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

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 254 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 172 out of 254
  2. Mixed: 43 out of 254
  3. Negative: 39 out of 254
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. ChaseWSanders
    Oct 15, 2015
    9
    If you are a Dragon Quest fan, it's a no brainer. I would recommend this game to anyone who is longing for Dragon Quest XI. I am a DQ fan, hence the 9.

    If you are a Dynasty Warriors fan, I would give this a 7.5-8. It has a lot of RPG elements that fans of the DW genre may not like. Still, my personal opinion is that this is the best DW like game to date. It's better than Hyrule Warriors    If you are a Dragon Quest fan, it's a no brainer. I would recommend this game to anyone who is longing for Dragon Quest XI. I am a DQ fan, hence the 9.

    If you are a Dynasty Warriors fan, I would give this a 7.5-8. It has a lot of RPG elements that fans of the DW genre may not like. Still, my personal opinion is that this is the best DW like game to date. It's better than Hyrule Warriors for sure.

    If you are a fan of Action RPGs, I would say rent it. You may just fall in love with it, and fall in love with Dragon Quest.

    If you don't like Dragon Quest, Dynasty Warriors, or Action RPGs...how did you even find out about this game? Regardless, give it a pass. You're probably Tom McShea from IGN.    … Expand
  2. xirruss
    Oct 13, 2015
    8
    Je ne suis pas un fan de la série,j'ai joué a un peut-être même deux dragon quest...mais celui ci a quelques choses de différents,beaucoup disent qu'il ressemble au dernier Zelda sur wiiu(que je n'ai vraiment pas apprécier)moi après quelques heures de jeu,je suis vraiment surpris,okay l'histoire est un peu ''childish'' ...mais tout ce passe dans le gameplay,les combat sont impressionnantJe ne suis pas un fan de la série,j'ai joué a un peut-être même deux dragon quest...mais celui ci a quelques choses de différents,beaucoup disent qu'il ressemble au dernier Zelda sur wiiu(que je n'ai vraiment pas apprécier)moi après quelques heures de jeu,je suis vraiment surpris,okay l'histoire est un peu ''childish'' ...mais tout ce passe dans le gameplay,les combat sont impressionnant les graphiques sont tres réssis grace a akira toriyama qui a déjà fais dragon balls et chrono trigger.Un très solide Jrpg enfin sur ps4… Expand
  3. Lucid_Gaming
    Oct 13, 2015
    10
    Runs beautifully and the artwork is amazing. It is a must have if you're a DQ fan, and if not i still would definitely recommend picking this game up.
  4. Kai82
    Jun 30, 2020
    8
    This is a spin off of Dragon Quest that can be best described as Dynasty Warriors or Kingdom Hearts in Dragon Quest style. It is an Action adventure with RPG elements. Storywise: The Kingdom of Arba enjoyed peace between man and monsters. When a dark menace appeared the whole world is in danger. This is the set up for the story. It is not that original but has some good ideas and twistsThis is a spin off of Dragon Quest that can be best described as Dynasty Warriors or Kingdom Hearts in Dragon Quest style. It is an Action adventure with RPG elements. Storywise: The Kingdom of Arba enjoyed peace between man and monsters. When a dark menace appeared the whole world is in danger. This is the set up for the story. It is not that original but has some good ideas and twists that keep you going. The battle system is as I said close to Dynasty Warriors or Kingdom Hearts. You have standard attacks and special moves at your disposal. The dodge ability is pretty useful and you should get used to it as soon as possible. You can of cause grind levels to overpower your enemies but it takes more effort than in other games later on. A nice feature is that during the game heroes from old Dragon Quest games join your party. It is a good fan service but also features different play styles. It is always possible to switch between your characters and encouraged to experiment with different party compositions. Another new feature is that you can summon monsters to your aid. If you defeat monsters you get sometimes monster medals. With them you can summon them to help you in battle or get an one time effect. There are of cause side quests and a crafting system that works with obtained loot. I must mention that the Dragon Quest series is closely related to Akira Toriyama who is most famous for Dragonball. He is responsible for the art style and character design including the enemies. The graphics and art style is really good but they go for an less realistic more anime style. This is a turn off for some but I like this style. The soundtrack is solid as ever. Overall a real enjoyable game even if I like the main Dragon Quest games better.… Expand
  5. The_BlueRose
    Mar 11, 2020
    7
    Musou clásico basado en el mundo de Dragon Quest.
    - Historia clásica del bien contra el mal
    - Buen diseño de personajes
  6. XxSkye07xX
    May 25, 2018
    4
    I bought this game having loved Dragon Quest VIII as a child. I was very disappointed however as I found out it was nothing like the fun memories I had playing DQ8.

    I went into this game hyped and ready for a fun filled JRPG, but found myself bored and irritated doing the same thing over and over again. The first hour of this game I was holding onto hope that it would pick up, but after    I bought this game having loved Dragon Quest VIII as a child. I was very disappointed however as I found out it was nothing like the fun memories I had playing DQ8.

