It’s been a while since the lastDragon Quest Monstersgame was released outside of Japan which wasDragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2in 2011 on DS. The latest entry,Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, should feel familiar to fans. Players will go out, explore several open areas, recruit monsters, and then fight in turn-based battles.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Princeis thankfully not as long as the mainline entries which can take over a hundred hours. So, after players digest this bite-sized RPG, they should take a look at these other games too. They’re based around the themes of monster catching, open-worlds, and turn-based combat. Let’s take a look in no particular order.
Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuthis a hacking RPG set intheDigimonuniverse. Players can jump into cyberspace to solve crimes in an ongoing investigation as a teen detective. Players are not alone in this sleuthing mission as they can gather Digimon to their side for turn-based battles.
They can be recruited and evolve down several different pathways to create some wild combinations. It might just be the bestDigimongame ever made with a tight albeit familiar gameplay loop and a tech noir vibe.
6Dragon Quest 5: Hand Of The Heavenly Bride
Highest Metacritic Score: 90
If players walk away fromDragon Quest Monsters: The Dark PrincewantingmoreDragon Questin their veins then they should jump into a mainline entry likeDragon Quest 5: Hand of the Heavenly Bride. In this SNES game, which has been re-released several times, players will go through the life of the hero from boy to man.
They’ll even get married as that title isn’t a lie. Instead of recruiting an abundance of wacky party members, players can befriend monsters in battle which is where the gimmick in the series sprouted from. It may be a bit archaic in some senses, but it is still a classic.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruinis unlike other games in theMonster Hunterseries. Instead of an action RPG with a multiplayer edge, this game is focused on a narrative-based solo adventure. Players can go into monster dens to collect eggs that they can then hatch to become partners in battle.
Battles are turn-based and like the default settings inDragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, monsters will do whatever they please. It has a big, brightly colored open-world to explore and it is perfect for newcomers to the series. The coolest part about exploring this world is that monsters can be ridden and they have unique abilities that can open up new areas like being able to climb cliffs.
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witchwas a collaboration between Level-5 and Studio Ghibli. It starred a young boy who lost his mother and gets transported into a fantasy world wherein he hopes to find her based on rumors. This plot should sound vaguely familiar to fans who also just went to see Studio Ghibli’s latest movie,The Boy and the Heron, in theaters.
Now, this game is a turn-based RPG where players can recruit monsters called Familiars. Like most monster-catching RPGs, these Familiar could evolve as well. Between the gameplay, music, giant open-world that harkened back to the PS1 days of RPGs, and the Studio Ghibli-assisted visuals, this was an instant classic.
Of all thePokemongames to recommend,Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DXis the oneDragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Princefans should dig the most. A human gets transported into the world of Pokemon and can become one of sixteen different creatures based on questions includingGrass-Type Pokemon like Bulbasaur, Chikorita, or Treecko.
It’s a dungeon-crawler roguelike with semi-action combat although technically everything is still turn-based. Players can also pick a primary partner to explore the dungeons with and they can recruit new Pokemon allies along the way. It’s a fairly easy roguelike to get into for beginners and the story truly goes to some wild places.
Shin Megami Tensei 5is the latest entry in the main series and it’s the most open yet. Players will explore Japan which has been devastated by an apocalypse. Unlike the more popularspinoff series, Persona, theShin Megami Tenseigames feature demon-based parties.
Players will gain the power to make contracts with demons that will join their team based on dialogue choices made during combat. It’s not as story-focused asPersonaeither, so this is a game for players who want to focus on that monster-catching magic in a big world.
Even theFinal Fantasyseries has a monster-catching spinoff or two. The best among them has to beWorld of Final Fantasywhich feels like a combination betweenPokemonandKingdom Hearts. Two twins get transported into a world that is inhabited by characters from across the franchise likeCloud fromFinal Fantasy 7.
These heroes will not join the party but they can be summoned in battle with powerful spells. The party instead consists of the twins, Lann and Reynn, along with the monsters they befriend. The strangest part of this turn-based battle system is that the monsters will rest on top of the heads of Lann and Reynn. Bigger monsters can be recruited too, like Magitek Armor fromFinal Fantasy 6, and these types of monsters are ridden instead.
