 |
Qu's Marsh - Reviews
Return | Read | Look | Listen | Play
Dragon Warrior Monsters
After Azure Dreams, Chocobo's Dungeon, and Evolution, one would
think that the "randomly generated dungeon" theme had been done to
death -- how many times can
you find new ways to tramp through a multi-floor maze, collecting loot
and fighting monsters? Enix's Dragon Warrior Monsters proves the
formula is good for at least one new game; it may not bring anything
new to the genre, but its refreshing no-frills approach breathes new
life into the aging mechanics.
A prequel of sorts to Dragon Quest VI, DWM starts younger
versions of DQ VI adventurers Terry and Milayou. When Milayou is
kidnapped by the demon Warubou, Terry ventures into the kingdom of
GreatTree -- hidden away inside his dresser drawer -- to save her.
| | 
The first quest completed |
Terry, however, does no fighting of his own. Instead, starting
with a lowly Slime, he recruits defeated monsters to his team. Most of
the monsters are pulled straight from the classic Dragon Quest /
Warrior series, an added treat for fans. Recruiting monsters is
generally a breeze; feed a monster meat during a battle, then ask it to
join after being defeating it. Some monsters, however, can only be
discovered by breeding two existing recruits together. While such an
act costs you the two original monsters (they're "released into the
wild"), it nets you their offspring, who will possess the powers of
both parents.
Despite this bit of complexity, Dragon Warrior Monsters generally
moves to streamline the dungeon-crawling process. Instead of one huge
labyrinth, the game consists of numerous smaller quests that make for
much more manageable playing sessions. Each dungeon consists mostly of
collecting food for your monsters (hungry monsters won't obey your
commands), finding the exit on each floor, and then vanquishing the
boss at the end. (An auto-map feature makes it easy to keep track of
where you've been.) Though this basic pattern is repetitious, the
battles keep the game entertaining. Expect some of the fights to
actually present a challenge; you'll have to make good use of all your
monsters' abilities to prevail.
When dungeon-crawling gets old, GreatTree also offers a number of
other amneties. Shops furnish items (there are no weapons or armor),
townspeople provide advice, a library catalogs all the monsters you've
discovered, and a coliseum offers another place to put your monsters to
the test. Battling in the arena is actually necessary to advance in the
game; each new set of dungeons will not appear until you improve your
tournament rank. New sections of the town become accessible as the game
progresses, giving you additional motivation for continuing.
Dragon Warrior Monsters may not offer the stat-crunching
intensity of Lufia 2's Ancient Dungeon, but it's also infinitely more
entertaining than such exercises in tedium. The colorful graphics,
staggered appearance of new buildings and monsters, and reasonable
dungeon sizes keep the game entertaining at all times -- and with over
200 monsters to collect, several bonus dungeons to explore, and a link
cable battle mode, it'll occupy you for some time. It's far from an RPG
revolution, but it's simple, clean fun.
SCORE: 3 out of 5
(Back to the main GIA reviews page.)
|
|
