An enjoyable dragon quest experience with some stumbles along the way.

I really enjoyed the integration of multiple JRPG elements from the dragon quest games into a hack n slash format . The enemies, abilities, equipment, classes, exploration, etc, all blended and translated well as a hack n slash game. Can't also forget to mention the character designs and banging soundtrack. It was super easy for me to be immersed into another dragon quest adventure.

However, it does have its shortcomings compared to the best of the best DQ has to offer. While the "stages" in this game tended to offer a good amount of excitement, it had some weird balancing issues. The stages would be either very fun and well paced, to having maps far too big that made traversing all around tedious or having super spongy bosses. Sometimes the stages were too easy to be entertaining, others it would be just right, and other times punishing. Having to do an stage entirely over because you couldn't rescue someone because it took forever to traverse from the other side of the map wasn't a good feeling. The story was also nothing noteworthy either.

This was still a fun good time. I'm definitely thinking about visiting some other DQ entries because I've found it very easy to get immersed in this franchise.

As much as I am a fan of warrior games and Dragon Quest, they have yet to make the games as good as the Hyrule Warrior games have been. Maybe it has something to do with the size of the locations, the JRPG nature of the franchise, or simply not rendering enough enemies, but the series just doesn't get close enough to the explosive action I felt when it comes to any of the other warrior games. Still compared to the first Dragon Quest Heroes, DQHII actually improvements itself immensely, and what was once an utter drag, is now just a novelty that feels like it's miss something.

Like the first Dragon Quest Heroes was so stiff and slow paced that it never felt like you were given the time of day to actually get into any of the action. There was no chance to explore or make itself feel like a classic JRPG the way a Dragon Quest game ought to be. Heroes II fixes this oversight by giving the players a proper overworld to play around in and explore. While there isn't always a bundle of enemies to smack around, there is at least plenty of environments, treasures, and block passages to make it really feel like a traditional JRPG overworld. It honestly feels like I'm exploring the first map of Dragon Quest again, and every time I see an enemy it's like it draws near to me despite it remain quite stationary. There is just something to say about a big overworld, especially one as filled as Heroes II that gets any player really excited to explore it.

Sadly though, the overworld of Heroes II isn't the main focus of the game, and that in lies the problem with it. It's not so much that the story is bad or the characters feel off, it's more so just how the maps used during story segments are rather hit or miss. Like there is plenty of dungeon type maps in this game, but there are also plenty of maps that feel like an empty arena in which you wait to be filled. Once more, the balancing of these types of maps are entirely lopsided with the early story maps having hardly any creatures, and the later game areas have plenty of enemies to deal with. This makes for a lot of the beginning of Heroes to be not only slower to get into, but boring too. The game really only picks up right after your fight with Terry, and that's roughly 15 hours in.

Not to entirely slander Heroes II though, as I will say they did an excellent job of actually making proper boss characters, and challenge throughout the game. Once more, you can also select any current heroes you have in your party, and virtually play the whole game has just the characters you like. Even if you never touch the rest of the cast they still level along with you, albeit slowly.

If you are looking for a warriors like Dragon Quest game in which you beat up a bunch of monsters, Heroes II is certainly the better showcase of the two games we currently have. On top of that, the first Heroes game doesn't need to be played through at all, and any extra fun to be had with the characters that do show up are at least characterized well enough that you don't have to know their original game counter parts to understand them. I don't think there is enough here to really engage anyone new to the franchise, and the lack of a proper couch / online co-op only hinders any possible friends/ lovers from exposing them either. That being said, there are better warrior games out there, and the only true enjoyment I can see this game getting is from fans of the series.

I always found the Dragon Quest series to be particularly charming, but I couldn't commit to finishing a mainline game because I wasn't a big fan of JRPG's. As Heroes 2 was more of an action RPG, I found myself getting comfortable with it quite quickly, and it's just the kind of ARPG I find myself favoring: field areas where you could explore, battlefields which were less exploration and more combat focused, and instanced story missions which you could replay. It's very accessible, and for someone who, like me, finds the series charming but can't get into the mainline games, this one could be a good starting point to ease things along.

