"Dragon Quest Monsters does what Pokemon don't"

OK, having played most of the early Dragon Quest games and being a competitive Pokemon player, I get frustrated by some of the mechanics that Pokemon brings. One is the fact that Pokemon focuses on single battle, where I prefer team play like most RPG's are. Second is the general item-restrictions of Pokemon. Third of all, I get frustrated at the fact that the time you put into Pokemon generally means nothing. Dragon Quest Monsters does what Pokemon doesn't in those aspects. OK, now onto the review:

Graphics: 10/10. One of the biggest problems games have had when games moved from 2-D into 3-D is that the games don't keep the respect or look of the old sprites/games. Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker not only brings back the old looks (even back to the OLD Dragon Warrior sprites!), the game overall is impressive looking. I really enjoy the old-school feel. Golem is Golem. Red Dragon is Red Dragon. Gold Golem isn't some made-up sprite. Every old factor is back to where it should be. It shows great respects to the origins of the series.

Sound: 5/10. I really wish they brought some of the true old tunes back. I feel disappointed that they didn't bring back the classic tunes and they used all new songs for the most part. Some of the sound effects are still there, but this is a bit painful. It doesn't sound bad by any means, but I wish they had the old music. "DRAGON WARRIOR 1 ALEFGARD ANYONE!"

Playability: 9/10. While it doesn't have the direct control of Pokemon, you get to choose from different skill sets and put it on your monster. While this is a bit restrictive in some degree, it offers a lot more variety than Pokemon's four-move set. For example, you put the set "Bang and Woosh X" on your monster. You will get the Bang family spell of that level, Woosh family spell of that level, and even the slashes that go along with it. That's just one example, and your monster might have 11 or 12 different options depending on what you entail. This provides for a lot more customization than Pokemon's moves.

Secondly, this is a TEAM GAME. Where Pokemon players despise Double Battles, I fully enjoy playing "true-RPG" style: With 3-4 characters! (god, wish it was four!) You can choose strategies to overwhelm different monsters, etc. And also, fights in this game don't take forever. 10 turns, you're done, move on.

Third of all, and I really enjoy this, you get what you pay for. All that breeding and hard work you do, is kept on when you breed monsters. You get to customize with those abilities. Hated the Legendaries in Pokemon? You EARN them in this game. The boss family you breed could be the culmination of everything you did in Story Mode.

Story Mode is also a lot better than Pokemon. There are true bosses to fight, and some sensible areas of the story. While not the best, they at least try to write something.

The bad part has to be the Wi-Fi rules though. One, you cannot battle directly over Wi-Fi. Secondly, you cannot control your monsters over Wi-Fi (thank god you can do it in PvP battles on wireless and in-game). This is a major detractor, and I wish they abolished this back in Dragon Warrior Monsters 2. Alas, nothing's perfect.

Trading System: MUCH better than Pokemon. You can trade 3 monsters at once. 'Nuff said.

Challenge: 9/10. A lot of level grinding in this game, be prepared. Story Mode is also twice to three times as long as a general Pokemon game and in the same league as a FF game. 60 hours for me, probably longer for others. This is not for the faint at heart.

Overall: 8/10. While the game has a good feel to it, it has two major problems. One is no direct battling over Wi-Fi. Two is the blasted computer control system (note if you make a sequel, PLEASE get rid of this!). It is much more enjoyable than Pokemon and most other RPG's if you put the time into it. 400 hours and I use what I paid for!

Enjoy!

-James

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/07/08

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