Honestly the game is its own marketing budget. Dragon Quest may not be known outside Japan, but in Japan it's a household name and a part of everything, and they only need it to do well in Japanese markets.
and now with Akira Toriyamas death,dragon quest been mentioned a lot, honestly dq is a very good franchise,loved the last game on consoles @@ScoptOriginal
I'm so glad Monsters finally returned after all these years. And with a story that ties to one of my all time favorite mainline DQ games. It's a perfect combination that brings joy.
@@JMrealgamerThe main character, Psaro, is from IV. Not the first time Monsters has had a tie to a mainline game. The original Monsters featured a child Terry from Dragon Quest VI and Caravan Hearts (which wasn't released overseas) starred Kiefer from VII.
@@SearchmanDS cool! Thank you so much for that info. I love DQ series and like many Americans who didn’t have access to it right away I’m trying my hardest to catch up to what’s been released. So far I played a bit of 1, 3, most of V and VII, all of VIII and XI S and Builders 2. I’ve even played DQ Heroes 2. IV is one I haven’t touched yet so I may do that. You can find these games cheap on iOS and phone devices.
Tactics can still be important even if you take full control due to some passives allowing your monster to take extra moves but you can only tell it to do one thing
Would strongly recommend DQM Joker 1 and 2 on the DS and 3 on the 3DS although 3 requires a translation patch. I haven't played Dark Prince yet but it looks to be mechanically identical to the Joker series
@@wedding2710Dragon Quest Monsters 2 3D is way better than any of the Joker games and Dark Prince imo. Highest monster count in the franchise and best post game. Dark Prince is dope but what holds it back is the switch for sure.
Allowing other monster collecting games to exist alongside Pokemon would already be great cause there is definitely more to bring to the table than just the Pokemon franchise.
This game is actually getting some decent marketing in Japan. During Tokyo Games Show, I was constantly seeing posters, flyers, and billboards for the game. There’s even a couple of DQ Monsters themed convenience stores here. Plus, there are a ton of ads for the game on JP UA-cam with some good production value. Shame that doesn’t seem to have carried over to the west.
Another low budget DQ game with zero marketing outside of Japan & selling it for 60$. Yeah I don't see why the west should care. A damn shame. I was looking forward to this game since DQXI.
The changing seasons is one of the things I like most about this game. It's why I love LoZ Oracle of Seasons so much and the coolest part of Pokemon BW. The performance keeps me from wanting to buy this game, but if it ever comes to PC, I'll get it.
Wouldnt bet on it because DQM games NEVER released on PC. They have always been nintendo exclusive (except 1 psx title) and to be honest the performance isn't that bad on the switch, never really bothered me
@@SlimeBlueMS Nah shut up. I dropped the demo on my switch and moved on to simply emulating the game at a tolerable performance. The framerate is beyond abysmal and inexcusable. It's thanks to people like you that optimization keeps getting worse
i havent played the game through yet, but i like the dark prince because he Literally only wants to do what HE wants to do, And doesnt listen to others who think they know better!
Truth be told, the game has a bunch of "But Thou Must" moments like some of the other DQ games. Pretty much every "Yes"/"No" option in the game has no impact on the overall story, but it does slightly change the dialogue at times (usually the NPC asking the question says something like "I know you're lying with that answer" and the same event plays out anyways). However, Psaro is still a pretty interesting character overall since you see that he has morals that are misguided due to the environment that he grew up in. He's definitely not a generic protagonist as he was originally the main tragic villain of DQIV (though he is a bit different in this game than in IV).
This is on my lists of must plays! One thing I love about these games is the fact that they let you unlock final bosses from other DQ games to add to your party.
Just finished the current Pokémon DLC and replaying Digimon World: Next Order... But this is next on the pile if I am not completely Monster Tamed by then.
Good review. I think despite its small technical set backs it still looks like it runs better than last couple Pokemon games (honestly seems a lot more fun too). I totally agree that the mechanics feel a lot closer to a SMT game (especially combining monsters, inheriting traits/skills) but of course with that classic DQ whimsy (which is definitely a good thing). I loved DQ11 and will definitely check this out. Thanks for reviewing this one John.
Actually, I'd say it runs about on-par with Scarlet and Violet, then again, SV is doing creature collecting RPG gameplay in one massive map compared to the collection of open areas (I'd say more comparable to Legends Arceus rather than SV in terms of the way it's set up), but as someone who loves both Pokémon and Dragon Quest 5, I'm certainly interested in eventually picking this up.
@@Aka-Spade Good to know! I've only dipped into SV a little. I did however play the crap out of Legends Arceus and didn't mind the graphical short-comings at all (not that I ever really care about stuff like that when a game is just *fun*).
