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

"When is it okay for a game to be a little buggy? Right now."

Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors is and action-RPG centered around swordplay. You, the protagonist, travel between 8 different "dungeons," from Caliburn Cave to the Deathbringer's Citadel, stabbing, slashing, and blocking your way through hordes of classic Monster Quest enemies using your Wii controller as a sword.

The first recognizable flaw is the controller itself. You will very often need to move your controller in a specific way for a certain situation (say, use a diagonal slash, from the upper left to the lower right.), which will require a certain movement of the controller. (In this case, exactly what you'd expect- swiping the controller down and to the right.) The system is simple enough and intuitive, but due to the imperfect nature of the Wii's motion sensors, sometimes the input doesn't match the output. This can get a little frustrating at times, and sometimes challenges that should be fairly easy are made difficult for many players.

Also, the controls themselves, while they generally feel "right," have a few awkward aspects. The controller, for example, is not swung like one would swing a sword, in an arc. It's held level to the ground and swept in short, straight lines. You get used to it, but it feels strange at first, and if you forget your form, you'll seem to lose all control. Also, the protagonist wields a sword and a shield, but the nunchuk is not used. To raise your shield, you hold the trigger-B-button and move the shield on the screen as you would a cursor. These causes the odd sensation that you're somehow holding your sword AND shield in the same hand. It would've made more sense, in my opinion, to use the nunchuk- hold up the shield using the C- or Z-button, and move the nunchuk to manipulate it. What's stranger still is that this function would've been entirely possible: there ARE motion sensors in the nunchuk. Also, having access to the analog stick would've made the prospect of walking less awkward. (Hold the B-button to move forward, use the directional pad to move left and right) I suppose Square-Enix works in mysterious ways.

But the gameplay itself, for it flaws, is fast, exciting, and easy to grasp. The first person point of view and the (somewhat) realistic controls help to immerse you in the game. "I'm really in pitched combat with a giant slime monster!"

When I say the game is fast, however, I mean it in every sense of the word. As I said, the game has only eight brief levels, and determined gamers will see the end credits within a couple days of buying the game. Fortunately, there are extensive and difficult postgame challenges to keep you occupied, but even these might not stop you from getting bored- there's only one town in the entire game, and not a wide range of items or equipment.

So in short, the game is short, and a little buggy, but VERY fun despite its shortcomings, and well worth the money. I know I mostly only mentioned the game's drawbacks, but if you play it, you'll probably enjoy it. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/09

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