    I went into this game hyped and ready for a fun filled JRPG, but found myself bored and irritated doing the same thing over and over again. The first hour of this game I was holding onto hope that it would pick up, but after 2 hours I realized the game would be nothing more than "go and fight these monsters", "return to base and get some supplies", "go and fight these monsters", "return to base and get some supplies" etc, etc, etc.

    I held on, hoping the story would at least be decent. Unfortunately I can't really give any good points for the story either. It was extremely basic, clichéd and boring. The characters (obviously being from previous DQ games) gave the game a slight uplift, however again, they didn't contribute to anything else apart from "oh it's them from..." due to the story being so terrible.

    Not being a huge fan of Japanese dubbed games, I usually choose English dub. The English voice acting in this game was noticeably bad. I don't usually pick up on bad voice acting, but I can assure you it's uncomfortable in DQH.

    The frustrating difficulty spikes got pathetic. The game was either far too easy or far too difficult. Trying to defend someone with barely any health against 400+ enemies is just downright silly. There was no variation in missions either, it ranged from defeating monsters/clearing the map, escorting, defending a certain person/object and that's it.

    Being a completionist, I persevered and got the platinum trophy. Far too much grinding (even for a JRPG) BORING grinding made it even worse. The trophies themselves were basic and didn't have a huge variety of play styles, most of it is grinding, grinding, grinding.

    The mechanics themselves worked well, but the repeated hack and slash got (again) boring after the first 15 hours.

    All in all, a very disappointing game and one in which you will not get much enjoyment.

    Pros:

    Graphically, it looked very nice
    A good choice/range of characters to choose from

    Cons:

    Repetitive
    Lacking in a good story
    Voice acting was abysmal
    Too basic
    Frustrating difficulty spikes/unrealistic missions
    Boring platinum    … Expand
  7. Darkresurrect
    Oct 17, 2015
    10
    This games is amazing, anyone with the likes for dragon ball & final fantasy looks and the gameplay of the final dynasty warriors games will have a great time playing it. The game has beautiful graphics, nice well implemented JRPG mechanics and it "repetitive" it's nothing but grinding for leveling up your characters and use your new abilities earned with skill points. I don't know aboutThis games is amazing, anyone with the likes for dragon ball & final fantasy looks and the gameplay of the final dynasty warriors games will have a great time playing it. The game has beautiful graphics, nice well implemented JRPG mechanics and it "repetitive" it's nothing but grinding for leveling up your characters and use your new abilities earned with skill points. I don't know about the stupid complaining people about the lack of online multiplayer, every game in this new gen gets a big turn down thanks to the concentration of developers of focusing only on the stupid counter part of the multiplayer. I love old school games that are better only whit the great single story not pointless games like **** a pointless grinding fps with a terrible bad story, the point is grinding with friends through a pessimist story for brag about who gets the best gear in it's online play only f***g nature. Come on guys we need more old school games back with online features for DLC and events, but for multiplayer it's not always the need.… Expand
  8. oathkeepings
    Oct 22, 2015
    8
    Originally, I wasn't interested in getting this game. I wasn't really trying to invest in another Dynasty Warriors-esque game with a beloved game as the skin. But, one day I decided to drop by my local game store and try out the demo, and ended up changing my mind.

    Yes, this game is exactly what any Dynasty Warriors game could provide to you. Very similar to Hyrule Warriors in concept.    Originally, I wasn't interested in getting this game. I wasn't really trying to invest in another Dynasty Warriors-esque game with a beloved game as the skin. But, one day I decided to drop by my local game store and try out the demo, and ended up changing my mind.

    Yes, this game is exactly what any Dynasty Warriors game could provide to you. Very similar to Hyrule Warriors in concept. BUT, the story and gorgeous graphics swayed me into giving this game a fighting chance, and I don't regret the decision to buy it. Do I think it's worth $60? Not exactly. I'd probably rather purchase it at $45-50, but being the Square Enix fangirl I am, I gave them my money. So if your hesitant on buying, buy it used so you can return it, or wait until it goes on sale. I personally don't think any game that's extremely similar to another should be full price, but as I said earlier, I gave it a go anyway.

    The voice acting is pretty good, it's graphically beautiful to look at, and it has some unique combat perks in it that make it fresh and interesting. My advice though, is at the beginning when you're choosing your settings, turn off the auto-lock. It's really annoying and makes it hard to move around the map when fighting bosses. The music is really great and yeah, overall this game is definitely great, just not really worth the $60 price tag in my opinion.

    Everyone should probably stop complaining that it's exactly like Dynasty Warriors. That was the objective. People should really do their research before they buy games.~

    SIDENOTE: I see people complaining about frame-rate... I got my game on launch and it's been completely fluid for me. I've never had it lag once, so I'm not sure what these other people are on about.    … Expand
  9. Schm2616
    Oct 26, 2015
    9
    Games does exactly what its supposed to.. Kills monsters!

