Dragon Quest Treasures is the latest spinoff from the long-running JRPG series, but it’s still got plenty of classic Dragon Quest in its DNA – cute monsters, a wonderful sense of humor, well-designed characters, and engaging gameplay. As Erik and Mia, players can explore the many islands of Draconia as they race against rival gangs in pursuit of treasure. Along the way, the siblings from Dragon Quest XI encounter a colorful cast of characters and recruit friendly monsters into their party.
Dragon Quest Treasures somehow manages to perfectly walk the line between compelling and laid-back. From the get-go, there are countless side quests to undertake, dozens of monsters to scout, and hundreds of treasures to find. There’s a base-building mechanic, daily quests, materials to gather, and items to craft. But, perhaps miraculously, it never feels too overwhelming. There’s never a particular rush to get things done – players can explore the islands and locations of Draconia as long as they’d like or head back to base as soon as their objective is complete.
This is where the true success of Dragon Quest Treasures lies. It’s a game that encourages players to take their time. Whether that means running around to find more treasure or just exploring to see what’s over the hill, it’s completely up to them. Monsters can only carry limited amounts of treasure before needing to return to base, but those are really the only kind of rails the game puts on.
This can get frustrating at times – especially when it’s so easy to want to keep exploring. It’s hindered by the fact that returning to the base can get repetitive, even when chimera wings can be used for a speedier return to whisk players back instantly. Watching the same animations between departing and arriving at the base gets old fast, but it’s a minor complaint considering all Dragon Quest Treasures has to offer.
The action combat, which mostly consists of button presses or using the catapult (a slingshot Erik and Mia carry) isn’t nearly as engaging as the turn-based combat found in the mainline series and in the DQ Monsters spinoffs, but it keeps the gameplay fast and fluid. It’s easy to run around an area while a party’s monsters do all the fighting or to snipe at baddies from a distance using an arsenal of pellets that create different effects.
The monsters are another highlight – although many are just reskins of the same 10 or so designs. However, what Dragon Quest Treasures’ monsters lack in variety it makes up for by giving monster NPCs interesting new looks and quirky attire. Monsters have different Fortes which aid in exploration – for example, a Golem can throw Erik or Mia up in the air, a Dracky can be used to glide across the island, and a Sham Hatwitch can race across terrain to get to places faster. In combat, monsters come with their own unique abilities and stats, which can be boosted with the help of monster medals.
Despite the monsters being such a major focus, the primary selling point of the game is still its treasures. Erik and Mia can use their own Forte to scan an area for goodies. Upon getting close, monsters will have a vision that shows a glimpse of where the treasure is hidden. It’s then a simple matter of finding that nearby area from the picture shown – much like the chocographs in Final Fantasy 9. If they’re lucky, players can also stumble upon some treasure themselves, so there’s always something to find and collect.
Then there’s the Snarl, a portal that will send players through a gauntlet-style test full of battles (and bosses) in order to get clues regarding the dragonstones (the MacGuffins at the heart of Dragon Quest Treasures‘ main story). If this seems like a lot of systems, that’s because it is. However, it never feels like too much. It’s mostly a relaxing affair where players don’t have to worry about getting bored because there’s always something to do. A good bit of it is optional, and players can do as much – or as little – as they’d like (and at their own pace). Dragon Quest Treasures is an engaging yet easygoing monster-recruiting game full of surprises and humor – and, perhaps most importantly, it’s a ton of fun.
Dragon Quest Treasures is out December 9, 2022, for Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a copy of this game for the purpose of this review.
