Maybe there's a reason that game companies don't produce first-person-based role-playing games.
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors is Square Enix's first attempt at creating something for Nintendo Wii-owning RPG fanatics, a first-person quest with gameplay that takes advantage of the remote controller. However, its technical savvy is also its ultimate undoing – there just isn't enough substance in the gameplay to give this quest a recommendation.
In the game, you play a young lad assigned the task of rescuing a queen, who's being tormented by a mysterious mask. She refuses to speak to anyone, even her own son, a prince of the local village. You'll find yourself teaming up with him, your overconfident father and a cute but generally annoying French lass as you proceed on a rescue mission while fighting monsters and slimes.
Who knew killing slimes would be so boring?
If this storyline sounds basic, that's because it is. You'll find very little reason to care for anyone in the game due to the inane, dull dialogue. Prince Anlane whines too much for his own good and fails to realize emotional impact with his mother's awkward behavior. Even Fleurette, the hot French girl previously mentioned, fails to give the game any oomph, sounding more like a stereotype than a living, breathing person.
What's surprising about Dragon Quest Swords is that the gameplay is almost as lifeless as the story. You'll spend a majority of the time performing backward and forward movement through dungeons, only to stop occasionally to engage in slashing battle against enemies such as golems and slimes. Combat couldn't be any simpler. You merely wave the Wii remote in certain directions when enemies get close, and they're cut down to size. There are specific attacks here, but the game just doesn't read them that well. As a result, you'll spend a large amount of time simply waving it back and forth until they're dead. Once in a while, you can use a shield by pressing the A button to deflect an incoming attack, but they telegraph so clearly that even a doofus can see them coming.
This is essentially the core of the gameplay, aside from clunky AI support from a member of your party and very minor town exploration on the side. The game uses the Wii remote, without any support from the Nunchuk. Walking around with the D-pad becomes incredibly annoying, to the point that you're wondering why your thumb feels worn out after just an hour of play. There are some Master Stroke attacks that are mildly enjoyable to execute, as you must perform some fancy movement with the controller. Unfortunately, there aren't many occasions to charge up and use them. The power-up system is also practically useless. By the time you manage to get your armor and sword to peak levels, the game concludes. Too little, too late.
The most lethal figure eight ever...
At least Dragon Quest Swords manages to get a majority of its presentation right. Despite the ludicrous dialogue, the game's audio is spot-on with a very good soundtrack and some nostalgic sound effects, including the old "stair walk" sound effect from older DQ games. The visuals don't look too bad either. Some of the renders are fuzzy, but the overall look is pretty damn smooth, especially as you dig into the game's deeper dungeons.
Sadly, there's no real longevity to this Quest. Even if you manage to find enjoyment out of the gameplay, the quest is done in a matter of a few hours with little reason to come back to it. A few additional bosses and a watered-down "payback" mode can't sustain the shallow, lacking gameplay. Kids and amateur role-playing fans may find these Swords to their liking, but everyone else will easily see just how dull they really are.
Related Links
Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors Game Guide
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