    Limited Character development- But their are a ton of characters to choose develop so it evens out. My only real complaint is the wait time in the menu's (shops, healers quests etc). They look artificially created and long when you need to fill 8-9 healing gems. Overall, its a pretty good game, story is ok, but the gameplay    Games does exactly what its supposed to.. Kills monsters!

    Limited Character development- But their are a ton of characters to choose develop so it evens out.

    My only real complaint is the wait time in the menu's (shops, healers quests etc). They look artificially created and long when you need to fill 8-9 healing gems.

    Overall, its a pretty good game, story is ok, but the gameplay is top notch    … Expand
  10. Zhon
    Oct 29, 2015
    9
    The game is good, with amazing visual and sound, good old musou, but lacks multiplayer. A must-have for DQ fans, a nice piece for ps4 owners and a wonderful warm-up for DQ XI.
  11. StratoCut
    Oct 13, 2015
    9
    Beautiful art, 60fps all the time !!!! I don't like Dynasty Warrios but this game it's great, music 10, cant wait for DH2 and DQXI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!M
  12. sigmaklin
    Oct 15, 2015
    10
    Dragon Quest Heroes is a game that's far better than the Dynasty Warriors Franchise. Colorful Art Style, Variety of Enemies, and great music. Definitely recommend it.
  13. Teh_Beavs
    Oct 17, 2015
    9
    Awesome, if you enjoy Dynasty type hack and slash games and/or RPG's this is perfect for you. With elements from both genre's it makes a really rewarding experience. Good variety of enemy types and game mechanics it can keep you entertained. I am not a Dragon Quest fan just somehow missed out on them, even with not having the backstory of these characters it still makes for a great gameAwesome, if you enjoy Dynasty type hack and slash games and/or RPG's this is perfect for you. With elements from both genre's it makes a really rewarding experience. Good variety of enemy types and game mechanics it can keep you entertained. I am not a Dragon Quest fan just somehow missed out on them, even with not having the backstory of these characters it still makes for a great game and easy to follow story. Combat may seem simple at first but switching between characters on the fly and throwing out abilities keeps it fresh and allows more depth as you learn each characters moves. Highly recommend not missing out on this title!… Expand
  14. 2Way5ontheHop
    Oct 16, 2015
    9
    I have put about 20% into this game and feel it is fun. The graphics are great and I have had 0 frame issues. The story is a little lame, but it doesn't hurt the game itself. It reminds me of a childish Diablo III, with a mix of Dragon Quest and Dragon Warrior. I am not disappointed that I bought this game for 60.
  15. ryuzaki57
    Oct 18, 2015
    8
    Welcome home. Those are the words the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Asia addressed to Yuji Horii when unveiling Dragon Quest Heroes. There had indeed been nearly 10 years without a Dragon Quest title on a Playstation system. After a smashing success in Japan where it shipped 1 million copies, this action spin-off of the famous RPG franchise comes to the West only of PS4. GoodWelcome home. Those are the words the president of Sony Computer Entertainment Asia addressed to Yuji Horii when unveiling Dragon Quest Heroes. There had indeed been nearly 10 years without a Dragon Quest title on a Playstation system. After a smashing success in Japan where it shipped 1 million copies, this action spin-off of the famous RPG franchise comes to the West only of PS4. Good thing since that's the one I'll tell you about.

    The now well-known studio Omega Force being in charge, it is a Musô-like game (like a Samurai Warriors) which is delivered to us. You thus have in hands an action-RPG like any other, where you'll level-up, learn skills, create accessories and do side-quests to get stronger. Combat is in real-time and each character has 3 or 4 combos with various combinations of square and triangle. It's kinda too few, but there are also 4 magic spells that you can activate quickly with L1, and a highly destructive super-attack you can unleash when your fury gauge is filled. Magic and physical attacks can be linked in seamless fashion so that control can be mastered in no time. Only drawback : dodging is set on R2, which not as convenient as circle (used in God Eater for example).

    But KoeiTecmo and SquareEnix haven't merely copied the Musô formula with a Dragon Quest skin. The game system is different. In Dragon Quest Heroes, you'll be very often defending a location or a NPC as monsters come from everywhere. You have to cover all sides at the same time : before you can clean one part of the frontline, monsters will alread been rushing on another side. In order to complete those missions, you'll be able to rely on ally monsters (that you acquire by picking up medals) and place them at strategic locations to have them hold the ground for you. There are dozens of them, actually the entire bestiary of the series! The game is pretty easy in its first half so that's a bit disappointing, and the enemy troops are always not as massive as in Samurai Warriors. That said, the challenge makes more sense in the late stages of the story, where stronger fiends make battles really fierce. Let's stress that some free DLCs in Japan throws you against insane opponents. The big letdown is the lack of multiplayer, despite it being traditionally a huge added-value of “Warriors” games.

    Before being an action game, this new SquareEnix title is a Dragon Quest, a true and pure one. Of course, you can play as legendary characters such as Alina and Manya from Dragon Quest IV, Jessica and Yangus from Dragon Quest VIII, Bianca and Flora from Dragon Quest V. 13 in total in you include the main characters created for this game. Both have a personality and fit in the Dragon Quest universe very well. Against you march numerous classic enemies of the series, like Slimes and Killer Machines. Not to mention gigantic statues and dragons which are impressive bosses.

