Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (Nintendo DS, 2007)

DQM:Joker. This is actually the second purchase of the game. we bought a copy and had a great time and with one copy we couldn't compete and play Wi-Fi so we needed to get a second copy. WORTH-it.

Explanation: This is a game about a character that is involved in a activity called monster "scouting" in which intimidating creatures battled you can recruit them to your team. this team you form helps you along the goal of winning the monster scout competition. Along the way you power up skills and abilities much the same as RPGs. OF course you get these creatures and strengthen them, and can then synthesize them creating your own unique breeds and choose their special characteristics from their parent creatures.

Along the way your quest you meet a unique beast that cannot be tamed and calls no scout "master" he tells of an impending cataclysm foretold and the two form an alliance reluctantly to scratch each others backs, so to speak.

I Won't say much more about the story to keep from spoiling it. I will say it is compelling enough to return to playing, and addictive in a pleasant way when you need a good time killer during travel etc. or just to have some adventuring quest fun.

GRAPHICS are 3-D and cel-shaded mixed in a true to anime style that is very rich and the environments are interesting, attractive and unique. the visuals are simple yet smooth and impressive. Character designs are by the great Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball-Z, and Roujin-Z)to name a few other examples of his work.

GAME PLAY is compelling yet simple. Not overly complex yet there is enough to it to feel as though you can have control over the development of your creature team and how the events unfold in battle. Control response is tight and 100% effective.

SOUND is standard quirky, silly and at times goofy. Although during intense scary, or comical moments, the score does create a nice atmosphere of omnipotence, suspense, or giggles when appropriate. A fair score that molds itself well with the pace of the game.

Overall a fun game with nice animations, fun combat sequences and battle animations. It has a large variation of creatures to develop and fight, and fun quests that make you willing to play on the see the fate of the main hero scout.(you name him and all monsters you scout or synthesize)The only reason I kept it from an excellent rating is it took a hit in the originality department. It kind of felt that it jumped on the pokemon, digimon band wagon at the peak and the premise seems to feel borrowed from these predecessors at times. However it doesn't hinder the FUN and it does add its own flair that keeps its uniqueness different enough to keep attention drawn. I recommend a try if you like RPG/battle strategy type games. Ages 10 and up I am 30 and still have fun with it. I give it a try with thumbs up.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is an RPG (Role-Playing Game) in which you control a young Monster Scout who must travel troughout a series of islands while collecting and battling with the various creatures found upon these islands.

If you're a fan of DragonQuest, Pokemon, Digimon, Spectrobes, or any other creature-based RPG, then you should strongly consider adding it to your collection.

The Graphics are great, a full 3-D enviroment with characters drawn by the man who drew the "DragonBall" series implore you to explore.

The story is somewhat simple, although there is a major plot twist, and I found the final battle memorable.

The Vareity of monsters found in the game could be described as wide, despite some monsters that are just palette swaps of another monster with different stats.

The game does have Wi-Fi, or online play, but the majority of people consider it's online "broken", meaning it needs help.

Overall though, DQM:J is a great alternative to pokemon in which you can breed, battle, and explore a mystical 3-D world.

This is One of the best RPG game for DS. First of all, I have been a big fan of dragon quest for years, and this game is the reason I bought the DS system. That being said, I was excited about playing the game and through the mid-game, I realized that the story line wasn't that great and it didn't meet my expectation. But, The best thing about this game is hunting monsters and creating monsters. Hunting strong monsters and looking for my favorite monsters kept me up all night to play. There are so many monsers to create, such as some interesting monsters from the previous dragon quests. Side quests and matching different monsters to create better monster took most of my playing time. Overall it's a unique game with cool features but if you are impatient about fighting many monsters to get stronger, this game is not for you.

Along the years, many games have tried to mimic the simple game play of the Pokemon series. While Most downright sucked DQM has always stood strong against the juggernaut. As you start the game you find out you need to battle in a tournament & are given a choice of 3 monsters to carry out tasks on islands while getting a crew of stronger monsters to join you. This is as close to Pokemon as it gets folks. You start breeding/synthesizing monsters, because unlike the giant these monsters do not evolve. The game graphically is one of the best on the DS, Only second to Dementium: The Ward. The problem here is sound quality... It kinda sucks. The sound effects are kinda blah and the music is catchy but a tad generic.

The story is great but short. most of your time will be spent gathering new monsters to destroy the competition and synthing new monsters to get the most out of your time.Another con is the game is on the expensive side. It should have only cost 30-35 dollars but SEI thought they could get 40 out of it which is I guess the norm for SE games. But when your game is short dont try to steal my money k SEI?

All & all it is a new Monsters game, and if you are reading this you most likely know what you are in for and will love it. Just dont go in to it expecting it to be as long as Pokemon & we'll be ok.

8/10

This game is such a great RPG! It was my gateway into other great RPG's! It's easy for new players to the series to understand, yet it yields enough complexity for more advanced players to hold on to and enjoy.