@@fettuccinialfonso I have over 200 hours sunk into Scarlet and Violet (due to shiny hunting, mostly), so I've gotten very familiar with how the game runs, lol (it's a bit overexaggerated by a lot of people thanks to those clips of the unpredictable glitches caused by the SD card memory leak back when they released.)
regarding the mentioned technical set backs - i've recently finished my 100% run of the game and while i was around 2 thirds of the way through the game they actually released a new patch that improved the performance quite substantially. i was progressing through one of the areas with the biggest performance issues a day before the patch and when i started the game the next day it installed the update and suddenly everything was fine. definitely made the lategame areas of the game a lot more enjoyable to traverse. it's still not perfect, but it's slowly getting there.
predecessor means it came out before, but pokemon red and green released like 2 years before these games. no one in their right mind would ever consider the monsters as extra characters from the main series as preceeding the pokemon formula
Monster taming was first done in dragon quest 5, which was released in 95 in japan. Way before red and green in 98 which makes it the pokemon predecessor. Dragon quest monsters was after that in 2001 and pokemon went even further copying them with breeding which was the main pull in the Dqm series. Both are great but dragon quest is the og
This will be the first game I'll be getting for 2024! Yeah I only found out about this game a little over 2 weeks ago, and lost an insane amount of hours on the demo, the synthesis system is highly addictive but what sold it the most for me was that candy land level, it gave me ell flashbacks to Castle of Illusion, yep thats Nostolgic blood in my veins, can't wait to buy it and lose myself in its world
Im having an absolute blast playing through this! The exploration for each season is so much fun. I love seeing how the environment changes. Ended up starting with Cruelcumber (nicknamed Coolcumber. Ya know, cool as a cucumber lol). I keep fusing to make another so it's the only "permanent" monster for the team, and then constantly changing up the other 3 in the party.
DQ paved the way for the whole monster collecting/hunting genre. Seeing as it’s the 1st console RPG back on the NES it paved the way for all other RPG’s too. I’ll support whatever they do.
It's understandable for the DQ Monster games tho and it costs to release games overseas. I suppose the sales weren't so great which is why we never got Monster Joker 3 after the first 2. But I'm glad they're finally trying again.
I freaking adored the ds joker games. This game so far is doing it for me. Hopefully square gets their act together and localize ALL THE GAMES. NO EXCUSE NOT TO HAVE WORLD WIDE RELEASES FOR EVERY DQ GAME! ITS ALMOST LIKE THEY ARE AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD. TERRYS WONDERLAND REMAKE STILL HASNT COME WEST! DQ 10 ETC......
This game just needed a bit more polish and ambition to be a 10/10 for me, Square should really treat this series with the respect it deserves and allocate a bigger budget to their developers, hopefully the explosive japanese sales will give them a wake up call
I’m so glad to finally have an in depth review from another dragon quest fan!! I can’t believe this has gone so far under the radar I don’t hear anyone talking about it!!! I even forgot it released because I got busy :( but regardless it’s awesome that this game is a companion to IV with psaro; in a similar way that the original dragon quest monsters works as a companion to VI and follows Terry.
One of the things I enjoyed the most when playing persona 5 was the fact that you could fusion the personas. This mechanic seems to also be applied to this game, which makes me believe it could be the perfect mix between two of my faves turn based rpgs. I might be sold for this game but I unsure of spending 60$ on it
The demo sold me on this game and bought it immediately, was surprised to see the copy i got the only 1 in stock at my local walmart and it has not been restocked which is crazy.
I'll accept this game as an apology for the awful Infinity Strash. I just hope Square Enix releases a bundle with the other two Dragon Quest Monsters games and also Dragon Quest 4 5 and 6
There's more than 2 other Monsters titles. It's called Monsters 3 due to it being the 3rd MAIN Monsters game. Joker exists as a sub-series trilogy to the mainline titles. The list of games are as follows (mostly in order except for the mobile titles that I don't care enough about): 1) Monsters 1 (GBC) 2) Monsters 2: Cobi / Tara (GBC alternate versions) 3) Monsters 1+2 (PS1 compilation) 4) Caravan Heart (GBA) 5) Joker (DS) 6) Joker 2 (DS) 7) Joker 2 Pro (DS) 8) Terry's Wonderland 3D (3DS remake of 1) 9) Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key (3DS remake of 2) 10) Joker 3 (3DS) 11) Joker 3 Pro (3DS) 12) Super Light (mobile) 13) Wanted! (mobile) 14) Terry's Wonderland SP (mobile enhanced port) 15) Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key SP (mobile enhanced port) 16) Terry's Wonderland Retro (Switch port if the original) 17) Monsters 3: The Dark Prince (this game) 18) Various other ports of 1 and 2. But yeah, I do agree that the other titles would greatly benefit from a compilation title on modern platforms.
@@Nic5Cyprus Phone game? Idk what game you played but it wasn't Infinity Strash. As far as I'm concerned its about on par with other similar games such as DQ Heroes and other Warriors or Warriors-like hack-n-slashes, maybe slightly less so in some degrees. A typical modern day phone game would constitute much simpler graphics and an entire ass rng gacha system you pay real world money for. I think you need to reconsider things a bit. Infinity Strash was not a bad game. You're just dumb to make such an outlandish comparison.
@Nic5Cyprus You'll accept it as an apology? It's a video game, you act like it personally attacked you, and then you demand more specific titles/bundles. How entitled are you?
I've noticed a trend with the DQ games & spinoffs recently. Not counting DQ Treasures which was an intentional spinoff of DQ11, Builders 1 & 2 were spinoffs of DQ1 & DQ2, DQ3 is getting a HD-2D remake, and DQ Monsters Switch is a spinoff of DQ4. That means the next DQ spinoff or remake will be for DQ5.
Releases in December. Disconnected sandbox areas. The same MIDI soundtrack. Yep, it's another Treasures situation. (I've heard even less people talk about that one, so I ended up doing that.)
