Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below

It’s all just that little bit disappointing, especially after I came away from the demo earlier in the year feeling so positive [link]. It gets off to such a strong start, but the game never quite manages to build on that. Even the story starts to repeat itself - there doesn’t seem to be much of a reason to visit new towns other than ‘uh-oh, there are monsters over there now’.

If you're looking for a classic Dragon Quest game with a twist, then this more than fits the bill, so long as you don't mind playing alone the whole through way through. As unexpected as it might be, Omega Force has proven that it can adapt popular franchises with surprising consistency.

Above all Dragon Quest Heroes perfectly captures one of the most essential parts of the series—that it prides itself on joy. It’s a quality that overshadows its shortcomings. Too many JRPGs are overly serious affairs that shove the same tropes down your throat again and again. The levity and unabashed enthusiasm of Dragon Quest creates a childlike wonder that’s still enchanting more than 25 years after the original game.

The Dragon Quest franchise-correct writing, characters, music and even sound effects make it feel as if it were co-developed by Level-5 and quite frankly it’s shocking it wasn’t. Like all games of its ilk, it has a propensity to get repetitive, but there’s enough environmental and gameplay variations that it never becomes a slog. Although it could have been a quick cash-in, Heroes is a love letter to Dragon Quest fans that stands as its own charming adventure.

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below mixes Omega Force’s now-famous style of overwhelming action combat with the storied world of Dragon Quest, and the result is an adventure that’s quite enjoyable outside of occasional bouts of feeling monotonous. Longtime fans will certainly love the fanservice and visuals, but even those new to Dragon Quest may find a lot to like here.

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World’s Tree Woe and the Blight Below affords every lover of the franchise the rare opportunity to cause genocidal destruction with the kind of efficiency you cannot find in a turn-based RPG. To flank a monster is to also admire it from angles you seldom see up close in other Dragon Quests. These tens of thousands of encounters plus the appearances by the series’ many other heroes makes for an essential experience for any Dragon Quest fan, even if you haven’t played a hack-and-slasher in ages.

The combat that makes up the majority of gameplay is fun but forgettable, and there's little else to keep you engaged unless you're sufficiently attached to the license. In that regard, Dragon Quest Heroes looks delightful and is bursting with characters and creatures from the history of the franchise, so anyone who has been glued to each new release since the heyday of Enix will find enough familiar sights to stay invested.

Unlike other crossover incarnations in the Warriors series, Heroes incorporates enough of the legendary RPG franchise’s traditional elements to create a giddy nostalgia trip. Even if you aren’t a longtime fan, though, you’ll have a chance to get caught up in a whirlwind of solid action-RPG goodness.

It's absolutely awesome to see Dragon Quest back on a console once again, but there are considerable edges that need smoothening out. Square Enix has already announced that a sequel is in production; it will be quite intriguing to see what that'll improve upon. In the meantime, Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is a worthwhile game to play to fill in that gaping void of Dragon Quest after all these years.

Dragon Quest Heroes does an exceptional job in displaying how the beat ‘em up Warriors/Musou formula works with the beloved Dragon Quest RPG series. It blends in strategic and RPG elements flawlessly making the game unique and full of nostalgia. The visuals are gorgeous and should easily please fans of the Dragon Quest franchise and newcomers alike.

Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below is a beautiful game that does more with the Warriors franchise than the main Warriors games have done in a long time. Despite putting hours and hours into the thing, I’ve got plenty yet to do, and I’ve enjoyed every second of it so far. Aside from some poor pacing decisions and a rather limp narrative, Tecmo Koei has made lightning strike twice by merging two franchises together in yet another surprisingly brilliant way.

As far as musou-style action games go, Dragon Quest Heroes represents the most fun I’ve had with the genre. The added RPG layers, crafting, and tactical monster collection all help alleviate a total focus on repetitive combat. These, plus a fantastic art style, gave me plenty of reasons to be excited about jumping into battle.

The balance that Dragon Quest Heroes walks between trivial fun and deeper strategizing is precarious. At any point in the 30-plus hours I played, I felt like it could have tipped over, leaving a boring, button-mashing shell of a game. Amazingly, it never did. Developer Omega Force has, perhaps more than ever before, found a winning combination of empowering players to wipe out thousands of foes while still challenging them to think and pay attention to the refreshingly colorful world surrounding them.

