A Good Nostalgia Trip - If You’re Willing to Pay For It – DRAGON QUEST OF THE STARS Review

Anyone who has played the Dragon Quest RPG series will find themselves surrounded by familiar throwbacks in this game, from the iconic slimes you know and love to the special themed events focusing on prior Dragon Quest games and spinoffs. The main story at the time of this article follows the three player characters (controlled and customized by you), their grandfather Gaius who provides exposition, and Cyril, a Squirril mascot who basically speaks for your silent protagonists. Your motley group travels around the tutorial island and one continent, doing good deeds and righting wrongs perpetrated by followers of a cosmic power that wished to envelop the world in darkness. It’s a typical RPG storyline with entertaining banter between Cyril and numerous NPCs, and though very few of the interactions are profoundly memorable, they admittedly brought a smile to my face. Between the main story, side quests, leveling character classes (“vocations”), and special themed events with unique item drops, there is plenty to keep the player busy and entertained. The Skill System is a clever and engaging battle setup that makes you consider the best way to equip your abilities, as some enemies are strong against certain attack types and vulnerable to others. Crafting is also available, along with a treasure map system that gives side missions that can be completed for rewards. The rarer the map, the better the payout. These maps can also be traded locally between players, but this may prove difficult in more rural areas unless you have a group of friends you can rely on for passing maps along. Speaking of friends, the multiplayer in this game is actually quite engaging. You can join with players locally or across the internet, and the global nature of this release means you could receive help even from someone in China, Europe, or even South America. There is also a food system that can provide bonuses depending on the combinations of items submitted by players - which could even lead to a boost to experience or item drop rates. Just be careful, as sometimes people will drop out of multiplayer if the food combo isn’t correct. Or, if the connection is bad, they’ll drop in the middle of battle. And sadly, the NPC party AI falls very short of the mark indeed. While leveling up increases your survivability at the base level, the main method of building strength is by obtaining arms, armor, and skills. Equipment and items can be obtained in numerous ways throughout regular play, though the best of the best can only be obtained from the “Lucky Chest Draw” system. This is, quite bluntly, a gacha reminiscent of so many mobile games in recent memory, which uses a currency known as Gems. These can be obtained for free via numerous means, though the current methods of procurement soon run dry after two to three weeks of regular play. This ends up forcing you to either work with your current loadout, reroll and hope for better luck, or buy more Gems with real money as the developers intended. They even offer a paid service for $8.99 which offers some minor conveniences such as auto-battling, a faster speed setting, and saving multiple equipment loadouts. As a bonus, you get “special” gem purchases available only to “premium” players. All in all, the benefits are somewhat decent, though it won’t break your experience leaving it out. Overall, I would recommend this game for those who enjoy playing Dragon Quest and appreciate a good nostalgia trip. However, you may find yourself in a world of disappointment if your luck runs out by the time the Gem drought occurs. I would rate this game higher if there was a more regular method for obtaining free Gems - or more free Lucky Chest Draws, or a means of guaranteed pulls for specific items. For now, however, the developers have shown that their desire for the players money trumps their generosity. And as anyone experienced with gacha-style mobile games can tell you, “let the buyer beware.” Especially when it comes to nostalgia trips like this one.
Review by Souji Seta on DRAGON QUEST OF THE STARS.