@@SlimeBlueMS YT says there's a 2nd reply but it won't show me, so perhaps your comment is aimed at this invisible 2nd person, but just in case: I said nothing about liking or disliking Monsters. I'm comparing the circumstances of the two releases. (And in the case of Treasures, I played the full campaign and did a full review.)
Thanks for this, John. I've was writing this one off. I love the vibe of Dragon Quest games so much, but the lack of coverage and reports of performance issues had me thinking this wasn't worth owning. You've convinced me to add a physical copy of this to my backlog of shame
I'm having a blast with this game, it really is a lot of fun, especially for us Dragon Quest fans. The performance issues combined with lackluster visuals, and lack of an orchestrated soundtrack do make me disappointed though, because the game could have been so much more otherwise. It's missed potential, but if it ever finds its way to Steam in the future then maybe those things can be remedied. I'd say if you're interested in owning this one physically then pick it up now, because I have a feeling that it's going to be a harder one to grab down the line.
Loved your video on dragon quest the dark prince thank you for bringing attention to such a fantastic game I really want them to make another one in America
As someone who grew up only playing DQMJ 1 and 2 and having to wait 13 years for an international sequel, this game might as well be the most valuable thing i own
The performance issues of the demo turned me off. But, your glowing review, coupled with my inbuilt love of DQ in general has convinced me to looks past the performance.
Excellent review Jon! I recently tried out the demo and was completely charmed. So much so that we bought it 😄 You captured my thoughts so eloquently. Really well done!! 🎉
The presentation is so frustrating to me, because gameplay-wise it's a fantastic refinement of the Monsters subseries that I grew up with. Outside of quick travel being a little clunky (due to having to return to the tower to go between the various areas rather than just straight up Zooming there) it's basically improved on everything I liked about those games. But the presentation really holds it back. And it's not just the quality of textures. The lack of proper animations in cutscenes was quite immersion-breaking at times. Now I can look past those aspects because of the gameplay, but it makes it a hard sell to my friends. Can I in good faith recommend it over other Switch RPGs like the Octopath Duology, Triangle Strategy, or of course DQXI-S? Not really. And that's a damn shame. Still, I'm going to enjoy it in the meantime, and I can only hope it does well enough to not have the series go on extended localisation hiatus again.
@@firenze6478 it sucks because he's both a full fledged character and he clearly does have dialogue and intentions, he's relaying shit to the characters but we're not being told he does.
Played the demo awhile ago and didn't think much of it but after watching this I've given it a second chance and am really into it now, ordered the full game for Christmas!
this sounds awesome. sadly i not got a switch but the plot of this being from Psaro's POV is genius. my entry point to the monsters series is Dragon Quest Monsters 2 Joker on DS
Pokémon released a half finished, glitchy, sad excuse for a game that made ALOT of its fans angry. This game is polished way more and honestly ALOT more enjoyable. Its truly sad what the Pokémon company does with their products. They take advantage of people that will buy their stuff just because of the name. DQ has put so much more effort into this gem and you can tell right away. The music, the monsters and everything is so much better than other monster collection games. Just my opinion. God bless
Just picked this up and super excited to give it a shot. I had a feeling I recognized the name Psaro. I played dq4 so long ago it will be nice to see the main characters again
I was a big fan of DWM series on gameboy color and DWM joker on NDS. I enjoyed it more than pokemon games. I am glad they made one on switch after so many years. Cant wait to try it out
I hope this game does well enough in the west that we keep getting them. Playing DWMJ 1-3 makes me love the franchise, finding English patches is a pain though
@@wedding2710 Nah, just a dunce :) Honestly first DQ game was DQMJ 1 hated it at first, but then I tried it years later. Absolutely loved it and hated my younger self for being a moron.
This may become my fav dragon quest game. Def my fav non mainline. Its up there with DQ8, and 11. Haven't play 5 or 7. Game def performs superior to modern pokemon.
It's up there with 8 and 11 for me as well. DQ7 (remake) has been my 3rd favorite in the series ever since it came out, but this new DQM I think might take its place.
There is a serious problem with this game that no one seems to talk about, and I am here to mention it. DQM3 Suffers exclusively from mass pvp abuse. As long as someone closes their game it crashes the pvp match, forcing BOTH players to ALWAYS de-rank. This exclusively makes it IMPOSSIBLE to rank, and is unacceptable that it exists at all. IT IS BEING USED AS A FEATURE IN PVP. Causes crashes, always derank, and more.
Raptile X Raptile with both breath skills at 100 gives the upgraded breath skills only on the Demo at the moment but hoping to change that before Xmas love this series
I don't need a pokemon killer, I just want more monster collection games since I love them. I am a little hesitant to invest in non 1st party games on the switch at this point though, since I have no idea if the switch sequel will have backwards compatibility. Better hold off for this or a PC release.
Weird to see the game has performance issues, since I have had nothing but good experiences with Square Enix releases on Switch, and with games that are visually better than this
The only thing about this game that kind of disappointed me looking at it is that I thought when you fused monsters together it would mix the monsters physical qualities together but it seems like they just create a whole new monster I don't know if it's random or if it's like an equation sort of thing but I was really hoping for a monster that was comprised of the components of both monsters
Idk, I think it still sticks it to Pokemon technically. If only because it's mostly 30 fps (emphasis on "mostly") while Pokemon can't barely manage 20 fps despite 1/3 of the company being owned by Nintendo.
