The iconic Dragon Quest franchise turned 40 this year, and developers Square Enix and KLabGames are celebrating with the launch of Dragon Quest Smash/Grow, a free-to-play spinoff that’s officially available to download now on mobile devices. And Yuji Horii, creator and game designer of the Dragon Quest series, had a special message to share.
“It’s been a while since the last smartphone title in the series, but the latest addition, DRAGON QUEST Smash/Grow, is finally here,” Horii said. “It’s a fun-filled game where smashing through hordes of monsters is incredibly satisfying. The gameplay is very intuitive and easy to pick up, so we hope players around the world — whether they be DRAGON QUEST fans or newcomers to the series — will have a smashing time with the game.”
Fans of the series will recognize the familiar character art style, vocations, monsters, and music, but the gameplay is a departure from tradition. While the 11 mainline games in the franchise are turn-based RPGs, Dragon Quest Smash/Grow is an action-focused roguelite that’s been designed so it can be played with one hand on mobile devices. You lead a team of three heroes through hordes of enemies while choosing power-ups called Blessings through each run.
You’ll start by playing through the main story, which is divided into several large chapters that each have 10–20 stages. As you enter each stage, you’ll be offered randomly selected Blessings and can choose one. They grant unique buffs or environmental effects that can enhance certain playstyles or make dealing with particular kinds of enemies easier. For example, if you’re having trouble with ranged attackers or nimble enemies that are hard to hit, the Attack Magnifier Blessing extends the range of your attacks to counter them. If you’re worried about being overwhelmed by a swarm of enemies, the Woosh Spheres Blessing puts a halo around you that damages any enemies that get close.
Your Blessings reset at the end of each stage and you get new options at the start of the next one, so you’re constantly adapting to new circumstances. And they incentivize trying out different kinds of playstyles, since some Blessings pair best with certain weapons and vocations.
Vocations are the long-running character classes in the Dragon Quest series, and here you can pick them for all three of your party members. You control one character at a time, but can switch between them whenever you want. There are five vocations to choose from: Warrior, Mage, Priest, Martial Artist, and Thief.
As you could probably guess from the names, these translate to classic character archetypes. Warrior is a tank, Martial Artist is a melee damage dealer, Priest is a healer, Thief is quick and agile, and Mage is a ranged damage dealer. They all have their own traits and abilities, as well as preferred weapon types that trigger special effects when they equip them. These special effects can synergize with specific Blessings, adding to the customization options available through each run.
The combinations of vocations and weapons allow you to build your party in several different ways. You can go all-offense to melt through enemies as fast as possible, or play it safer with defense and healing to outlast your foes, or go support-heavy with vocations that power up their teammates before they unleash a massive ultimate strike.
Those ultimate strikes are called Coup de Grâce, and they’re determined by the weapon a character currently has equipped. The Coup de Grâce gauge gradually increases as you defeat monsters, and once it’s full, you can unleash it at any time. All these attacks are incredibly powerful, but they operate in different ways. One can produce waves of fire that spread outward from your character, while another summons a tornado that lays waste to the battlefield. A well-timed Coup de Grâce can be the difference between victory and defeat, and monsters defeated with one are accompanied by a SMASH animation at the top of the screen.
Playing through the main story will introduce you to the world of Valdecia and its cast of characters, both of which are new to the series. It’ll take you across several different environments, including grasslands, caves, and deserts. And as you progress through the story, you’ll unlock access to other game modes that provide unique challenges and can reward you with new weapons, gear, and character power-ups.
The Gauntlette is a wave-based mode where you try to defeat as many enemies as possible within a given time. These waves come quickly and often, and you need to use Blessings and special moves wisely to get as many kills as you can as quickly as you can. In this mode, you’re basically competing against your own high score to see how well you can do.
The Gauntlet is similar in that you fight waves of monsters in a given time limit, but it operates on a seasonal system and has you compete against other players around the world to see who can score the most points. Each season has three stages that are progressively unlocked, and your ranking on the leaderboard is determined by the total score you amass across all three stages combined.
Shrines challenge you with high-difficulty boss fights against powerful monsters and require Shrine Keys to open. Successfully completing a Shrine will reward you with powerful boss Monster Memories, which are a form of upgrade for your character. They’re normally obtained as random rewards through the main story, but completing Shrines provides more powerful versions. You can equip three Monster Memories at a time, and they provide stat boosts or special effects that are the key to creating strong character builds.
To mark the game’s release, there’s a limited-time in-game launch celebration happening right now. As part of the event, you can get a bunch of free rewards to get a head start on improving your party. That includes 10 Premium Transmuter Vouchers, which are used to get new weapons and other equipment. There are also daily log-in bonuses and missions that can earn you Gems, which can be traded for more Transmuters or Shrine Keys.
Dragon Quest Smash/Grow is available to download for free now on iOS and Android. To stay updated on the latest news and announcements, you can check out its official website or follow the game on Twitter, Facebook, and Discord.
