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.
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.