Gamezebo Rating:

Match-three game Dragon Academy sets itself up as a sort of Hogwarts for dragons: contending that via match-three (or as they call it, "hatch-three") play, you can train up your own little fire-breather. Although you do indeed spend the majority of your time matching three or more colored icons, the dragon evolution that's supposed to be the other gameplay headliner doesn't really amount to much. Even worse, Dragon Academy plays host to a variety of fun-blocking bugs.

Dragon Academy starts with a fairly confusing comic-book-style intro full of disjointed images that are often cut off by the game's display. The attempt at storytelling here, slight as it is, makes little sense. Fortunately, the game's name tells you all you need to know; the point is to take your cute little starter lizard named Melty, and help him gain access to dragon school. There's nothing particularly innovative about the gameplay here--in a nod to the game's theme, Melty is your main power-up and you charge him by matching icons the same color as he. Once he's charged, you can click him to sweep away whole rows of icons at once.

Like many social match-threes, you're given five lives and can continue to play as long as you manage to meet each level's objective. You might have to reach a certain score, make potions drop to the bottom, or remove obstacles called "goo." As each level is cleared, you'll see little Melty move around a map, his overreaching goal being to defeat the Wobblins (a collection of weird reptile/goblin creatures who, for some reason or another, enjoy harassing dragons). As you progress, your dragon evolves and gets bigger and...that's it. There's not much else that happens with it except that its power-up has broader effect. As you go, other dragons unlock, which makes for some variety since they come in different colors and boast different power-up abilities.