Today Square Enix shared plenty of new details, screenshots, and charming artwork about the upcoming JRPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince.
The game, which was teased in May and fully revealed last month, tells the tale of the Dark Prince, Psaro, who is cursed by his own father, the king of the monster realm of Nadiria. The curse makes him incapable of harming any monster.
To defy his father, Psaro becomes a monster wrangler to command his own army of monsters. During his quests to find vengeance on his father he meets the young elf Rose and the mysterious Toilen Trubble. Befriending many monsters will be key to Psaro's mission for vengeance.
Psaro is voiced in English by Gwilym Lee, while Rose is voiced by Emma Ballantine. She can use her elven powers to reveal the path through the dangers of the land. She's a gentle, kind-hearted soul, but she will stand up for what she believes in.
Toilen Trubble is voiced by Hyoie O'Grady and is a young researcher of magic with a penchant for discounts. He joins Psaro to search for magical ingredients that can't be found in the human world, and the prospect to find rare items excites him more than a little bit.
We also meet Fizzy, voiced by Harriet Carmichael, a cute creature who is seeking the best monster wranglers in the world. She becomes a mentor for Psaro, teaching him the ropes.
We also get to see a couple of locations of Nadira, which is divided into "Circles" each in turn divided into lower, middle, and upper echelons. Specifically, two of today's screenshots show the Circle of Temper and the Circle of Indulgence. On top of that, Nadira is affected by the seasons, which not only change the landscape, but also open up new discoveries and new monsters to befriend.
New monsters introduced in this game are the Goomulonimbus, which is basically a couple of slimes "piloting" a storm cloud, the Vegandragora, a dragon maintaining a symbiotic relationship with the flower growing on its head, and the Ronin Raccoon a monster that can explore the psyche of its foes to determine the best way to defeat them.
New monsters can be created using synthesis, while others will beg Psaro to let them join the team after they are defeated. There are over 500 different types of monsters and the synthesis system has been revamped with new combinations and many familiar monsters from previous Dragon Quest games.
Online multiplayer also lets you fight other monster wranglers from all over the world.
Lastly, we learn about three DLC that will be available at launch on the Nintendo eStore. The Mole Hole will include the "gothic vestment" costume and let you have a reunion with monsters that you have befriended before, on top of court monsters that would be very challenging to synthesize.
Coach Joe's Dungeon Gym includes the "cake-maker's clobber" costume and randomly generated dungeons that let you battle powerful monsters: Each dungeon has unique requirements forcing players to carefully assemble their parties. Beating each dungeon's boss will let you earn rare items that will help you raise even stronger monsters.
Treasure Trunks, which also includes the "monstrous mail" costume, adds treasure chests that contain exciting rewards. There is a cooldown to opening them again to earn even more rewards and no limit to how many times you can open them.
You can find all the screenshots and artwork in the gallery below.
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince will release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on December 1, 2023.
