Omega Force is widely known as the developer that applies the Dynasty Warriors formula to other popular franchises, such as One Piece and The Legend of Zelda. While both games were successful, applying the style to a popular JRPG like Dragon Quest is far more difficult, but also quite intriguing. Thankfully, the result is quite good and works better than the aforementioned series. Considering it has been close to a decade since the last proper Dragon Quest game released on a console, Dragon Quest Heroes has big shoes to fill, especially since it’s a spin-off.
Fans of the franchise should know that the Dragon Quest series always has an interesting story that will immediately engage fans until the very end. In the case of Dragon Quest Heroes, the story is somewhat decent but not the best in the series. It’s pretty much a simple story that involve heroes from other Dragon Quest games such as Yangus and Jessica from Dragon Quest VIII. These popular Dragon Quest heroes from past games will join Aurora and Luceus in their quest to save the world from an evil man who turns friendly monsters into fiends following a purple cloud engulfing the city of Arba. Players will go through numerous missions as they hack and slash their way to the very end.
The combat in Dragon Quest Heroes isn’t the traditional turn-based RPG combat everyone is accustomed to in the past. Since the game is developed by Omega Force who is behind the Dynasty Warriors games, the combat in Dragon Quest Heroes has that flavor from the Dynasty Warriors games which is hack and slash that tends to get repetitive. The very first few hours of playing the game, the combat will make you feel that it’s fun because Aurora and Luceus has different set of skills that you can use when in combat and they do indeed look beautiful when they execute it. This gets old as you figure out there are only a few skills that you can use. Luckily, the game manages to add flair and variety to the combat with the ability to use other characters in the game such as Yangus, Maya, Bianca, and more Dragon Quest characters in the series.
To make the combat more fun, Omega Force implemented the monster summoning features from the past Dragon Quest Monter games. Since the monsters that you are fighting before used to be a friend to everyone, you have an opportunity to use them in battle. When taking down enemies, there’s a chance a monster coin will drop. When you spot one glowing on the screen, pick them up and you will be able to summon them to aid you in your battle. There are different kinds of monsters that you are able to use and it all depends on where you use them. Some will act as a bodyguard that will protect someone in the battlefield while others can be your main attackers.
Character progression in this game has that RPG-feel to it. Luceus, Aurora, and other characters all gain experience points when defeating monsters and when they reach a new level, they are given skill points. These skill points can be used to learn skills and increase their stats in a tree-like table for each character. There are many skills that can be chosen for each character. The more trained they are, the more competent they get in a chaotic battlefield, which will be beneficial as the game gets harder. As for equipment, players will unlock a mother base flying fortress at some point in the game where all your shopping needs will be catered. The flying fortress will act as a base of operations where players can plan their next move.
The flying fortress that gets unlocked has everything you need in the game. Think of it as a town where people supporting your cause are there to help by selling equipment and other things to help you out. With this game being a Dragon Quest game, you’ll have that nun that will record your journey, weaponsmith that sells you weapons, armorsmith that sells you armors and many familiar faces. One of the things that many fans will surely be pleased to hear about is the crafting from Dragon Quest VIII. While in combat, the monsters that you defeat will drop items that you can use in crafting items. The items that you can craft varies from a piece of equipment to a much rare crafting item. This is one of my favorite features to see in Dragon Quest Heroes as it adds more reason to play and get your character even stronger to get out in the field and farm items.
There are a plethora of missions that you can take in Dragon Quest Heroes aside from the story missions. For those looking to farm items, a lot of side-areas will be unlocked as you progress through the game. While that may seem fun as there are things to do in the game that adds more playtime, prepare to get bored as the side areas can get very dull and will wear you out fast. However, in story missions, they are quite unique at times but it’s hard not to get bored because you are pretty much hacking and slashing your way over and over again, which is the main problem in the Dynasty Warriors series.
When it comes to visuals, Dragon Quest Heroes stands out and if this is what future Dragon Quest games will look on consoles, I simply can’t wait for it arrive. Everything from the characters, monsters and to the environments are simply stunning with much detail in them. They are vivid and colorful that are very pleasing to everyone’s eyes. The cel-shaded style works pretty well in Dragon Quest Heroes and I must say that this is one of the most beautiful and charming games that I’ve played. As for its voice overs, the game packs dual audio where players can switch between English and Japanese voice acting. Fortunately, the dubbed ones sound decent.
Longtime Fans will be delighted to hear Dragon Quest Heroes brings a solid experience on a home console. Despite not being a full-pledged Dragon Quest game, Dragon Quest Heroes remains true to franchise, which fans will appreciate. Sure it’s more or less a Dynasty Warriors game and yes, at times it is repetitive, but Omega Force did a good job of implementing key Dragon Quest elements to make the game stand out. So as long as you don’t play it too much in one sitting, you’ll have a fun time experiencing all that Dragon Quest Heroes has to offer.