Preview

Dragon Quest Heroes PS4 hands-on preview

BWHAHAHAHAH!! Relax, stay with me. Trust me when I say that after spending just five minutes with Dragon Quest Heroes’ muscle-bound warrior, King Doric, you’ll be compelled to start every sentence with a manic chuckle. That’s just what I did after popping over to Square Enix recently to play a preview build of the upcoming PlayStation 4 fantasy hack-’n-slash title, which combines several characters from this multi-million selling franchise and gives it a Dynasty Warriors-style combat makeover. And, if my two hours with Dragon Quest Heroes is anything to go by, then gamers are in for a right treat when it ships for Sony’s current-generation platform this October. 

Cheerful and vibrant, Dragon Quest Heroes has all the trappings of a classic Japanese RPG, although things are far more accessible for newcomers; and I should know, as I’m a total Dragon Quest newbie. Things kick off with a moustached chap spreading his evil malice throughout the peaceful kingdom of Eurasaze, turning its once-benevolent monster population against the humans, bringing war to the land. It’s here that you are introduced to Luceus and Aurora; the male and female leads that you’ll be getting to grips with during the early stages of the game, and a source of much comical banter. In fact, most of Dragon Quest Heroes’ script is sprinkled with humor, and the dialogue and vocal performances are absolutely brilliant, capturing the tone of the game perfectly.

The game’s combat is simple to get into, yet hides a surprising amount of depth. You have your basic melee attack by hammering Square a few times, and can mix things up by hitting Triangle for special attacks, and combining the two for some damaging combo attacks. The game’s tutorial stage had me acquainted with the controls in no time at all, and before long I was racking up combos and duffing up countless baddies—many of which are perhaps too cute to be slaughtered indiscriminately with large pointy objects. The game throws dozens of foes at you at once, and by the end of the first mission I had eliminated scorns of enemies and gotten into a ruck with a rather nasty Dragon to boot. 

Dragon Quest Heroes doesn’t just have you mashing buttons to execute combos, either. There’s a whole magic option to explore, with spells accessed by holding R1 and hitting either Square, Circle or Triangle, depending on how many you have unlocked (more on that later). These attacks are flashy and can often engulf the whole screen, sending legions of foes flying; it’s all very impressive to look at, and made all the more enjoyable thanks to a silky-smooth frame rate. What’s more, each character—and there’s a lot of them, though I got to grips with four during the demo—has their own unique set of spells, making it interesting to mix things up and try out everyone. 

In fact, switching between characters is a lot of fun, not to mention tactically rewarding. Each character is better equipped for a specific set of enemies or situation than others, and since it’s so easy to change (just hit R2), I found myself mixing things up in a seamless, fluid manner and capitalizing on each character’s strengths to my advantage. Of course, let’s not forget that Dragon Quest has its roots firmly planted in the RPG genre; and as you can guess, you’ll be levelling up characters, purchasing new gear and weapons, plus increasing your attack and spell prowess by using Skill Points. The latter sees you increasing attributes such as HP, MP, attack power and other such aspects of your character, as well as unlocking new spells and making existing ones pack a meatier punch. 

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You also have a Tension Meter to consider, which is represented by a pink bar in the bottom left hand corner of the screen. As your combos increase, the meter slowly rises (although you can hold circle to boost it, albeit at an even slower pace); once it fills, you simply whack Circle to become even more devastating in combat, including the ability to double-jump and execute an all-powerful Coup de Grace. These moves are a blast to perform and more than often vanquish all enemies on screen (apart from bosses) and differ from character to character. In fact, it’s worth unleashing it and then switching over to another team member to build up their Tension Meter, which becomes a valuable tool in boss encounters. 

Even though my time with Dragon Quest Heroes was limited, it was more than enough to know that developer Omega Force has crafted an incredibly accessible, addictive, and enjoyable romp. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is a button-mashing affair; there’s a huge amount of depth to be found in juggling each character’s unique moves and Tension Meters, mixing things up to better fit a situation and unlocking new powers and spells. Things become even more strategic when you are forced to project allies or power generators, requiring you to keep an eye on multiple enemies encroaching on your position from all directions. One of the best ways of doing this I found is by utilizing the Monster Medals, which essentially has you using a captured enemy to fight for you.

My time with the game ended with a massive boss fight against a towering Cyclops, which required vigilant use of all four characters’ attacks to maximise combat efficiency. Overall, my two hours spent with Dragon Quest Heroes left a lasting impression, with Omega Force offering up a vibrant, addictive and humorous hack-’n-slash title that is shaping up mighty fine indeed. If the rest of the game is as compelling as the first couple of hours, then there’s no doubt we’re on to a winner.