    This title is a true rejuvenating experience because the it sticks to the Dragon Quest universe from back to front. Music, sounds and even the icons during the dialogs are the same as years ago! In the Japanese version, even the writing style is taken from former episodes, that is to say few kanjis and spaces between the words (which is traditionally implemented in games aimed at kids, like Pokemon). In the same way, dialogs are easy-going but keep to comic tone of the series, though it prevents the story to be surprising in whichever way.

    While you do feel nostalgic by playing it, it doesn't mean Dragon Quest Heroes is not modern. True, it's not the most complex PS4 game graphically speaking but it remains visually stunning. That's not for the character/background modeling, average for the system, but for the incredible flurry of sparkling colors, especially of magic and skills. Animation is of great quality too, as the rapid frame rate never drops. There are also lots of tiny animation details like when the characters are stun or exhaust the magic that make it a whole new Dragon Quest experience. The numerous cut-scenes are beautiful and extremely well directed, like in pretty much every SquareEnix title. The last artistic feature is the small blurry effect that occurs when you beat a boss, which is truly exciting for people like me who love to use their Share button.

    Dragon Quest's return on Playstation is a definitive success with that PS4 episode. It reunites both the old and the new and can appeal to any Japanese gaming fan. A fun and exciting game so fully Dragon Quest that it gives shivers of nostalgia.    … Expand
  16. psvitaqueen
    Oct 15, 2015
    7
    By far the best game that Omega Force has made. I'm very pleased by the character animation and character moves in this game, a step up from Omega Force's previous games. It's not the best DQ game but it's good enough to own and play.
  17. Gamingking007
    Nov 5, 2015
    10
    Awesome fun game !!! Full of adventure and the story is pretty cool! Gameplay is aweome especially with the massive hordes! Great graphics too!! Thanks Square!!! Loved It!
  18. Locke_VI
    Oct 31, 2015
    8
    If you are looking for classic Dynasty Warriors style, this ain't it. But if it could be described as an "introductory version" as it it overlays the basic elements with the colourful and amusing Dragon Quest world. The main story line would be comparable to what we got with Hyrule Warriors, but it lacks the adventure maps of the latter game while going back to previously defeatedIf you are looking for classic Dynasty Warriors style, this ain't it. But if it could be described as an "introductory version" as it it overlays the basic elements with the colourful and amusing Dragon Quest world. The main story line would be comparable to what we got with Hyrule Warriors, but it lacks the adventure maps of the latter game while going back to previously defeated maps is... lacking. Instead of replaying the missions, you merely get fields of monsters to pointlessly grind out for items and levels. While that was disappointing, the overall style and story still leaves this as a solid game.… Expand
  19. Tridus
    Nov 4, 2015
    7
    I had a lot of fun playing this game, but it was despite a number of issues with it. The good news is that the combat itself works well. The diverse monster cast from Dragon Quest mixes things up quite a lot. The antagonist is pretty fun, and there's some witty jokes in the writing. Performance was as great as you'd expect on the PS4, and animations are smooth.

    The bad news is that the    I had a lot of fun playing this game, but it was despite a number of issues with it. The good news is that the combat itself works well. The diverse monster cast from Dragon Quest mixes things up quite a lot. The antagonist is pretty fun, and there's some witty jokes in the writing. Performance was as great as you'd expect on the PS4, and animations are smooth.

    The bad news is that the overall story is pretty basic and easily predictable. With such a large cast, many characters get very little screen time and unless you know them from their respective Dragon Quest game, you'd never have any particular reason to care who they are. Some are much more combat effective than others, and the ones you don't use fall behind in levels gradually, making it even harder to try them out later.

    Also, the lack of multiplayer is a clearly glaring omission. There's only a few variants in terns of mission types, and you'll see them quite a lot. Some of the maps are quite small, as well.

    I can forgive all of that stuff because I was having fun, and I do hope they bring the sequel over. I also hope they take the opportunity to improve some of the shortcomings.    … Expand
  20. RandomName1234
    Oct 19, 2015
    7
    My biggest issue with the game is the lack of variety in mission objectives and the horrendously claustrophobic field of view. Other wise the action is fun and the characters (abilities) are fun. Terrible story and clunky outpost.
  21. Mr_Anderson
    Oct 19, 2015
    10
    As usual, the red reviews are jealous Xboners who can't play. This game is awesome if you own a PS4 - If you own a Xbox well, what can I say, you're an idiot. You illogically can't let go of your inferior system simply because... why again? and resort to coming on to Metacritic in a lame attempt to spread your misery to others. Tsk tsk. I pity you.

    This game is awesome, if you have a    As usual, the red reviews are jealous Xboners who can't play. This game is awesome if you own a PS4 - If you own a Xbox well, what can I say, you're an idiot. You illogically can't let go of your inferior system simply because... why again? and resort to coming on to Metacritic in a lame attempt to spread your misery to others. Tsk tsk. I pity you.

