“We’ve kept our fans waiting for some time,” Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince producer Kento Yokota tells me. He’s certainly not wrong - the last entry in the monster tamer spin-off to release outside Japan was Joker 2, all the way back in 2010. Since then, unless you could read Japanese or dove into the murky waters of fan translation, Dragon Quest Monsters has been frustratingly out of reach.

The Dark Prince, however, is finally here. After the bait-and-switch that was Dragon Quest Treasures, it feels incredibly exciting to have a bona fide modern Monsters game in my hands. And modern it is - “we’ve taken the opportunity to review and update many of the gameplay elements… we judged that these changes made the appeal of the Dragon Quest Monsters series more accessible and enjoyable, and so decided to bring this one to fans overseas as well,” says Yokota.

I’ve been a fan of this series for a very long time; I’ve hatched more eggs than most people have had hot dinners. Okay, that’s probably not true, but the sentiment stands. I know these games to be complex yet rewarding, difficult and time-consuming, but in the most satisfying ways. They have a gameplay loop that encourages experimentation and even starting from scratch. When asked about the game’s key features, Yokota mentioned that a new addition is the ability to see exactly what monster a certain synthesis pair will produce. This is pretty huge - no longer will we have to rely on complex breeding charts just to get the best monsters.

We're aiming to have our review of the game up sometime next week!

In addition to this Shin Megami Tensei-like quality-of-life tweak, the game also features a speed-up mode for battle. These two features alone may make The Dark Prince the best in the series - simplifying the teambuilding and grinding processes to improve accessibility is exactly the direction this series needs to pursue. Gone are the days of endless free time; there are simply too many games on the market - respect for the player’s time is crucial for a monster tamer to succeed, and these changes show an understanding of that.

Monsters is known for its difficulty. The first entry required ample grinding and trial-and-error to make progress, and more recent entries featured some of the toughest boss battles I’ve faced in a monster tamer. Yokota emphasises that while there have been great strides in approachability and accessibility, The Dark Prince will require some “diligent” effort to progress. I’m looking forward to this. A monster tamer without toothsome foes and complex mechanics to overcome is a boring one.

More important than mechanics, of course, are the monsters themselves. When compared to Dragon Quest Treasures’ meagre offerings, The Dark Prince’s grand total of 500+ different monsters to acquire is colossal. One of the greatest joys in a Monsters game is collecting a huge library of the critters and seeing what you can make with them, experimenting until you land on a team of favourites.

Yokota’s own favourite is the series staple Killing Machine, as he explains, “[they’re] not particularly logical or realistic in how they are constructed, and despite being called a Killing Machine, it actually has quite a loveable design. I like that gap between the name and the monster itself.” My personal favourite is the Lleviathan, but mostly because it looks rad.

This entry feels like a great entry point for the new fan. The older games can be quite difficult to find and just as difficult to play - a newer, refined version of classic mechanics with sorely needed quality-of-life additions is the perfect way to get into some DQM goodness.

Just Starting The Game?

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince - Which Starter Monster Should You Pick?

There are four possible starter monsters to choose from in DQM: The Dark Prince, but which one is best?

Posts