Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

Spinoff games Dragon Quest Monsters Series Dragon Quest Monsters Platform(s) Nintendo Switch Release date(s) December 1, 2023 Genre(s) Console role-playing game Mode(s) Single-player Rating(s) CERO: TBD
ESRB: Everyone 10+
PEGI: 12

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince (ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ3魔族の王子とエルフの旅 Doragon Kuesuto Monsutāzu 3 mazoku no ōji to erufu no tabi , lit: "Dragon Quest Monsters 3: "Journey of the Prince of the Demon Clan and the Elf") is the seventh game in the Dragon Quest Monsters series. It was released on December 1, 2023 worldwide for the Nintendo Switch.

Setting

The game is set in Nadiria, the underworld from Dragon Quest IV and V.

Psaro is cursed and is unable to harm anything with monster blood. Now, he must become a Monster Wrangler to create an army for battle.

The hunt for high-ranked monsters takes Psaro through the ever-changing seasons of Nadiria and its unique environments, with rivers of bubbling lava, mysterious ancient ruins, and soaring towers of cake. Along the way, Psaro meets the kind-hearted elf, Rose, who joins his adventure to seek out ever-stronger monsters.

The key to Psaro's success lies with synthesis: the ability to combine two monsters and create a stronger offspring. Each new creation brings Psaro one step closer to his goal of becoming the Master of Monsterkind.

Gameplay

Gameplay-wise, it follow's the same basic setup as the 3DS Monsters games: players can freely explore the world's 3D environments and they can engage in turn-based fights with their teams of monsters. As in Joker 3, the battles are 4 vs 4.

As in previous Monsters games, the creatures have sizes, however in this game there are only two sizes: small (S) and large (L).

As usual in the series, players can acquire new monsters by either showing them a remarkable strength, or by combining two monsters.

Version 1.0.3 update patch

The following changes and balance adjustments were implemented in the patch released on 27/12/2023:

• 1: Monty's synthesis center was added to the list of Zoom points
• 2: The number of eggs per Echelon has been increased from 3 to 6
• 3: Egg respawn rates now only require a single battle instead of ten
• 4: The likelihood of gold and rainbow coloured eggs has increased
• 5: Additional talent scrolls are available for purchase in the post-game
• 6: The map icon has been altered for clearer understanding of one's location
• 7: The success rate of stun-inducing abilities has been nerfed slightly
• 8: Scouting probability has been increased by 10%
• 9: Monsters now respawn indefinitely for each rank level in the Mole Hole DLC dungeon
• 10: Coach Joe's training dungeon can now be reset three times per 24 hour period. The number of treasure chests withing these dungeons has been increased
• 11:A treasure chest has been added to the basement of Rosehill Tower that contains two bumper bonus balls

In addition, the following bugs were addressed in the patch:

• 1: Game crashes have been rectified
• 2: Online battle disconnections have been rectified
• 3: Instances of the game freezing during the transition of the seasons has been rectified
• 4: Rare instances of the game soft-locking after feeding meat to a monster have been rectified
• 5: Instances of the player being unable to access the final rank of the Endor tournament after completing rank A have been recitfied

Version 1.0.4 update patch

The following changes and balance adjustments were implemented in the patch released on 23/01/2024

• The probability of a sparkling monster appearing as the result of synthesis has increased
• The animation of monster eggs hatching has increased
• The probability of metal king slimes appearing in their designated areas has increased
• Royston the paddock keeper makes small-talk less frequently when spoken to, allowing the player to access the paddock more quickly
• Monsters that appear in Aamon's Sanctum no longer chase the player even if they spot them.

• Fixed a bug that caused the Zoom spell to transport players to the altar of amalgamation within the circle of Nadiria they are currently in instead of the target altar in Terrestria
• Fixed a bug that prevented the correct BGM from playing when Zooming to an altar of amalgamation
• Fixed a bug that prevented the difficulty indicators from displaying properly when using the magic circle in Rosehill Tower to enter Nadiria
• Fixed a bug that crashed the game when opening the friend list from the online battle menu
• Fixed a bug that crashed the game when a monster accumulated a total of 9,999,999 experience points
• Fixed a bug that would display the wrong ability name in battle when used directly from the command menu
• Fixed a bug in the Mole Hole where the following monsters would randomly not be counted for the scouting total of a trip into the dungeon: mischievous mole, maniacal mole, don mole, calypso king
• A treasure chest containing three super seeds of skill was added to the Rosehill Tower basement

Version 1.0.5 update patch

The following changes and balance adjustments were implemented in the patch released on 05/03/2024

• The Personal Grudge trait now only activates once per battle
• The Decontaminate and Detox traits now also cure the stun status ailment
• Improved response time on several menu screens
• The frame rate has been improved in certain areas and during cutscenes
• The tufts of grass have been removed in the G~B rank levels of the Mole Hole so that smaller monsters are easier to see