    This game is awesome, if you have a PS4! However, I can definitely see why it would suck if you don't... all that salt in the wound is really starting to add up.    … Expand
  22. WeekBoxDone900p
    Oct 15, 2015
    10
    I love this game, there is so much to do and being able to capture and use monster minions like pokemon is amazing. I love the Classic Square Enix JRPG-feel of DQH with all the sidequest and leveling up. this game is soo much better than Hyrule Warriors and Dynsty Warriors.
  23. wesker2012
    Jul 26, 2016
    6
    It's a shame the overall game's objective is so repetitive, because there is a lot to like in this game. The presentation is top notch with great voice acting and great visuals. The characters are also lovable. I didn't mind the story as it was light hearted and relaxing to watch. The enemy design is awesome. The gameplay is also fun and strategic. The problem is you are pretty muchIt's a shame the overall game's objective is so repetitive, because there is a lot to like in this game. The presentation is top notch with great voice acting and great visuals. The characters are also lovable. I didn't mind the story as it was light hearted and relaxing to watch. The enemy design is awesome. The gameplay is also fun and strategic. The problem is you are pretty much doing the same thing every single mission. This is also a very long game, so the burnout rate is high. If this game was more condensed, I would have given the game at least an 8.… Expand
  24. makonasaber
    Nov 30, 2015
    1
    Story was boring. Gameplay is repitition. There are no towns or fields which you can roam freely as everywhere is battlefield. The only npc is the one in the airship. If only there are towns without monsters in it which we can explore, enter houses, and interact with the npc, the game will be much better. Soundtrack is repetitive. Worst game I've played since final fantasy 13.
  25. CyrusDeacon
    Oct 13, 2015
    0
    This is one of the worst games I have ever played. There was no thought put into this game. Its extremely easy. Story line could have been written by a 9 year old. Most of the game is not voice acted. The characters feel dead. The battle is just a two button masher. There are little to no choices as in game is completely linear. Not a single complex or complicated thing about the game. IfThis is one of the worst games I have ever played. There was no thought put into this game. Its extremely easy. Story line could have been written by a 9 year old. Most of the game is not voice acted. The characters feel dead. The battle is just a two button masher. There are little to no choices as in game is completely linear. Not a single complex or complicated thing about the game. If you were completely stoned out of your mind this game wouldn't even be bearable. DO NOT be fooled by the positive reviews. This is the simplest and easiest game I have ever played.… Expand
  26. powerpanda312
    Oct 13, 2015
    3
    The sheer absence of multiplayer in a game like this ruins it for me. Even Hyrule warriors at least (although with a lot of struggle) gave the option of local multiplayer. This is fun, but something that without other people has limited entertainment value for me. Completely ignoring not only online but also offline co op is utterly absurd.
  27. Wanderlei
    Oct 13, 2015
    0
    This game is terrible. The frame-rate is below 30 and has constant stutters. The draw distance is awful with enemies and objects warping in. Uninspired and unimaginative missions and objectives. A cheap cash off DQ fans. Save yourself money and pick up any Dynasty Warriors game second hand for a superior experience. Forget this trash.
  28. Steyraus
    Aug 20, 2020
    8
    A very cool MUSO take on the Dragon Quest games, never even though of this and it gels so well. The frame rate and visuals are stunning, 60 FPS makes all the difference. Game play is like most MUSO games where you mangge your battle with sword swinging mayhem.
  29. Deependra
    Nov 23, 2015
    10
    This game is worth every penny! Challenging, good story, nice effects, and also got very smooth, well balanced characters. The skills are amazingly distributed which is suiting respective characters according to their class.
    I will highly recommend people to get their hands on this game
    Since it is simply entertaining :)
  30. Viscari
    Oct 26, 2015
    4
    If you know anything about Dynasty Warriors games, the battles are big... lots of enemies, and a surprisingly large number of combo's.

    This has none of that.... It has small scale 5 minute battles in tiny area's that would be more fitting on a handheld device... Avoid unless you are more of a Dragon Quest fan than a Dynasty fan. There is basically only one worthwhile combo... for    If you know anything about Dynasty Warriors games, the battles are big... lots of enemies, and a surprisingly large number of combo's.

    This has none of that.... It has small scale 5 minute battles in tiny area's that would be more fitting on a handheld device... Avoid unless you are more of a Dragon Quest fan than a Dynasty fan.

    There is basically only one worthwhile combo... for each character...