Is there any content in the game locked behind online connectivity? I heard there was going to be a shop that can only be accessed while connected to the internet.
I would have liked this game on the ps5 or steam where it could look and run way way better. Instead, it is Switch exclusive where you have visual assets shy of swsh trees. More than visual since that is par for the course as a Switch game, I saw Protonjon stream this and the fps was all over the place.
Is there online battling etc? I wonder if I should play it now or wait... Hopefully it gets improvement on performance or just gets announced on PS5... Unlikely but... The performance even in this video is off putting, but Im VERY big on DQM and Pokémon.
there is and it's as busted as it always is. 5 minutes after release there's japanese with diamond slimes and +99 special setup one move destroyer monsters. dont expect to get high in the rankings
I use too like Pokémon, the feeling isn’t the same anymore. Rarely any new monsters, evolutions are just so terrible. New monster quest fan, let’s all support so we can get more games !
I could absolutely be talking out of my butt, but with Treasures having started as Dragon Quest Monsters and looking better than this visually, it feels like that got the lion's share of the time and budget which is unfortunate. Still, I loved the demo for this and am just excited we have more DQM coming west again
Man, I have been going down the rabbit hole of jrpgs for the last year. I hate it because there's too much and they are long games. lol Management to finish Y's 8&9, Persona 5R and 3R, Like a dragon, Nier replicant and automata, Scarlet nexus. But haven't even opened Metaphor, Smt 5V, Infinite wealth, Live a live, DQ11, Sandland, Xenoblade Chronicles 1&2. Octopath traveler 1&2. And I still wanna get QD dark prince, DQ 3R, Xenoblade Xand Visions of mana.
And so Jon became the entire marketing budget for this game
Honestly the game is its own marketing budget. Dragon Quest may not be known outside Japan, but in Japan it's a household name and a part of everything, and they only need it to do well in Japanese markets.
Honestly I have watched this a few times so it worked on me haha
and now with Akira Toriyamas death,dragon quest been mentioned a lot, honestly dq is a very good franchise,loved the last game on consoles @@ScoptOriginal
Square spent so much on the Ethics Department to cenzor it for western release that there must not have been enough budget for marketing.
I'm so glad Monsters finally returned after all these years. And with a story that ties to one of my all time favorite mainline DQ games. It's a perfect combination that brings joy.
Which DQ game does it tie into? I’m interested in knowing.
@@JMrealgamerThe main character, Psaro, is from IV. Not the first time Monsters has had a tie to a mainline game. The original Monsters featured a child Terry from Dragon Quest VI and Caravan Hearts
(which wasn't released overseas) starred Kiefer from VII.
@@SearchmanDS cool! Thank you so much for that info. I love DQ series and like many Americans who didn’t have access to it right away I’m trying my hardest to catch up to what’s been released. So far I played a bit of 1, 3, most of V and VII, all of VIII and XI S and Builders 2. I’ve even played DQ Heroes 2. IV is one I haven’t touched yet so I may do that. You can find these games cheap on iOS and phone devices.
@@SearchmanDSand the irony of Monsters 1 is that it released over here initially, yet DQVI itself didn’t until the DS remake.
Tactics can still be important even if you take full control due to some passives allowing your monster to take extra moves but you can only tell it to do one thing
Dragon Warrior Monsters 1 and 2 on the Gameboy Color were incredible back in the day. Can't wait to get into this one.
Would strongly recommend DQM Joker 1 and 2 on the DS and 3 on the 3DS although 3 requires a translation patch. I haven't played Dark Prince yet but it looks to be mechanically identical to the Joker series
@@wedding2710Dragon Quest Monsters 2 3D is way better than any of the Joker games and Dark Prince imo. Highest monster count in the franchise and best post game. Dark Prince is dope but what holds it back is the switch for sure.
The ps1 remakes were better
@@joshuarichard6827 Too bad we never got those. Not even a translation lol
@@hikarinopower8090the menu is almost the exact same
Allowing other monster collecting games to exist alongside Pokemon would already be great cause there is definitely more to bring to the table than just the Pokemon franchise.
So good to have a new Monsters game. The trio of 3DS games were so damned good.
This game is actually getting some decent marketing in Japan. During Tokyo Games Show, I was constantly seeing posters, flyers, and billboards for the game. There’s even a couple of DQ Monsters themed convenience stores here. Plus, there are a ton of ads for the game on JP UA-cam with some good production value.
Shame that doesn’t seem to have carried over to the west.
Yeah, instead they advertise their crappy drama games and ff16
Another low budget DQ game with zero marketing outside of Japan & selling it for 60$. Yeah I don't see why the west should care. A damn shame. I was looking forward to this game since DQXI.
The changing seasons is one of the things I like most about this game. It's why I love LoZ Oracle of Seasons so much and the coolest part of Pokemon BW. The performance keeps me from wanting to buy this game, but if it ever comes to PC, I'll get it.
Might be some hope as treasures was shadow dropped on pc like 6 months later
Wouldnt bet on it because DQM games NEVER released on PC. They have always been nintendo exclusive (except 1 psx title) and to be honest the performance isn't that bad on the switch, never really bothered me
Performance issues are barely noticable
I immediately thought the same. This is a banger feature, love that
@@SlimeBlueMS Nah shut up. I dropped the demo on my switch and moved on to simply emulating the game at a tolerable performance. The framerate is beyond abysmal and inexcusable. It's thanks to people like you that optimization keeps getting worse
I played thru the demo and was floored at how fun it was. Then saw there was no coverage for this game. So sad 😢
Such a fantastic game, and definitely gonna be an overlooked gem. Thanks for covering the game!
