Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

"Taming monsters hasn't felt this good in a while."

Well, I started on the Dragon Quest series back on the Game Boy Color with Dragon Warrior: Monsters. I haven't played any other DQ games, yet, but when I saw this, it reminded me of DW:M, my favorite RPG of all times, so I had to get it. I'm so glad this sequel came out, it's amazing. Here's why.



STORY


Your hero is your everyday rebellious-type, destined to be a monster scout. His father finally gives him his wish in making him an undercover spy for their organization, nonetheless allowing him to raise monsters. From there, you just progress and raise your monsters. It's not the greatest storyline ever, but still quite engaging.


GAMEPLAY

As the game starts out, you pick one of three monsters to start with. You raise your monster, and try to "scout" other monsters to impress them enough to become tame and join your team. You can have 3 monsters on your team at a time, 3 on stand-by to be substituted out if need be, and a storage box for all of your other monsters that you can find. You level up your monsters by battling other monsters either in the wild, in boss battles, or against other scouts via tournaments or Wi-Fi.

I'm saying this right now, the battle system for Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is the best I have seen on a turn-based RPG in a LONG time. It's so engaging, giving you a very wide range of options to give your monster. You can choose to have them pick what they'll do, give specific directions, or give them a basis to fight on. They have their basic choices: Attack, Defend, or to use a skill. They can vary from offensive attacks, healing abilities, or stat-altering attacks. You fight with your 3 monsters all at once, as opposed to, say, Pokemon, where it's 1 on 1. This makes the fight more variable, very fun.

Encountering monsters is also different from most RPG's. Instead of encountering a fight randomly in a step, you actually see the monsters roaming around the areas that you're on. You can sneak up on them, and get a first-strike, or, they can spot you (You know when this happens because a "!" appears on their head.) It makes it a lot easier to avoid fights if your team is weakened.

GRAPHICS

DQM:J is brought to you in full 3-D, and it looks very nice on the DS. The top screen shows your free-roaming or battle scenes, where the bottom shows your monsters current stats and the menu, or your battle options. The L and R buttons allow you to move the camera, which really comes in handy. All around, DQM:J looks fantastic.



So, there you have it. DQM:J is a very easily described as a more deep Pokemon. the options are much more limitless, and it looks better. A true gem, and a must have for RPG lovers.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/08

Game Release: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (US, 11/06/07)