Positives
- character and monster designs are detailed and well-animated
- consistent frame rate in both standard and enhanced mode
- charming and likeable cast of characters
- story missions possess an adequate amount of variety, preventing the overall game from becoming too monotonous
- boss battles are frequently challenging and exciting
- vocations provide Lazarel and Teresa choices for both playstyle and role
- monster medals have been improved by introducing a third type that transforms any character into that monster, temporarily granting access to an assortment of new abilities

Negatives
- reused animations for all returning characters from the original Dragon Quest Heroes
- invisible walls occasionally obstruct the player in unusual locations
- forgettable soundtrack, comprised of an excessive amount of reused tracks from previous Dragon Quest games
- mostly uninteresting and predictable main story
- several side quests involve obnoxious conditions; the most egregious being those that request defeating a bulky enemy with a specific ability
- AI-controlled characters are unable to handle certain mechanics and generally avoid using damage-dealing abilities, causing some battles to be unnecessarily frustrating and overly drawn-out
- some playable characters are underwhelming in terms of performance; particularly Torneko and Ruff
- experience and gold obtained from enemies are insufficient, which discourages the usage of different characters and vocations
- upgrading accessories requires an inordinate amount of grinding for insignificant stat boosts

Gameplay is as fun as ever and the extra variety in classes and skills is much appreciated, even returning characters from Heroes 1 have a bit more depth to them. Transforming into monsters is hit or miss, some of them are just too sluggish to be fun. The fact that summonable ones follow you around instead of being stuck to a guard point is a huge improvement though.
Handful of great QoL upgrades, like selling/buying en masse. Story was also a bit better, but it was a low bar.
Unfortunately for all the steps forward it took, there's a big step back - the post-game issue of every enemy being a massive damage sponge is now present throughout the game, but especially so mid-game. The snow area especially felt like a huge chore to get through(granted some of it is self-inflicted since you can run past encounters, but that's just lame). Even coming back later on with 15 extra levels the enemies still feel slightly too tanky, really puts into perspective how bad it is the first time through the area.
Another downgrade is the AI behavior. A lot of the time my companions would just be staring at the enemies and doing nothing, especially noticeable when playing ranged characters, or when at low health for forever only to whip the camera around and see the character with the healing spell with their back turned to the action.

This was a 140 hour Platinumb I was happy to see never ran out of steam until the very, very, very end (puff puff, iykyk). With a large cast of playable characters and classes, there's lots of diversity to combat, the skippable story is -- in fact -- easily skippable, and the rewards and achievements are generous enough to keep the dopamine coming. Took twice as long to complete as the first DQH, but it didn't feel it.

Now if game designers could just stop supplying me with my "ultimate weapon" when there's nothing left in the game to do, I'd be happy.

A great spin off that is an improvement on the first game in many areas.

The first Dragon Quest Heroes game was quite a pleasant surprise for me, a more action based spin off to the traditionally turn based Japanese role playing games utilizing a monster placement system made it both pretty unique and a fun game to play. The sequel improves upon the original in almost all areas making for a slightly more open experience more akin to a full role playing game though it has lost most of the tower defense mechanic for those that enjoyed that.

You play the role of one of two characters (though both are playable from the start) Theresa and her cousin Lazarel, a pair of trainee knights in the land of the seven realms which has known peace for 1000 years. War has however broken out between the two realms of Harbor and your characters homeland of Dunisia indicating a dark prophecy has come to pass and your characters take it upon themselves to try and stop it. The story much like the first game is pretty much just fluff and an excuse to go from place to place fighting monsters and gathering other characters from other Dragon Quest games.

There are 15 characters that are playable throughout the game, four of which are unique to Dragon Quest Heroes II and eleven characters from previous games (DQIV - Maya, Meena, Torneko, Kiryl and Alena, DQVI - Carver and Terry, DQVII - Maribel and Ruff, DQVIII - Jessica and Angelo). If you haven't played any of these games it really doesn't matter as they are introduced well and have their own stand out personalities as well as fighting styles.

