Dragalia Lost

Dragalia Lost was Cygames' attempt to break out beyond its home market of Japan, in cooperation with Nintendo, which exceptionally took part as co-producer on a game outside its own series. It's an action RPG where the player controls a character in real time with drags across the screen and taps to attack, dodge, and trigger special abilities, with the key motif being heroes transforming into dragons during battle – a temporary but visually impressive transformation with its own set of attacks that fundamentally changes battle tactics. Controls were sensitively adapted for the touchscreen, battles felt smooth even without a physical controller, and bosses required real dodging of attacks, not just tapping into a crowd.

The game launched in 2018 and built on an original fantasy world, an elaborate story split into chapters, and regular crossover events, among others with other Nintendo series, which was a strong draw for fans despite it being an entirely new brand with no prior history and no established fanbase. Collecting heroes and dragons worked on the gacha principle typical of Japanese mobile RPGs, with regular banners tied to new characters, adventurers, and seasonal story events.

The game's service ended in 2022, so Dragalia Lost is no longer available in app stores today, and a new player can only access it through the memories and recordings of those who experienced the game while it was running.

Why play it: Fans of Japanese mobile RPGs and Cygames who want to know an interesting, now-defunct title – unfortunately, the game is not and will not again be available for download.