    At the games start you choose 1 of 2 heroes... then later in the game you grow the number of party members.... Of which you can use 4 at a time, and switch between them in battle... None can be the main character other than the one you choose at the start.    … Expand
  31. Brent_Marchant
    Nov 20, 2015
    8
    An entertaining, informative biopic about an exceptionally talented screenwriter blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s. The film features a dynamite, award-worthy lead performance by Bryan Cranston, as well as terrific supporting portrayals by John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Michael Stuhlbarg and a host of other players depicting legendary Hollywood icons. Ironically, though, theAn entertaining, informative biopic about an exceptionally talented screenwriter blacklisted during the Red Scare of the 1950s. The film features a dynamite, award-worthy lead performance by Bryan Cranston, as well as terrific supporting portrayals by John Goodman, Helen Mirren, Michael Stuhlbarg and a host of other players depicting legendary Hollywood icons. Ironically, though, the film's script leaves something to be desired at times (especially in the first hour), but its many other fine attributes help to cover this shortcoming well. A sumptuous cinematic feast with an important reminder of how important it is to protect our fundamental civic rights and values.… Expand
  32. bakamonky
    Oct 26, 2015
    4
    First off let me say that I am a fan of Dynasty Warriors & Samurai Warriors series since it's inception and has pretty much played all of them. After reading how review is saying Dragon Quest is doing things different from DW with merit, I bought the game and much to my disappointment it is nothing comparable to DW or SW.

    I never really played any of these game for stories but the    First off let me say that I am a fan of Dynasty Warriors & Samurai Warriors series since it's inception and has pretty much played all of them. After reading how review is saying Dragon Quest is doing things different from DW with merit, I bought the game and much to my disappointment it is nothing comparable to DW or SW.

    I never really played any of these game for stories but the progression of seeing how each character level up with better combo and clearing abilities is surely one of the satisfaction from playing these game. If story is what you are looking for in DQ then sorry, it's really just boring and nothing imaginative nor anything would make you care for any of those characters in the game.

    Game play wise it is where the huge let down begin, I am almost 4 hours into the game and I cannot bring myself to play anymore of it. The AI is seriously dumb, I get that fodder are dumb but I mean they just stand there and do nothing at all. However there are those "boss" AI which is horribly overpowering at some stages that could kill you in a few swipes. So you are either stuck with annoyingly dumb AI or annoyingly overpowering AI.

    Character choices at the moment I have gone into almost 8 of them and honestly none of their skill set are even enjoyable. Even leveling them up doesn't unlock longer combo or powerful chain like DW which you will probably be stuck with doing the same moves over and over again which is just horrible. I am not sure if you would need to invest even more time but it just gotten to a point of painful to play which I have never experience with DW/SW.

    I know I shouldn't be comparing to DW/SW but seeing how review are all saying it is much better than them is just not true. Sure it does add some feature which DW doesn't have but it really doesn't make the game pay more enjoyable. Collect monster coins to deploy them??Doesn't make any different.

    Overall just avoid this game if you are thinking it is anything like DW. Play One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 instead, now this is ten times more enjoyable!    … Expand
  33. Ensigned
    Dec 4, 2015
    10
    There is no question I have been disappionted in the PS4 this generation. So few quality games. And then, there is Dragon Quest Heroes. Best reason to own a PS4 a right here.
  34. wathan00
    Dec 27, 2015
    4
    First off, this game is not worth the full price, it is at best a 20$ game. It is only "Dragon Quest" by name, the game removes many elements of a traditional RPG game.

    1. Combat: The game is no longer turn-based. The hack and slash action seem fun and refreshing the first 30 minutes; after that it's just mindless button smashing. There is very little depth or strategy. The AI    First off, this game is not worth the full price, it is at best a 20$ game. It is only "Dragon Quest" by name, the game removes many elements of a traditional RPG game.

    1. Combat: The game is no longer turn-based. The hack and slash action seem fun and refreshing the first 30 minutes; after that it's just mindless button smashing. There is very little depth or strategy. The AI is horrible for both your parties and the enemies. Most of the time, your allies and enemies are just standing around doing nothing. Graphic (while charming) and frame are sub-par. The skill system is laughable. Each characters has 4 active skills, leveling up don't give you more powerful skills or combos, just stupid passives like +5 to strength or increase defense when low hp. Frankly, it does not matter what characters you use or what party formation, just spam X or Triangle.

    2. Story: The story is cliche, nonsensical, and down right childish. Maybe that is part of the charm, but the biggest offender is that there is no longer a sense of adventure/exploration. Basically, you have your one and only town (the airship) early on, and for the entire game, you just jump from mini dungeons to mini dungeons either killing stuff on defending something. Calling this game an RPG is borderline criminal.

    3. Quest/Side Quests: Quests are repetitive and uninspiring. Like I said before, the game is just a series of mini-dungeons, and in each, you either have to kill all monsters or defend something by killing all monsters. The side quests are the same but adds in the option to collect some item by killing monsters.

    4. Characters: They are cliche with very little character development. I personally don't care for any of them. As matter of fact, you could remove them entirely from the game and it would not affect the story line at all. They are just there to fill spaces and give you the illusion of a party.

