Most gamers don’t see monster collection as a genre, since one series garners
almost all of the attention: Pokémon. While Dragon Quest Monsters shares many
qualities with that franchise, it also has more hardcore appeal. Like the
previous entry, Joker 2 touts more robust RPG elements than Pokémon – dungeons,
boss fights, skill points – that give it more depth than your average
catch-a-thon.
The big draw of any title in this style is the monsters, and Joker 2 has over
300 of them to collect, level, and breed. The gameplay revolves around
recruiting wandering beasts, and then fighting turn-based battles to build up
their skills and stats. The story surrounding these activities is practically
non-existent, so the majority your time is spent grinding through the ranks.
This basic formula has sustained Pokémon and its ilk for years, but it’s wearing
thin, and Joker 2 doesn’t do enough to keep things fresh.
If you get tired of the endless barrage of battles, the few diversionary
quests and arena battles won’t do much to give you a break. That leaves you
wandering around, fighting through dungeons, and training monsters without
reprieve. The repetition can be dull, but if you enjoy the grind, Joker 2 has
ways of rewarding your perseverance.
The skill system lets you choose which skills (from various trees) your
monsters learn, so you feel like you’re customizing your team rather than just
learning certain abilities at set levels. You can further tailor their
performance by buying and equipping items, lending a more traditional RPG flavor
to your party. The big payoff comes once the monsters hit level 10, when you can
combine them in a breeding process more akin to Persona than Pokémon. This
additional complexity is welcome, but it doesn’t fill all of the gaps in Joker
2.
Something about this installment lacks the elusive charm that keeps players
coming back to the competition time and time again. The environments in Joker 2
are generic, the characters are flat, and it feels practically identical to its
predecessor. The cast of monsters also has something to do with it; I’ve been
playing Dragon Quest for years, and I like the stable of creatures, but I’d take
Charmander over Platypunk any day.
The most notable improvement over the last entry is the expansion of online
options. You can battle other players locally or online, and the DS Tag Mode
opens up new monsters to recruit if you connect with owners of other DQ titles.
Players can also join in weekly online tournaments for in-game prizes, but to be
competitive, you’ll have to spend plenty of time with the single-player
quest.
Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 may not be the most innovative
creature-collecting game on the market, but it does a good job dangling carrots
in front of players who don’t mind constant grinding. The underlying systems are
solid, and the addition of online battles gives it more longevity than the
previous title. You won’t find many other new features if you played the
original Joker, but the familiarity doesn’t keep the formula from working on a
basic level.