Dragon Quest Treasures is a delightfully satisfying spin-off that keeps you engaged despite its very simplistic combat. The gameplay loop is fresh and fun, monster collecting is as compelling as ever, and it feels like there’s always something new to do as you progress. If you can get past basic combat, Treasures is a robust blast.
Dragon Quest Treasures
Developer: Square Enix
Price: $60
Platform: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine received a Switch code for review
Dragon Quest as a series has always been great at making unique spin-offs. The Dragon Quest Monsters series had plenty of unique features that other ‘mon games lacked, Builders is the best non-Minecraft block building game around, and Rocket Slime is one of the most fun games on the Nintendo DS. Dragon Quest Treasures is the latest of these spin-offs, and it’s another smaller but every-bit-as-fun romp through another side of the iconic RPG franchise.
Most of Treasures is spent exploring the vast wilds of the game’s world and collecting as much treasure as possible. Your base begins to grow and expand as you gather more riches and baubles, giving you a very pleasant visual indication of how much progress you’re making. It’s a simple but genius choice, as the thought of expanding your base just a bit more to see the next upgrade keeps you playing for a good while.
The treasures throughout the game often reference past Dragon Quest games, rewarding longtime fans with little Easter eggs and references that are sure to make you grin. It’s nothing that will confuse or exclude series newcomers, but serves as a little bonus for the committed.
Combat is regrettably simple, as you just press one button to attack enemies with a different combo in the air than on the ground. There’s also the option of hitting enemies with slingshot pellets, but you can’t smoothly do this in combat and the function is typically used to fight enemies from afar or get lots of damage in quickly with accurate shots.
The slingshot mechanic does allow for the use of different attack elements, status effects buffs, and more, making it an interesting idea. It’s used a bit too frequently (healing monsters with the slingshot can be a pain in slower moments when there are no enemies around) but it works well overall and makes for some tense situations when juggling your slingshot with approaching enemies.
Collecting monsters to use as party members is a blast. Dragon Quest has always had wonderful monster designs, in no small part thanks to Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama’s timeless style. Taming these creatures, each with their own distinct and silly personalities and animations, is a highlight of Treasures, as you can craft parties of all sorts with the different attack styles that the monsters have. Each monster also comes with a field skill that lets you explore certain areas or travel more efficiently, giving them a good deal of usefulness outside of battle and allowing for some pleasantly goofy animations.
Setting Treasures before Dragon Quest 11 – and featuring Erik and Mia as the protagonists – was a smart move. Given the siblings’ propensity for treasure hunting, having them at the center of a loot-based spin-off makes total narrative sense while also keeping the game related to the most recent (and very successful) mainline Dragon Quest game. It helps that Erik was one of the most likable characters from 11 – and would probably be the most likable if it weren’t for that wonderful lad Sylvando. The writing of Treasures is as silly and charming as Dragon Quest always is, which is perfectly complemented by the equally campy voice acting.
Treasures looks alright thanks to its colorful and stylistic look, but it’s another game that could have been more impressive on a stronger piece of hardware. As we (presumably) come toward the end of the Switch’s lifespan, I hope to see colorful games like this looking a bit sharper on the next Nintendo console.
The Final Word
Dragon Quest Treasures makes up for its straightforward and uninspired combat with a plethora of compelling content and a gameplay loop that will keep you playing for just a bit longer every time. Here’s hoping Square Enix makes a sequel to Treasures that improves upon combat, because that’s all it would take to make it a top-tier spin-off.
MonsterVine Rating: 4 out of 5 – Good
