Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime
Amazon.com Price: $14.99
buy now!

Set in the peaceful kingdom of Slimenia, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime is suddenly invaded by a mysterious cartel called the Plob, who then proceed to kidnap all the slimes in the capital city of Boingburg. The only slime left behind, Rocket, must embark on a journey to save his friends and uncover the Plob's nefarious plot. Each adventure stage culminates in Rocket hopping aboard a colossal slime-shaped war machine called the Schleiman Tank and battling it out with the enemy's Monster Tanks. Customize tanks by collecting a vast array of weapons and items. Call upon allies, each with their own individual personality and abilities, to aid in the heated tank battles. Even shoot your fellow slimes so they can infiltrate and sabotage the enemy's Monster Tank. Pit tanks against a friend's in exciting player vs. player action, using the Nintendo DS wireless multiplayer game feature.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker
Amazon.com Price: $29.99
buy now!

Dragon Quest Monsters : Joker is the latest installment in the venerable RPG franchise. Developed exclusively for the Nintendo DS, the player assumes the role of a Monster Scout as he captures, trains and breeds a powerful team from more than 200 classic Dragon Quest creatures in order to become the best in the world! ESRB Rated E10 for ages 10 and up

Dragon Warrior VII
Amazon.com Price: $79.25
buy now!

The top-selling PlayStation game in Japanese history makes its way to the U.S. in Dragon Warrior VII. Its creators include a trio of Japanese role-playing-game legends--game designer Yuji Horii, music composer Koichi Sugiyama, and character designer Akira Toriyama (who also created the popular Dragonball and Dragonball Z cartoons and comics). At its heart, Dragon Warrior VII is an old-school RPG that eschews flashy graphics and sound effects in favor of a good story and dozens of gameplay hours. In some cases it succeeds in capturing the nostalgia of old NES and SNES RPGs, but in others it hangs on too dearly to obsolete conventions. Still, this is one of the most value-packed games on the market, as it easily offers more than 100 hours of gameplay.

Graphically, Dragon Warrior VII will not impress anyone. Even compared to first-generation PlayStation games this one comes off as ugly. The sound is a mix of nostalgic MIDI bits from previous Dragon Warrior games and beautiful new compositions by Sugiyama. The story progresses in a linear fashion, as the main character discovers new lands, each with its own mysteries, characters, and adventures. The job system adds immense depth to character progression, as players can learn skills from more than 50 classes, including warriors, clerics, jesters, rangers, dragoons, teen idols, and more.

As deep as the job system is, progress is hindered by laborious combat and inventory-management systems. It would have been nice if the development team tried to implement modern gameplay mechanics with the rich Dragon Warrior universe. Because of its archaic aspects, the game will scare off those that aren't familiar with older RPGs. However, persevering gamers and longtime fans will enjoy one of the deepest adventures on the market. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• More than 100 hours of gameplay
• Extremely deep job system
• Memorable characters

Cons:

• Horrible graphics
• Poor interface
• Dull combat

Dragon Warrior III
Amazon.com Price: $74.99
buy now!

Originally released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Dragon Warrior III is a Game Boy Color port of one of the all-time classic role-playing games. The game reunites two of Japan's greatest RPG talents in Yuji Horii (story and game) and Akira Toriyama (character design). Toriyama is also known as the creator of the immensely popular Dragon Ball cartoons and comics. A prequel to the first two games in the series, DWIII casts you as the child of a great hero who must defeat an evil demon. New additions to the port include improved graphics, new minigames, new items, and a better translation of the original Japanese dialogue.

The game starts off with a personality test that loosely determines how other characters will react to you. Gameplay is standard RPG fare: exploring, building experience levels, acquiring allies, gaining weapons, and ultimately going after a large monster. There are some interesting minigames to mix things up. The Monster Medals feature adds a collectible aspect to the game. Monsters may leave medals behind after you defeat them. Some monsters only appear during certain times of the day. Getting all the medals unlocks a secret dungeon. You can trade medals via link cable to make things easier. Most RPG fans will love this game, but those raised on modern RPGs might find its combat a bit tedious. This game is compatible with Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance only. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:

• Classic gameplay
• Excellent monster and character design
• Between 40 to 60 hours of play

Cons:

• Battles can get repetitive
• A few character classes borderline on useless
• Graphics appear dark on Game Boy Advance