• Bugs related to stability issues have been rectified
• A bug within the online ranking system that prevented the player's from receiving rank bonuses between seasons has been fixed
• A bug preventing the green bogey's resistance to instant death from being displayed properly in the monsterpedia has been fixed
• A bug that caused the game to crash when examining monster eggs in specific locations in the Middle Echelon of the Circle of Caprice has been fixed
• Bugs that prevented Psaro from moving after jumping from high areas in certain dungeons have been fixed
• A treasure chest containing two bumper bonus balls has been added to the Rosehill Tower basement

Version 1.0.6 update patch

The following changes and balance adjustments were implemented in the patch released on 18/04/2024

• Monster eggs can now be seen on the map screen and mini map
• Items that grant the sparkling effect and increase the maximum limit of a stat by 100 have been added to Fizzy's shop, rotating each day of the week
• Monster synthesis that involves a sparkling monster as a component now greatly increases the chance of the resulting monster to also sparkle
• Sparkling monsters now have their boosted-stat noted with the sparkle icon on the status screen
• Items that alter a monster's size are now sold in Fizzy's shop, being the downsizing seeds and upsizing seeds
• A monster's precise size details are now listed on the status screen, next to their rank
• Talent details can now be examined via the X button when checking a monster synthesis result at the Altar of Amalgamation
• The reverse synthesis search option now has detailed filters to search for specific parent components

• Bugs related to stability issues have been rectified
• Fixed a display bug preventing Auto-Restora and Auto-Cadabra's effects from being properly displayed after the possessors are hit with Disruptive Wave
• Fixed at bug where the AI would occasionally use Wave of Relief even in situations where it had no use
• Fixed a bug preventing talents from being filtered properly on the monsterpedia screen
• The frame rate has been improved in certain areas and during cutscenes
• Two chests containing 5 downsizing seeds and five upsizing seeds were added to the Rosehill Tower basement

New features & system alterations

• Monster synthesis has been greatly simplified, abolishing the rank combinations, monster polarity, and "+" values seen in earlier titles. Instead of the "+" value directly boosting a freshly created monster's stats, the 6 monsters that make up that beast's lineage, 2 parents and 4 grandparents, influence how quickly a particular stat will grow before reach it's preset total. This is based on the families of the component monsters, with the slime family affecting HP, agility, and wisdom, the dragon family for HP, MP, and attack, the nature family for defence, agility, and wisdom, the beast family for MP, defence, and agility, the material family for attack, defence, and wisdom, the demon family for MP attack, and defence, the undead family for HP, MP, and agility, and finally the ??? family affects HP, attack, and wisdom. As such, if 4 of the 6 monsters that make up a newly synthesized monster's lineage belong to different families then the creation will enjoy accelerated growth in all stats before hitting the species' natural cap. If the levels of both parents are at 100 then the boosts detailed above will be as high as 20%.

• Monster polarity had been abolished in Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3, but this title is the first instance in which overseas players can experience the gameplay difference.

• Monster combinations are now centered around the appearances of the components and any shared themes or games of origin they may have, allowing players to make more educated guesses as to what combinations will result in. As a result, several tried and true combinations no longer yield the same results as in past games and experimentation is greatly encouraged.

• Monster scouting has been altered so that the wisdom stat of the monsters putting on a show of force is factored into the success rate, and not just the attack stat. This alteration was made so that even dedicated casters can impress wild monsters, with the higher of the two stats on a given monster being used for the calculation; if a monster has equal attack and wisdom then one is picked at random.

• The player's chance to scout a monster of a particular Circle is also influenced by whether or not the boss of the area has been defeated.
• A show of force no longer counts as a physical attack and is thus unaffected by Dazzle, Sandstorm, base dodge rates, etc. If members of the player's party are asleep, confused, or paralysed then they will not contribute to the show of force.

• Monster eggs have returned after an absence in Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 3, and are now found at fixed locations throughout the Circles of Nadiria. Several monsters can only be found by hatching these eggs.

• Giant-sized monsters that take up three and four party slots have been removed, with there now only being single-slot and two-slot size ranges. Furthermore all monsters can be bred to be of either size, with the main differences being access to more actions per turn, an extra three traits, and maximum HP and HP being increased by 25%. The other stats are multiplied by a factor dependent on which Tactical-class trait they possess, being:

• Tactical Trooper = 0.9
• Tactical Commander = 0.8
• Tactical Genius = 0.8
• Tactical Titan = 0.7

• Sparkling monsters have been added to the game. These glimmering creatures have a 5% chance of appearing when a synthesis is performed and are noted by a special mark that appears on their icon, and enjoy having the upper limit of one of their stats raised by 100 points. Which stat is affected is chosen at random and cannot be influenced by the player.

• Frenzied states have been introduced, based on the pep system of Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. These super-charged states have a random chance to activate each turn, which skyrockets when a fellow party member is in critical health. Becoming frenzied allows a monster to go further beyond their limits bay gaining an extra action per turn, all types of damage being powered up by 150%, and all damage received being cut in half. The effect lasts only a few turns and can be utilized by enemy monsters and bosses, but the resulting power surge is more than enough to turn the tide for the players on the back-heel.

