Game Info Platform Win, PS4 Publisher Square Enix Developer Omega Force Release Date Oct 13, 2015

Dragon Quest Heroes isn't a game I expected to work half as well as it does.

Not unlike last year's Hyrule Warriors, the concept behind Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree's Woe and the Blight Below is to take the formula of the long-running Dynasty Warriors series of beat-em-ups, and apply it to a new and seemingly ill-fitting franchise. In this case, that franchise is Square Enix's Dragon Quest, a Japanese role-playing game series that's been a staple of the genre since 1986. So Dragon Quest Heroes is a slow, epic role-playing game crammed into the shape of a lean, seemingly shallow action title. It exchanges the fantasy of methodical turn-based combat against a small group of opponents for slashing through hundreds of enemies a minute. It seems at odds with itself. It's also a blast, far and away one of the most interesting games to come out of the Dynasty Warriors mold. Dragon Quest Heroes applies the Dynasty Warriors beat-em-up formula to Square's long-running RPG series

Dragon Quest Heroes opens on the kingdom of Arba during a festival. It's a world where monsters and humans live together in peace; in the opening movie, a giant golem sweetly hands a little girl balloons to her delight. The first glimpse of Arba is immediately endearing, but a world of peace is not a great setup for a game about killing legions of monsters, so inevitably things go wrong. The monsters inexplicably turn on humans, and more bad guys begin pouring out of portals opening around the city. You begin the game by naming the two main characters — one male, one female — and choosing who you'd prefer to control by default. These two are members of the city guard. They team up with the king, Doric, on a journey to discover just what the hell is going on before the enraged monsters rip apart the roots of Yggdrasil (the titular World Tree). The journey around the world is mostly an excuse to fight monsters in a variety of locales and track down new party members who are actually characters from previous Dragon Quest games. Heroes such as Dragon Quest 8's Jessica and Yangus and Dragon Quest 5's Bianca add a healthy dose of nostalgia for players who are well-versed in the series.

They also emphasize how generic Dragon Quest's characters are. Frankly, there just aren't that many meaningful differences between the heroes of the different Dragon Quest games. There are a few standouts — Dragon Quest 6's egotistical swordsman Terry and Dragon Quest 4's Russian-accented princess warrior Alena — but most of the party members are stereotypical good guys who are out to save the world because ... well, they're good guys, and the world needs saving. Dragon Quest Heroes wisely spends most of its time focused on humor above drama. My favorite bit is a running gag where the male lead tries to detail sprawling, complex battle strategies, and the female lead constantly shuts him down in favor of running in with blades swinging. That repeated joke sequence is also a perfect analog for how different Dragon Quest Heroes is from the average Dragon Quest game. Most of your time in Heroes is spent fighting, not talking to townspeople or looking at stat sheets. And the combat is fast, flashy and fun. The basic mechanics of Dragon Quest Heroes are incredibly simple and familiar to anyone who has played a Dynasty Warriors game. You have two attack buttons, one for heavy attacks and one for light, that can be strung together in combos. Bigger combos fill a meter known as "tension," and once that's full your character can pull off super powerful moves that can wipe out an opposing army in seconds. Dragon Quest Heroes also adds a tiny wrinkle to this formula with the addition of spells — by holding down a trigger, characters can cast a variety of established spells from the series.

The moment-to-moment combat in Dragon Quest Heroes can feel brainless, but I found an undeniable spark of joy in it nonetheless. There's something wonderful about the flow and sense of power that this formula provides, even if it's a far cry from the tactical, turn-based combat that Dragon Quest is known for. Dragon Quest Heroes also benefits from its franchise bestiary. Instead of fighting legions of the same nameless soldiers, Dragon Quest's bestiary provides dozens of different monsters, many of whom force you to modify your strategy (if only slightly) as you go. If you just mash buttons into a knight holding up a giant shield, your attacks are not going to have much effect. Flying enemies require waiting until they've lowered to the ground to unleash your attacks. And certain giant enemies, like cyclopes and trolls, can be difficult to defeat unless you use strategically placed cannons on the battlefield to weaken them.

Dragon Quest Heroes can feel brainless, but I found an undeniable spark of joy in it