User Reviews (1 - 11 of 15)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Wow!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 20, 2008
Author: Amazon User

What can I say, DQMJ offers some of the most unique and interesting ideas into what appears to be a Pokemon clone. Even though the DQM series was inspired by Pokemon, the game and the series in and of itself offers inovative ideas to the "catch em all" formula. So let's begin. What sets this game apart from Pokemon?

-you can have 3 monsters in battle at once
-none of the monsters are rip offs of Pokemon monsters, they all appear in past DQ games
-monsters have skill sets which harbor a decent number of skills and each monsters can have up to 3 skill sets, offering a large number of skills on one monsters( lot more than Pokemon's 4)
-the breeding *Ahem* the synthesising system( it really is breeding but probably some people thought they didn't want their children to know that male and female = baby) is much deeper than Pokemon's breeding system
-ultimate monsters are created through repeated synthesising, which means if you like grinding to get higher numbers(ex. Disgaea) this game is for you
-in many ways the game is superior to Pokemon, although Pokemon offers better story and a more interesting catching system

Whew. Ok. So whats the goods right? If you like numbers, if you like struggling to make a monster better then you will love this game. The story is decent, but that is not where this game shines. Everything revolves around making bettter monsters and if you have wifi you will find that you will have to create some of the best monsters the game offers in order to have a chance at online play. A lot of hours will be spent on getting prepared to be a fair contender online(is Pokemon for Wii any different?). if you hate grinding, stay away form this game. This game is for grinding lovers, nough said. It's a great game, but it is NOT for everybody. Don't look at this as a role playing game because it's really not. It's a "catch em all" game. I really believe "catch em all" should be an actual game genre, because none of the the "catch em all" games feel like true RPGs. So if you are looking for some great epic story with many loveable characters, again, stay away. If you liked Pokemon you will likely fall in love with this game. It is a must buy for such players!

Sucks Compared to DQM 1 and 2

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 3
Date: May 16, 2008
Author: Amazon User

The story is not that great; it's incredibly cliched.
The bad boy look of his doesn't match up to what you are doing, nor does his personality really shine throughout the game.
Incredible level-grinding, not taking into account breeding skills and levels to be ABLE to breed.

The upside to this is that it's 3-d and there are many new monsters. This game isn't as memorable as Dragon Warrior Monsters 1 or 2. They made this game too forced in terms of gameplay and level grinding; DWM 1 and 2 were much more accessible and player-friendly, plus it's gameplay was much longer than this game.

This is truly a disappointment to the older games, even with it's pro's.

What a game!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: March 25, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Unlike a lot of other reviewers, this is my first in the DQM series, although after reading about the earlier ones, I want to play them. :)

I'm an avid gamer, and DQM has to go in my top ten list of all-time favourite games. I love a game with depth and extendability and this has both. As one other reviewer so aptly stated, "This game is easy to pick up and hard to put down". I have about 350 hours of gameplay in DQM, and still going strong.

I have only one issue and it's not with the game. Square Enix does not police the online tournaments for hackers anywhere near as much as they should, and yet they give a big warning at the beginning of every online game about hackers being disqualified.

Other than that, I have only wonderful things to say about DQM. If you don't have it .. do yourself a big favor. :)

Fun for all ages

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 12, 2008
Author: Amazon User

DQM: Joker is one of those games that is easy to pick up and hard to put down. It has a Pokemon-esque type of gameplay where you try to catch em all and battle other monsters. It is really easy to learn and has a lot of replayability. The graphics never ceased to impress and are actually some of the best i've seen on the DS. Sometimes the story is a bit slow but this game is well worthy of being a "Dragon Quest" game.

Not a pokemon in sight, but a monster battling game all the same

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: February 05, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I was a little worried when I first thought about getting this game; I knew it had the Dragon Quest name on it, so I thought it should be good. But, from game play descriptions (and my own imagination), I was a little worried I might be buying a slightly more "mature" pokemon game. Thankfully, I was wrong, and what I ended up with is one of the most-addictive, fun, and time consuming games that I've played for the DS. For those of you who've played Dragon Quest 8 for the Playstation 2, the game plays much like DQ8 does if you have a monster party fight for you. And of course there's scouting to allow you to get new monsters; you must impress the "wild" enemies by a show of force from your current monsters (basically a regular attack that does no damage). Other than that it's a fairly typical RPG, but instead of just leveling up your monsters, you can also combine ("synthesize") monsters to create new, more powerful ones. The story is a little weak, but the fantastic game play more than makes up for it. Plus you can battle over wi-fi against your friends' monster teams to see how you both stack up. Overall a very solid game; DQ fans should definitely pick it up, and so should most fans of RPGs.

Dragon Quest Rules !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 1
Date: December 29, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This Version of the dragon Quest series is a welcome addition . Game plays well .. . And I quite enjoyed it and will continue to re-play this game many times over .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Dragon Quest 8's little brother...I love it.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 27, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'll start by saying, I'm a huge fan of Dragon Warrior/Quest as a series, however I am not a fan of the Monsters series. Having partially played the previous installments with a steaming pile of dislike, I came into DQM Joker with low expectations only to be suprised at how great of a game this is.
I mean it, this game ranks among my favorite Dragon Quest/Warrior titles ever. DQM Joker is a perfect companion to Dragon Quest 8, and runs on a similar game engine to boot. Where the previous Monsters games felt more like Pokemon rip-offs, Joker distances itself almost completely. Aside from the fact that you're collecting monsters to battle, there is no Pokemon likeness in Joker at all. It truly feels like a Dragon Quest game of its own.
I recommend this title to anyone who enjoyed DQ8 but haven't experienced any other DQ/DW games, and I HIGHLY recommend this game to anyone who is a fan of the non-Monsters series of Dragon Quest.

Maybe someday they'll get it just right

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 12
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Having spent many, many hours playing the earlier Game Boy versions--Dragon Warrior Monsters 1 and 2, I would like to compare the newest version to those games.

Upside--

Much better graphics than the earlier games.

More of a feeling of an RPG--tough bosses, especially the final boss, and more RPG-like dungeons.

Simplified, quicker, and less frustrating scouting and breeding system. (I do, however, detect the influence of Puritan Parent Feedback in the fact that breeding is now called "synthesizing.")

Downside:

Less of an incentive to go on after the closing credits than in DWM1 and DWM2.

DWM1 had a better dungeon structure system. There were many, many floors, and the types of floors were randomly generated. Even though the routine enemies eventually became easy to defeat, there were challenging, unpredictable masters and arenas that could be encountered at any point. However, there was one FATAL flaw for those trying to collect all the monsters in the game: two of the dungeons, both of which contained monsters unattainable elsewhere, could be accessed only by winning 5 consecutive rock-paper-scissors games each from three different masters. Think about that. That's an average of 3 x (3 x 3 x 3 x 3 x 3) games, or 729. And even worse, unless you got lucky, you had to endure having the instructions of the game read to you each and every one of those 729 times. Were any playtesters involved in the game's development?

DWM2 also had an interesting feature--in the aftergame, one could acquire magic keys that opened up new worlds, each of which contained several dungeons to explore. The dungeons themselves were less interestingly laid out than in DWM1, but did provide plenty of monsters on the player's current level, and the suspense of not knowing whether there would be another magic key at the end.

So if DQM2 comes out, it would be nice to see the current graphics and boss system expanded in the regular game (possibly with 9 large dungeons, as in Zelda), and with an aftergame that uses the dungeon generation system of DQM1, possibly with the the magic keys from DQM2.

The 3rd U.S. entry in the Dragon Quest/Warrior Monsters Series

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is the third entry in the Dragon Quest/Warrior Monsters (DQM) series in the U.S. The DQM series is based on the Dragon Quest/Warrior RPG series but focuses on collecting and training the series many monsters in a style similar to Pokemon. It should have appeal for both fans of Dragon Quest and those of monster collecting games.

Joker is one of the few fully 3D games for the Nintendo DS. The graphics style is taken from Dragon Quest VIII for the PS2 and most of the monsters should be familiar to fans of that game. The animations are fairly fluid and the monster designs colorful and detailed.

Players take control of a Monster Scout to form teams of three monsters. The game features over 200 monsters total broken into several families. Pairs of monsters can be synthesized to form new, stronger monsters whose level 1 states and skill levels are calculated from the parents' stats allowing stronger and stronger monsters to be made with each generation. Skill points are earned every few levels and can be applied to skills, allowing the player to customize the abilities and stat bonuses of each monster. Each monster can also equip a variety of weapons with various effects.

Joker does fall short on a few points. The game is on the short side and raising powerful monsters requires a fair amount of grinding. Some of the more powerful monsters must be synthesized from specific monsters and so the player will almost certainly have to consult a guide to figure out how to unlock some of the creatures. An online battling system is available, however trading can only be done locally. Travel between the games islands can also be frustrating since a roundabout path is sometimes the only way to get from one island to another, even later in the game. Fans of earlier DQM series should also note that the leap to 3D has mean not all monsters from the previous games make an appearance in this one.

All in all the game is a good one. Fans of Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest Monsters, or monster collecting games will certainly want to try this one out. Anyone looking for a light RPG or just a change of pace for the DS should also consider checking out this game.

Dragon Quest Monsters Joker

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: December 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I'm a big fan of the dragon warrior monsters series. I loved both DWM 1&2. I bought Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker thinking this game would be like Dragon Warrior Monsters series. When i received my game, I right away opened the game and started playing it. It was fun for a few days. But after awhile experiencing it, the fun was fading away. Where is all the original monsters from Dragon Warrior Monsters 1&2? Why scouting? Why not taming monster with meat? Why are monsters soooooooo easy to make? They should have left the breeding the way it was like DWM 1&2. This game was overall fun and lasted me a few weeks but I decided to just wrap it up and give it away for a Christmas present. Sorry but this game isnt as impressive as I thought it was going to be. 4 Stars Overall and 3 Stars fun .

Review Page: 1 2 Next 

Actions