The gameplay to Dragon Quest Heroes is pure action rpg. You have a party of four characters with you at any given time which you can switch between controlling on the fly and travel through story missions killing monsters and taking down bosses. Each character has their own unique weapon (except the protagonists which can change class and equip a variety) and move sets to use. As the characters attack and use their weapons they gain proficiency with them leveling their skill which unlock both new attack abilities and a range of passive abilities, the proficiency will go up even when the AI controls the characters in your party, just at a slower rate. Many of the abilities and spells are pretty effective and varied from area attack spells, attack buffs, healing etc. Each character can have four equipped at any one time along with two basic attacks, jump, block and dodge. Each character also has a tension bar which builds as attacks connect, once full it allows them to unleash a super attack called a coup de grace for huge damage. These attacks look fantastic and will allow you to be invincible temporarily as well as cure status ailments when triggered. Very powerful and often amusing (I like Torneko's especially).

The first game had a monster coin collecting mechanic to go along with the standard combat which is still in place here, sometimes on a monsters death they drop a coin that can be picked up and used for effects. Sometimes it will drop a monster of that type that will fight with you, sometimes it will unleash a one use powerful attack and sometimes you will become that monster for a set time using it's abilities. They are still useful at certain times, especially as decoys when you are totally surrounded but the mechanics of the first game in defending and holding areas and using the monsters to hold a choke point while you take another are used sparingly here for a couple of missions only and while the slight variety is nice I found it made the monster coin mechanic pretty useless at that point in comparison.

As the characters kill monsters they gain experience which allows them to level up and unlock ability points. These points can be used on a grid unique to each character which can unlock even more attacks as well as stat increases and other abilities. Each character can also equip various weapons, shields, orbs and accessories from the hub town shops or as rewards or chest finds. The accessories is one of the more interesting gameplay additions I like. There are a large variety giving ailment resistance, damage buffs and various other abilities. The thing about them is that each one has it's own level up grid much like the characters that can be upgraded for additional stats as well as increasing the effectiveness of their abilities. These are leveled up using ingredients monsters drop as well as from chests and even trading.

This game is a lot more open than it's predecessor, there is a hub town in the centre of the map called Accordia where your characters can do the aforementioned trading, buying of weapons and equipment, upgrade accessories, change characters etc. From here you can also take on various side quests as well as link up with other players to play online. Surrounding that are the wildlands which are open areas explorable between story levels full of monsters and the odd treasure chest where you can gain experience, proficiency or ingredients between story missions if you choose.

The online is...a bit of a let down. I was hoping for a full story co-op experience but instead it has a rather random mode where you get summoned to other peoples game for one mission then kicked out straight away. The other part is essentially a dungeon crawl where you link up in a lobby with up to three other players and play through various maps taking down enemies and bosses of various level and difficulty. In 100 hours of playing I have not been able to make my own lobby once and outside of the first map magic maze which scales to the players level in it have found almost no one playing online. Fortunately you can do these maps solo with your AI companions if you wish but it feels like a disappointment.

Presentation wise Dragon Quest Heroes II is excellent. The game runs incredibly smoothly, I experienced no frame rate drops or glitches of any sort no matter what was going on screen wise. The graphics are excellent and really bring Akira Toriyama's artwork to life. It's bold and colourful and just great to see many of the iconic Dragon Quest monster design roaming the maps. I have little to say regarding the music though, it's pretty much the same soundtrack the games have been using for many years. It's nice in a nostalgic way but not even slightly special. Does the job. The voice acting though is excellent throughout. Most of the voice acting appears to be British and is just high quality, I especially love Maribel's haughty spoilt brat attitude and Torneko's more relaxed manner. Really impressed there.

To conclude, if you liked the first game, I think you will like this one more. It's very similar just better, looks and sounds fantastic, has a more open environment, more characters and customization. I found the online a let down and would have liked more incentive for the monster coins but they don't harm my overall experience as a Dragon Quest fan.

Recommended.

+ Great variety of characters from the Dragon Quest games with a nice range of abilities.
+ Accessories are a nice addition.
+ The more open world is welcome.
+ Great visuals.
+ Has excellent voice acting.

- Online mode is a bit of a let down and not very active.
- Tower Defense gameplay style is toned back a lot to one or two levels for those that enjoyed it in the original game.