Damn straight Dragon Quest 5 is one of the best games ever made
i remember playing dragon quest monsters joker as a kid, and loving it, I hope this game is as good.
Although i can't afford the game right now, i absolutely loved Monsters Joker 2 on the DS as a kid so I hope this game gets more love
i havent played the game through yet, but i like the dark prince because he Literally only wants to do what HE wants to do, And doesnt listen to others who think they know better!
Truth be told, the game has a bunch of "But Thou Must" moments like some of the other DQ games. Pretty much every "Yes"/"No" option in the game has no impact on the overall story, but it does slightly change the dialogue at times (usually the NPC asking the question says something like "I know you're lying with that answer" and the same event plays out anyways).
However, Psaro is still a pretty interesting character overall since you see that he has morals that are misguided due to the environment that he grew up in. He's definitely not a generic protagonist as he was originally the main tragic villain of DQIV (though he is a bit different in this game than in IV).
This is on my lists of must plays!
One thing I love about these games is the fact that they let you unlock final bosses from other DQ games to add to your party.
Just finished the current Pokémon DLC and replaying Digimon World: Next Order...
But this is next on the pile if I am not completely Monster Tamed by then.
You had me sold at Fusion and Synthesizing
My personal game of the year. I haven't been so hooked on any game in years. Can't stop playing.
Dude I said the exact same thing.
Yup it’s my personal game of the year as well
Same, I have 70 hours logged with no slowing down.
Good review. I think despite its small technical set backs it still looks like it runs better than last couple Pokemon games (honestly seems a lot more fun too). I totally agree that the mechanics feel a lot closer to a SMT game (especially combining monsters, inheriting traits/skills) but of course with that classic DQ whimsy (which is definitely a good thing). I loved DQ11 and will definitely check this out. Thanks for reviewing this one John.
Actually, I'd say it runs about on-par with Scarlet and Violet, then again, SV is doing creature collecting RPG gameplay in one massive map compared to the collection of open areas (I'd say more comparable to Legends Arceus rather than SV in terms of the way it's set up), but as someone who loves both Pokémon and Dragon Quest 5, I'm certainly interested in eventually picking this up.
I would have LOVED to claim DQM is graphically superior to Pokémon but it’s really not
@@Aka-Spade Good to know! I've only dipped into SV a little. I did however play the crap out of Legends Arceus and didn't mind the graphical short-comings at all (not that I ever really care about stuff like that when a game is just *fun*).
@@fettuccinialfonso I have over 200 hours sunk into Scarlet and Violet (due to shiny hunting, mostly), so I've gotten very familiar with how the game runs, lol (it's a bit overexaggerated by a lot of people thanks to those clips of the unpredictable glitches caused by the SD card memory leak back when they released.)
regarding the mentioned technical set backs - i've recently finished my 100% run of the game and while i was around 2 thirds of the way through the game they actually released a new patch that improved the performance quite substantially. i was progressing through one of the areas with the biggest performance issues a day before the patch and when i started the game the next day it installed the update and suddenly everything was fine. definitely made the lategame areas of the game a lot more enjoyable to traverse. it's still not perfect, but it's slowly getting there.
thank you for acknowledging Dragon quest as the pokemon PREDACESOR! happy to see a review from someone who does their research
predecessor means it came out before, but pokemon red and green released like 2 years before these games.
no one in their right mind would ever consider the monsters as extra characters from the main series as preceeding the pokemon formula
Monster taming was first done in dragon quest 5, which was released in 95 in japan. Way before red and green in 98 which makes it the pokemon predecessor. Dragon quest monsters was after that in 2001 and pokemon went even further copying them with breeding which was the main pull in the Dqm series. Both are great but dragon quest is the og
@@SteveJohnson-l4ythere were actually 2 series before DQ that had monster recruiting I cant remember what they were
I loved DQM for GBC, especially the fusing mechanic; need to check this out
Dragon Warrior Monsters 1/2 and Joker 1 had breeding not fusion
This will be the first game I'll be getting for 2024! Yeah I only found out about this game a little over 2 weeks ago, and lost an insane amount of hours on the demo, the synthesis system is highly addictive but what sold it the most for me was that candy land level, it gave me ell flashbacks to Castle of Illusion, yep thats Nostolgic blood in my veins, can't wait to buy it and lose myself in its world
Im having an absolute blast playing through this! The exploration for each season is so much fun. I love seeing how the environment changes. Ended up starting with Cruelcumber (nicknamed Coolcumber. Ya know, cool as a cucumber lol). I keep fusing to make another so it's the only "permanent" monster for the team, and then constantly changing up the other 3 in the party.
I loved the first Monster Tamer game. I had to play the demo and got a good taste. I'll have to get the whole thing some time.
Having a blast with it so far. So relieved it's actually good after the disaster that was Infinity Strash.
Loving this game so so much, thanks for covering it 😎
DQ paved the way for the whole monster collecting/hunting genre. Seeing as it’s the 1st console RPG back on the NES it paved the way for all other RPG’s too. I’ll support whatever they do.
Love you Jon for giving this magnificent series the attention it unfortunately doesn't get enough of.
