
You also have the ability to attempt to scout almost any foe you encounter, which involves having your on-field team show its strength by attacking a monster as a group (but not dealing any damage). Each monster breed has numerous distinct characteristics, and as they gain levels from fighting, you earn skill points that you can use to give them new attack skills and stat boosts from a species-specific selection. You can switch your monsters in and out of combat at any time, even replacing fallen fauna with a full-health unit from your reserve crew if need be. Your party consists of up to six monsters at a time: three in combat, three in reserve (though bigger beasties require multiple spaces in your roster).

The big difference this time is that instead of a crew of armored warriors, you're commanding a monster squad that you have personally recruited and trained. Commands are given to your party through text menu selections, and your crew and the enemy take turns bashing each other until someone emerges victorious. Instead, the wrecked ship acts as a hub, with functions like a vending machine, an automated bank, and a monster holding pen becoming available as the game progresses and more shipwrecked non-player characters are rescued.Ĭombat in Joker 2, as in its sibling games, is old-fashioned. You won't find much in the way of towns, either.

Instead of progressing on an overworld map from hub town to dungeon to point of interest, you move from one monster-riddled area to another via a simplified map menu, with new places to explore opening as you complete various story goals. The visual element of the game is also strong, with surprisingly detailed environments and amusing character and enemy animations that help bring the island and its denizens to life.ĭragon Quest is known for its staunch adherence to traditional RPG elements, and while Joker 2 maintains the old-school feel of its forefathers, it also takes the formula in some different directions. Dialogue is consistently amusing, laden with silly puns and odd little speech tics that make the various characters and critters you meet during your quest a memorable bunch. It's not a particularly interesting or original story, but Joker 2's saga still manages to charm thanks to superb localization. Perhaps you were sent to this place for a reason. But there's more to this strange island than meets the eye, and you soon discover secret tomes and treasures of legendary monster scouts of yore. It's up to you to develop your monster-scouting skills to command the beasts that rule this island and find the ship's missing passengers.

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As fate would have it, the ship encounters a patch of turbulence and crash-lands on an uncharted island seemingly devoid of human life. You assume the role of the game's nameless protagonist, a young ruffian and would-be monster scout (a person with the ability to subdue and command monsters) who stows away on a flying vessel headed toward a major monster-scout tournament.
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Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 is the latest in the series to be brought to Western shores, and it offers what the DQ franchise is best known for-whimsical fantasy settings and characters, fun dialogue, and traditional turn-based role-playing game combat-while putting its own distinct twist on the familiar formula. Among them are the Dragon Quest Monsters games, which takes the Dragon Quest series' roster of crazy, cartoony beasties and puts them at your beck and call. Many Western players are aware that Dragon Quest is the 800-pound reptilian overlord of Japan's game industry, but might not be aware that the series has spawned numerous spin-offs.
