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Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Returns To The World Of DQ4 In 2023

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2023.

Psaro’s quest to destroy mankind is returning, as Nintendo has announced Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, the latest entry in the series, which will take place in the world of Dragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen. This will allow players to step into the shoes of one of the Dragon Quest series’ most popular villains and possibly change their fate.

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The Dragon Quest Monsters series is best described as Pokemon but with Dragon Quest creatures. You gather a party of iconic creatures, such as Slimes, and go on epic adventures in familiar worlds from the series. Unlike Pokemon, the Dragon Quest Monsters series is closer to Shin Megami Tensei when it comes to making new creatures, as you get to fuse your allies together.

Related: Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at GDC 2022

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Is Coming To Nintendo Switch

Square Enix revealed during the June 2023 Nintendo Direct that Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is coming to Nintendo Switch on December 1, 2023. The player takes on the role of Psaro the Manslayer, the villain of Dragon Quest 4, during the early years of his life when he was a prince. Psaro will be joined on his journey by Rose, a character who is pivotal to the story of Dragon Quest 4.

In Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, Psaro has been cursed so that he cannot harm monsters. He must learn how to befriend and control monsters so that they can act in his stead in battle. The game will use the Monster Scouting system from earlier entries, allowing Psaro to control beasts he defeated in battle.

What’s notable about the trailer is that the game appears to dovetail into the events of Dragon Quest 4. The last shot shows the protagonist of Dragon Quest 4, Solo, as a village burns around him, which is something that happens during the early sections of that game. We may see Psaro’s fall from grace alongside the events of Dragon Quest 4, or the player may have the chance to alter his fate.

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The Dragon Quest Monsters series has had trouble finding a foothold outside of Japan, especially in the face of stiff competition from the Pokemon series, so it’s good to see Square Enix giving it another shot. Fans can build their own monster army later this year, as Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is coming to Nintendo Switch on December 1, 2023.


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Scott Baird
Scott has been writing for Gamepur since 2023, having been a former contributor to websites like Cracked, Dorkly, Topless Robot, Screen Rant, The Gamer, and TopTenz. A graduate of Edge Hill University in the UK, Scott started as a film student before moving into journalism. Scott covers Dungeons & Dragons, Final Fantasy, Pokémon, and MTG. He can be contacted on LinkedIn.