It's the creators fault. They refused to localize dq games in the past and it shows. It's terrible that the world missed out on SO MANY DQ GAMES.
It's understandable for the DQ Monster games tho and it costs to release games overseas. I suppose the sales weren't so great which is why we never got Monster Joker 3 after the first 2. But I'm glad they're finally trying again.
I freaking adored the ds joker games. This game so far is doing it for me. Hopefully square gets their act together and localize ALL THE GAMES. NO EXCUSE NOT TO HAVE WORLD WIDE RELEASES FOR EVERY DQ GAME! ITS ALMOST LIKE THEY ARE AGAINST THE REST OF THE WORLD. TERRYS WONDERLAND REMAKE STILL HASNT COME WEST! DQ 10 ETC......
at least theres fan translations for both terrys wonderland and the cobi/tara remake
The ps1 remakes of 1 and 2 never got localized and Caravan heart
This game just needed a bit more polish and ambition to be a 10/10 for me, Square should really treat this series with the respect it deserves and allocate a bigger budget to their developers, hopefully the explosive japanese sales will give them a wake up call
I think it's just because it IS a spinoff... those get less budget, lol
I’m so glad to finally have an in depth review from another dragon quest fan!! I can’t believe this has gone so far under the radar I don’t hear anyone talking about it!!! I even forgot it released because I got busy :( but regardless it’s awesome that this game is a companion to IV with psaro; in a similar way that the original dragon quest monsters works as a companion to VI and follows Terry.
One of the things I enjoyed the most when playing persona 5 was the fact that you could fusion the personas. This mechanic seems to also be applied to this game, which makes me believe it could be the perfect mix between two of my faves turn based rpgs. I might be sold for this game but I unsure of spending 60$ on it
The demo sold me on this game and bought it immediately, was surprised to see the copy i got the only 1 in stock at my local walmart and it has not been restocked which is crazy.
Rip toriyama, his designs were top tier
I'll accept this game as an apology for the awful Infinity Strash. I just hope Square Enix releases a bundle with the other two Dragon Quest Monsters games and also Dragon Quest 4 5 and 6
I didn't think it was that bad honestly
@@TheVicarstownSentinel they duped us into thinking this was Dragon Quest's big entry into action rpgs when in reality it was a phone game in disguise
There's more than 2 other Monsters titles. It's called Monsters 3 due to it being the 3rd MAIN Monsters game. Joker exists as a sub-series trilogy to the mainline titles. The list of games are as follows (mostly in order except for the mobile titles that I don't care enough about):
1) Monsters 1 (GBC)
2) Monsters 2: Cobi / Tara (GBC alternate versions)
3) Monsters 1+2 (PS1 compilation)
4) Caravan Heart (GBA)
5) Joker (DS)
6) Joker 2 (DS)
7) Joker 2 Pro (DS)
8) Terry's Wonderland 3D (3DS remake of 1)
9) Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key (3DS remake of 2)
10) Joker 3 (3DS)
11) Joker 3 Pro (3DS)
12) Super Light (mobile)
13) Wanted! (mobile)
14) Terry's Wonderland SP (mobile enhanced port)
15) Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key SP (mobile enhanced port)
16) Terry's Wonderland Retro (Switch port if the original)
17) Monsters 3: The Dark Prince (this game)
18) Various other ports of 1 and 2.
But yeah, I do agree that the other titles would greatly benefit from a compilation title on modern platforms.
@@Nic5Cyprus Phone game? Idk what game you played but it wasn't Infinity Strash.
As far as I'm concerned its about on par with other similar games such as DQ Heroes and other Warriors or Warriors-like hack-n-slashes, maybe slightly less so in some degrees. A typical modern day phone game would constitute much simpler graphics and an entire ass rng gacha system you pay real world money for. I think you need to reconsider things a bit.
Infinity Strash was not a bad game. You're just dumb to make such an outlandish comparison.
@Nic5Cyprus You'll accept it as an apology? It's a video game, you act like it personally attacked you, and then you demand more specific titles/bundles. How entitled are you?
I’m definitely going to buy this. Just waiting on a sale. ✔️
I've noticed a trend with the DQ games & spinoffs recently. Not counting DQ Treasures which was an intentional spinoff of DQ11, Builders 1 & 2 were spinoffs of DQ1 & DQ2, DQ3 is getting a HD-2D remake, and DQ Monsters Switch is a spinoff of DQ4. That means the next DQ spinoff or remake will be for DQ5.
Releases in December. Disconnected sandbox areas. The same MIDI soundtrack. Yep, it's another Treasures situation. (I've heard even less people talk about that one, so I ended up doing that.)
Try playing games before you decide you don't like them lol
That's stupid dude. Play the game first before judging it.
@@SlimeBlueMS YT says there's a 2nd reply but it won't show me, so perhaps your comment is aimed at this invisible 2nd person, but just in case: I said nothing about liking or disliking Monsters. I'm comparing the circumstances of the two releases. (And in the case of Treasures, I played the full campaign and did a full review.)
Thanks for this, John.
I've was writing this one off.
I love the vibe of Dragon Quest games so much, but the lack of coverage and reports of performance issues had me thinking this wasn't worth owning.
You've convinced me to add a physical copy of this to my backlog of shame
Performance be looking rough. I’m excited it’s selling so well in Japan (wow, shocker) hope it does well outside. Will probably pick up!
