Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below (PlayStation 4) Second Opinion Review

As with Omega Force's popular Musou franchise, this game combines the immediate thrills of slashing through a small army of foes with more strategic objective-based missions. The player's success isn't determined entirely by their ability to repeatedly press an attack button, though first impressions are likely to say otherwise. Even in light of recent titles like the superb Hyrule Warriors, this formula still seems an odd fit for the venerable Dragon Quest franchise.

This might be because unlike that 2014 title, Dragon Quest Heroes still carries with it most of the trappings that define the RPG series. A party of four characters teams up to visit various lands, quelling the evil that lies within them. They can obtain a variety of powerful weapons and armours, and use an alchemy pot to develop unique accessories. Adversity comes in the form of many classic monsters, from the trademark slimes to the vicious hydra. This impressive attention to detail extends to the music and sound effects. For example, a familiar sound precedes the casting of any spell.

Unfortunately, there isn't any real sense of exploration. Each location has a treasure chest or three, but the large dungeons and secret-filled towns are nowhere to be found. A flying fortress serves as the hub for all heroic activity, but there isn't much to do aside from preparing for the next mission. Undoubtedly, some fans will be left a little disappointed, since it probably wouldn't have been too difficult to design a game in the classic mould, but with an action-oriented battle system. Instead, most of the areas are arranged in a manner for funnelling monsters towards a specific spot. In other words, this is more a tower defence game than anything else.

The majority of the battles in this game involve escorting the defenceless, protecting Yggdrasil's many roots, or maintaining besieged gateways. The game is over when every party member falls, or the objective's "life" meter is fully drained. It's up to the player to manage each situation appropriately, taking advantage of every resource available to them. The most common of these are the monster coins. Whenever a foe is defeated, there's a high probability they'll drop a coin. When this currency is spent, a monster is summoned to serve as a sentry or perform a single unique action. Luceus and Aurora can also cast the zoom spell, which allows them to teleport to various points around the map. This can be essential for quickly dispatching mawkeepers, the protectors of monster-spawning portals.

The tower defence portions are surprisingly the game's best quality. The missions are compelling, because they force players to manage increasingly complicated situations. Smartly invested monster coins help change the tide of battle. Intelligent skill and spell management can wipe out scores of minor beasts. Prioritising larger foes is an essential part of strategy as well. They usually make the hardiest allies, and their susceptibility to freeze spells or stunning blows can buy the heroes a few valuable seconds. The later missions become quite chaotic. Several hard-hitting monsters will appear at once, forcing the heroes to perform a myriad of super attacks in order to hopefully avert disaster. All of these elements are handled quite nicely, and make for a number of thrilling and memorable encounters.

In cases where there isn't a base to protect, the game tends to fall short. Defeating monsters with the purposes of acquiring experience and loot isn't nearly as fulfilling. The prevalence of healing abilities such as Jessica's "hustle dance", will also keep the heroes well away from the threat of death. Performing the same actions repeatedly on enemies with giant pools of HP is an especially dull process. The post-game content represents a sharp uptick in difficulty, but it takes over twenty hours to reach that point. While the presence of tower defence elements is bound to induce groans from players who are just starting, they'll gain an appreciation for them before long.

To stay enthused throughout this adventure, it helps to rotate characters into the battle party at a regular pace. Some of them have skills that are better suited for particular situations or enemies. Take Alena for example. Her fists aren't exceptional at crowd control, but she can rain a flurry of hits upon a single foe. Yangus powers through practically everything; provided the player can deal with his slow weapon swings. Bianca is fantastic with a bow, though her low defence is a liability. It's also important to swap party members regularly because the reserves don't level up nearly as quickly as the frontline. On the bright side, there're only one or two instances where the player is required to employ a specific party member. Well…aside from Luceus or Aurora, of course.

Though the plot is a mish-mash of uninteresting tropes, the characters are all great. Alongside their diverse and amusing personalities, the localisation takes everyone to the next level via fantastic voice acting. Alena and Kiryl is an exceptionally endearing pair. Alena is courageous yet reckless, Kiryl is a careful coward, and they both have over-the-top Russian accents. They're part of what makes the Dragon Quest franchise work. The characters are defined by simplistic but charming qualities, which make them easier to relate to. Their perilous journey allows for ample opportunities to interact with their friends and allies. Even though most of the cast is from other games in the series, nobody ever really feels out of place.