Developer: TOSE
Publisher: Square Enix
Genre: Adventure, Role-Playing
Platform: Nintendo DS
Release date: 28 December 2006
I've always loved games like Dragon Quest, there's something about the RPG elements in the series which keeps drawing me in and the DBZ art really appeals to me, but above all, I've always enjoyed the Monsters spin off series even more.
Leveling up Monsters and then fusing them into something wildly different or immensely more powerful was it's selling point for me.
The fact you have all of these options to choose from and so many different combinations to learn gave me tens to hundreds of hours and Joker was no Exception.
Although it is quite different from it's earlier renditions such as Dragon Warrior Monsters (Still my all time favorite), it still holds a similar spark.
You start out on your adventure as a boy from the organization named CELL.
(No name, you are who you choose.)
After getting captured for running away and then offered the chance to join the Monster Scout Challenge, you start your adventure with one of three offered companions.
(Although your benefactor seems to have something else in mind for you entering the competition)
It's a simple story with a bit of a shadow over our protagonist.
He appears from nowhere as the Joker (ha!) of the tournament who no-one expects anything from. unknown to everyone from Green Bays, he's passed off as some kid who's playing scout and that's just what you are!
You start out with nothing, no-one knows you and you have no real plans until you're offered the chance to see what's out there.
(There is a bit more to it but you'll have to find out what that is yourself.)
It's not a very long story overall so if you don't spend a lot of time on the Monsters and exploration then end game can creep up on you quite quickly.
It does have a post game story too though but similarly, not very long, it does really depend on your approach to the game.
I'd say I'd like to talk about the characters and the plot development a bit but honestly, there isn't a whole lot. It's mainly based on game-play and the story is just a small part to help build up suspense, change the landscape somewhat and all around help with gradual progression and understanding of lore instead of just opening the land up and letting you have at it.
Just like all of the DWM/DQM games, you're expected to learn as you progress and figure things out for yourself while being partly guided by the story.
The way you progress through the game is based around Scouting Monsters and Synthesizing them together to create something more powerful than the previous generation.
Trial and error is the basis of this series and the more you try, the more you learn.
Different combinations will have different results and progressing further into the game offers you some very interesting combinations, some being as simple as throwing a Material and a Naturalist into the mix where as others ask for very specific combinations and in some special circumstances, the synthesis will trace back to the grandparents as well.
I'll not go too into detail but it's a very involved system which has you running around all over the place ignoring the story until you have your perfect team.
But it is made easier this time by Monsters appearing as entities on the over-world instead of random encounters.
There is quite a variety of Monsters to collect and synthesize but a fair selection of them are more powerful or unique variants to previously encountered ones and the higher rank Monsters can be quite a grind to level up.
The Metal Menagerie is there to alleviate the level grind somewhat but it's a pain to access and very repetitive making the want to max out your team more of a chore than an adventure because of the time limit and the amount of EXP needed to level up A Rank and S Rank.
It seems end game mainly focuses on leveling up and Synthesizing for Wi-fi battles which might possibly be filled with AR cheaters or just non existent by this point in time.
Honestly, I didn't try to go online last time I played because I didn't want to max two Gem Slimes and a Nimzo to stand a chance.
You don't have to get that heavily involved in the game to complete it and enjoy the majority of it's content though. I went a bit too far and spent hours creating a team which was far too powerful for where I was at in the game but if you don't know much about it and plod along then you can still progress quite naturally without having to spend hours Synthesizing.
You can just as easily complete the game by figuring it out slowly and just using whatever you feel might be strong enough. If it's not, make something stronger and try again.
There are also many different types of Monsters to pick up, from Slimes and Dragons all the way up to the ??? family, which are Monsters of no specific family.
Basically, something for everyone, so you're not locked down to Monsters you don't find appealing. you can pick and choose your team from your favorite families.
Personally, I've always been a great lover of the Dragon family.
Not much else to say without stepping into spoiler territory though so let's move on.
I'll quickly say that the art style is very similar to the Dragon Quest series of it's time.
It was the first in the DQM series to be in 3D, using the Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King game engine for the over-world.
Given that it's a Nintendo DS game, it's quite vibrant and pretty to look at, which is a given since the screen is small and it would be hard to see properly otherwise but this also seems to be a solid standard for all of the Dragon Warrior and Dragon Quest series.
Monsters are very detailed and have a certain sense of scale to them as well so you really can feel that you have a big and powerful Monster.
All in all, I'd say it has quite an appealing art style which is light and fun and fits the light atmosphere the game gives off but it does have it's moments where things get quite dark both story wise and visually which is a nice change of pace sometimes.
I think I've been rambling enough though so lets summarize a bit.
The game is fun and there is a decent amount to explore and accomplish but it falls short somewhat because by the time you really get into it, chances are the story may be coming to an end, which is quite disappointing given how end game is lackluster too and prioritizes Bestiary completion and Wi-fi battles over adding much extra story progression.
Still a lover of the game and will recommend you at least try it for yourselves.
Can't hurt, right?
(Unless you drop the DS on your foot but that would be your own fault, not the games...)
Until next time!
Rhiyous
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