The next few months are going to be big ones for Dragon Quest fans. Not only are they getting something new in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, but also a return of a beloved favorite in Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest – The Adventure of Dai. We went hands-on at TGS 2023 with the latter and were able to share a few words with its producer, Takumi Kasai.
After spending some time with the demo, our impression is that the team is putting their best foot forward here and trying to do right by the fans. Akira Toriyama’s signature art style shines through in every way. The characters all look great, and the story beats are all delivered with flair and with noticeable reverence for the source material. Existing fans will likely love it, and those who don’t know it, but do like manga serial stories likely will too.
Most of our time in the demo was spent in combat and initial impressions are that it’s the sort that it’ll be something just about anyone will be able to get the hang of. All attacks are executed via single-button presses. Party members can quickly be cycled through in real time by hitting down on the d-pad, and one can instantly use items by hitting up.
CPU-controlled allies are smart and will usually take the best course of action. One can sometimes mess themselves up by taking direct control of them, though. Switching control to the healer might result in poor positioning or ruin the timing of a much-needed healing spell, for example.
It all feels good, though. Everything’s animated well, attacks have punch and weight to them and enemies can actually pose a threat to reckless players. It’s not a terribly deep system, but it’s fun enough to support the story and likely run time.
This is all very much by design according to Kasai-san. It seems that one of his and the rest of team’s goals was to make Infinity Strash as accessible as possible. It’s a chance for new fans to jump in and for longtime fans to experience the story in a new way, so it makes sense that fewer barriers would be ideal.
While it’s a new way to experience the story, Kasai-san confirmed that it won’t be adding anything new to that story. Fans won’t be learning any new things about the characters or anything.
They will however, get to relive many moments from the series via the Tower of Recollection mode and lots of smaller flashes though features like the Scrapbook and Bond Memories. It seems players can also visit the city for the first time, but again, don’t expect to find any extra story in there.
Overall, it’s looking like Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest – The Adventure of Dai is a game being made by fans for all other fans the world over. The bar to entry has been set low, so just about any skill level can enjoy it, and those who are curious about the story can get into it without much frustration. If that all sounds good, then why not give a try when it releases later this week?
