Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors

"Slash your way through the newest Dragon Quest adventure!"

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (known as DQ: Swords from here on) takes full advantage of the Wii's motion sensing hardware as you hack and slash your way through yet another unique Dragon Quest Story. My thoughts on the game:

Story: 7/10

You begin the game as the hero, who must undertake a traditional trial of his masculine worthiness by going into the cave of worth. Fun, no? And right before the 5th anniversary of the defeat of the great villain Xiphos nonetheless, who was defeated by the kingdom's Queen, the hero's father, and their comrades. What starts off as a traditional rite of passage ends up being a struggle for the kingdoms survival.

As you can see, the story is pretty generic, but it does have a few twists and turns along the way. I also liked the fact that they had a little history behind the game, by having a great evil slain by the hero's father (who happened to also be a great swordsman that lost his arm in that battle). Having not played every Dragon Quest game, I was hoping that perhaps they related this story to another Dragon Quest story, but so far as I can tell they haven't, so perhaps they will in the future. The pacing of the story was well done, although the game IS rather short. The supporting party members aren't really fleshed out very well, but they do their job and provide solid support while not being annoying at all (unlike Yangus from Dragon Quest 8).

Gameplay: 9/10

Ah, the real draw of the game is, without a doubt, the addictive hack-and-slash gameplay. It goes without saying that you'll be spending quite a bit of time attacking with your sword, hitting the enemy mercilessly with horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and thrusting attack, but don't expect to beat the game by simply swinging your wii-mote around! Each enemy has a specific attack pattern and most of the harder ones can block your attacks indefinitely, so you must wait for them to expose their weakness and than strike. Also, you will have a shield in order to block projectiles and enemy attacks, often needing to use it to defeat your foes. You can also focus your attacks to a certain part of the screen, which you will need to do to hit certain enemies who appear on the side of the screen.

Throughout the game you will come across many different swords and other equipment which you can equip. You can also buy and sell equipment and items in town, as well as forge new and better swords. While the game is rather short, being only eight chapters long, acquiring the items necessary to make the better weapons in the game will significantly add to it's playtime. And, of course, you can replay any level for additional items and to gain additional levels. I should also note that each sword has a special attack, or a limit break, which requires you to do certain moves to unleash it upon the enemy.

Other than that, there really isn't much to say about DQ: Swords gameplay. It's rather simple, but addictive. I really liked how involved you are in the game, not only in the gameplay, but also in the key cutscenes, which may require you to take certain actions to advance the plot. Remember, this game is for those who want to get involved, as it will tire you out after swinging around that wii-mote as much as you will here.

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics in DQ: Swords are top-notch, there's really no way anyone could argue that. Styled in the same fashion as Dragon Quest 8, you will be treated to a beautiful array of landscapes in your path of destruction. While the game is played like an rails shooter, you won't really get to explore anywhere except for the main town, but nonetheless everything you get to see is top-notch.

The character designs are quite good, with Akira Toriyama coming back to again design the characters. The enemy designs are all pulled from previous Dragon Quest games, as expected, lending the game a true Dragon Quest foundation. The spell graphics and status changes were handled well, while keeping the games simplistic view in mind. The cutscenes look exactly like the gameplay does, keeping the same high standards.

Music/Sound Effects: 8/10

The music will be immediately familiar to any Dragon Quest veteran, as much of it is recycled from previous Dragon Quest games by Koichi Sugiyama, which is fine by me as so much of it is memorable and fits the game like a glove. Fans will be humming these tunes for years, after all. The symphonic style keeps the hero on track, and gives the player a slight adrenaline boost as they hear the dramatic battle music start over and over.

The voice actors, for the characters at least are all top-notch, and while you don't have to listen to an annoying British-vagabond party member anymore (again see Yagnus from DQ8), you will now be forced to listen to a French sorceress, who can't go three sentences without adding some sort of French saying into her conversation (we get it, your French, enough!). Also, some of the voice actors for the boss characters can be rather annoying as well, but thankfully you don't have to listen to them very often.

Re-playability/Extras: 7/10

DQ: Swords doesn't have too much besides its main quest, but it does have some. There are a few mini games which you can play, though you'll most likely get tired of them after ten minutes or so. The real re-playability comes from trying to get the best items the game has to offer, which will make you replay certain levels over and over, but even that can get tiresome after awhile. Once you beat the game, there are also extra bosses that you can fight, in order to gain some valuable equipment and items, but at that point you really don't need them. I replayed ever level at least twice (except for the last one), and many of the early levels almost half a dozen times each, and I finished the game at a little under 12 hours.

Overall: 8/10

Overall, a great game for what it is. A lot of fun for all ages and I would recommend it to anyone, just for the addictive and unique slashing fun. But it really isn't worth its current price since it is so short, so be sure to take that into account before picking it up. Have fun and keep playing!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/30/08

Game Release: Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (US, 02/19/08)