DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS - Joker

Dragon Quest is one of those unsung series in the US, as most RPG gamers tend to flock to another huge Square-Enix franchise, Final Fantasy. However, Dragon Quest is huge in Japan, even dwarfing the Final Fantasy series in sales and popularity. Needless to say, the latest entry in the franchise, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker, is a highly anticipated one for many gamers who are privy to the draw of the DQ series.

A spin-off that plays more like Pokemon than previous entries, DQ Monsters: Joker focuses primarily on capturing monsters throughout the map and leveling them up to do your bidding. While the game isn’t terribly original or complex, DQ Monsters: Joker has the series’ great art design on its side and should be a good way for fans to pass the time until Dragon Quest IX rolls out.

Joker follows the exploits of a young man who dreams of becoming a well-known and successful monster trainer. However, his father, the leader of a mysterious organization named CELL, forbids it even to the point of incarcerating his son in order to prevent him from entering the Monster Scout Challenge, which is the end-all-be-all monster catching and training tournament. However, his father manages to recede from his stance and strangely allows his son to enter the tournament, where you must take the reins and capture many monsters and fight them against wild monsters throughout a series of different environments. The game’s storyline is pretty sparse, but they usually are in monster-collection games.

The basic gameplay mechanics feels quite a lot like Pokemon, but there are some key differences. For starters, you can outfit your monsters with new weapons and armor, and depending on the type of monster that they are, you’ll be able to outfit them with different things. Your monsters will gain new abilities as they level up, getting stronger and having more influence when it comes to scouting other monsters to be in your group. You’ll be able to have up to three monsters in your party at a time, and you’ll be able to keep more of them in your monster storage.

Another main difference is the fact that you can see your enemies before you engage them. This is a great touch, especially for a monster-collecting game, since you’ll be able to see which monsters you’re about to engage and can decide whether or not to avoid them or take them on.

You’re able to synthesize monsters as well, taking the qualities of certain monsters and creating whole new combinations. Similar to the item synthesis pot in DQ VIII, most of this is trial and error type stuff, but pretty interesting if you like paving your own way.

The game also has some online features via wi-fi, letting you face off with your friends in head-to-head matches as well as swap monsters with each other.

Graphically, the game exhibits the same aesthetic as the upcoming DQ IX game, which is to say that it nearly rivals the excellent graphics of Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2 a couple of years ago. The cel-shaded look is carried over well to the Nintendo DS, managing to look quite good. Of course, the Akira Toriyama-designed monsters are the real scene-stealers, created each with a ton of personality and charm.

The sound is pretty average fare. There is a score that actually sounds pretty good on the DS (albeit only slightly compressed and tinny), and a handful of sound effects. The narrative is completely text-based, so no voice acting in this one.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker doesn’t have the deep story elements of the original Dragon Quest series, nor will the gameplay pull you in for 70 hours like Dragon Quest VIII. However, for those looking for a fun monster-hunting game with loads of charm and great graphics, then Joker is worth a look.

Gameplay: 8.0
The game features some interesting additions to the monster-collector format, but isn’t as deep or compelling as other Dragon Quest games.

Graphics: 9.0
Fantastic art design sets DQ Monsters: Joker up, and great cel-shaded graphics that look almost as good as the PS2 game make this one great looking DS game.

Sound: 8.0
The sound effects are a bit minimal, but the score is great.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
The game is pretty light on story, and the gameplay elements can be a bit derivative at times.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Head-to-head battles and monster swapping.

Overall: 8.0
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is a fun game for those who are either heavily into Akira Toriyama’s art work or fans of the monster-collector subgenre. When held up against the rest of the Dragon Quest franchise, the game might seem a little too light, but most fans would find this to be a good way to pass the time until the launch of DQ IX.