Tribes of Trusty
Member
Context : I am quite fond of Dragon Quest, even if the only game I've played to completion is DQ VIII and I watched Dragon Quest: Dai no Daibōken when I was younger (and its ridiculously awesome opening in Arabic). I always found the combination of beautiful music, character design (sure all the MC look the same but there is a lot of diversity in the NPCs, there are children, adults, old people, fat people, thin people, etc) and monster design by Akira Toriyama and sense of aventure great. There is something with that series, you know what you're getting and are just happy to play.
DQB is one of the few games alongside Metal Gear Solid and Tomba! where I immediately bought the game right after playing the demo. Seriously, the game and the demo is so good, you'll know right away by playing it if you'll enjoy the game.
Are you a boy ? Or a giiiiiirl ?
At first it looks like Minecraft meets Dragon Quest, but it is really not. While the Minecraft influence is obviously strong (create things in the game world by using blocks) it is more an Action RPG with its crafting system amped to the 11.
You play in the original Dragon Quest/Warrior universe, in the "Bad Ending" timeline (spoilers for a 30 years old game you get when first booting the game : Where the hero accepts Lordragon's offer to rule over half of the world instead of slaying him), humanity is declining after losing its creative ability. You are the Builder, a human with the long lost ability of constructing things. From that point, your role will be to restore this barren world of Alfegard, build houses and cities, exploring the world, recruiting citizens and fight monsters.
Here the main character, chilling in his town.
If Minecraft is the standard Lego set, DQB is the deluxe themed set. There isn't a lot of freedom in the game, you are limited to exploring, discovering secrets, doing secret challenges and quests. These quests usually revolve around finding some kind of material/ingredient, killing monsters, finding and escorting a NPC or building something with the plans provided or instructions.
A battle system as complex as FFXV's
The game can feel limited especially compared to Minecraft (you can only build towns inside a perimeter, your inventory isn't unlimited, etc) but theses limitations are actually a strength considering it is an ARPG, as it gives player focus for what they should build and go on with the game. If you are like me and liked Minecraft's concept but felt a little lost with the "build your own fun" thing, DQB is perfect for you.
There is a lot of humor in the writing.
There are four chapters in the game, and even if you character is essentially rebooted in each chapter (losing all your recipes and equipment), each time they succeed in feeling fresh as they change their setting, tone and objectives. One time you are on greenlands trying to rebuild a town, another you are in a plagued world, trying to rescue and heal survivors, etc.
Metal Slimes and their notoriously high resistance to everything.
The graphics are pretty clean and colorful which is always pleasing to see and the PS4 runs without problems
There is apparently a micro-stuttering problem some people noticed at some points of the game, I did not personally
I liked :
- The fun.
- The controls - the camera is surprisingly good.
- The building.
- The exploration.
- The music.
- The length of the game, it is quite long.
- The motorcycle, allowing you to travel fast across the land.
I did not like :
- Some of the design choices feel weird : why can't I choose how many items I can build out of materials and can only build one set or the maximum of them ?
- Why the same button for the menu and action ?
- The combat is serviceable at best, but not the most memorable thing you'll remember from the game.
- No cross save feature between Vita and PS4
- The motorcycle, it feels OP at times.
TL;DR : Dragon Quest Builders is great, one of the best games of 2016. If you are on the fence, download the demo and if you like it, you can buy the whole game without hesitation. Just be careful to not pour too many hours in it, as the saves do not carry over. I'll gladly preorder the sequel Square Enix *wink wink*
You can download the demo for PS4 here and for PS Vita here.
Dragon Quest Builders is available in digital and retail on PS4 in the United States of America, Europe and Japan, on Vita in digital in USA, Europe and Japan and retail in Japan and in English in Asia and on PS3 in Japan.