Dragon Quest Heroes is just fun. The visual style is gorgeous, and the game play hits all the right notes with some fantastic pacing. Fans of the genre should definitely check it out, but even those usually put off by it, should definitely keep an eye on it. It quickly became one of my favorite sleeper games of the year. I didn’t expect to even care, now I can’t stop playing.

While Dragon Quest purists may not enjoy the action-RPG feel of Dragon Quest Heroes, I still was able to enjoy the experience a great deal as a long-time fan of the series, regardless of the few issues I had with it.

There are so many ways that Dragon Quest Heroes could have gone wrong. Thankfully, Omega Force does right by the classic franchise, and they take the opportunity to streamline their own formula as well. The story could have been better, and the repetitive gameplay comes close to wearing out its welcome, but otherwise Dragon Quest Heroes counts as another win for Omega Force.

Best played in short bursts due to the nature of the genre, the musou action is very well designed, while also meshing well with the world of Dragon Quest. Toriyama’s designs look better than ever on PS4, and while this style of game isn’t for everybody, Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below is a shining example of a partnership done just right that may just attract some new fans to both franchises.

Dragon Quest Heroes almost feels like a fully-fledged action RPG, but there are a few things holding it back from greatness. In the end though it still has its charms, alongside of a beautiful art style and a buttery smooth framerate. If you really dig Warriors games and can go at it solo, you'll likely enjoy it.

Its minimal mission design does impact on the fun sometimes but if you're a fan and an avid player of the 'Warriors' games, then you'll have no problem getting through that. It's fun, bright, colourful and quirky. The story might not be spectacular, but the characters are fun and unique, and the art style is fantastic.

Combat is accessible, satisfyingly punchy, and hides depth at higher levels of play, while there's plenty of content to keep you busy after you've seen the well paced story through. Even if you're not a fan of Warriors-style gameplay, we'd still heartily recommend Dragon Quest Heroes to anyone on the lookout for a joyous jaunt in a lovingly made fantasy world.

While the game delivers on its story, characters and systems, the quest objectives fall a little short. Outside of getting from point A to point B, defending an object or person, and destroying all enemies you won’t find much variety. Thankfully, the game’s boss fights do a good job to alleviate this with each one posing their own unique challenge such as attacking a specific weak point.

Dragon Quest Heroes is the best Musou-style game I’ve ever played. It’s full of charm, in the characters and the locations, which makes it much more approachable and gives it a better feel to play. It’s such a shame, then, that mission variation is so sorely lacking – giving you different things to do on a regular basis would make this so much better. It’s good, it really is, but it could have been so much more.

Dragon Quest Heroes is the shining example of taking a stale concept and adding flavour and depth to it. The sword swinging, boomerang throwing combat, with all the traditional Dragon Quest trappings, will promise satisfaction to both Dragon Quest and Dynasty Warriors fans, alike.

By focusing on a smaller concentration of characters on-screen, it has a slightly more tactile, RPG feel. Combined with some inventive gameplay features and that charming Dragon Quest aesthetic, Heroes succeeds in creating its own identity. It may fall short of greatness yet serves as an ideal solution for those eagerly awaiting the series’ next mainline instalment.

Fans of the classic RPG series will be pleased by the appearances of beloved characters and monsters. However, there will be times where slicing through an endless supply of fiends isn't nearly as exciting as it should be. Perhaps this issue is rectified in the sequel, which arrives in the West this April.

Lacks depth, but Dragon Quest Heroes quirky narrative, colorful visuals and easy-to-grasp combat makes it a family-friendly RPG with plenty of character.

Overall, I had a lot of fun with Dragon Quest Heroes. It feels like a simple distraction, but it actually has quite a bit of depth. Fans of the Dragon Quest franchise will undoubtedly enjoy it and it certainly feels like a game for the fans; containing multiple characters from several Dragon Quest games. However, if you’re like me and new to the series, Dragon Quest Heroes might also pique your interest for other entries in the franchise.

En definitiva un juego de acción muy entretenido y con carisma, y una buena celebración de todo lo bueno que siguen teniendo los videojuegos japoneses y la saga Dragon Quest en concreto, que ojalá volvamos a ver el año que viene por estos lares.

