Pokemo….who?  What is this pocket monsters you speak of?  It is but a distant memory though Gabe (penny-arcade.com)  would probably have something to say about that.  Dragon Quest Monster: Joker on the Nintendo DS is a great merge of the look/feel of Dragon Quest VIII and the addictive pokemon like catch and battle system.

The Dragon Quest Monster games go back to 1998’s Dragon Warriors but what sets DQMJ apart is that it takes place in a full 3D cell shade world.   Another mark difference in this latest version is that there are no random battles but instead you see the monsters move about and you initiate a fight by walking over to them or some try to chase you down if you get within their aggro range.  The mechanic has an MMO quality to it and  I hope to see more of it in future hand held games.

The story isn’t as deep as DQVIII but it does get you into the action quickly after a short time of exploration.  The story is basically good ‘ol dad, who happens to be a warden, puts you in jail for defying his orders not to participate in a local monster tourney and lets you go if you promise to enter the tourney but as an agent for his group called CELL.  Once out you promptly make your way to several islands and start the job of catching and training monsters in preparation of the tournament.  There are lots of people to talk to in the game, places to explore and more story to undercover.

Dragon Quest Monsters is a beautiful game with fun, addictive gameplay and familiar Dragon Quest music and sound.  The cell shade looks good though sometimes pushing it a little too far (pixelation) but it’s still an impressive world.

I would like to see Square attempt to take this 3D world and game mechanic and make a 3D Pokemon hand held game.  Nintendo has allowed them to develop under their name before (Mario Hoops) so that’s not entirely a stretch.  I think this type of experience could be the next step in that genre.  Imagine seeing Gyarados (my fav) on the beach or turtwig wandering in the grasslands.  How about Talking with the latest Professor’s 3d model or entering a full 3d PokeCenter all on a hand held?

DQMJ is a must have for DS owners and offers a full 3D world and adventure to boot.  I’d be playing right this second but I blew through my battery.  Blasted luck! So I’m stuck reliving the game by telling of its virtues.

Dragon Quest Screenshots

-Wes

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 8th, 2007 at 7:57 pm and is filed under Gaming, Handheld, Sections. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.