Dragon QuestBesides being a great RPG saga, it’s also a very prolific game series with a variety of genres. In recent years we’ve had adventure games like Dragon Quest Treasures, things like that Heroes or building games like Builders, among others. However, one of the most beloved spin-offs of the series is undoubtedly related to the franchise Monsters, which just got a new installment on the Nintendo Switch. We tell you how it turned out.
Will I become… better?
The first thing that catches your attention in the story Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince This is the setting of your story. And the action of the game takes place in the universe of Dragon Quest IV, where the protagonist of the plot is the antagonist of the original game, Psaro.
In this adventure, Psaro has been cursed with the inability to harm monsters, so he will need to tame them to make them fight on his behalf. This leads to an adventure where you’ll compete in heated tournaments, discover new creatures in all kinds of biomes, and meet new characters like the elf Rose, fondly remembered by fans of the original game.
A game for lovers of pocket monsters
When playing Dragon Quest Monsters, it’s easy to make comparisons to Pokemon at first, but nothing could be further from the truth. We’d say the game has more Persona or Monster Rancher undertones, with the monster fusion mechanic being almost fundamental to making your way through the game, unlocking very powerful creatures.
With over 500 monsters in total, we find the turn-based battles to be somewhat simple, with several monsters fighting against each other on the battlefield at the same time, and we can choose what tactics they follow. Not so much in the fight itself, but in the preparation for it (the composition of our team, the talents they have…), where the real challenge was for us.
In the game world, the change of seasons will be important to explore. Depending on whether it is spring, summer, autumn or winter, many elements of the environment will change. So monsters that appear in the world that we can try to recruit to add to our collection will also do the same.
Much more to take into consideration
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince presents an audiovisual section that reminded us of the Pokémon games, with a huge world full of monsters to collect. However, it also leads to small drops in performance that don’t completely ruin the adventure, but are easily noticeable.
The game is fully localized with texts in Spanish and voices in Japanese. It took us about 45 hours in total to be able to work our way through this to the credits. If you’ve been bitten by the bug, you have a demo in the title’s eShop that lets you transfer the monsters you’ve collected, but not the progress you’ve made in the story.
Let’s play with people from all over the world!
When we talk to the character of Pelucci, we can access the online features of the game (for this it will be mandatory to connect to Nintendo Switch Online). Here we can compete against other people online in both qualifiers and friendlies, as well as take part in tournaments or rapid succession matches.
The game provides players with a dedicated online store that trades items every day for useful items for all types of players, no matter where they are in their adventure.
Conclusion
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is a very complete monster capture game with a nostalgic story that invites us back to the world of Dragon Quest IV. Although it lacks too much complexity, fans of the series will really like it.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Now available physically and digitally via the Nintendo Switch eShop, don’t miss it!