Dragon Quest podrá no contar con tanta popularidad en Occidente, pero eso no ha sido impedimento para que Square Enix se haya atrevido a sorprendernos con uno de los mejores spin-offs que existe en la franquicia. ¡Que no te desanime el hecho de desconocer a la serie! Si te atrae el concepto del juego o te has vuelto un fan asiduo de los títulos de Omega Force, Dragon Quest Heroes logrará cumplir sin mucho problema varias de tus expectativas, y hasta más. Si no eres familiar con la serie de JRPG, éste podría convertirse en una oportunidad perfecta para comenzar a conocerla y hasta de volverte fan de su mágico universo.

Dragon Quest Heroes es un juego de muy buena calidad y factura, en especial considerando a un género experto en traernos experiencias genéricas y de aburrimiento mortal. Acertadas elecciones de diseño, amor por los fans y por la historia de la saga, incorporación de elementos RPG y una cuidada presentación gráfica y sonora nos indican un producto de calidad, que complacerá a los entusiastas y no aburrirá a quienes no estén familiarizados con la franquicia. En fin, una entrega sumamente encomiable. Definitivamente, recomendado.

A pesar de que puede que no sea el título que todos los seguidores de Dragon Quest anhelan, este spin-off nos ha parecido bastante más completo, divertido y fiel a la serie de lo que podría parecer en un principio. El carácter Musou trae consigo cambios notorios en el sistema de juego tradicional de la saga, eso es un hecho, pero sí que es cierto que esta edición conserva muchos de los aspectos más queridos de la franquicia. Dragon Quest Heroes es una de las mejores opciones que podéis disfrutar dentro de su género, con diferencia.

No es un juego perfecto y se echan en falta más personajes de la franquicia, algunos detalles a la hora de trazar estrategias en combate que son demasiado simples y el hecho de que irremediablemente, por el tipo de juego que es, repetiremos situaciones y mecánicas más de la cuenta. Pero la gran cantidad de contenido que ofrece por delante, la acertada mezcla de RPG y acción y el buen acabado audiovisual hacen que Dragon Quest Heroes sea el título que más cerca estará de ser un Dragon Quest sin ser un JRPG clásico.

Dragon Quest Heroes es un Dragon Quest sin ser un Dragon Quest. No es comparable a los juegos de la saga principal, no estamos ante un Dragon Quest XI ni mucho menos, pero sí que posee el encanto y atractivo de estos juegos. Es una gran fiesta para los amantes de esta legendaria saga de rol y aplica de forma adecuada algunas de las mecánicas del género musou, pero al final puede que peque demasiado de agradar a los aficionados y se olvide un poco de que tiene que ser un videojuego completo.

Aún con todo, Dragon Quest Heroes es un juego ameno, entrentenido, que engancha y sabe cómo atrapar durante mucho tiempo. No es perfecto, y puede que le falte algo de variedad... pero a poco que te atraiga el universo Dragon Quest, seguro que quedarás atrapado. Y es que, aunque algunos le pongan la etiqueta de ser un juego “Musou” más, lo cierto es que es mucho más que eso.

Angefangen vom zielsicher eingefangenen kunterbunten Artdesign bis hin zu aus der Stammserie bekannten Elementen wie Alchemie zur Erstellung von Gegenständen verströmt Heroes authentische Dragon-Quest-Atmosphäre. Dazu kommt ein bekannt eingängiges Kampfsystem, das hier jedoch um magische Attacken sowie eine Gruppe ergänzt wird, deren Mitglieder nicht wie bei Warriors Orochi verschwinden, wenn man sie nicht aktiv spielt, sondern einigermaßen potent angreifen.

Qui aurait cru qu'un projet aussi casse-gueule que Dragon Quest Heroes envoie autant d'amour aux fans comme aux non-initiés ? Aussi contre nature soit cette union, l'univers Dragon Quest évolue en parfaite symbiose avec celui de l'Action-RPG tendance Dynasty Warriors. Témoignant d'un respect infini envers les mécaniques carrées du JRPG, le jeu parvient aussi à intégrer quelques mécaniques centrales de capture de monstres et d'objectifs à court terme pour dynamiter l'action et rendre chaque nouveau tableau ou combat de boss toujours plus frénétique.

Ceux qui craignaient de voir Dragon Quest Heroes apporter l'opprobe sur l'une des plus grandes sagas de RPG de tous les temps peuvent être rassurés : ce beat'em all improbable se montre aussi jouisif et convaincant que respectueux de la série. On aura même bien du mal à lui reprocher quoi que ce soit de solide, si ce n'est l'absence d'un mode coop qu'on nous promet de toute façon pour le prochain épisode.

