Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Dragon Quest Monsters Le Prince des Ombres will bring back memories for fans of Dragon Quest IV, and will be convincing for fans of the license or of J-RPGs. However, it may also hold back the arrival of new players, as its technical aspects may pose a problem, despite a really advanced synthesis system, an excellent soundtrack and good ideas such as the season system. In the end, the best way to find out whether it's for you or not is to play the demo.

By rigidly following Dragon Quest traditions, we end up with flat, cartoonish characters who inhabit a repetitive, cyclical world. But The Dark Prince plays to its strengths to deliver a solid RPG experience with a cozy narrative seasoned by a long list of charismatic creatures and entertaining dungeons.

Dragon Quest Monster The Dark Prince does very little to differentiate itself from the great number of similar games on the market, and still does everything right if you look at its bestiary and its gameplay loop. Therefore, it can be recommended to anyone looking for a good (but no great) monster catching RPG.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is fun enough to give frustrated Pokémon fans a solid alternative.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is a flawed yet successful entry in the sub-genre and even if it doesn't evolve the formula too much, it still retains the charm and the addictive loop we were looking for.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is a mixed bag. On the one hand, it has the best mechanics and combat the Dragon Quest series has ever seen, with the monster-focused gameplay loop providing endless fun. On the other hand, overcommitment to the silent protagonist trope and shocking performance issues drag the experience down significantly. Although held back by dated hardware and dated design choices, The Dark Prince is one worth courting.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince from developer Armor Project brings an enjoyable monster collecting and fighting gameplay blueprint to the Dragon Quest world, but falls short in its shallow narrative and humdrum visuals.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince forgoes complexity in favor of creating an accessible and enjoyable gaming experience. The basic story and one dimensional NPCs could be a turn off for those looking for a story-rich RPG, as those seeking a grand story with a complex battle system won’t find them here. Capturing and synthesizing new monsters, however, is a simple pleasure that can easily generate dozens of hours worth of enjoyment from this title. Fans of Dragon Quest IV will likely be sold on seeing an origin story for Psaro and revisiting the world of Dragon Quest IV from an alternative perspective. As a fan of Dragon Quest it was easy to overlook the shortcomings and just enjoy monster wrangling, but those less invested in Dragon Quest may be less forgiving with the basic plot and simple gameplay.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is an interesting choice for Pokémon fans, but not live up the Dragon Quest Joker hype.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is an enjoyable monster-catching RPG that combines charming visuals with addictive gameplay to make for a genuinely gripping experience, making it feel like the long wait since the last entry to leave Japan has been worth it. Even so, its general lack of ambition and struggles with performance issues hold it back from greatness—it’s very good, but it’s also definitely got its issues. If you’re at all a fan of Dragon Quest or monster-catching RPGs, we’d suggest you pick this one up, though perhaps wait a few months to see if Square can sort out the worst of its performance issues.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince offers a mixed gaming experience. As someone who likes to collect monsters the breeding system caught my attention and it’s fun to catch and collect all the different monsters. However, the game falls short in terms of narrative depth, sporting outdated graphics and encountering performance issues. So I only recommend it to fans of the series and hope they improve their character writing and the overall game performance for the next title.

Square Enix brings us a spin-off of Dragon Quest that reminds us of Pokémon, but with its own style and mechanics, such as monster fusion and seasonal changes. The exploration and the variety of maps are its strong points, but it suffers from technical issues, such as framerate drops and pop-in, and a lack of originality in some of the monster designs.

Years after the release of the previous iteration of the Monsters genre, The Dark Prince had the opportunity to modernize the historic playful formula of the spin-off and ferry it towards still unexplored lands. Despite the predictions, however, the development team seems to have almost completely given up on the idea of renewing the monster recruitment mechanics and above all the product's combat system, which appears tired and dated. Leaving aside the uncertainties of the performances, which we hope will be circumvented as soon as possible with a corrective patch, the bitterest pills are represented by the choice to make Psaro a silent protagonist and by a hasty screenplay, which in our opinion do not do justice to the dramatic story of one of the most charismatic antagonists of the entire saga. In short, the Lord of Monstrosity deserved treatment more in keeping with his worth.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince’s significant performance issues unfortunately sap a lot of the joy out of the game’s core loop of exploration and grinding, detracting from an otherwise solid monster-collecting experience. However, if you’re able to overlook its painful opening hours and sloppy storytelling, there’s a decent, comforting game lurking under the surface. Hardcore Dragon Quest lovers will find hours of grindy RPG goodness to enjoy and a colourful, varied world to get lost in – though certainly one far less polished than fans of the series would usually expect.

There are over 500 monsters in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, and over 40 hours of main story to trudge through. Fans will get a lot of bang for their buck, but expect to wince at the presentation which is embarrassingly low for Dragon Quest standards. The battles in the colosseums are a little tense to watch as the AIs smack each other around, but are otherwise tedious. The substance of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is in being the coach to a team of cartoony-looking Toriyama monsters.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is recommended for all those who want an escape from the typical Pokémon formula, or an accurate spin-off of Dragon Quest. It doesn't matter if you're entertained by or drawn to this world. Of course, if this is the case, you will enjoy this adventure much more, but those who are looking for an RPG of this kind will not be disappointed.

As much fun as the central gameplay loop is, the graphics and performance unfortunately make the comeback of Dragon Quest Monsters look like a relic from the past.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is a middling entry into a once legendary spin-off series. For every element or system the game nails, there's a confusing design decision that holds them back. While The Dark Prince is far from terrible, it doesn't reach the heights of recent entries into this storied franchise.

While its best ideas are held back by its lack of refinement, the adventure remains surprisingly compelling, even as you’re wasting hours away on levelling up your favourite monsters, and experimenting with battle tactics. It doesn’t quite live up to its competitors in the monster-catching genre, but it’s certainly a memorable game, and one defined by its devotion to being fun, silly, and wonderfully weird.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince has a deep combat and monster breeding system that can be addictive if you are willing to overlook the very low quality of nearly everythin else: graphics, sound, story, game loop... Only recommended for those looking for an alternative to Pokémon.

While Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince offers a serviceable and sometimes fun narrative and gameplay, the overall experience is unfortunately bogged down by its performance issues and the lack of simple yet essential features.