The upcoming spin-off title Dragon Quest Treasures has players searching the land of Draconia for treasure. Dragon Quest Treasures is connected to Dragon Quest XI, taking place years before the events of its main story. Screen Rant attended a special hands-on preview event for the upcoming title, which included the opening of the game until its introductory credits.
Dragon Quest Treasures stars the young siblings Mia and Erik, who begin the game orphaned and aboard a Viking ship in the middle of a large party. As the Vikings celebrate a recent victory, the brother and sister decide to sneak out to the deck where they find two mysterious creatures imprisoned in a cage. Here, players are first introduced to the game's slingshot mechanic, which Erik and Mia will use throughout the story. There are multiple types of pellets that can be utilized in the slingshot, with Healing Pellets shown as a way for Erik and Mia to restore health to their teammates.
These creatures - a fairy-like green pig named Porcus and a pink cat names Purrsula - soon become key new characters in Dragon Quest Treasures, leading Erik and Mia away on a boat towards assumed treasure as soon as they are set free. The siblings arrive on a mysterious island where a mechanic of switching between the two siblings is first introduced to solve a simple puzzle. They then proceed to find two matching daggers, which after retrieved open a portal that splits the siblings apart.
While on the hunt for Erik, Mia befriends her first Slime, Oozabella, who helps her find her first treasure. In Dragon Quest Treasures, treasure is located through visions - players will be able to view a snapshot of a mysterious location and then work to find a matching spot in their world, which will glow and allow treasure to be dug up once found, adding a fun puzzling twist to the traditional Dragon Quest formula. This same technique is used to help Mia outwit the duo Shambles and Shady, who agree to let her pass and continue searching for Erik in exchange for treasure.
Soon afterwards, Mia is introduced to combat in Dragon Quest Treasures, which differs from mainline games - fights are no longer turn-based, instead relying on real-time moves to overcome enemies. This is also where a beloved feature of past games makes a return to the series, with players once again able to recruit monsters into their party to help them in battle. It's revealed that these recruited monsters can help players in other circumstances as well, with Mia's Pink Slime letting her bounce atop it to reach higher areas. The recruitable monsters of Dragon Quest Treasures will all have different Forte from one of four categories: Glide, Sprint, Scan, or Stealth.
Once Mia is reunited with her brother, the two begin to learn more about the area they've been transported to, Draconia, which is said to be the final resting place two dragons chose long ago. The duo also encounter two rival treasure-hunting gangs, The Thunderous Plunderers and The Sylphanian Expedition, and are introduced to what will be the main focus of Dragon Quest Treasures' story: the mysterious seven Dragonstones, which are hidden across the land and considered to be the ultimate treasure. From there, Mia and Erik start up a broken train utilizing their two daggers - further foreshadowing their use throughout the story - and take off in search of epic treasures and adventure.
Although its currently unknown how the length of Dragon Quest Treasures' narrative will compare to the storylines of other Dragon Quest games, it looks to be an incredibly fun romp with a cast of charming characters and monsters. The beloved old feature of monster recruitment will impact gameplay differently now that combat has changed from turn-based to real-time, with monsters' help outside of battle adding even more fun and strategy when it comes to party building. Players will be able to find treasures and creatures of all kinds while battling it out with rival treasure hunters when Dragon Quest Treasures releases later this year.
Dragon Quest Treasures will release December 9 for Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant attended a special hands-on event for the purpose of this preview.