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DRAGON QUEST TREASURES
review | SWITCH
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Publisher: Square Enix.
Developer: Tose. Released: December 2022. Genre: RPG. Other versions: PC. Posted 14th September 2026. By Shane Battams © 2026 |
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Like its Final Fantasy brethren, Dragon Quest has seen a litany of spin-offs across a variety of genres. Monsters would see players capturing and breeding iconic monsters à la Pokémon; Mystery Dungeon offered roguelike dungeon crawling, while the late 2010s would see experiments with Musou and Minecraft-style crafting. Dragon Quest Treasures offers another experimentation for the series, as Tose would deliver a prequel story focusing on two characters from a recent mainline title as they explore, dig for treasure, and fight a litany of monsters. The end result is a breezy, cheery and mostly enjoyable outing.
Following the exploits of siblings Erik and Mia from Dragon Quest XI, Treasures takes us back to their childhood as part of a Viking crew. After some shenanigans during a party, the pair find themselves transported to Draconia courtesy of two gods masquerading as cute animals. At their request, the blue-haired duo begin a search for legendary Dragonstones, along with any treasure they can pinch along the way, encountering allies and foes in abundance. Those expecting a story on the level of Echoes of an Elusive Age should probably temper their expectations, as though there’s a decent amount of backstory and a handful of cut-scenes, the story mostly takes a backseat to the gameplay this time around. It serves its purpose and has a few fun moments, but in truth, it doesn’t build much on two very interesting characters.
Bright and breezy action shows off Akira Toriyama's distinctive art style, which continues to set DQ apart
Luckily, Treasures offers an enjoyable action-RPG in its stead. Draconia itself is split into six islands, with one serving as your headquarters while the rest allow for treasure hunting and questing. Your main goal is to build a crew by finding valuables and increasing your gang’s value, along with searching for those aforementioned Dragonstones. Each island bears unique monsters and climates, ranging from desert and snow, to volcanic. The maps are decently sized and feature a ton of chests to find, unique treasures to collect and targets to shoot down, making exploration pretty enjoyable. It also becomes easier to travel by reinstating train stops dotted around each map, usually requiring you to source materials in order to restart power.
There’s something satisfying about growing your base in a myriad of ways. Along with playing as either Erik or Mia, you can recruit monsters to accompany you from the iconic list of series creatures. Each has their own ability to aid you, whether it’s flying foes being able to glide or dig underground to travel under low surfaces. Perhaps more importantly, recruited monsters have a leaning towards certain treasure types, and picking the right crew for the location you’re exploring improves your chances of finding goodies – though this resets after returning to base. Eventually you can recruit shopkeepers to your base, send out monsters to search for items and materials, and display certain treasure that increases their value over time. The list of treasures runs the series’ gamut: key items, figures and nods to previous games that will please long-time fans.
There’s something satisfying about growing your base in a myriad of ways. Along with playing as either Erik or Mia, you can recruit monsters to accompany you from the iconic list of series creatures. Each has their own ability to aid you, whether it’s flying foes being able to glide or dig underground to travel under low surfaces. Perhaps more importantly, recruited monsters have a leaning towards certain treasure types, and picking the right crew for the location you’re exploring improves your chances of finding goodies – though this resets after returning to base. Eventually you can recruit shopkeepers to your base, send out monsters to search for items and materials, and display certain treasure that increases their value over time. The list of treasures runs the series’ gamut: key items, figures and nods to previous games that will please long-time fans.
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It's admittedly a straightforward adventure, clearly geared towards a younger audience. Combat is pretty basic, allowing you to either perform a strike or dodge roll during melee or utilise a Catapult to shoot pellets from range. Enemies can often be overcome pretty quickly, unless you stumble into a high-levelled area, and even bosses often take little time to best. The questing can also be a touch tedious, as there’s naturally a focus on collecting and gathering materials, which is a bit like too much like box-ticking. Some do break this template, such as seeking out unique statues to gain insight into Draconia’s past, but sadly, these are few and far between. That being said, the main quest avoids stagnation at around 20 hours, while deeper exploration will likely see you around the 50-hour mark.
Dragon Quest Treasures benefits from a charming presentation, boasting a colourful cel-shaded look that meshes well with Akira Toriyama’s iconic designs. Environments are spacious and filled with monsters to duel with, animations are solid and the day/night cycle benefits from sturdy lighting, which changes the look of each island. There’s a lot of thoughtful touches too, such as Treasure vision, which sees you viewing dig points from a monster’s perspective. This mimics their line of sight, such as aerial creatures viewing from above. Performance and pop-in can be an issue, but never to a troublesome extent, and it’s all very pleasing on the eyes. The ears are mostly in for a treat too, thanks to utilising classic music and sound effects from the series. The build-up as you dig up treasures is also fantastic, creating excitement even despite the regularity with which you’ll hear it. Voicework is enjoyable for the most part, though some of the canned lines from monsters in your party do start to grate.
Dragon Quest Treasures benefits from a charming presentation, boasting a colourful cel-shaded look that meshes well with Akira Toriyama’s iconic designs. Environments are spacious and filled with monsters to duel with, animations are solid and the day/night cycle benefits from sturdy lighting, which changes the look of each island. There’s a lot of thoughtful touches too, such as Treasure vision, which sees you viewing dig points from a monster’s perspective. This mimics their line of sight, such as aerial creatures viewing from above. Performance and pop-in can be an issue, but never to a troublesome extent, and it’s all very pleasing on the eyes. The ears are mostly in for a treat too, thanks to utilising classic music and sound effects from the series. The build-up as you dig up treasures is also fantastic, creating excitement even despite the regularity with which you’ll hear it. Voicework is enjoyable for the most part, though some of the canned lines from monsters in your party do start to grate.
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Dragon Quest Treasures certainly couldn’t be mistaken for a mainline entry in the series, but this spin-off offers plenty of fun, charm and addictive treasure hunting. The questing can be a touch tedious, and combat lacks the depth or refinement of the main series. However, with bright islands to explore, nostalgic presentation, and satisfying mechanics, the game remains enjoyable regardless. It perhaps won’t please the uninitiated or those wanting greater depth, but for fans of the series and younger newcomers looking to dip their feet, it’s well worth a look.
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VERDICT
"Dragon Quest Treasures couldn’t be mistaken for a mainline entry in the series, but this spin-off offers plenty of fun, charm and addictive treasure hunting." OVERALL: 7/10 |
OTHER RPG SPIN-OFFS REVIEWED
Final Fantasy Type-0 HD (2015, PlayStation 4)
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Dragon Quest Heroes (2015, PlayStation 4)
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