Adorable Kitty Shield gave me a smile from my latest treasure. Local appraisers may be unimpressed by its cute design and say it’s not worth much, but that means I proudly display it in my vault instead – it’s Not the most valuable piece in my arsenal, but I’m happy to see it nonetheless. That kitty shield is an apt metaphor for Dragon Quest Treasures as a whole: it’s far from the richest jewel in Dragon Quest’s crown, but its generous structure, fascinating world, and endless stream of rewards make it a laudable relaxation. It is an RPG that can be played. .
Treasures stars Eric and his sister Mia, fellow thieves from Dragon Quest XI, but long before the Luminaries step into their lives, a pint-sized pickpocket joins a crew of Viking marauders. lived in After finding a flying pig and a talking cat (just like you), Eric and Mia fall through a magical portal into another dimension. This has nothing to do with the established storyline of Dragon Quest XI. For a game full of constant meta references to the entire series, anyway.
A portal drops Eric and Mia to Draconia, a world where dragons once turned people’s hopes and memories into treasures and hid them for safekeeping, each taking the form of items and people from Dragon Quest’s history. The dragon is long dead, but its various body parts now make up the half-dozen realms that make up Draconia, but I promise it’s in a cool way rather than a scary one. For example, the Draconian Wing has a windswept wasteland, with frigid mountains and ice caverns composing its shoulders, aptly named the Cold Shoulder.
The overall goal here is to use the money you earn from finding loot to build a stronghold for a gang of up-and-coming treasure hunters and help your cat and pig guides regain the favor of the gods. . Hoarding treasure is central to all your endeavors, but when you and some of the monsters come together to help you unearth the sparkly prizes, you’re finding more than just Dragon Quest nostalgia. , purpose and more, to restore what the people of Draconia (and even their rival treasure hunters) thought were lost, albeit indirectly, forever.Local train directors, on the other hand, don’t care if they find Dragon Quest V armor or Dragon Quest X shrine maiden statues, but they that is We are thrilled that your efforts will bring the beloved train station back on track, and facilitate exploration of Draconia in the process.
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This alternate reality setting gives Treasures the freedom to try something different with its story, but it’s only partially available. It’s more like a Dragon Quest fairy tale than a monster-style spin-off, one of the wholesome, slightly bittersweet variety. Everyone, monsters and humans alike, is obsessed with finding treasure for no reason other than because it exists. It is a chance for them to leave their busy homes, have fun, and build their own lives away from the woes of growing up and adults who are unfit to care for them. Dragon Quest feels like he meets JM Barrie’s Peter in that sense.
Draconia is his brother Neverland, and even though one of the duo’s main enemies is a villainous pirate, although he’s more of the skeleton kind than the hooked old man kind. Time and society have forgotten the people of Draconia, or at least those whom Eric and Mia befriended at the old Transdraconic railroad headquarters where they are based. It’s heartwarming to see Mia build a support group, and a safe place to return. For those familiar with the storyline of Dragon Quest XI, Eric and Mia’s sad and broken future (ironically broken by the same obsession with the treasure that fuels this adventure) has always been hanging overhead and eager. It adds a touch of sadness to a happy setup for fans.
Unfortunately, Treasures never really delves into the story’s rich vein of potential possibilities, and does little to build on its themes after first presenting them. Erik and Mia have no character growth throughout the roughly 30 hour campaign. Also, his relationships with most NPCs, other than a few of his NPCs, are limited to interactions that end with the quests they have commissioned you. How much you get out of Treasure’s story and characters depends on how much you invest. idea To revitalize the mind and spirit of this world. Because we never see the results of many of these efforts. In that sense, I can’t help but think that Treasures missed an opportunity. A little more depth and detail would have made it special and meaningful.
Take Eric or Mia on an expedition to one of the islands of Draconia to see what you can find and convince other monsters to join you in the hunt, while you meet new people and gaze for treasure. Once you arrive in these vast areas, you are free to decide when and what you want to do. Rush to rival treasure hunter bases to swipe their treasures, search for ancient monuments, convince the Queen of his slime to help him restore his shoulder station, or ignore it all! You can find more treasures.
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The main questline focuses on retrieving ancient artifacts, but is often overshadowed by many additional requests from friendly monsters and fellow treasure hunters. It’s easy to get bogged down in the number of goals, and sometimes the horizon gets cluttered with quest markers, but the advantage of having so many quests is that even if those quests are just variations of discovery, Always achieving something.Specific resources The local princess’ messenger may need help finding an ancient monument on the other side of the dragon’s belly. It’s a long road, but along the way you’ll need to grab some dirt to craft pellet ammunition for use in your next battle, and pick up some rare stones to power and repair the next broken train station.
Whatever you do, we recommend that you always look for treasures that will help you grow your base and unlock new main quests. It has a compass of (because you do, of course), but if you get too close, it’s confusing. This means that you must rely on your monster companion’s treasure vision to track your goods and get visual cues based on your own line of sight. Properly hidden by his own hat. Combined with , it helps keep routines fun even after dozens of hours.
None of the tasks given are overly complicated, but Treasure and its treasure hunt are the lizards in my brain that light up after finding shiny objects, solving simple puzzles, or checking tasks off a list. Does it matter if the base’s value rises significantly or the mystery of Draconia is unraveled? But I took home a cool piece of Dragon Quest history and put it on a pedestal to keep my imaginary train-loving robot happy for a few minutes. That was enough. The low-pressure, low-risk nature of what you do, and the constant drip of accomplishment, makes treasure cozier, and even if you don’t always see the world-changing effects of your hard work.
Treasure passively encourages you to do quests and treasure hunts in small amounts by limiting the amount of treasure you can carry. There’s a lot to do back at HQ, but that deliberate speed bump could start feeling a bit arbitrary and annoying, like perhaps Square Enix had plans for something bigger that never materialized. There are daily quests similar to what you’d expect from a live service game, but they play little role in the routine and offer meager rewards. You can, but the improvement extends to a handful of shops that can only be accessed from the company’s reception desk.
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Despite drawing inspiration from Dragon Quest monsters, Treasures is less concerned with creating a team of unstoppable creatures for players, mostly wanting players to explore with them. I’m in. Combat is also relatively simple, with a solid focus on the treasure-hunting aptitudes and other skills possessed by allies. Each monster you take with you has a set of priority treasures that you are likely to discover during your expedition, as well as a species-specific skill called Forte. These are abilities such as gliding and sprinting that make movement easier or help you reach difficult locations. The structure of each region is fairly simple, with few exciting layouts or hidden secrets, and is built around finding treasure spots and rare items using specific abilities. It may seem silly, but the simplicity can be welcome as it makes backtracking and dodging mobs of unfriendly monsters much more bearable.
When you choose a fight, you play a passive role, dealing damage with pellets from your slingshot or healing your monster friends. While it can only issue powerful attacks and gather commands, the monster AI is relentless and very adept at understanding how best to tackle its enemies. , and tanky monsters such as Restless Armor cast defensive spells at the right time, actually balancing offensive options to save MP.
Again, there’s the potential for something more complex that takes full advantage of these features. That is, deeper combat with a focus on building combos and finding the right combination of monsters. And here, too, Treasures instead prioritizes being light and breezy, and doesn’t require or reward much of that thought and attention to team composition. I find it positively jarring about it. It’s jarring to see so many plans seemingly scrapped, and the lack of clear direction is noticeably rare in a Dragon Quest game.
