friendly and something kids will enjoy playing.

The gameplay is a variety of different elements. Making sure you'll explore every asset and element within it, there is a very helpful questing system in place to guide you through the different unlockable areas and much-needed elements in order to be able to progress in each of them.

Some examples of them would be the various creation stations for resource creation, each of them needing one another to keep upgrading your resources for more advanced ones needed for higher-level stations and elements as well as upgrading your city and levels within it. The gacha system in place for acquiring new and rarer Dragonz and Pets (This got me hooked) and the battle mode, which is an auto-battler.

Each of the elements in the game supports one another not just in the progression of the quests that are outlined but also in the required resources each of them provides. Without the gold from the battles, you won't be able to upgrade your city, and without your city-provided resources, you won't be able to upgrade your Dragonz.

This is done in a very simple and easy-to-understand way that within the first play session will become clear and easy to understand. Some elements, though, require too much micromanagement in order to produce enough resources to progress, although it does provide an easy way to “produce all,” it still requires you to stay in the game a lot to keep production going and is very repetitive.

Let's talk about Gacha! I enjoy a good Gacha, as do a lot of you, but this one, in particular, is very enjoyable for me. Not just because it's Dragonz but it does help hahaha. You’ll have a variety of choices within this part of the game, from free draws on Dragonz and pets but also a variety of paid options with, of course, higher chances for rare pulls. The Dragonz you’ll pull won’t just have a rarity involved but also a lot of different elements from color to the outfits and weapons they wear but also the elements of their attack. Making each Gacha a unique experience and exciting to go into.

Yes, you’ll end up with a bunch of Dragonz you won’t use because they are too weak but not to worry you’ll be able to merge them into stronger ones in an instant. Along the way, you’ll be able to level up your Dragonz and increase their skills as well as equip them with upgrades and pets to further increase their fighting capabilities. This way you’ll be able to face even stronger adversaries. All in all, the Gacha system as well as the way you’ll level up your team is done in a very nice way, and the auto-feature will help you a lot in the beginning of your adventures.

The battle section will have a variety of options for you to explore, from the basic story progression mode to player vs. player battles and daily dungeons and the teased world boss mode. Each having its appeal and enjoyment. You’ll quickly find out there are players out there with a very high-level team that you'd be better off avoiding. For now, there doesn't seem to be a limit or range in which you’ll be able to fight opponents, which makes it frustrating to see much stronger opponents and only makes you wonder how badly they’ll beat up your team.

The story mode is nice enough and offers enough of a challenge to keep you upgrading your team, although I must admit the auto-battle features don’t keep you very engaged in the battles as this option that does everything for you. Of course, this is optional to use or not so you are always able to take matters into your own hands. After completing an adventure storyline, you’ll face off against a boss before entering a new world to explore with new and unique monsters to battle.

Review

The battles and monsters you’ll face are well done and enjoyable to watch (at least the first bunch) with higher stakes battles against other players where your tactics and team-building skills are most interesting to watch, the variety in settings is a welcomed feature that keeps the story fresh, with each new adventure bringing new enemies and requiring you to change your team to be most effective, the game offers little to no explanation on the rock-paper-scissors system behind the battles making it a guessing game on which will be most effective.

All in all, the game is decent enough to play around with in your spare time, the auto battles will be good for those with less time but overall the game lacks the depth for more “hardcore” players to jump into it. The art and auto functions it offer make it appealing to kids and adults alike.