Dragon Quest Treasures [PC] | REVIEW

Treasure hunting and RPGs go hand-in-hand, but Dragon Quest Treasures fully embraces it as the core of its whimsical and charming adventure. It hit the Nintendo Switch last year, but with the recent release on Steam, PC gamers can get in on the action too.

Check out some screenshots down below:

Dragon Quest Treasures is a spin-off of Dragon Quest XI, with two side characters making a return to take centre stage on the hunt for treasure. Players take on the role of Erik (who was a part of your party in Dragon Quest XI) and his sister Mia, albeit in a younger form than players might recognise. They both want to become prolific treasure hunters and amass a fortune, so they venture out to a group of islands within Draconia to find some riches (and some legendary items known as the Dragonstones), with two peculiar creatures helping them out along the way.

It’s a quirky and charming tale that players can easily appreciate without playing Dragon Quest XI, so don’t be put off if you’re relatively new to the franchise. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t quite reach the epic heights seen in the mainline series, but there’s plenty going on in Dragon Quest Treasures’ world to ensure players will be kept entertained as they embark on the siblings’ exciting journey.

It’s probably pretty easy to figure it out, but a lot of your time in Dragon Quest Treasures will be spent hunting for treasure… duh. Players are free to navigate Draconia at their own pace, with multiple open environments to explore spanning different biomes that bring with them plenty of goodies to find. Digging for treasure is as simple as a button press, with an in-game indicator making it a bit easier to seek it out. Or, alternatively, your monster allies will help you find treasure, with each able to sniff out treasures in their own little ways and show you it from their perspective.

“Whilst Dragon Quest Treasures doesn’t have the high stakes or depth seen in the one of the mainline entries, it still manages to offer an adventure that lives up to the series’ high standards.”

That’s right, you’ll have monster allies join you on your journey in Dragon Quest Treasures, with plenty of familiar creatures ensuring that Erik and Mia’s treasure hunting escapade is a successful one. They’ll also help you out in combat, with each monster acting independently but also following any of the simple commands you can dish out. Combat in the game is admittedly pretty straight-forward as far as action-RPGs go with Erik and Mia relying on simple combos and using their slingshot for ranged attacks, but there’s enough going on to ensure showdowns with enemies are entertaining – especially when your monster allies put their special abilities to use.

Your monster teammates can also help out when traversing the land, with some helping you fly across distances, some launching you up in the air, and others simply giving you a burst of speed to stride across the pretty sizable locales. Some of the treasures you seek might seem out of reach, so it’s always satisfying when a monster is able to give you a helping hand to reach what would otherwise be inaccessible areas. It is worth noting that you can only take three monsters out with you at a time though, so it’s worth checking out their capabilities carefully to ensure they’re just as effective at helping you navigate the world as they are at beating up any baddies that’ll try to stop you along the way.

However, monsters won’t just help you without a bit of work first. You can recruit monsters to your cause by defeating them in combat beforehand and impressing them enough that they think you’re worth helping, though they’ll also require some specific items before they’ll make the leap and join your team. These items are relatively easy to gather so it’s never too much of a problem to get them on side, whilst it’s always rewarding to conquer a new monster in the wild and then have them fight alongside you. There are around seventy monsters to find and recruit in total so it isn’t as hefty as something like Pokémon (and a lot of the monsters feel like simple re-skins), but it’s always cool to see a new face want to join the team.

Check out some screenshots down below:

There’s plenty going on during your adventure to keep it exciting, whether that’s completing the multitude of side quests on offer, uncovering some of the wondrous sights of the world, taking on a rival gang that’s after your treasure, or beating up one of the many exciting bosses you can face in the game, whilst there’s even an element of base management in place as you look to restore the Trans Draconic Railway Company to make into an home hub for your team. You can upgrade it with a variety of facilities that’ll make your treasure hunting escapade all the more easier as you progress, so it’s fun to watch it expand as you increase your reputation as treasure hunters.

It all comes together nicely to make for a cozy and rewarding experience, whilst it also runs and looks great on PC. The Nintendo Switch version had a few performance hiccups when I previously played it, but everything was flawless here, with the game offering support for 4K resolutions and a frame rate of 120fps. It even runs great on the Steam Deck, with it easily outperforming its Nintendo Switch counterpart.

Developer: Square Enix, TOSE
Publisher: Square Enix
Platform(s): PC (Reviewed), Nintendo Switch
Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2021210/DRAGON_QUEST_TREASURES/