Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (Nintendo DS) Preview

Square Enix has revealed it had plans for a Dragon Quest Monsters game right back when the Nintendo DS was first announced. However, after such a long period with absolutely no news on either that or Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, most presumed the project had been cancelled so that S-E could focus on developing games for Sony’s PlayStation Portable. Thankfully that was not the case at all and S-E was in fact using the same gorgeous game engine it had in place for Final Fantasy III for this new game, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, the fourth in the main series (the first two being on the GBC and the third, the Japanese-only Caravan Heart, being a GBA title). In fact, so attractive was this title that you could be forgiven for mistaking it as being a portable version of the recent Level 5-developed Dragon Quest VIII from the PlayStation 2.

On-hand with the development duties is the wonder-team over at TOSE, who never seem to sleep, constantly helping developers out with game production duties. The game really does shine on the DS, as can be seen in any video clips you may see strewn across the Internet and even has a full 360-degree camera that you can control. Thankfully this is not a game full to the brim with random battles, as with Pokémon, but instead you run around the lovely-looking world as free as you desire, opting to run into enemies to start a battle encounter whenever you feel like it. This freedom is definitely a pleasing addition, making progress through the Granpool Islands much more satisfying and far less frustrating. As for the actual locations, the only two places revealed so far are Novice Island (with lots of greenery, but its fair share of dark dungeons and caves) and Alcapolis Island (more of a townscape, although with a what appears to be an underground waterway as well). This leaves at least five (that we know of) other islands that have yet to be revealed by Square Enix. It certainly seems like this game will NOT be a walk in the park…

This new edition of Dragon Quest Monsters sees you take on the role of a young hero, one of many Jokers, who is on the path to becoming the hottest monster trainer on the block, similar to how Ash wanted to become a Pokémon master. The exception here is that this Joker starts out not with Pikachu, Bulbasaur, and so on, but a little blue Slime instead. Once you encounter an enemy, you do not have a normal set of commands in what is a turn-based affair, but there is the inclusion of being able to talk to the monsters in an attempt to coax them onto your side. Battling is actually similar to Pokémon in that the Joker is never the one fighting, but instead dishing out orders to his party of monsters (of which there can be a maximum of three at any one time during fights). So you can almost leave battles to work automatically as orders can be given to the monsters prior to an encounter. Once these monsters have been captured, then you can breed various ones together to create new offspring and half of the fun is mixing and matching two or more creatures together to see what you end up with. And the beauty of it is that fans of the Dragon Quest series as a whole will be in for a treat due to the fact that the wide array of monsters stem from each and every main DQ adventure from the past, I through to VIII!

For those expecting a deep RPG experience, though, you may have to look elsewhere, as following in the footsteps of previous DQM titles, there does not look like it will have reams of dialogue within it, instead choosing to focus more on the capture and use of monsters, as well as interact with the Jokers Guild as your Joker goes about his journey to become the best in the GP arena tournament. There are even online features planned for DQM: J, however these have yet to be elaborated upon by Square Enix, but if the past is anything to go by, you will be able trade monsters via the Wi-Fi Connection or maybe even battle using the network. Finally, there is minimal touch-screen support, which is perfectly fine as opposed to being forced into the final game for no real purpose. There is so much we do not know about the game, such as who the mysterious characters on the official website really are. For now we just know their names: Giltz - a tall, scary-looking old man with a bushy moustache; Aroma – a moody looking young girl that appears rather tom-boy like; and Carmasso – a studious older figure that looks rather pompous in stature. And then there are the Lord Monsters (Gulheart, Glubzon and Speddio)…whatever could they be?