Category: Nintendo News

The Dragon Quest series is no stranger to spin-off titles, but few are as confusing as Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai. This action RPG is based on an anime adaptation of a manga based on the world of Dragon Quest, but it is never clear who the game is designed to appeal to. The few things it does well are buried under an avalanche of unengaging cutscenes that go on too long and simply don’t do the story they’re telling justice.

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some glimmers of hope hidden in this game’s runtime. The combat, for example, is competently designed if unimaginative in its implementation; characters have a basic attack, plus a selection of powers that they can unleash to deal more damage or to heal their allies. It is a system that has been used countless times before because it works well, letting you feel powerful as you wade through waves of enemies on the battlefield.

The boss fights that pop up every few battles are fun and challenging, and there is enough variety in these to keep them interesting through to the end of the game. Mastering the timing of your dodge and block commands is the key to victory, but it will probably take at least two attempts to get the boss’ unique pattern down.

There are even some excellent visuals mixed into the combat sequences that make them remarkably satisfying. The vibrant colours and iconic monsters that Dragon Quest has always been known for are all here and look great on the Switch. If Infinity Strash had focused solely on being an action RPG, it would be an easy one to recommend. There isn’t anything groundbreaking in the combat here, but it is competently put together and fun when you get to play. There are a few small nitpicks with the combat, like an unwieldy camera and a mini-map that is next to useless, but this is still by far the best part of this game.

The problems with the game arise with the way the story is told. Aside from a handful of beautifully rendered cutscenes, most of the plot is delivered via unmoving images with text over top. Even the fact that each scene is fully voiced in both English and Japanese doesn’t change the fact that Infinity Strash feels more like a visual novel with some action sequences rather than a full-fledged action RPG.

The story in Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest is taken directly from The Adventure of Dai manga and its most recent anime adaptation. The game opens up at the end of the story and then jumps back to the start, with a focus on helping Dai uncover the memories of his journey. It’s a fun story about a young hero unlocking his hidden power to stand up against an impossibly strong enemy, but it feels harshly abridged in this format. Dai and his friends are fun characters, but this format simply doesn’t do them or their story justice. You’re better off watching the anime instead of spending the 30 hours it will take you to play Infinity Strash.

We’ve said this multiple times, but the way the game delivers these cutscenes is frustratingly basic. Rather than getting to explore the world, you simply select the chapter you want to play and either sit through up to 10 minutes of cutscenes, then walk through a small level to reach your objective or fight a boss in an enclosed arena. Everything has a distinctly “corridors and cutscenes” feel to it that lacks the excitement or wonder needed to keep you sticking around to the end.

Before you select a chapter, there is at least a degree of customisation for each character before each level. You can choose which abilities you want them to use and how to map them on your controller, though the most significant change you can make to them is through the Bond Memories system. Each of Dai’s memories that you recover can be equipped to a character, giving them boosts to certain stats or upping their maximum hit points. Initially, this is a fun system, but it soon starts to feel shallow and tacked on to tie the combat into a story that isn’t pulling its weight.

These Bond Memories can be leveled up in the Temple of Recollection, which is a roguelike gauntlet dungeon that gives you the materials to upgrade your Bond Memories and your special attacks. The deeper you make it into the gauntlet, the better materials you’ll get. We spent loads of time here, grinding away and enjoying the break from the monotonous cutscenes, and the fact that the Temple of Recollection is one of the highlights of Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest is a testament to what a missed opportunity the game really is. If the developer had focused more on the actual combat or created a unique story for the game, there would have been more to keep players engaged.

While the fun combat system and the Temple of Recollection keep Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest from being a complete mess, they are held back from greatness by unbearable pacing and a poorly thought-out concept. It isn’t clear who this game was created for – fans of the anime will get frustrated with the abridged and lazy way the story is told here while RPG fans will probably switch off during one of the overlong cutscenes. What we’re left with is a confusing title that doesn’t appeal to either set of players and feels like a missed opportunity more than anything.

Conclusion

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai suffers from a chronic lack of focus. The vibrant visuals and fun combat can’t make up for the fact that you’ll spend hours doing little more than watching static images tell the plot of the anime. The result is a game that will frustrate action RPG fans with a lack of action and fails to do justice to the story it is trying to tell. Unless you’re desperate for a new Dragon Quest game to play, you’re better off just watching the anime and skipping this spin-off entirely.

It’s been over seven years since we got our first helping of the wise-cracking, coffee-addicted Detective Pikachu on 3DS and, in the time since, the gruff private investigator has gone on to star in his very own big-screen adaptation voiced by the one and only Ryan Reynolds. Well, excuse us, Mr Hollywood!

The first Detective Pikachu introduced us to a consistently amusing take on the classic Pikachu character alongside his likeable human pal Tim Goodman, wherein the pair used their investigative skills to unravel a mystery surrounding a drug which was causing Pokémon to fly into violent rages. There was also an overarching plot — one that forms the basis of the hit movie — which saw the sleuths attempting to find Tim’s missing dad, Harry Goodman.

As a direct sequel, Detective Pikachu Returns immediately picks up on its predecessor’s most important loose ends and sees the pair continue their search for Harry. Tim and Pikachu are now celebrities of sorts in Ryme City after the events of the first game and, if you didn’t happen to play through that adventure, fear not, as you’re provided with a nice recap to start things off that explains everything you need to know and leaves you free to jump in without fear you’ve missed something.

