Dragon Warrior Monsters

"Remember the original Dragon Warrior games?"

Remember back in the old days of the great NES RPG called Dragon Warrior? You would go place to place fighting strong evil monsters. Now in Dragon Warrior Monsters, you can capture these monsters and train them yourself so they can become even stronger! Remember the Blue Slime? The weakest enemy in Dragon Warrior? Have you ever seen a Blue Slime KO a Green Dragon? That is possible in this game!

Gameplay- 10
Extremely fun. It is the same idea as Pokémon, only better! To catch monsters, you will have to be lucky! The monsters will have to join your side right after you've beaten them, but they'll have to trust you first. This is why you should throw meat and such at the monster. You can also use up to three monsters in battle, which makes fights very fun. The control is very simple, walk around, talk to people, fight in RPG style battle, that's about it.

Unlike other RPG games, in this game, the world map changes every time you go into a world, so there is no need for drawing maps to help you out in this RPG! This game is quite difficult. You must train your monsters well, as in making them gain levels and keeping them fed, if you don't do that, they may not obey you! Be careful! All of the bosses are quite tough, but it will be worth it once you defeat them! 

Story- 7
Hmm, the story doesn't interest me that much… Enix could come up with a better story than this, also, please note that I'm playing the Japanese version (Dragon Quest Monsters), so I'm just trying to make out the story as best as I can.

An evil monster has taken your sister… okay… now you must go after that evil monster and get her back. A good monster then appears and helps you bring her back, but you'll have to find her in the world of monsters. Once you are in the world of monsters, you will need a monster yourself to protect you, your starter character will be a Slime! He may be the weakest enemy in the old DW series, but in this game, you better keep him on your team at all costs! He will be your most helpful companion!

Audio/Video- 8
The graphics are simply amazing, everything is so detailed, and the monsters look just like they did in the older Dragon Warrior games, only a bit better! I also think it is cool that your three monsters will follow you around on the world map, just like in the older DW games!

The music has a real medieval sound to it, which is appropriate for the type of game this is. In certain world maps, you also may hear a familiar tune or two! For the sound effects, they sound just like they did in the older Dragon Warrior games. (Heh, sorry I'm referring to the old Dragon Warrior games, Dragon Warrior Monsters brings back a few memories!)

Replayability- 9
I remember how many kids would create different combinations of monster teams with Pokemon. With the more variety of monsters in this game, the number of different teams will be endless! You'll be playing for months raising your monsters so they can become successful in battle! You'll also be playing for months to get past those dang tough bosses! Anyway, I doubt you'd get tired with this game any time soon! With all the little surprises in the game, you wouldn't get tired with it even when you master it!

Rent or Buy?
Since Dragon Warrior Monsters have finally come over to the US, I recommend that you buy it. I just have a few things to say first… I've noticed a few people who think Dragon Warrior Monsters is just a big rip off of Pokemon. Well it isn't! The only thing in this game that is similar to Pokemon is raising your monsters. That's it! Don't let that keep you from buying Dragon Warrior Monsters now, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/23/00, Updated 06/30/02