Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Review Thread

[John Elden Ring]

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Game Information​

Game Title: Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Platforms:

• Nintendo Switch (Dec 1, 2023)

Trailers:

• DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Japanese Launch Trailer
• DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Launch Trailer
• DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Monster Showcase

Publisher: SQUARE ENIX

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic - 74 average - 33% recommended - 6 reviews

MetaCritic - 77/100 - Nintendo Switch - 8 Reviews

Critic Reviews​

Atomix - Aldo López - Spanish - 80 / 100

If you want to know this sub-franchise in which the protagonists are the monsters of this universe, it is definitely the first good step to follow, given that the previous installments can be considered lost.

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But Why Tho? - Abdul Saad - 6 / 10

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.

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Hardcore Gamer - Chris Shive - 3.5 / 5

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince forgoes complexity in favor of creating an accessible and enjoyable gaming experience.

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Hobby Consolas - Javier Escribano - Spanish - 60 / 100

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince has a deep combat and monster breeding system that can become addictive if you're willing to overlook the very low quality of almost all of its sections: graphics, sound, story, level design, and development. Only recommended for those looking for a serious alternative to Pokémon.

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Nintendo Life - Mitch Vogel - 7 / 10

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.

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Screen Rant - Austin King - 4.5 / 5

All of this coalesces into a game that is surprisingly chill but also full of surprises. The storytelling, characters, and monsters are all trademark DQ. And with post-game content (no spoilers here), the good times can keep on rolling. The vibrancy on display here, along with Dragon Quest's signature sense of humor, dares anyone to play it without a smile. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is one of the most fun games of the year.

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[Box]

Surprised they rate this low but pokemon highly

 

[Gods&Monsters]

Why is this exclusive? No hype in western market. Square doesn't want to grow the franchise?

More platforms = more sales

 

[Box]

Why is this exclusive? No hype in western market. Square doesn't want to grow the franchise?

More platforms = more sales

Dragon Quest Monsters has always been exclusive to Nintendo, it's a very niche subseries that often never releases outside of japan

 

[KiryuRealty]

Why is this exclusive? No hype in western market. Square doesn't want to grow the franchise?

More platforms = more sales

More platforms==higher development costs

Higher development costs==more sales needed to break even

That’s why niche games don’t go multiplat, simple economics.

 

[toadsage44]

I'd be more likely to try it if it were on PlayStation. Trophies have hacked my brain and now I require occasional hits of dopamine via trophies in order to enjoy games to the fullest. I find it pointless to play Nintendo games because you get nothing in return for playing them.

On a side note, I don't understand Square's logic with exclusives. Kingdom Hearts is a perfect example: I grew up playing 1 and 2 on PS2, and I even got Chain of Memories on GBA, which I thought was weird that they went from releasing on PS2 to GBA, but whatever. Then they started releasing them on every platform known to man. Before the HD collections came out, you had to own a PS2, GBA (unless you got the PS2 remake of Chain of Memories), DS, a Japanese cell phone, PSP, and 3DS. They're not doing themselves any favors by spreading their series out over every single platform known to man. Octopath is a good modern example. First game was Switch exclusive, then it came to Xbox and never released on PlayStation. Second game should've followed that, right? Nope. Second game is PlayStation and Switch. First still hasn't released on PlayStation. What. Are. They. Thinking?!

 

[KiryuRealty]

I'd be more likely to try it if it were on PlayStation. Trophies have hacked my brain and now I require occasional hits of dopamine via trophies in order to enjoy games to the fullest. I find it pointless to play Nintendo games because you get nothing in return for playing them.

On a side note, I don't understand Square's logic with exclusives. Kingdom Hearts is a perfect example: I grew up playing 1 and 2 on PS2, and I even got Chain of Memories on GBA, which I thought was weird that they went from releasing on PS2 to GBA, but whatever. Then they started releasing them on every platform known to man. Before the HD collections came out, you had to own a PS2, GBA (unless you got the PS2 remake of Chain of Memories), DS, a Japanese cell phone, PSP, and 3DS. They're not doing themselves any favors by spreading their series out over every single platform known to man. Octopath is a good modern example. First game was Switch exclusive, then it came to Xbox and never released on PlayStation. Second game should've followed that, right? Nope. Second game is PlayStation and Switch. First still hasn't released on PlayStation. What. Are. They. Thinking?!

The Kingdom Hearts situation would have been ok if the non-PlayStation releases had been side games that didn't include key exposition and background that rendered the Playstation entries incomprehensible if you hadn't played the portable ones.