Square Enix has launched RPG spinoff Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince exclusively on Nintendo Switch in retail and digital Nintendo eShop ($59.99).
The Dark Prince stars Psaro, whose curse forces him to befriend monsters rather than battle them directly in the fantasy world of Nadiria. By collecting and synthesizing monsters, Psaro can create teams to battle enemies and rivals, becoming the ultimate Pokémon master — er, monster wrangler.
Over 500 colorful monsters from the Dragon Quest RPG series can be battled, recruited, trained, and synthesized.
Dragon Quest Monsters’ signature gimmick is the synthesis system. Similar to Persona and Shin Megami Tensei, Psaro can synthesize to two different monsters together, creating an offspring that can inherent traits and abilities from both parents.
Up to four monsters can battle in a party at a time, with four more in reserve for backup. Monsters can be given precise orders, or issued general commands.
In addition to the single player campaign, players can take their well-honed teams into online battles, including multiplayer tournaments, ranked matches, and the new daily Quickfire Contests, which feature mobile game-like auto-battles from registered teams.
In addition to the standard edition, The Dark Prince is also available in a significantly more expensive Digital Deluxe Edition ($85.99). The Deluxe Edition includes exclusive content that sounds like it should’ve been in the standard edition, including randomized dungeons and an underground area full of missed monsters.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is available now on Nintendo Switch. A free demo is also available on the eShop, with progress that carries over into the full game. It’s rated E10+.
