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 third main 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 27/12/203:

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

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, who decided it was time to shake up the traditional combinations for new mixtures. Ditching the tried and true formulas foster 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.