Action role: Dragon Quest Heroes 2 review | Technobubble

Technobubble covers games, gadgets, technology and all things geek. Follow Technobubble poobah Jason Hidalgo’s shenanigans on Twitter @jasonhidalgo or his Tabiasobi Youtube channel

During a visit to Orlando, Fla. last month, I decided to take a quick break from the journalism conference I was attending to drop by Universal City Walk for lunch.

Most folks head to the City Walk as a precursor to imbibing in Universal Studios’ various theme park thrills. In my case, however, I was there for one thing.

The Cowfish restaurants “burgershi.”

A cross between sushi and a burger — well, a steak, really — the burgershi seems like a sacrilegious attempt at surf and turf for adventurous foodies. After hearing about it, I simply had to try it. Ultimately, I wasn’t quite sure what was more surprising, the idea of incorporating rare steak into sushi or the realization that the concept actually works in its own weird way.

That, in a nutshell, also describes Dragon Quest Heroes 2. An amalgamation of Japan’s beloved RPG franchise with the “Musou” or Dynasty Warriors’ hack-and-slash series, Dragon Quest Heroes 2 looks like the unholy love child of a misguided focus group that involved way too much sake. Like Hyrule Warriors —  which I likened to deep-fried caviar — and the original Dragon Quest Heroes before it, however, this followup to the Koei Tecmo and Square Enix mashup works in its own peculiar way while benefiting from some improvements over its predecessor.

This time around, the story revolves around two warrior cousins, who I named, uh, Mochi and Dorayaki in my game. If my burgershi detour wasn’t obvious enough, I have an affinity for sampling all sorts of comestibles.

These cousins, who conveniently happen to be a girl and a boy, find themselves thrust into a prophecy involving twin kings from the past who ended up embroiled in a bitter war. It’s a conflict of great cost that is ultimately followed by an extended era of peace. It also gives birth to a prophecy that foretells the return of conflict in the future. Following the game’s introduction, it doesn’t take long to figure out that a shadowy force fully intends to make the prophecy come true by sowing discord among the various kingdoms.

As far as stories go, it’s one of the beefier ones you’ll see for a Musou game. Granted, it won’t stack up with the tales from the main line Dragon Quest games. As a “Warriors” hack-and-slash games typically go, however, the narrative is like War and Peace.

Presentation, meanwhile, heavily borrows from its source material. That means cartoony fantasy locales and characters with that telltale Akira Toriyama design of Dragonball fame. Combined with the stylized 3D look, the game’s cast look almost like plastic or PVC anime figurines come to life.

Admittedly, it’s a visual style that has some uncanny valley moments and won’t be for everyone. If you love the classic Dragon Quest style and Toriyama’s unique designs, however, this will float your proverbial boat. The ability to toggle between English and Japanese voice acting is also a nice bonus.

One plus is the use of classic Dragon Quest themes, which will be familiar to fans of the series. It’s certainly a big part of what makes the game feel like an homage to the popular series.

While the game looks and quacks like a Dragon Quest game, however, it doesn’t walk like one. For the most part, this is a Musou game through and through, featuring button-based combos and hordes of foes. Then again, Dragon Quest Heroes 2 isn’t quite the mindless hack-and-slash game that most games in the series are. I actually found this to be one of the more challenging Musou or Warriors games I played. While most Musou peons serve as cannon fodder to your overpowered combat prowess, I actually found myself dying or being in near death more times than I’m used to for a Musou game against mobs of regular foes. This is especially true when going through new areas where enemies are either close or might even have a level advantage against me. This meant I had to be a bit more conscientious about what I’m doing instead of just mindlessly stringing together my combos. The stronger mobs can make mid-boss and boss encounters particularly tougher, too, especially when such fights are mixed in environmental effects like poison bogs. At the same time, DQ Heroes 2 also tries to be accessible to folks of all skill levels by including simple controls as well as manual controls for series veterans.

To help even the odds, you have several weapons within your disposal. Both main heroes, for example, can pretty much use every weapon by changing vocations. Otherwise, you can swap on the fly with other heroes, too, each with their own particular weapon that they specialize in. Twin swords, for example, feature blistering speed while axes compensate for their slow speed with extra power. Then you have more technical weapons like boomerangs that can be doubled by perfectly timed button presses.

Each weapon’s unique peculiarities make the game feel fun and diverse, especially when you factor in the ability to improve your proficiency with each one. The level-up mechanic extends to your own character, an obvious nod to Dragon Quest’s JRPG side. It’s possible to reallocate skill points, too, so you don’t have to feel paralyzed by your choices during your initial foray into the game. Another homage to Dragon Quest involves appearances by various characters from series lore such as Torneko, Maribel, Ruff and Terry, for example. Folks who have a save file of the original game get extras such as the costumes of the two original heroes Luceus and Aurora. Having a Dragon Quest Builders save file also nets you the Builder’s Mallet, which is a strong weapon in the early game.

One mechanic that makes a return are monster medals, which are sometimes dropped by foes in the field. In addition to summoning monsters to fight by your side or trigger effects, some medals also now allow you to take the form of a monster temporarily, such as a Golem, for example. This is especially helpful against tough mobs or bosses.

One welcome addition is the inclusion of multiplayer online co-op, which allows you to fight alongside up to three other warriors as part of a four-man team. This helps address one of the glaring weaknesses of the first game and makes battling a lot more fun. Then again, playing solo is still quite enjoyable, especially when doing tag tricks that let you unleash a special attack when switching between characters.

Despite its improvements, Dragon Quest Heroes 2 also has its share of niggles. One is the lack of local splitscreen co-op, which is a shame as I always love playing the game with other folks in my living room. The online interface also can be cumbersome, which makes partying up a bit inconvenient. The partner AI, meanwhile, can be dumb as a rock at times and I’ve found myself wasting my limited heals and resurrects on them. It’s annoying to be doing well during a boss battle, only to see your AI partners biting the dust and requiring you to babysit them. As someone who typically prefers the Japanese voice acting for anime-style Japanese games (and English voice acting for games like Metal Gear), I also found the Japanese voice for the main male protagonist to be insufferable. Lastly, the camera can wonk out times or get covered by a tree, which can be a pain during tough battles.

Overall, though, I found Dragon Quest Heroes 2 to be enjoyable and a notable improvement over its predecessor. Just like a burgershi isn’t as delicious as a regular sushi or steak, the game won’t reach the heights of a main Dragon Quest game. At the same time, it’s still a neat treat that’s enjoyable in its own unique way.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Like some unholy love child, Dragon Quest Heroes II continues its predecessor’s attempts at merging JRPG conventions with the hack-and-slash gameplay of the “Musou” or “Warriors” franchise. Although it isn’t always a perfect union, Dragon Quest Heroes II is a fun romp that provides one of the more challenging experiences in Koei Tecmo’s “Warriors” franchise. If you enjoyed the first game or Hyrule Warriors, you’ll certainly want to try this one out.

• Rating: 8 out of 10
• Cost: $59.99 , PS4 (reviewed)
• http://dragonquest.com/heroesii/us/