Dragon Quest Monsters:  The Dark Prince header image
Want
Played
Favorite

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

SQUARE ENIX
Dec 1, 2023 - Nintendo Switch
Fair

OpenCritic Rating

73

Top Critic Average

51%

Critics Recommend

Game Informer
7 / 10
Hobby Consolas
60 / 100
TheSixthAxis
8 / 10
Shacknews
8 / 10
God is a Geek
7.5 / 10
Digital Trends
3.5 / 5
Nintendo Life
7 / 10
Atomix
80 / 100
Share This Game:


Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Trailers

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Japanese Launch Trailer thumbnail

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Japanese Launch Trailer

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Launch Trailer thumbnail

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Launch Trailer

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Monster Showcase thumbnail

DRAGON QUEST MONSTERS: The Dark Prince | Monster Showcase


Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Screenshots



Critic Reviews for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince

By rigidly following Dragon Quest traditions, we end up with flat, cartoonish characters who inhabit a repetitive, cyclical world. But The Dark Prince plays to its strengths to deliver a solid RPG experience with a cozy narrative seasoned by a long list of charismatic creatures and entertaining dungeons.

Read full review

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince has a deep combat and monster breeding system that can become addictive if you're willing to overlook the very low quality of almost all of its sections: graphics, sound, story, level design, and development. Only recommended for those looking for a serious alternative to Pokémon.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince isn't reinventing the wheel or changing the way we should view the monster-catching genre, but it is a huge amount of fun, and offers a lot of playtime for those who want to spend their time just seeing what kinds of weird and wonderful creatures they can end up playing with. The systems are clear and easy to grasp, the voice acting is great, the music is incredible, and it's just a very fun game.

Read full review

In a lot of ways for someone like me, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is weirdly validating for a video game product you purchase. This series has been living in relative obscurity for decades, either going unlocalized entirely or simply being seen as a niche within a niche destined for handheld gamers looking for more Pokemon. But there’s so much meat, life, and ambition in this one. It’s a console game, it’s got a story it wants to tell, it has ideas beyond “catch slimes, win tournaments”. I hope this is the direction Dragon Quest Monsters keep moving in. It’s no Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, but what is?

Read full review

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince brings back all the monster raising you could ever need, but the performance lets it down massively.

Read full review

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is fun enough to give frustrated Pokémon fans a solid alternative.

Read full review

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is an enjoyable monster-catching RPG that combines charming visuals with addictive gameplay to make for a genuinely gripping experience, making it feel like the long wait since the last entry to leave Japan has been worth it. Even so, its general lack of ambition and struggles with performance issues hold it back from greatness-it's very good, but it's also definitely got its issues. If you're at all a fan of Dragon Quest or monster-catching RPGs, we'd suggest you pick this one up, though perhaps wait a few months to see if Square can sort out the worst of its performance issues.

Read full review

If you want to know this sub-franchise in which the protagonists are the monsters of this universe, it is definitely the first good step to follow, given that the previous installments can be considered lost.

Review in Spanish | Read full review