Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below

This is the prettiest and most polished Omega Force game to date. [Christmas 2015, p72]

Dragon Quest Heroes is a positive adventure with great battles against hordes of monsters as a main pillar of gameplay. This element is just too repetitive and the character development system insufficiently developed to keep the players interested for a long time.

A cheerful, compulsive and enormously likeable action-RPG, it should convert a few Dynasty Warriors non-believers, though DW fans may not be quite so convinced. [Dec 2015, p.78]

Dragon Quest Heroes demonstrates that the Dynasty Warriors combat system can work in other universes and even manages to make some exciting improvements to the usual formula. The game’s story is likely to leave new players a little bored, but longtime fans of the franchise will have plenty of run-ins with old characters to trigger those nostalgic feels. Either way, there is a lot of fun to be had with this one.

By focusing on a smaller concentration of characters on-screen, it has a slightly more tactile, RPG feel. Combined with some inventive gameplay features and that charming Dragon Quest aesthetic, Heroes succeeds in creating its own identity. It may fall short of greatness yet serves as an ideal solution for those eagerly awaiting the series’ next mainline instalment.

If you are a fan of Dragon Quest, then really, this game is for you. There are areas that could be improved, and the lack of multiplayer will upset Musou fans, but Dragon Quest Heroes resurrects the series through a different style of game and tickles those nostalgic memories.

While the characters offer that variety, you’re not going to be playing Dragon Quest Heroes for the story, though. It’s a very generic “monsters are invading so let’s make friends and stop them” tale. So definitely don’t walk in expecting to be getting a game that’s anything more than focused on its gameplay.

Dragon Quest Heroes almost feels like a fully-fledged action RPG, but there's a few things holding it back from greatness. In the end though it still has its charms, alongside of a beautiful art style and a buttery smooth framerate. If you really dig Warriors games and can go at it solo, you'll likely enjoy it.

Charming, and with more to it than most Warriors, but not the Quest in show. [Dec 2015, p.80]

It offers plenty of foes to strike down with a wide variety of cool attacks, lots of classic characters, and enough ally and party micromanagement to maintain some sense of role-playing and strategy. But the story falls flat, the pacing is off, and above all else, the combat mechanic is inherently flawed.

The combat that makes up the majority of gameplay is fun but forgettable, and there's little else to keep you engaged unless you're sufficiently attached to the license.

Fantastic at capturing the charming spirit of the Dragon Quest series, but the repetition in its arena design cramps on its personality. Best played in short bursts.