I haven't yet because I want to know more about it. Hoping for a QL. I want to know more about the mechanics of it. I know its a Dynasty warriors thing. But whats the loop of it? I was watching some streams but it was mostly gameplay and I saw they're collecting money so I'm guessing there are upgrades and stuff? I'm assuming there are a bunch of playable characters too. IS YANGUS IN THIS?

I bought it but have yet to start it.

From what I've picked up looking into it, it still has a base in the musou style but strays from that design a bit, hence the lack of a Warriors title. You choose between a male or female main character then are joined by 11 other characters, one of which is Yangus. You assemble a party of four for each mission and can switch between them on the fly.

As for gameplay, it has musou style combat but the maps are often small ish and there are tower defense parts, where you can use coin dropped from defeated monsters to have them help you in the defense. There is also a crafting system and equipment you can buy as you level up.

It also includes all the DLC released in Japan right on the disc.

@bane122: Is the DLC included in the digital version?

@devil240z: I thought I may have poorly chosen my words but I skimmed this SE blog and it specifically says disc. Didn't see mention of digital. It'd be crazy to not have it digitally but apparently Square just fucked people over with the digital preorder up in Canada so who knows. I'd look more into it before buying, perhaps.

I'm about 10 hours in. So far, it's a really fun game, with a lot more depth than your typical Dynasty Warriors style musou. In fact, I'd rather say it's more of an Action-RPG with Musou trappings, rather than a Musou with Action-RPG trappings. And yes, Yangus, with his original voice actor, is all up in dis shit.

And Healix is super adorable.

I saw "Dragon Quest" and got all excited, and then saw "Dynasty Warriors" and was horribly disappointed.

I've just been looking into this game today. I've never played a Dragon Quest game, but I've always liked the look of them. I don't mind Musou-style games either, and I really need something bright and cheerful after MGSV and Mad Max, so I think I'll be picking this up this weekend.

Do it. I'm having a lot of fun with it so far! I'm kind of sad Jessica's original VA didn't return, but am super happy Yangus's did. Playing this is making me want to play VIII again!

This alone makes it worth it.

People who dismiss DW games confuse me. I mean I understand it but an outright dismissal of anything related to it seems odd. For me the only thing that keeps me away from DW games is that I don't really have an interest in Chinese mythology. so when they use that formula with gundam or this I'm alot more interested.

@theblue said:

That is one of my favorite things in this game and I like a lot about this game. I can't stand Dynasty Warriors and I liked Hyrule Warriors well enough but don't think much about it. I'm having a blast with DQ: Heroes. It helps having a ton of love for Dragon Quest because it basically is just a bunch of fan service. But it's fan service that is SUPER well done and actually has a fun game around it.

The more I play the more I realize this game is basically Dragon Quest IX with Dynasty Warriors combat. The alchemy system, the quests, and the grotto extras are largely lifted from IX. The combat is repetitive but they mix it up every now and then and just mashing buttons will kind of only get you so far.

The JRPG trappings help a lot to set it apart from a button masher. It's certainly nothing ground-breaking but the more I play and the more features are unlocked, the more I find myself enjoying it.

I'm enjoying this game, while having only a vague idea of what Dragon Quest even is, but I also like Dynasty Warriors. I like the whole "defend this point with monsters" thing. Gives it a tower defense twist also makes hurry around a lot, which is true to the DW experience. Also I find it pretty charming in its upbeat attitude. DW has their own ridiculous charm but this is sometimes genuinely funny.

I guess as a DW guy some of the characters feels kind of one-note. Short combos and not a lot of them per character. And I'm not super big into the quest or crafting here. I'm about 8 hours in and I don't feel like I really need any of it. I bet it all makes more since if you're a Dragon Quest fan. Its still having a pretty good time though.

Not got a PS4 yet but plan on buying it when I do. I've just been playing Hyrule Warriors in the last few weeks and was surprised how much I liked it. Given that this just looks like a prettier version of that, I'm definitely interested.

Are there any major differences in gameplay style between the 2?

@gstats: Supposedly it leans on the RPG side of things much harder.

This is.... this is a pretty good game! I have was always a mild fan of Dynasty Warriors type games but they only hold my attention for a bit as brainless things i do when I listen to a podcast or something. However this isnt really a Musou game much at all, it uses the combat engine and basic attack structure but its not just a mindless kill everything game, bosses are hard you have to dodge, the areas are small and require more strategy to complete.... there are more RPG systems than normal (basically all the systems from DQ9 are here and series staple alchemy is there too). This is way more a departure than Hyrule Warriors was. Once you attach better systems and a bit more difficulty to their pretty solid action combat you end up with something that is really quite enjoyable.

This might end up being my biggest surprise of the year.

Bought it and will start it once I'm done with Metal Gear. Freaking loved Hyrule Warriors (200 hours give or take) and from everything I saw prior to release, this looked like a more fleshed out, better looking version (and in the Dragon Warrior universe!). Hearing that it's also got RPG elements and other DQ trappings I'm super excited. I expect I'll end up turning the volume off and listening to podcasts after a while, but can't wait..

I get the feeling square enix was more involved in this than most people expected. The story is very very typical evil/good dark/light stuff but it completely nails the charm, pluck, and fun of a Dragon Quest universe. I also really appreciate that the lead characters are all new for this story and they are all very charming in that DQ way.

I have nostalgia for Dragon Quest and Zelda dating back to the NES when I was a kid (Dragon Warrior was my shit when I was 5 and I beat it and 2 when I was 5 and 7), but this game is really hitting my nostalgia way harder than Hyrule Warriors did. The art style, the music, the FUCKING adorable monsters its all too much. Healix your Healslime companion is pure GUHHHHHHHHHHHHHH cuteness, I need a plushy of him/her and I own 0 of those things.

Yeah, this game is really rad. I wish there was a little more depth to the combat, but being able to switch between the members of your party kind of gives you those options

I think it's a really good game. Probably the best musou style game I've played

That's a bit disappointing to hear, as a Musou game fan. Having fun with the different movesets and long, flashy combo strings is half the fun for me. Sounds like the rest of the game makes up for it though. I'm looking forward to picking this up a little later down the line.

I flipped on a couple of YouTube videos and hearing that music made me long for a proper Dragon Quest RPG more than ever. I did enjoy seeing several of the characters I like from 4 to 8. I don't know. I picked up two One Piece Pirate Warriors musou games during a PS Flash Sale last month, so I'm good on the genre, but I do love Dragon Quest...

I'm not very far in, but I'll echo the comments lamenting the short combos. So far it has only been mashing through fodder, and with such limited combat options I barely want to keep going. My available combos (for all characters) are thus:

Square, Square, Square Square

Square, Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle

Square, Square, Triangle, Triangle

Square, Triangle, Triangle

The magic is nice, having spells just available with R1+Face Button, but they're kind of whatever - certainly not powerful enough to merit locking them behind a slowly-recharging mana meter.

I dunno, from a pure gameplay perspective I'm incredibly bored. I like Musou games for the part where they're a somewhat abstracted strategy game, and the combat is more of a diversion. So the combat being so boring - while also being the only thing there doesn't bode well for this.

I'll keep going, to see if it picks up. Everyone seems so bullish on it, I have to imagine there's something I haven't found yet. By comparison, I sank like 90 hours into Hyrule Warriors and had a blast with it, warts and all.