Dragon Quest Monsters Joker preview for Nintendo DS

Long running Japanese series Dragon Quest is a virtual stranger to these shores, but following the success of Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2, we'll shortly be able to play spin-off Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker on the Nintendo DS. A monster-battling, brightly animated RPG, it's bound to attract certain comparisons, so how will it stand up to the likes of Pokemon when it's released here this spring? We've got plenty of news and screen shots of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker in this issue, so click to find out all the latest now!

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Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker preview for Nintendo DS
It's the first game in the long-running Japanese series to make it to these shores, presumably as a direct result of the success of Dragon Quest VIII on PS2. The concept is simple – it's a monsterbattling RPG, which bears an uncanny resemblance to a certain other monster-battling RPG we could mention…

What do we know?
We've played through the English-language version, and it's certainly a more visually dynamic game than Pokémon – here every thing is presented in full 3D with some lovely cel-shaded graphics that are remarkably similar to the PS2 game. And the monsters (lovingly designed by Manga legend Akira Toriyama) ac tually physically attack each other, which makes a pleasant change. Plus, there's the usual cornucopia of rare and not-so-rare crit ters to collect, ensuring you'll be playing this for weeks to come trying to gather them all up.