I have often heard about Dragons Quest as a series and with the launch of Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince, I thought I would take a dip into the franchise. To be perfectly honest I would normally lean more towards the Final Fantasy series. However, I have played a few Dragon Quest games in my time and when I saw The Dark Prince getting released on the Nintendo Switch, I thought now is as good as time as any to take a look and see at how the series is doing.
I do love most things that Square Enix publishes and I have heard good things about the video game developers Tose. So after being lucky enough to get a hold of a copy to cover I made room for it on my Switch, got it installed, and began my adventure into Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince.
This is the seventh game in the Dragon Quest Monster series and follows on from Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 and is the first game to be released outside of Japan since Joker 2 in 2011. It features Psaro who is the main antagonist from Dragon Quest IV and is set before the events of that game. Youβll follow Psaro as he goes on a quest to defeat his father who cursed him. Psaro is half-human and half-monster prince.
When Psaro goes to challenge his father (the cruel monster king) ruler of Nadiria he curses Psaro making him unable to cause harm to any monsters. Psaro bent on revenge, vows to lift the curse from him and return to finish the job of defeating his father (Randolfo). Psaro becomes a monster wrangler as it is the only way in which he can harm monsters, is to use them against each other. Find allied monsters to aid Psaro in his quest and work with Rose a fugitive elf you meet along the way.
This gameβs plot serves as both a prequel and gaiden to the events of Dragon Quest IV, where the two storylines overlap.
Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince sticks to the traditional gameplay that we have seen in this series. It feels like a more advanced version of the PokΓ©mon formula in the sense that you are catching monsters to use in battle but Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince has the whole Combining element which gives it that edge over PokΓ©mon. The main gameplay loop sees you exploring an open area, recruiting and training your party of monsters then taking on the gauntlet of foes in the tournament and having the occasional boss fight and tough dungeon to fight through.
Each area repeats this same cycle which after a while does get a bit tedious. If it were for the 500-plus monster roster I think I would have been bored after a few hours but thankfully the recoloured palette swaps, charming and wacky designs, and the experimenting when trying to find new monsters to fit my playstyle did keep me hooked.
When you manage to get your monsters to level 10 it unlocks the ability to fuse two monsters to get a better one. Several of the monsters available in the game are only obtainable this way so you will find yourself grinding your monster to level 10 to unlock the more powerful team. Monsters are scouts to your team via combat which is turn-based, you can have four active monsters on the battlefield.
Each monster can do a set of actions but you can also turn on an auto-battle feature which helps when you are grinding through to level up your monsters. It is fairly simplistic when you think about it but it is effective and fun when fighting against the tough monsters.
For those accustomed to Dragon Quest Monsters, you will find many changes or differences from the gameplay loop of other games in the series, which I suppose for use in the West isnβt a bad thing as we havenβt had one of these types of Dragon Quest games for many years. But in all honesty, the game just comes down to exploring new areas to get more monsters, building out your skill trees, and grinding for their level so that you can fuse monsters all while progressing through a story that just isnβt gripping.
When you compare this to the latest PokΓ©mon game I was kind of hoping for something a bit more on that level or advance instead I feel like I took a bit of a step back.
Graphically the game does look dated, even for the Nintendo Switch. When you see games like Zelda coming out with its polished and beautiful world you canβt help but feel a bit ripped off with Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince. However, there are 500 plus monsters on offer and each of them looks cool and offers variety to your party if you are a completist like me then there is plenty for you to collect. This element reminds me of the PokΓ©mon series.
Voice acting is present in the game but frustratingly Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince goes for the silent protagonist approach that the Nintendo game is very well known for. It would have been nice to provide Psaro with a voice actor because it would have allowed his character to have more of a personality.
There are plenty of hours available in Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince. A single play-through will have you playing for hours and even more so if you are collecting all the monsters that are on offer. Youβll find most of your time grinding Monsters to level them up and trying to fill the Monsterpedia. I found myself wanting to explore the locations in the game too even if they were pretty bland at times. There was the odd chest here and there but most of the locations were filled with Monster.
I wouldnβt find myself replaying Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince as I wasnβt hooked with the story more the turn-based combat and Monsterpedia but then saying that I honestly find myself wanting to play PokΓ©mon for these types of mechanics.
Conclusion
For my first Dragon Quest Monster game and first Dragon Quest title in a very long time, I have to say I had mixed emotions. You have this trailed and tested turn-based combat with the monster-focused gameplay loop which is enjoyable but then it feels ruined with the dull storyline and performance issue that makes playing this game on the Switch frustrating. The Nintendo Switch has been out for a while now, so making games perfectly for it shouldnβt be an issue.
It bugs me to see games getting released with performance issues as you feel like you are getting sold an unfinished product and for an asking price of Β£49.99 on the Nintendo EStore you kind of expect polished running games like the last two Zelda games. Dragon Quest Monsters is a series that has been going now for many years and with this release it was nice to be able to get a hold of it in the West but I feel like it isnβt something that I was missing out on not being able to play.
Donβt get me wrong I enjoyed moments of it but there are other games on the market that I would choose to buy before this one and for that reason, Iβm giving Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince a 6 out of 10. If you would like to try before you buy there is a demo on the Nintendo EStore.
Dragon Quest Monsters The Dark Prince Trailer
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