    5. Miscellaneous : The user interface is horrible. You can't sell buy/multiple items at once. You have to listen to the merchants repeating the same freaking lines every time you try to do something. Everything is just slow and cumbersome designed to artificially inflate play time. Not everything is voiced, you have to listen to NPC grunt and make weird noises every time you try to talk to them. And there is no option for fast dialog box or the option to disable sounds from the Controller (what a way to drain the battery).    … Expand
  35. tomvs123
    Dec 17, 2016
    6
    Old-school DQ fan here (1-4). DQ 8 on PS2 was good too, but I never played the others. This game has three things going for it:

    1. Dynasty warriors-type fighting. 2. Dragon Quest Nostalgia / fan service. 3. High production value. The game play consists of a series of about 10 different maps where you fight hordes of weak enemies with your overpowered DQ heroes (just like Dynasty    Old-school DQ fan here (1-4). DQ 8 on PS2 was good too, but I never played the others. This game has three things going for it:

    1. Dynasty warriors-type fighting.
    2. Dragon Quest Nostalgia / fan service.
    3. High production value.

    The game play consists of a series of about 10 different maps where you fight hordes of weak enemies with your overpowered DQ heroes (just like Dynasty Warriors). There's three different objectives depending on the map and scenario:

    1. Kill everything
    2. Kill the boss
    3. Protect a target

    The story is very basic: DQ heroes are pulled in from other dimensions and you must kill the bad guy (along with his hordes of monsters). There's quite a bit of "power of friendship" thrown in as well. So if you like good, mature, thought-provoking stories, this is not the game for you. Though if you don't mind cartoons aimed at 8-12 year olds, or could care less about the story, then you should be fine with this one.

    More about the combat: It's very good and there's a wide variety of skill types and characters to choose from. Characters have weak and strong attacks that can be done in different sequences to perform different types of attacks. Characters also have 3 magic attacks and 1 support skill, all of which are useful, satisfying to use, and different per character (for the most part). After you hit enough stuff, each character also has a powerful special skill, which normally clears the entire screen.

    Blocking is done amazingly in this game. As long as you're holding down the block button before something hits you, you will block it, even if you're in an attack animation. Other games should take note (those games where you can't block until your attack animation is done).

    But for the most part, it's a monster cleaning game. You hit these cute monsters over and over and over until you can use your special skill to clear the room/area. Then you move on to the next area.

    The game is very easy for an experienced action gamer. It's rare you'll die or fail an objective until you get one specific quest (pre-end), or get to the post-game content.

    I played about 35 hours in total, beat the game and did a few post-game levels (where I died repeatedly for the most part). I didn't feel like grinding for levels and better items, so I moved on to the next game.

    Not a bad game at all. Just know what you're getting in to. The combat is fun, but it's very repetitive and has a juvenile / "power of friendship" story.

    At least your kids will like it. My 4 year old is pretty good at it :)    … Expand
  36. ppm1300
    Apr 2, 2016
    0
    Lo compre esperando un buen RPG, pero es repetitivo, aburrido y muy infantil, los monstruos dan risa y no hay nada de dificultad......no recomendable.
  37. Maxreviews420
    May 13, 2016
    2
    This game does run smoothly but honestly the dialogue is terrible and your more likely to cringe away from this game than actually complete it and the combat is WAY to easy they could have made this harder but no seriously the difficulty is for like a 6 year old and that was on Normal All in all this is a terrible game so don't buy it
  38. pypes
    Jun 4, 2017
    2
    10 minutes worth of game-play stretched out to 20+ hours. Reflects so badly on both dragon quest and dynasty warriors that I can;t honestly decide which group of fans this was intended for.
  39. Kaprawiec
    Mar 2, 2016
    7
    Nice graphics, mechanics but a bit boring, and worst of all - story is .... just bad. No. Its awfull. HORRIBLE. It may be ok if Youre 10 years old max. But then again...Im not so sure about that either... I just felt bad that I actually finished this game... this amount of time wasted... I write this down to remember to never do that again with DQ franchise.
  40. Amleida
    Aug 19, 2021
    6
    DQ Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is a decently entertaining, hack and slash game that left me mildly unimpressed after playing through it. Beyond it's quite basic and unspectacular combat mechanics, charming character and world design that we've come to expect from the developer, the game is absolutely riddled with clichés and an uninspired story. Maybe I have highDQ Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is a decently entertaining, hack and slash game that left me mildly unimpressed after playing through it. Beyond it's quite basic and unspectacular combat mechanics, charming character and world design that we've come to expect from the developer, the game is absolutely riddled with clichés and an uninspired story. Maybe I have high standards when it comes to writing and story, but the writers really let me down with the story and dialogue in this game. It's some of the worst, most predictable writing I've seen anywhere over the past decade, and I think I can safely sum it up as "light vs dark, good vs evil, the power of friendship conquers all". without being afraid of spoiling anything, while actually spoiling the entire story.

