Everything you need to know about Dragon Quest Treasures

The long-running Dragon Quest series is a phenomenon in Japan, but hasn’t quite gotten its due in the rest of the world. That started to change a bit after the massive success of Dragon Quest XI, and the spin-off Dragon Quest Builders brought even more players on board. We still know next to nothing about the next mainline Dragon Quest game, but another spin-off is arriving soon to keep Slime stans occupied until then. Here’s everything we know so far about Dragon Quest Treasures.

When is the Dragon Quest Treasures release date?

The biggest news about Dragon Quest Treasures at the June 2022 Nintendo Direct Mini was its release date. Dragon Quest Treasures is set to launch worldwide on Nintendo Switch on December 9, 2022.

Square Enix hasn’t announced plans to bring the game to any other platforms yet.

Is there a Dragon Quest Treasures trailer?

Yes. After first appearing at the Dragon Quest 35th Anniversary stream, Dragon Quest Treasures got a short teaser in May 2022.

The June 2022 Nintendo Direct Mini gave players a slightly more in-depth look at Dragon Quest Treasures, which includes some gameplay footage.

What is the Dragon Quest Treasures setting?

Like its cousin Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest doesn’t set all of its games in the same shared universe. Each entry tells its own story and their settings generally aren’t revisited. That’s a bit different with Dragon Quest Treasures. This spin-off is a direct prequel to Dragon Quest XI, which is perhaps not surprising given how popular the last mainline game was for Square Enix.

Dragon Quest Treasures follows the siblings Mia and Erik, who both appeared in Dragon Quest XI. Erik is one of the playable main party members, while Mia is a side character.

While accompanying a band of Vikings on an expedition, Erik and Mia decide to cast out on their own in search of treasure. Before long the two meet a pair of mysterious talking creatures named Porcus and Purrsula, who lead them to two magical daggers. With new companions and weapons, Erika and Mia set out to explore Draconia and uncover all the treasure they can.

What do we know about Dragon Quest Treasures gameplay?

Even if you’re a long-time Dragon Quest fan, Dragon Quest Treasures has some surprises in store. It plays nothing like games in the main series. Where most Dragon Quest games have real-time gameplay only during exploration and move to a turn-based system for battles, Dragon Quest Treasures is played entirely in real time.

Another major difference with Dragon Quest Treasures is how it allows you to recruit a host of different monsters, rather than just fighting them (though there’s plenty of that, too). As its Nintendo Direct Mini appearance shows, Dragon Quest Treasures has more action-oriented combat, more akin to Dragon Quest Builders. In combat, your recruited monster pals will fight for you, and they also pitch in outside of combat.

Dragon Quest Treasures uses hack-and-slash style combat, letting you play as Erik and Mia while the rest of your monster party is controlled by AI. A major feature of combat is the slingshot Erik and Mia can use during combat, which lets you both attack enemies and support allies. There are multiple ammo types like basic pebbles that can be fired at enemies or healing pebbles that can be fired at allies to heal them. Other types of ammo will let you apply buffs like damage boosts.

Your main goal in Dragon Quest Treasures is, unsurprisingly, hunting down treasure scattered around the land of Draconia. Some of that treasure will be hidden in initially inaccessible places, and you’ll need the help of allied monsters to reach it. Oftentimes Erik or Mia will be given “visions” that show the basic location of a treasure, and you’ll need to search around the environment for the area in the picture. Your monster allies will be vital in doing this as they have different abilities called “Fortes” that can help you explore. For example, a Slime can help you bounce up to high ledges while flying monsters let you glide to reach further areas.

The full process of hunting down spoils hasn’t been revealed yet, but once you collect treasure, you can use the funds it provides to update your home base and recruit stronger monsters.