Dragon Quest Builders

Genre: Action-RPG / Open-World Sandbox

Players: 1

The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

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Review:

Dragon Quest Builders, like its sequel, is a game that combines a linear Action-RPG with all of the hallmarks of the Dragon Quest series with the open-world “do whatever you like” nature of Minecraft, and the result is something that is uniquely its own.

Because I only started reviewing games for eShopperReviews less than a year ago, I’m kinda’ going backwards for this review, since I reviewed the sequel first, and it’s not entirely fair to this game that I’m coming at it in the context of how it compares to its sequel. However, at the same time, I figure it’ll be an interesting thought experiment to see if the game still stands up well on its own and is still worth getting, even now that the second game has been released. And of course, the other game this title will inevitably be compared to is Minecraft, which it takes some inspiration from (though its RPG-like structure and focus on town building sets it apart and makes it unique in its own right).

Graphically, this game lands somewhere between Minecraft’s voxel style world and Dragon Quest’s anime-esque characters, and the results are pretty good. The game has that impressive sense of scale that Minecraft has, although with the perspective this time around being largely from overhead. This game also has some pretty nice music too, and overall while there’s nothing super-impressive going on here, it’s still a pleasant presentation all the same.

As for the gameplay, it bears mention that this is not just Minecraft with a Dragon Quest skin – Dragon Quest Builders is a great deal more linear, and for much of the game you won’t be exploring and creating from your imagination so much as you’ll be working on specific tasks given to you by the game’s characters.

On the one hand, this might prove disappointing for those looking for the same sort of open nature of Minecraft (though later on the game opens up and you gain a greater capacity to do your own thing), but the trade-off here isn’t necessarily a bad one. The added structure of being gradually introduced to the game’s systems this way actually makes much of the game one big tutorial for how to play it, and I don’t say that in a disparaging way – the way this game eases you into its complex systems is extraordinarily user-friendly.

As for how this game compares to its sequel, the visuals aren’t quite as impressive, the story isn’t quite as amusing, and you’re no longer aided by a helper character who fights besides you. Um.. no longer… or not yet? Yeah, this is why I try to avoid going backwards in my reviews like this. Anyway, the co-op and overall multiplayer elements that the second game adds to the series aren’t here yet, placing the focus here on the single-player campaign. There’s also plenty of other added features and deeper mechanics that haven’t made their appearance yet in this entry.

Having said that, even after playing the second Dragon Quest Builders game, the first one is still fun, and the unique story and focus on building up this game’s town makes it worth giving a try even if you have the (admittedly largely improved) sequel. And as with that game, this focus on story and RPG elements, as well as the town-building, set it apart enough from Minecraft that it still has its own distinct identity in comparison to that as well. All told, fans of Action-RPGs and Open-World Sandbox games should definitely give this game a try.

tl;dr – Dragon Quest Builders is an Action-RPG with an open world and creation elements to it that are very comparable to Minecraft, and an anime style and story that are very much a Dragon Quest thing. That said, this game is much more linear and focused than Minecraft, and although it doesn’t have many of the improvements made in Builders 2, it still has a lot to offer, and it’s a fantastic game well worth playing for fans of Action-RPGs and Open-World games alike.

Grade: B+

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The Nintendo Switch 2 Difference

Dragon Quest Builders

Genre: Action-RPG / Open-World Sandbox

Players: 1

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Review:

The original Dragon Quest Builders isn’t as wide in scope as its sequel, nor as detailed as Dragon Quest XI S. By today’s standards, it looks outright archaic. Surely that means there’s more room for improvement, right? Right?

As it happens, Dragon Quest Builders may be the least-improved game I have yet tested on Nintendo Switch 2. The relatively low resolution and massive amounts of aliasing the Nintendo Switch version had are still present here, the framerates were decent enough in the original and seem unchanged here. In fact, the only change I see here is to the loading times… and even that is pretty pitiful. Starting up the game takes 17 seconds to get to the title screen on Nintendo Switch, and 14 seconds on Nintendo Switch 2. And loading up a game save takes 4 seconds on Nintendo Switch… and also 4 seconds on Nintendo Switch 2.

So that’s it, your big difference- you save a whole three seconds when playing this game on Nintendo Switch 2. This would be disappointing even if this game didn’t look woefully outdated, but given how much improvement this game needed… well, it’s kinda’ embarrassing.

tl;dr – Dragon Quest Builders is an Action-RPG with an open world and creation elements to it that are very comparable to Minecraft, and an anime style and story that are very much a Dragon Quest thing. That said, this game is much more linear and focused than Minecraft, and although it doesn’t have many of the improvements made in Builders 2, it still has a lot to offer, and it’s a fantastic game well worth playing for fans of Action-RPGs and Open-World games alike.

Grade: B

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