Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure

"I absolutely hate RPGs... but for this game, I'll make an exception!"

To start my review off, I want to just say that I absolutely hate RPGs. I despise them. In my opinion, there is nothing worse than an RPG. If my opinion goes against any close-minded, disgruntled RPG fanboys out there, sorry. I truly am. I am incredibly sorry that you can't accept my opinion about a game. Whoa... All of a sudden I got an attitude and it spilt all over the keyboard and into this review. But anyway, Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure IS a role playing game. So now you're probably wondering why I gave this game such a high score if I hate RPGs. Well, its simply because this game does not feel like an RPG in any way, shape, or form. This game is just full out fun! Which brings me to this review...

-Story-

Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 improves on the idea of a story. Remember in the original DWM where there was pretty much no story at all? Well here, there actually is a story. In fact, this game even improves on the opening scene by creating a new one and making it about twice as long as the original DWM's was. Tara and her family are moving to the Kingdom of GreatLog to create a farm and settle in for their new lives. When they get there, the two kid's mom tells them to go get a package for her but on the way there, Tara and Cobi meet up with two mischievious beings that end up destroying the beginning of their new lives and almost killing off GreatLog. Now it's up to Tara to help save her new home by befriending different monsters along her journey!

-Graphics-

The graphics in Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure are the exact same as in Cobi's Adventure. So if you're thinking about buying one of these games and can't decide which game you should go with, it doesn't really matter. The only differences are you play a girl in this game as opposed to playing a boy and there are different monsters in Cobi's Adventure that are located in different locations than in Tara's Adventure. So basically, there isn't much of a different between the two games. But back to the graphics. The graphics are stupendous. They are bright and colorful and fit the game's personality great. All the monsters that appeared in Dragon Warrior Monsters are improved upon graphic-wise. There are a ton of towns and places to explore and every place is detailed greatly.

-Sound/Music-

The sounds and music in DWM2 are excellent. Pretty much everything that Tara does has a sound. So basically, everything in the game has it's own little sound. There are a ton of songs in the game, as well. The battle theme is especially great. It's fast paced and sounds brutal. There are many, many more songs in DWM2 than there were in the original DWM. However, there will most likely be at least one song in the game that you don't really like. I guarantee that you will find yourself humming along to the tunes in this game. The only downfall with the music is that it does get repetitive. Some towns have the same song and that song that you didn't really like will probably be that tune. But you can always turn the sound off of your GameBoy. :)

-Gameplay-

Here is the meat of the game. Gameplay is the most important part of the game and DWM2 just happens to have excellent gameplay. The point of the game is to catch different monsters using Meat Treats such as BeefJerkey, PorkChop, and Ribs. Once you befriend the monsters, they need to be trained by battling them with wild monsters or against other moster tamers. The game SOUNDS really dumb, I know, but believe me it's not! This is a must play game!

-Controls-

The controls are a breeze to learn. You use the control pad for controlling Tara, obviously. Up goes up, down goes down... etc. You would have to be a complete idiot not to know how to use the control pad. :P Heh, just kidding. The 'A' button confirms choices and does other main things for you. The 'B' button closes boxes out or says no to certain choices. Basically, the controls are the same for just about any other GameBoy game out there. Nothing much to learn here.

-Replay Value-

Well... There isn't much replay value to this game. This game is pretty long though so you will eventually want to play through it again. But once you finish it the first time through, you won't want to play through it again directly after.

-Buy or Rent-

Hmm... Well, I don't know many places that still sell GameBoy and GameBoy Color games making this game pretty hard to find. I also don't know many game rental stores that have ever rented out any GameBoy type games. Hmm.. Well, maybe you can find a friend that has this game and borrow it from them... and never give it back because you won't want to!

-Final Score: 9/10-

This game DESERVES a solid 9. Nothing more, nothing less. I only score games with a 10 if I feel they are absolutely perfect and nothing needs to be changed in them. This game comes close, VERY close, but it isn't perfect. It is, however, an excellent game! ...Even if it is an RPG. :)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/09/04