    DQ Heroes isn't bad, but I can't imagine someone who's not already a massive fan of the Dragon Quest series would thoroughly enjoy this game, and based on how shallow the story and characters are in their presentation, I can't imagine the developer had high ambitions for it either. The game is simple and effective in what it does, but I can't help but suspect that they cut corners in the process of getting the game out on the shelves, as the final product is, in my opinion, quite embarrassing for a DQ title. I wouldn't personally recommend this game to a Musou/Dynasty Warriors fan, as the combat in this game is more slow paced and limited overall, compared to other Musou titles, but if you're desperate for a very basic version of that type of game - then this might not be the worst alternative out there.    … Expand
  41. WiserCarli
    May 11, 2016
    9
    Juego al que le sacaras partido solo si te gustan o bien los dinasty warriors y juegos del genero musou o eres amante de la saga dragon quest, si perteneces a uno de esos grupos el juego te encantara ya que este es un juego enfocado para ese tipo de publico reducido, sino perteneces a este grupo probablemente el juego te parezca aburrido ya que el juego va de matar hordas de enemigos de laJuego al que le sacaras partido solo si te gustan o bien los dinasty warriors y juegos del genero musou o eres amante de la saga dragon quest, si perteneces a uno de esos grupos el juego te encantara ya que este es un juego enfocado para ese tipo de publico reducido, sino perteneces a este grupo probablemente el juego te parezca aburrido ya que el juego va de matar hordas de enemigos de la saga quest por cada pantalla. Es un juego precioso y muy entretenido que puedes sacarla un monton de horas si sabes exprimirlo bien… Expand
  42. nicolas_sky
    Nov 30, 2016
    8
    WiiU tiene a Hyrule Warriors, y Playstation 4 tiene a Dragon Quest Heroes. Este ultimo es un excelente musou muy divertido, con una excelente jugabilidad, varios personajes extraidos de diferentes juegos del universo Dragon Quest, ademas que cuenta con graficos excelentes. Dragon Quest Heroes es muy recomendable.
  43. Broyax
    Feb 17, 2023
    0
    Mouais, c’est le paquet de merde très habituel de chez Koei Tecmo mais ici arrangé à la sauce Dragon Quest… à savoir donc du « Dynasty Warriors » avec les **** personnages très enfantins et très ‘dessin animé’ des Dragon Quest contemporains de l’étron ci-présent.

    Il s’agit soit dit en passant d’une exclu plaiestassionkat’ (à part le pécé bien sûr) et franchement, ils auraient pu se la    Mouais, c’est le paquet de merde très habituel de chez Koei Tecmo mais ici arrangé à la sauce Dragon Quest… à savoir donc du « Dynasty Warriors » avec les **** personnages très enfantins et très ‘dessin animé’ des Dragon Quest contemporains de l’étron ci-présent.

    Il s’agit soit dit en passant d’une exclu plaiestassionkat’ (à part le pécé bien sûr) et franchement, ils auraient pu se la garder ou la refiler à Nintendaube… ou se la mettre au cul. Comme d’habitude, c’est très bête, sans doute cependant encore plus bête que d’habitude (en raison de la niaiserie inhérente au monde Dragon Quest, bien évidemment) mais c’est également vite rasoir et répétitif.

    Notons qu’un mode ‘simplifié’ évite de devoir faire des combos (très cons de toute façon) et que ça se joue très facilement… En outre, le jeu reste assez joli et très coloré malgré tous ces monstres idiots et/ou grotesques… mais tout cela est gâché (au cas où l’on consentirait à débrancher sa cervelle pour décimer des armées entières de monstres plus ou moins ridicules…), oui tout cela est gâché par des ralentissements et des saccades très désagréables…!

    En effet, le jeu est incapable de tenir la cadence des 60 im/s sur la PS4 de base et même en baissant la résolution jusqu’au 720p, ça continue de ramer… et aucun mode 30 im/s n’est disponible pour palier à ce grave problème d’affichage. Dans ces conditions particulièrement regrettables, impossible de poursuivre cette aventure de pacotille : il faut désinstaller et découper le cd en **** morceaux. Notez qu’il est très résistant : ça peut prendre du temps. Même là, il continue de nous faire chier, ce jeu de merde ! je l’ai abandonné à la poubelle, elle se débrouillera avec !    … Expand
  44. Tiziown
    May 22, 2021
    9
    The best musou i've ever played, great gameplay with RPG features, great characters to use and enemies to defeat and overall a really solid game.

Awards & Rankings

78
#78 Best PS4 Game of 2015
72
#72 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2015
28
#28 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 75 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 75
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 75
  3. Negative: 2 out of 75
  1. CD-Action
    Jan 12, 2016
    80
    Dragon Quest meets Dynasty Warriors and provides dozens of hours of fun (one dozen less would have been beneficial though), tons of side quests, all Japanese DLCs and plenty of special attacks to discover. If you’re looking for a Japanese action RPG and you’re not allergic to Warriors, you should give Dragon Quest Heroes a chance. [13/2015, p.54]
  2. Pelit (Finland)
    Jan 4, 2016
    84
    Simple and fast-paced tactical combat game, with heavy influences from the Dynasty Warriors series. Dragon Quest fans should feel right at home here. [Dec 2015]
  3. Gamers' Temple
    Dec 22, 2015
    80
    Dragon Quest Heroes isn't the best game of the holiday season, but it sure manages to carve out a nice niche for itself.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »