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It's fun for what it is, but lower your expectations

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: March 06, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I enjoyed Dragon Quest Swords more than other folks simply because I had read a lot of negative reviews prior to playing it and I wasn't expecting much. I get the feeling that some of the critics were expecting a first-person Dragon Quest RPG with real action battles. This is actually more like a light-gun game where you use swords and have the ability to do some mild RPG tweaks to your character. The RPG elements are about as extensive as Shining in the Darkness for Sega Genesis, that is, they are about as basic as you can get. For what it is, though, Dragon Quest Swords is very good.

The accurate sword and shield controls add a lot of strategy and fun to the experience, but again, you need to reset your expectations. You can't simply flail your arms around and expect the Wii to read your motions. You have to hold your wrist fairly steady and slash in a controlled motion as prescribed by the game. The result is a game that almost always reads your motions accurately. The only thing I'm having trouble mastering is the thrust/stab motion.

If you are expecting to hear Dragon Quest music performed and recorded from a real orchestra like in Dragon Quest VIII, you may be taken aback by the fact that the Swords soundtrack is in the MIDI format. The compositions are beautiful, but the quality is a step down from what we got on Playstation 2.

People are saying that this game is too short. I hear some folks saying it can be completed in 4 hours. These people probably didn't play through the levels more than once and try to improve their score. They probably didn't explore all the branching paths and see everything there is to see. It took me 9 hours to beat the main game, and after you beat the quest NEW branching paths open up in each of the 8 levels, so there is some exploring to be done after the credits roll.

Overall, DQS is getting a bad rap because people's expectations are set too high. That's not to say I think the game is worth the full $50, however. If I were you I'd wait for a price drop or rent it, and then you'll be able to feel like you're getting your money's worth.

Not worth the money! I recommend renting.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 22
Date: February 24, 2008
Author: Amazon User

This game was fun for about a day or two but it's way too short. I would definitely not recommend buying it. No replay value at all. I've been a Dragon Quest fan since Dragon Warrior so it was cool to hear some recognizable melodies and see some familiar monsters but I don't even think they covered 50 different monsters. You don't have the freedom to move around once you leave the one and only town. You can only take out one person with you at a time. Dragon Quest is known for it repetition so if you don't like repetition I wouldn't recommend this game for you. Sadly, this game also wasn't challenging unless you consider swinging the wiimote a challenge. I would compare this game to Resident Evil Umbrella chronicles because of the rail-like movement (but you can slightly control yourself in this game) and the repeating of boards in order to get everything. I like the rest of you have waited over 4 years the the next installment of Dragon Quest and I really feel that I got jipped. I would feel better if the game was $30 and not $50. I wish that I had rented it instead. Overall I would recommend playing this game but borrow it from a friend because they'll be done with it in less than a week or rent it. There will probably be a lot of used games popping up on ebay very very soon.

Too short...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: February 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Although I just bought the game yesterday and have played a few hours into it (it's actually not much longer so I'm told and I can kinda figure out where things are going at this point anyway), here are my observations so far:

First off let me set this up by saying, I am a long time Dragon Quest fan, since the early days of Dragon Warrior. The attraction to these games for me has always been that they are always a great and expansive adventure that is more like an interactive novel than a game really. Add to that a strong cast of characters/monsters, high quality music, and a fun strategy/battle system, and great replay ability, and the mind-numbing ways to customize your character, it makes it a no-brainer why these games have enjoyed such a strong and loyal fan base since the days of the NES.

Enter the latest installment of the franchise, "DQ Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors."

Cons:
- **** Waaaaay Too short. And no replay ability. ****
- No real exploration or leveling abilities. Unless you return to town before completing any set mission multiple times (Think Rail-game, forward facing only).
- Hate the 3D First Person view you are forced to move around in. Movement is rather limited (i.e. no "strafing"), so you actually have to completely stop moving to turn left or right, otherwise you just make giant circles. Not to mention just "looking around" really takes a bit of effort and time.
- Battles can be a bit of a challenge since it's all real-time and enemies just start swarming and attacking you like crazy before you even realize you're in a fight, leaving you to swing the wii-mote like crazy while trying to "focus" your attacks somewhere on the screen in between blocking, and hope that your shield hasn't already disintegrated from the last battle and can find its target.
- Master Strokes are a little overly animated maybe? Sure takes a while to finally get down to executing the moves after all the jazz-and-snazz cinemas are said and done.

Pros:
- Love the story line, though it did need to be longer which would've allowed a little more depth.
- Absolutely wonderful graphics, especially on such a low-res system like the Wii.
- Great voice acting. (I always enjoyed the person who voiced Angus' character in DQVIII, and I think he must've done some acting in this latest version as well for the "shop owner" character?).
- Simplistic and fun to interact with. (I especially like seeing the slimes getting sliced in half with my sword swings, somewhat rewarding, or a swath of enemies taken out with a single horizontal slice).
- High quality character animations and musical score.
- Death-blows on the last bosses are a definite plus, I do get a kick out of executing the "Master Stroke" as the "death-blow". Though I believe you can use any old swing to do the trick. Maybe more of a Mortal Kombat-ish fatality would have been more appropriate for something labeled as a "Death-blow".

Overall the game was a very enjoyable one, I just hope this isn't supposed to be the actual real "next" installment in the franchise as it can't even hold a candle to the vastness, enjoyability, and replay-ability of the last release (DQ VIII) or any predecessors. However it is a great tide-you-over game until the next "real" DQ release. Not to mention it's just plain fun that you can pick up and play anytime, which is really what I think the goal was for SquareEnix in this DQ release. If it is, they've succeeded admirably, if not, well...more homework and research is needed.

If you don't have a lot of money, then I'd suggest renting or waiting for the price to fall. Otherwise, expect this one to see most of its life on your game shelf after all is said and done. Like was said before, once you finish it, you probably won't play it again. Though while you're playing it, you're in for an enjoyable experience. Just don't expect 80+ hours of DQ exploring and level hacking. It's maybe more of a weekend warrior type game.

But I do recommend this game! I have enjoyed it just the same!

Cheers!
-S

DQS is a great pick-up and play RPG

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 31, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I think this game stands up really well as an introduction the the "Japanese RPG" genre of console games. It utilizes the Wii-mote very effectively game play is solid and fun. The visuals are bright and beautiful and the voice acting the best I've heard in a Japanese-to-English port. The story is a fun and typical entry in the genre and works well. I am a "casual" gamer ... with little more than a few hours at a time to commit to playing the game and I found the length to be satisfactory. I find nothing to complain about in the game and enjoyed playing it immensely. Bonus, as the interface is so very simple, my 3 year old daughter was able to play through an entire "dungeon level" with very little assistance from me. She was so excited to be able to play "daddy's" game. I was pretty proud of that myself. I am a fan of old school RPGs and give this a strong recommendation.

RPG Light

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 03, 2008
Author: Amazon User

I like what Square Enix is going for in this title, and it's certainly a great example of a game experience you can only get from the Wii. However, the game does come with a few flaws that relegate it to good, not great.

The hook for this delightfully old school RPG is the real-time, motion controlled battles. You use the Wii remote to set a target point on the screen and then use a variety of slashing motions to take down the bad guys. While this is moderately well-executed and succeeds on some fronts, like many Wii games, it leaves much to be desired.

For example, I like the fact that direction of swing has a strategic element. For example, if your target has a shield and you swing starting from his shield side, he'll most likely block the shot. On the other hand, if you strike from above you might bypass his shield entirely. What I don't like is that the sensitivity is entirely too picky, which will leave you flailing your arms wildly without effect in many cases.

As for the story, Square was shooting for a very basic, entry-level RPG. Don't expect this to be on par with any of the heavy-hitting RPGs, but that's not meant as a negative. The story is 100% what you'd expect from a Dragon Quest title and the characters are charming.

The graphics, on the other hand, are downright poor- even for the Wii. If the world were a sandbox environment I would understand, but since exploration outside of town takes place on rails, I really expected more. And speaking of exploration, be prepared to do it all with the D-pad, no nunchuck.

Back to the positive, I really loved the decision to sprinkle in some sound effects from the original Dragon Quest. I grinned when I heard the old familiar "clip-clop" of my character climbing stairs.

Overall I recommend this game, albeit possibly more as a rental than a purchase. Anyone looking for some nostalgia with an innovative mechanic mixed in really should at least take it for a test drive. If you approach the game expecting a few hours of light, classic RPG fun, you'll get exactly what you're looking for.

Yuck.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: March 29, 2008
Author: Amazon User

So we bought this game because we played the prior Dragon Quest VIII -- and loved it! We couldn't stop playing it until we finally beat it.

I pre-ordered this game, convinced that it would be just as awesome and consuming on the Wii.

However, I wish I had waited and rented it. We loved Dragon Quest VIII because of the unlimited freedom to explore. This game's rail system ends all of that. Oh, you can turn left or right every so often when exploring an area, but you still have to go back to the intersection and take the correct path. The swordplay feature is ok, although not very accurate. Loading between areas is also time-consuming, even in areas of the one town where you play.

For an RPG, this game is terribly confining. If you want a good RPG for the Wii, I would highly recommend Zelda. I know I'll be trading this game in as soon as possible.

Disappointing Game...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: March 13, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Having played and enjoyed previous Dragon Quest games, I bought Dragon Quest: Swords for my Wii hoping for an engaging, well-developed game. Unfortunately, like many other reviewers, I was disappointed with most aspects of the game.

The biggest disappointment was the game's length. As others have said, the game is simply too short. As a rather meticulous gamer, I explore every portion of a game while playing. I even took some time to level up characters by replaying a few chapters. Even with my exploring (which was severely limited by the game's length) and leveling up, the game was incredibly short. Even in the cutscenes after the "Final Battle" I kept hoping that the game would have some twist that would provide more playing time.

Another disappointment was how easy the game was to beat. It was not challenging at all. Each of the bosses had an easy-to-find weakness and were predictable in their attacks. Even the final boss battle, though longer than the previous ones, was easy.

The game did not live up to previous Dragon Quest games. I would strongely recommend not buying this game. It doesn't provide the development or challenges that I had hoped for. As a previous reviewer pointed out, the game has almost no replay value. In fact, I finished the game yesterday and will be selling it today.

Not bad, but the the control issues take it down

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 09, 2008
Author: Amazon User

Like most good Wii games, "it's a good game, but..." At the new clearance price, the game is a good buy for some sword swinging fun. Don't expect an RPG. It's like a lightgun game with slashing instead of shooting. If you can forgive the less than accurate controls, you'll like this game. It's not too long, but for my off and on wii play, it's just right.

The bad:
-The controls in the town are ridiculous. Where in the world are my nunchuk controls? Use left and right on the wiimote to turn (rotate) left and right and use forward and back to move forward and back. What where they thinking? Why didn't this change in the US version? These controls, the large movement area to cover in the town, and the slight load between sections of town make the game seem amateurish. It also makes me dread my time in the town.
-The wiimote sword swinging controls just aren't good enough. They expect a robot to swinging the remote. People don't move in perfect movement. We tend to twist. Our hands bounce a little bit when we stop. Any deviation from a perfect movement and it comes out wrong. It's also hard to stab.

The good:
-It's entertaining
-It's humorous
-it looks good
-even with the bad controls, it's completely playable
-the story isn't bad
-voices in the main cutscenes

It was worth it.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: August 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

PROS: Great game overall. Unique game play and easy to play.

CONS: Too short. Just like any other Square-Enix game, some grinding will be required in order to acquire more powerful items.

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