Dragon Quest Wars (DSiWare Review) by Joel C.
Dragon Quest Wars
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Intelligent Systems
System: Nintendo DS (DSi Ware)
Release: September 28th, 2009, NA
October 22nd, 2009, by Joel C- Fans of the Dragon Quest series will find some familiar monsters and settings here, but the mechanics are wholly unique. The turn-based battles take place on square grids sized 5x5 and up, and traditional tactics style movement, only 6 monsters are available for use (Slimes, Healslimes, Brownies, Drackies, Golems, & Chimera), each with their own abilities and attacks. Each monster has 1-3 hearts representing how much damage they can take, and is specialized for a certain role. For example, Golems have 3 hearts and can take damage well, while Healslimes have 2 hearts and can heal and buff your other monsters. Pick any combination of the 6 monsters to make a team of 4, and go into battle using each monster’s 3 special abilities, such as defensive boosts, attacks with longer ranges, preparing your monster with counter attacks, or silence enemies when they try and cast a spell on their turn. During your turn, simply move your monsters, and decide their actions.
Once you’ve got it all planned, the actions are carried out, your turn is over, and you wait for your opponents to take their turns. All this is accomplished by dragging and dropping with the stylus, including menu navigation, which makes for a very simple control scheme. The goal is to kill your opponent’s monsters or reach the enemy base before they do the same. The only variation on this is the number of people you can play against, up to 4. There is some strategic value in which monsters you choose and how you play them, but this is the extent of the game play. It’s fun, but only barely $5 worth of fun. Beyond this, there is no variety to be had whatsoever.
Beyond the first “Training” levels, you have Free Play against a chosen number of computer players, and then Multiplayer. Any number of pre-programmed levels to beat would have extended the life of the game quite significantly, but considering that even Free Play lets you choose what you fight against, the single player comes up severely lacking. Choose your 4 monsters, battle up to 3 teams of 4 monsters, and repeat. That’s the entirety of the single-player mode. The AI is fairly balanced, providing for a good puzzling challenge, but it tends to be very repetitive in its strategies. There is no customization or leveling whatsoever, and even the slightest bit of diversity in the game would have been a vast improvement.
Given that there is virtually no depth or modes past the initial mechanics, the most fun to be had out of the game is as a simple strategy match between friends. You can match up with other players over Nintendo Wi-Fi, but the complete lack of interaction with your opponent makes it seem like nothing more than a more spontaneous AI. The social aspect of playing with friends can deepen the strategy a bit, as you work in teams can serve as base defense, support, or attack. Though the game is basic, it can make for a good time to pick up with a few friends and go head to head. Just don’t expect it to keep the party going all night.
The game has absolutely no storyline, and there is no attempt whatsoever at a narrative, named characters, or dialogue. This isn’t necessarily detrimental to the game, as it never strives for anything beyond its simple strategy mechanic, but a simple intro or storyline would have given the game some much needed depth and characterization for your monsters.
While the DSi is certainly capable of much more, the graphics suit the style and scope of the game quite well. Truthfully, that the game is easy on the eyes makes the lack of any variety that much easier to bear. The classically cartoonish look of the Dragon Quest series is fully embodied here, and takes advantage of some fond memories of past Dragon Quest experiences. The isometric view gives a clear outlook over the battle grid. Attacks are simply illustrated, and status boosts and the like are easy to distinguish, though, again, the variety of them is severely lacking.
As with the graphics, you’re only getting $5 worth of sound. The music is simply bearable (for a while) and nothing new, but nothing intrinsically appealing. The sounds of the monsters and attacks are well suited for the animated style of the game, and do enough to differentiate what’s going on in game. The sound doesn’t hurt anything about the game, but it doesn’t help it either.
The severe lack of depth or variety makes the replay value quite low, even in multiplayer. There will be no difference between the first game you play and the hundredth, besides a relatively deeper knowledge of the 6 monsters you can use. It makes a fun diversion, as a short break of a game, never seeming to entertain longer than an hour. It boils down to the essentials here, and the simplicity may appeal to some who are not looking to put in hundreds of hours, but to still come out with a complete, although plain, $5 strategy game.
The Verdict
Sound
10/15
Graphics
15/20
Appeal
10/25
Gameplay
20/40
Overall
55/100- Tactically speaking, Dragon Quest Wars is very shallow, but still requires enough strategic forethought that it manages to provide a solid tactics experience. The game relies solely on its replay value, which is quite low, but once you’ve passed the training stages and know the mechanics, that’s the top of the mountain, so to speak. From there, you can battle the computer in Free Play, or friends locally and other players over Nintendo Wi-Fi, but that’s all you get. The $5.00 (500 DSi points) price tag makes it one of the better values on the DSi store, as the game play that does exist is enjoyable enough for tactics fans, but don’t expect more than a few hours of good play out of it unless you’ve got friends to battle against.