Kicking off with the theft of a precious jewel, Detective Pikachu Returns gently eases you into its gameplay mechanics by having Tim and Pikachu question witnesses, both human and Pokémon, as well as investigating a few small areas in and around Ryme City and the Denis Mansion. If you played the first game, you’ll feel right at home as this sequel employs the same mixture of simple multiple-choice questioning, close-up examination of scenes in order to pick up clues, and plenty of entertaining conversations with a whole bunch of ‘mon that franchise fans are sure to enjoy.

Without giving away too much of what follows in terms of the core story, it’s not long before the simple jewel-theft thread begins to unravel into a much bigger and more exciting mystery involving all manner of shady goings with attempts being made to drive a wedge between humans and their Pocket Monster pals. This central mystery also incorporates the continuing search for Harry Goodman and the tension ramps up after a slightly laborious and bland first hour or so spent learning the ropes. We can’t go into much more detail here, we’re afraid, but the main thrust of the story is definitely an improvement over that found in the first game, even if the actual gameplay doesn’t quite move the needle as much as we’d have perhaps hoped.

Of course, it’s important to remember going into this one that mystery-game veterans shouldn’t be expecting anything on the level of more grown-up detective adventures. This is a game that’s aimed squarely at younger players, and as such it’s entirely unchallenging for the majority of its duration. If you’re looking to have your brain taxed by clever whodunnit conundrums, we suggest you look elsewhere, as the puzzles and detective work involved here are designed so that kids should have little issue overcoming them.

That’s not to say there’s nothing to enjoy in Detective Pikachu Returns if you’re an older Pokémon fan. Indeed, the biggest strength of this spin-off series is that it caters to its younger audience whilst also providing enough comedy relief and asides to make it an enjoyable enough romp for us oldies. This particular writer played through the entire thing with two young children (6 and 9) and can confirm that there were enough jokes, silliness, and fairly exciting situations to keep us all entertained for most of the journey.

As you question witnesses and search various environs for clues, you’ll add information to Tim’s notebook, which you’ll then be prompted to visit when enough intel has been gathered. Here you must join the dots, choosing the correct answer from a multitude of choices in order to further your investigations. Just as in the first game, there’s no fail state to fret over; if you choose the wrong answer, you can guess again until you get it right, and this level of breeziness extends to other aspects of the experience. Being caught snooping around areas that are off-limits, for example, just resets you and lets you go again.

Branching out from this, Detective Pikachu Returns introduces a bunch of one-off mechanics and minigames (of sorts) as the mystery deepens and you’re whisked off to a few more exciting locations. Over time, you’ll get to ride around on various Pokémon as Pikachu, complete a bunch of QTE sections, use X-Ray vision to spy through walls, and plenty more besides. These switch-ups in gameplay are welcome additions that really do help remedy the repetition and retracing of steps that makes up quite a bit of the core of this adventure.

Yes, as much as we did find the main story more exciting this time around, and the game does a reasonable job of introducing new fun areas to explore, there’s no denying that, just as with the first outing, there’s a lot of repetition involved. There’s no getting around it, — the setup is such that retracing your steps and asking a lot of questions is the order of the day. You’ll also likely find yourself coming across solutions to puzzles and events you’ve already guessed the outcome to before you’re actually allowed to interact with anything or are able to draw a line under that particular line of inquiry. Again, it’s aimed at younger players, so this is all to be expected really and it’s not something we feel the need to mark it down for. If you’re bored or finding things too easy, it’s most likely because you’re not the intended audience.

Aside from the repetition inherent in its core gameplay — and the underwhelming nature of most of its fetch quest side activities — the biggest issue we have personally with Detective Pikachu Returns is that it all looks unforgivably drab. Making the leap onto Switch means you lose out on the fun of the 3DS’s dual-screen setup, but we were okay with this when we considered how much better-looking this adventure would be.

Unfortunately, while there are fewer jaggies involved and everything runs nice and smoothly, it just doesn’t feel like enough effort was made to really make characters or environments pop with colour or detail. This could very easily be mistaken for a game you’d play on your phone, which is a bit of a shame as it really could have made a huge difference had it looked as good as, say, New Pokémon Snap. We would even have loved to see the same sort of gritty style that the movie deployed being used here, but alas what we’ve ended up with is a bit sterile.

Graphical disappointments and repetition aside, though, what we’ve got overall does match up to its predecessor in giving us a unique take on a beloved character alongside a sweet, sometimes emotional story that highlights the importance of the bond between human and Pokémon. It also serves up enough excitement, jokes, and silliness on the part of Pikachu that it’s hard not to find yourself enjoying the ride, regardless of your age or investigative prowess. It’s just a shame that this second bite at the cherry doesn’t feel the need to really push for more, either graphically or from a pure gameplay perspective.

Games aimed squarely at a younger audience can often be horribly cynical in how simplistic, short, and unsatisfying they are, and Detective Pikachu Returns deserves to be commended in how it manages to mostly straddle a very fine line. It delivers a charming experience that kids can easily whip through on their own, whilst also providing a level of quality in its writing, characterisations, and gameplay that makes for a properly entertaining romp, and an adventure that’s a hoot for parents looking to dig in and spend some time gaming with their kids.

Conclusion

Detective Pikachu Returns serves up more of what delighted us first time around, with an endearing and exciting story packed full of fun and light-hearted silliness. We really do enjoy this gruff, coffee-addled take on Pikachu, he never fails to raise a smile when he goes off on one, and the game successfully straddles a very thin line in giving us an adventure aimed at younger players that long-time Pokémon fans and ancient gamers such as ourselves can also enjoy. If you can handle the inherent repetitiveness of most of the core gameplay, alongside some rather drab visuals, you’ll enjoy this one.