Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Despite being a big fan of the franchise, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince was actually the first game in this side series that I have played. There have been several games released in this series, but most of them have stayed in Japan. This originally came out on the switch before making its way on to PC around a year or so later. I was recommended the game as I love monster catching and fighting games so I decided to give it a try and I ended up getting pretty hooked on it for a little while. It was the perfect game to play in little bursts.

Setting The Scene

While I have played and enjoyed many Dragon Quest games over the years, I would never classify myself as the biggest fan in the world. However, even though Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is set as a side game and a prequel to the events of Dragon Quest IV, you do not need to have had any experience with that game to jump in here as the plot is explained very well and while I am sure there will be references that those who played Dragon Quest IV will get a kick out of. I never felt like I was missing anything by not being a “scholar” on that game.

A Half Monster Son Looking For Revenge

The story in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince actually surprised me as it was way more entertaining than I thought it would be! The protagonist of the game is actually the antagonist of Dragon Quest IV, Psaro. Psaro was cursed by his cruel father who is the king. Psaro was banished and could no longer fight monsters, but he found that he could be a monster wrangler and he could use his monster wrangling skills and army of monsters to get his revenge on his father and take the throne for himself. I was legit invested in this story of revenge and I thought that it was a lot of fun. It had way darker themes than I thought it would.

Catch, Train, Fight

What we have here with Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is an action RPG. The comparisons with something like Pokémon Sword are kind of unavoidable. We walk around the world trying to capture monsters and there are a few ways that we can add new monsters to our ranks. You can get them by force, making them happy with food, or by “synthesis” which is basically breeding and that means you can get them via eggs. I find it funny how they call it synthesis instead of breeding. The combat is turn based and a lot of fun as you have to figure out what the best monsters to use are and of course, you are also working towards making your monsters stronger as well so that they can learn new moves. The seasons also play a role in things as certain monsters can only be obtained at certain times of the year.

I Know Where This Comes From

One thing that is interesting, cool, and kind of sad about Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is that this was actually the last game in the Dragon Quest series to be released while the legendary Akira Toriyama was alive. The game has his iconic style running through it and I really do love some of the monster designs that are here. You have to keep in mind that this game was originally designed for the Nintendo Switch and it does have that Switch look about it. The game has a cool art style, but it is certainly not as detailed as some of the other Dragon Quest games. I played the game on the Steam Deck and thought that the visuals really popped on there thanks to how colorful everything is.

Pros:

• I loved the main character
• The story was fun and interesting
• Catching the monsters and making them stronger is very addictive
• This is a great game to play on the go as it has a kind of chill vibe about it

Cons:

• The visuals may not blow you away as it is a Switch game
• While I loved the story, some people say it is boring