The Dragon Quest series is no stranger to spin-offs as there have been several through the years. After the success of Dragon Quest XI S and particularly the popularity surrounding one of the main characters, Erik, it's no surprise that a new game centers around this thief and his sister. Instead of fighting alongside the Luminary, Dragon Quest Treasures will have players exploring a string of islands where they can recruit monsters, explore, and dig up buried goodies.
Dragon Quest Treasures: Plot
We were first introduced to Erik in Dragon Quest XI S, where he was one of the main character's traveling companions. This popular Switch game brought us into this thief's background a little, including a look into his childhood with his sister, Mia. Dragon Quest Treasures looks to explore that childhood more, focusing on the siblings' adventures long before the events of XI S. Considering how popular Erik became among fans, it's not surprising he's getting his own spin-off.
In Treasures, Mia and Erik are children who long to go searching for treasure. Then the two are brought to a strange land called Draconia, which is a string of islands that are just bursting with treasures for them to find. Near the start of the adventure, Erik gains a flying, pink, cat-like spirit guide called Purrsula as a sidekick while Mia gains a flying green pig sidekick called Porcus.
Upon learning that they can recruit monsters, the siblings explore the land, create teams of monsters to fight alongside, and go searching for the greatest treasure of all. Powerful rivals are also on the hunt for valuable goodies, so you will need to fight them off from your finds.
Dragon Quest Treasures: Gameplay
Players have the ability to swap between controlling Erik or controlling Mia. You don't have to worry about keeping them equally leveled up as Square Enix's official page states that "progress and character development are shared between them."
As you explore Draconia's string of islands, you'll discover several different landscapes each with its own set of monsters. Along the way, you'll be able to recruit monsters to your team. Each monster's special skills can help you acquire more treasure. For instance, they can sense buried treasure or give you a ride. They also help Erik and Mia reach new places, like how the siblings can cling to a Dracky's legs and control it while it flies to higher platforms to reach goodies.
You will fight alongside your monsters as well. The health and magic bars for your team of monsters appear on the screen and your monsters can level up to get stronger.
Dragon Quest Treasures: Is there multiplayer?
Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Dragon Quest Treasures offers multiplayer of any kind. According to the Nintendo page, there is an online component in addition to the single system solo adventure. However, even the online part only works with one player.
Dragon Quest Treasures: Platforms
Despite Dragon Quest XI S originally coming to Xbox and PlayStation before coming to Nintendo Switch, Treasures is currently only coming to Switch. It's unclear at the moment if this adventure will make its way onto other platforms, but it will likely depend on how well Treasures performs on the hybrid console first.
Dragon Quest Treasures: Release date and preorders
Dragon Quest Treasures is set to release on December 9, 2022, and is currently available for preorder on major retailer sites like Amazon and Best Buy. You can purchase a digital or physical copy.
X marks the spot
It took Dragon Quest XI S a little longer to land on Nintendo Switch than it did for the RPG to come to PlayStation and Xbox. However, now Nintendo is getting its very own spin-off only for the hybrid console. Erik and Mia's story was an interesting one so it's no wonder that we're being given more of that relationship to explore.
Dragon Quest Treasures is unlike mainstream Dragon Quest games in that it doesn't follow the usual pattern of traveling across a world in a mission to protect Yggdrasil, the World Tree. Instead, players will acquire monsters, fight off rivals, and explore a world simply to uncover treasure. It sounds like a game you can really get lost in.
You can currently nab your preorder with either a digital or physical copy at most major retailers. That way you'll be able to jump into the fun when Treasures launches on December 9, 2022.