For some reason, the performance improves slightly in some of the later areas. Plus it runs better if... you turn off autosave, kinda?
Performance is not that bad, hardly noticable tbh
It's not as bad as Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet or any Pokemon games on Switch.
I'm having a blast with this game, it really is a lot of fun, especially for us Dragon Quest fans. The performance issues combined with lackluster visuals, and lack of an orchestrated soundtrack do make me disappointed though, because the game could have been so much more otherwise. It's missed potential, but if it ever finds its way to Steam in the future then maybe those things can be remedied. I'd say if you're interested in owning this one physically then pick it up now, because I have a feeling that it's going to be a harder one to grab down the line.
Loved your video on dragon quest the dark prince thank you for bringing attention to such a fantastic game I really want them to make another one in America
Because Pkmn Scarlet/Violet had such crisp visuals without any performance issues at launch… 😏
At launch? They never bothered improving it, it's exactly the same as day 1 lol
@SlimeBlueMS pkmn scarlet and violet is way better than u think
Dragon quest monsters graphics actually ma 12:34 kes me want to appreciate scarlet and violets graphics
I remember playing Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 1 and 2, they were super fantastic games!! Absolutely loved it!! I should get this!
As someone who grew up only playing DQMJ 1 and 2 and having to wait 13 years for an international sequel, this game might as well be the most valuable thing i own
I'm loving Dragon Quest monsters. So fun.
This game is SO good.
The performance issues of the demo turned me off. But, your glowing review, coupled with my inbuilt love of DQ in general has convinced me to looks past the performance.
Excellent review Jon! I recently tried out the demo and was completely charmed. So much so that we bought it 😄 You captured my thoughts so eloquently. Really well done!! 🎉
and here we have a game that looks better than the last game made by the largest Franchise of the world
Sad, but true.
The presentation is so frustrating to me, because gameplay-wise it's a fantastic refinement of the Monsters subseries that I grew up with. Outside of quick travel being a little clunky (due to having to return to the tower to go between the various areas rather than just straight up Zooming there) it's basically improved on everything I liked about those games. But the presentation really holds it back. And it's not just the quality of textures. The lack of proper animations in cutscenes was quite immersion-breaking at times.
Now I can look past those aspects because of the gameplay, but it makes it a hard sell to my friends. Can I in good faith recommend it over other Switch RPGs like the Octopath Duology, Triangle Strategy, or of course DQXI-S? Not really. And that's a damn shame. Still, I'm going to enjoy it in the meantime, and I can only hope it does well enough to not have the series go on extended localisation hiatus again.
Also, psaro being silent sucks…
@@firenze6478 it sucks because he's both a full fledged character and he clearly does have dialogue and intentions, he's relaying shit to the characters but we're not being told he does.
@@clydefrosch exactly. He even has voices lines.
Played the demo awhile ago and didn't think much of it but after watching this I've given it a second chance and am really into it now, ordered the full game for Christmas!
Where is the dragon quest treasures review? I’m still waiting!
this sounds awesome. sadly i not got a switch but the plot of this being from Psaro's POV is genius. my entry point to the monsters series is Dragon Quest Monsters 2 Joker on DS
Pokémon released a half finished, glitchy, sad excuse for a game that made ALOT of its fans angry. This game is polished way more and honestly ALOT more enjoyable. Its truly sad what the Pokémon company does with their products. They take advantage of people that will buy their stuff just because of the name. DQ has put so much more effort into this gem and you can tell right away. The music, the monsters and everything is so much better than other monster collection games. Just my opinion. God bless
Just picked this up and super excited to give it a shot. I had a feeling I recognized the name Psaro. I played dq4 so long ago it will be nice to see the main characters again
I was a big fan of DWM series on gameboy color and DWM joker on NDS. I enjoyed it more than pokemon games. I am glad they made one on switch after so many years. Cant wait to try it out
I hope this game does well enough in the west that we keep getting them. Playing DWMJ 1-3 makes me love the franchise, finding English patches is a pain though
There is no "DWMJ," by the time Joker came out the series had rebranded to Dragon Quest
@@wedding2710 Was a typo, mb
@@Brutetank Oh that makes more sense than what I thought, which is that you were a DQ fan from the pre-PS2 era insisting on the old title lol.
@@wedding2710 Nah, just a dunce :)
Honestly first DQ game was DQMJ 1 hated it at first, but then I tried it years later. Absolutely loved it and hated my younger self for being a moron.
This may become my fav dragon quest game. Def my fav non mainline. Its up there with DQ8, and 11. Haven't play 5 or 7. Game def performs superior to modern pokemon.
It's up there with 8 and 11 for me as well. DQ7 (remake) has been my 3rd favorite in the series ever since it came out, but this new DQM I think might take its place.
There is a serious problem with this game that no one seems to talk about, and I am here to mention it.
DQM3 Suffers exclusively from mass pvp abuse. As long as someone closes their game it crashes the pvp match, forcing BOTH players to ALWAYS de-rank. This exclusively makes it IMPOSSIBLE to rank, and is unacceptable that it exists at all. IT IS BEING USED AS A FEATURE IN PVP. Causes crashes, always derank, and more.
Just finished replaying DQM1 on rom and I’m so ready for this as I just spent 10s of hours researching breeding pairs 🤣
Wait…there’s monster fusions?