• As a result of the frenzied state's creation, the tension system that had been present since Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 has been abolished.

• Seasons appear, changing the landscapes of Terrestria and Nadira greatly. Locations that are inaccessible in one season can be reached in another, the variety of monsters changes, and different items can be found scattered through the lands in different times of year.

• Modifications have been made to resistances so that the effects of "Crafty" accessories and "Ultra Crafty" traits will now override immunity. For example, Krystalinda has the Ultra Crafty Cracker trait that reduces a target's resistance to the Ice element by 50%; if she were to cast Kacrackle on a snowmangler, which is immune to Ice, the power of the spell would only be cut in half. If she were to be equipped with an accessory that grants her the Crafty Cracker trait, the effect of the accessory would stack with her natural traits and the damage of her Kacrackle would only be reduced by 40%. This means that by paying attention to a monster's traits and accessories, even metal slimes can be wiped out in a single shot.

• The reverse is also true, with monsters that have natural immunity to an element or status ailment being able to take advantage of "Ward" accessories and "Ultra Ward" traits. For example, if the same snowmangler described above was granted the Ultra Crack Ward trait through one of several talents and the Crack Ward accessory trait, it would nullify the aforementioned Krystalinda's ability to override it's immunity to Ice and void the damage from her Kacrackle spell.

Development

Producer Kento Yokota met with Yuji Horii during the early planning phase of the title, and initial discussions regarding the game's plot centered on having Terry and Milly be the protagonists as a way to bring the series back to it's roots for the 25th anniversary. There were concerns that this approach would be somewhat limiting in where the story could go, and that it would not feel original. Yokota reflected on the rich story of Dragon Quest IV and initially considered using Solo as the protagonist, but reconsidered upon realizing that this would fundamentally be following the same premise as Terry starring in the original game. Instead, Yokota suggested using Psaro as the protagonist on the basis of the character's lasting popularity with fans and the shock value of playing as a central antagonist from a mainline game. Horii approved of this bold direction and agreed that this would be the premise of the 25th anniversary title, wanting the explore the history of a younger Psaro.

Careful consideration was given to the story and tone of The Dark Prince as it was decided to have the side-story tie directly into the events of Dragon Quest IV, an unprecedented move within the series as the story of Terry's Wonderland took place several years prior to the events of Dragon Quest VI and featured no connecting characters aside from the young siblings. To this end scenario writer Jin Fujisawa was hired to write the game, who was a long-time contributor to the series and had personally written the additional sixth chapter of Dragon Quest IV first seen in the Sony PlayStation remake. Fujisawa wrote the treatment and reviewed it with Horii, with particular care being given to how Solo and the other Chosen Ones would be presented within the game's narrative; Horii's concern was that players were not given the impression that the Chosen Ones were villainous even if they were opposed to Psaro.

Monster synthesis was also given a considerable amount of attention by Yokota and Horii, who viewed the system as the defining feature of the Monsters series . To this end it was decided it was time to shake up the traditional combinations for new mixtures. Ditching the tried and true formulas fosters a sense of discovery in players by finding new ways to create their favorite monsters, many of which are fun references to that beast's debut title; for example, Hargon is created by combining Atlas, Belial, Pazuzu, and the Wrecktor instead of a wight king and metal king slime.

For the game's logo, it was decided to use black and pink as the main colours to reflect Psaro and Rose as the central characters. Yokota was nervous to use this approach at first due to black never being used as one of the colours of the logo in any Dragon Quest title before, but Horii noted that the design left a strong impression which reflects the more serious nature of Psaro's story, as well as Rose's importance to him as his lover, and the concept art was quickly finalized.

Gallery

Logos

• 

  English logo.

• 

  Japanese logo.

Character Art

• 

  Psaro

• 

  Rose

• 

  Fizzy

• 

  Toilen Trubble

• 

  Healie

• 

  Dolph

• 

  Ludo

• 

  Group art

Gameplay

• 

  The dark prince.

• 
• 

  Meeting Fizzy.

• 
• 

  Rose.

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

  Humans abusing Rose.

• 

  Hero Solo makes a cameo?

• 

  Spring.

• 

  Summer.

• 

  Autumm.

• 

  Winter.

• 

  Synthesizing monsters.

• 

  Battle.

• 
• 

Pre-order & DLC ads

• 

  The Japanese "Master Set" bundle

• 

  A plushie based on Fluffy.

• 
• 

  Coach Joe's Dungeon GymDLC and cake maker costume.

• 

  The Mole Hole DLC and gothic vestment costume.

• 

  Treasure Trunks and monstrous mail costume.

Videos

Announcement Trailer

Gameplay Introduction

Monsters Showcase

Psaro and Rose picture book

Get the Facts

External links

• Official website (English)
• Official website (Japanese)