Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker

This is a game that people are going to really enjoy if they can get into it, but Joker does a player no favors when it comes to helping you get into the game.

Joker is a massive jump forwards from the first GBC game of '98. In terms of depth, storyline and sense of real adventure and progression, it's an enjoyable and compulsive game. [Feb 2008, p.76]

Dragon Quest Monsters – Joker delivers some much-needed freshness to the monster collecting genre, but don’t expect it to be Dragon Quest IX. It’s just pure monster-collecting fun.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is not quite a Pokemon pretender. [Dec 2007, p.86]

The game features some interesting additions to the monster-collector format, but isn’t as deep or compelling as other Dragon Quest games.

It may not have the built-in fanbase of Pokémon, but in terms of gameplay and visuals, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker puts up a good fight.

The game takes patience and plenty of top-grade monster scouting.

The next Dragon Quest Monsters installment on DS will probably be even better, but in the meantime players can enjoy this fun and innovative experience that is more than just another Pokemon game.

Bright, addictive and fun - Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is a great addition to the DS adventure line-up.

Where Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker really surprises is in how different it manages to be to Pokémon whilst still maintaining the addictive gameplay mechanics that made the latter so damned popular in the first place.

Combining some impressive 3D work on the DS with over 200 collectable monsters, a lack of the somewhat irritating random dungeon generator, far more depth and production value overall, and impressive depth in a monster battler, Joker is a great chance for the more niche RPG gamers on DS to dive into the Monsters series for the first time and see for themselves what all the fuss is about.

After the 30 hours of gameplay in the single-player mode, the game has pretty much peaked and waned. For the money, that's still a pretty good deal considering that you'd pay this for games that lasts less than 10 hours.

Solid stuff. [Mar 2008, p.82]

It's certainly not a bad game by any means -- it has plenty of depth and looks fantastic -- but it never quite rises above the sensation that it's just a warm-up for better things coming (hopefully next year) in the form "Dragon Quest IX."

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker feeds that compulsive need to customize as many monsters as you can and is great if you don't mind a little level grinding.

If you enjoy micromanaging monsters and think Poemon is for babies, then you will be hard pressed to find a deeper game than Joker on the market.

If you're a fan of the genre and appreciate the ability to challenge others in battles, you'll do well with Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Otherwise, you'll just find a mediocre game with silly dialogue.