En bref, Dragon Quest Heroes fait le job avec une facilité déconcertante. Qu'on aime ou pas le genre musô, on passe un moment assez magique. L'univers est époustouflant de beauté, le gameplay nerveux, le rythme effréné, la bande-son magique... bref, l'expérience vous laissera le souvenir racé d'un cross-over presque parfait.

Avec ces deux éléments et un gameplay musclé, rythmé et efficace, Dragon Quest Heroes : Le Crépuscule de l’Arbre du Monde a clairement les capacités de devenir un beat’em all référence de la PS4. C’est clair, Dragon Quest Heroes est une jolie surprise qui permet d’attendre sans trop réfléchir le marathon de cette fin d’année, et de nous préparer gentiment à l’arrivée de Dragon Quest XI, attendu en 2016 au Japon.

Para resumir, Dragon Quest Heroes superou a minha expectativa pessimista, julgava que seria apenas mais um musou pintado da série Square Enix, mas a verdade é que exibe uma personalidade muito própria, por vezes parece um RPG, outras é mais próximo de um hack n’ slah, mas é surpreendentemente desafiante, obrigando-nos a pensar e experimentar as opções ao nosso dispor.

Dragon Quest Heroes è un gioco riuscito, capace di mascherare un genere poco amato in occidente con delle meccaniche più vicine al nostro gusto, senza tuttavia trasformare il titolo in un miscuglio di idee. Nonostante una certa ripetitività nelle fasi più avanzate del gioco e una componente RPG che poteva essere approfondita maggiormente, magari con l’inserimento di un personaggio dedito alla cura dei propri compagni e un albero delle abilità più articolato, questo titolo ha saputo divertirci piuttosto a lungo. Se amate il mondo di Dragon Quest, questo spin-off è di ottima qualità: vi consigliamo di lasciare da parte i pregiudizi e di provarlo, potrebbe rivelarsi una splendida sorpresa.

Tuttavia la ripetitività talvolta eccessiva di alcune missioni e il reiterato utilizzo degli stessi scenari di gioco potrebbero spegnere piuttosto velocemente l'interesse per un titolo da giocare decine di ore e che riesce solo in parte a limitare gli arcinoti difetti dei musou. Se siete fan storici della saga principale non è detto che Dragon Quest Heroes possa piacervi, ma è indubbio come rispetto alla media dei prodotti Omega Froce e all'affine spin-off della serie Zelda Hyrule Warriors, questo titolo rappresenti un'alternativa più profonda e curata, auspicabilmente migliorabile con i prossimi capitoli.

Dragon Quest Heroes è decisamente un buon gioco, oltre che un esperimento particolarmente riuscito. Tra tutti i musou dedicati a universi già famosi è sicuramente quello che ha meglio sfruttato la licenza adottata, assieme a Hyrule Warriors. Della serie Dragon Quest, infatti, Heroes non si limita a riproporre atmosfere e ambientazioni, ma anche tanti interessanti elementi di gameplay, che lo rendono una bella via di mezzo tra musou e GdR.

Dragon Quest Heroes zet echt een fantastische sfeer neer, om deze vervolgens snel weer te verpesten door middel van middelmatige gameplay. Het spel mist het epische gevoel van de Warriors-reeks en de strategische opties die daar voor in de plaats komen, slaan helaas de plank compleet mis. ‘s Werelds grootste Dragon Quest-fan zou hier misschien doorheen kunnen bijten.

Ook de RPG elementen zijn essentieel voor de ervaring van de game. De skill-trees bieden genoeg diepgang en voelen typerend aan voor een JRPG en een Dragon Quest game. De personages zijn stuk voor stuk te gek en in combinatie met de Japanse stemmen zeker cool. Al met al is Dragon Quest Heroes een meer dan geslaagde PlayStation 4 die dankzij het combatsysteem zowel door fanatieke Dragon Quest fans als nieuwkomers gewaardeerd kan worden.

Det märks att Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below i första hand är ämnat för yngre spelare och fans av tidigare Dragon Quest-spel. Här finns mängder av fan-service, både i återvändande karaktärer och klassiska musikstycken, men för mig - som inte har någon speciell relation till serien - är denna Dragon Quest/Dynasty Warriors-mashup en ganska medioker upplevelse.