[ad_1]
Dragon Quest has so much history that any new game comes with a certain amount of anticipation. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince delivers many of the conventions I’ve come to expect from the series: the vibrant opening theme song, the charismatic Slime, and the emotional storytelling I already associate with the franchise. But this game goes beyond those well-trodden territories, offering a smart and elegant yet simple approach to combat and dungeon design that makes it a solid spin-off experience.
In The Dark Prince, you play as Psaro, a half-human, half-monster boy who becomes a powerful monster fighter due to a curse that makes it impossible to fight them with his own hands. Wrangling is about capturing monsters and controlling them during turn-based battles. As I progressed through the boy’s journey, I found stronger creatures to add to my list. The game also has an online mode that lets you battle other players, which is a great way to try out different party compositions. In my case, it took me so long to find a match that my time was better spent adventuring solo.
Synthesizing new monsters by fusing two parent creatures is the best method to get a better team, and this system makes all your effort to pre-max your weaker monsters worth it. Whenever you create a new monster, it is possible to keep some of the skill points spent on the creatures you are fusing. Using this system, I created some extremely powerful monsters, surpassing their regular versions found in the wild. This system, however, pushes you towards excessive grinding. Whenever you fuse a new creature, it reaches level 1, regardless of the levels of its parents. In the late game sections, fusing a new monster at the wrong time means spending a lot of time leveling up before going back to the track and trying to defeat a boss.
With the sheer number of possible monster combinations you can create in The Dark Prince, I was surprised at how streamlined the combat was. The game allows you to set up tactics that define whether a party member will focus on attacking enemies or healing other party members, for example. At the same time, it is possible to order specific actions for each monster. However, outside of boss fights, engaging more strategically in battles rarely felt necessary. The system dilutes each encounter so much that I usually went into auto mode and let the AI do the thinking.
As the boy works at his craft, we learn about Psaro’s past and his journey alongside his friends, Rose and Toilen, to become strong enough to challenge his father. This is a classic premise, almost too familiar, but even with the absence of any surprises or heavily foreshadowed plot twists, The Dark Prince captivated me, making for a cozy adventure with the charm of an old-fashioned fairy tale .
The game features the same slow-paced intro that other Dragon Quest games have, making the first few hours a drag. However, little by little I became entangled in the story. Initially, I was just progressing to unlock new monsters, but I realized that I was just as excited to learn more about Psaro’s history as I was to find new creatures. Unfortunately, very few situations offer even a glimpse of what he’s thinking, and he never gave me a chance to better understand the reasoning behind his actions. In this respect, the game’s respect for its roots hinders its ability to develop an intriguing character with no choice but to nod or say yes or no.
While perfectly capable as a standalone title, The Dark Prince is directly connected to Dragon Quest IV. It gives us a chance to learn more about Psaro, a crucial figure from the previous title, and also revisit some events related to the previous game from a different perspective.
Psaro’s journey takes us through areas of Nadiria, a magical dimension with different regions called circles. Each circle is divided into three levels, with a final dungeon. Unfortunately, this structure makes it a repetitive and predictable pattern; after completing the first four circles, I knew exactly what to expect from each new region. These areas are made worse by noticeable drops in performance, as framerate suffers considerably. While I could easily ignore these minor performance issues, the recursive design of the circles became more tiring each time I went on long gaming sessions.
On the other hand, dungeons are the most amazing element of each circle. They all share a similar structure: lots of floors, a traverse trick, and a teleport before the boss room. While they can feel as repetitive as the circles, the puzzles within each dungeon make them fun and varied. The developers struck a solid balance between difficulty and enjoyment when designing them. The Dark Prince veers more towards traditional dungeon design, with treadmills that you need to activate to move forward or stairs and holes in the floor to reach the top of the building. While most dungeons are forgettable, they offer a refreshing intellectual experience even without relying on any design extravagance.
Strictly following the traditions of Dragon Quest, we end up with flat, cartoonish characters inhabiting a repetitive, cyclical world. But The Dark Prince plays to its strengths to deliver a solid RPG experience with an inviting narrative seasoned by a long list of charismatic creatures and entertaining dungeons.
Source: gameinformer.com