ＧＡＭＥＣＨＡＮＧＥＲ
Enjoying the demo, but damn £45 for what looks and feels budget.
Raptile X Raptile with both breath skills at 100 gives the upgraded breath skills only on the Demo at the moment but hoping to change that before Xmas love this series
dragon quest literally invented monster catching before pokemon ever existed
for me monster fusion was a Monster Rancher thing...omfg im so hype to get this game
I don't need a pokemon killer, I just want more monster collection games since I love them.
I am a little hesitant to invest in non 1st party games on the switch at this point though, since I have no idea if the switch sequel will have backwards compatibility. Better hold off for this or a PC release.
Weird to see the game has performance issues, since I have had nothing but good experiences with Square Enix releases on Switch, and with games that are visually better than this
Yes, I agree. DQXII ran great for me on Switch and it looked way better imo.
@@barpoe OMG, you're already playing DQXII?!!, It's good? It's still turn based?
sorry!!! I meant DQXI @@hannariel I wish!!!
I’m sold. This is the game I’ve been looking for
I've been loving it. Got my Beshemoth Slime and rocking stuff
I was shocked to realize that DQM Joker 2 came out 13 years ago. I thought surely you made a mistake. Alas, I am just very old.
Yeah, the gap is big as they didn't localize 13 years worth of Monsters games after Joker 2 not doing well in the West. I feel old too.
lol I mained DWM in elementary school and that released 24 years ago. It only gets worse!!
@@CoreyC225False, it peaked at DWM2!
@@friendlysoviet1 lol, I don't disagree with that statement. I was talking about the feeling of getting old, though 😂
The only thing about this game that kind of disappointed me looking at it is that I thought when you fused monsters together it would mix the monsters physical qualities together but it seems like they just create a whole new monster I don't know if it's random or if it's like an equation sort of thing but I was really hoping for a monster that was comprised of the components of both monsters
Idk, I think it still sticks it to Pokemon technically. If only because it's mostly 30 fps (emphasis on "mostly") while Pokemon can't barely manage 20 fps despite 1/3 of the company being owned by Nintendo.
Is there any content in the game locked behind online connectivity? I heard there was going to be a shop that can only be accessed while connected to the internet.
I would have liked this game on the ps5 or steam where it could look and run way way better. Instead, it is Switch exclusive where you have visual assets shy of swsh trees. More than visual since that is par for the course as a Switch game, I saw Protonjon stream this and the fps was all over the place.
Dragon quest monster joker was my favorite game as a kid
DQ is great, no doubt. But they need to make another Dragon Warrior Monsters. I still play DWM on my gbc even after 25+ years.
Is there online battling etc? I wonder if I should play it now or wait... Hopefully it gets improvement on performance or just gets announced on PS5... Unlikely but... The performance even in this video is off putting, but Im VERY big on DQM and Pokémon.
there is and it's as busted as it always is.
5 minutes after release there's japanese with diamond slimes and +99 special setup one move destroyer monsters. dont expect to get high in the rankings
God I love the dqm series, joker and joker 2 kept me going
I use too like Pokémon, the feeling isn’t the same anymore. Rarely any new monsters, evolutions are just so terrible.
New monster quest fan, let’s all support so we can get more games !
Lmao there's a lot of new Pokemon but okay.
Just because there's a lot of quantity doesn't automatically make them good quality too
I could absolutely be talking out of my butt, but with Treasures having started as Dragon Quest Monsters and looking better than this visually, it feels like that got the lion's share of the time and budget which is unfortunate. Still, I loved the demo for this and am just excited we have more DQM coming west again
Can you fight along the side your monsters and replay the story after you defeat the final boss? Does it have a different ending?
The reason why is because its Dragon Quest. Its literally the most popular top selling game in Japan ever.
Rip akira toriyama
How does the game look so good in your review? Did recent updates to the game for "optimization" tank its look?
All of the DQM games have segmented worlds that you are brought to by gates or something.
I’ve been playing palworld and I just stumbled on this game and dude this looks good can’t wait to get it and play it
It feels horrible that I have this game, but I haven't yet gotten to play it, the backlog is the real prince of darkness.
will it come to pc?
I believe the P in Psaro is meant to be silent.
0:29 what is the game in the middle??
Is sham hatwitch in the game?
My desire to play is entirely predicated on it
Ayyy just saw them, excellent
Thank you John!
Good call on changing the title: that was just an invitation for yet another wave of (warranted, but tiresome) negativity.
What was it originally?
@@theonewhowrotethis5681 It had the subtitle "Better than Pokémon?"
We’ve had dragon quest in the west before.. Dragon Quest Monster Joker for the DS..?
This sounds like a review done by someone who didn't play Joker 1 and 2. I feel like a shoutout to those is in order as well.
Man, I have been going down the rabbit hole of jrpgs for the last year. I hate it because there's too much and they are long games. lol
Management to finish Y's 8&9, Persona 5R and 3R, Like a dragon, Nier replicant and automata, Scarlet nexus. But haven't even opened Metaphor, Smt 5V, Infinite wealth, Live a live, DQ11, Sandland, Xenoblade Chronicles 1&2.
Octopath traveler 1&2.
And I still wanna get QD dark prince, DQ 3R, Xenoblade Xand Visions of mana.
I'll probably get this later
So is this game similar to Dragon Quest Monster Joker 1 and 2? if so imma have to buy this
got the game on release date and they had one in store ONE