Theatrhythm Dragon Quest

2015 video game
2015 video game
  • JP: March 26, 2015
Genre(s)RhythmMode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest[a] is a rhythm game developed by indieszero and published by Square Enix for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released in Japan on March 26, 2015, and was the first game of its type in the Dragon Quest series and the third Theatrhythm game after Theatrhythm Final Fantasy and Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call.[1]

Gameplay

A Battle Music Stage (BMS) features notes move from top to bottom in four lanes, corresponding to the first-person perspective battle of the Dragon Quest series

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest, like the Theatrhythm Final Fantasy predecessors, is a rhythm game where players must hit notes in time with the music as they enter the trigger circle. There are various kinds of notes: "touch notes" that require a single tap, "slide notes" that need to follow the arrow's direction with a sliding, and "hold notes" that demand a sustained press. Note charts are displayed on the top screen of the Nintendo 3DS, while players control in using either the lower touchscreen or a combination of any button and the circle Pad.[2]

Songs are categorized into three different gameplay styles: the Battle Music Stage (BMS), the Field Music Stage (FMS), and the Event Music Stage (EMS).[2] BMS features fierce battle music, and with a background that Chibi-style characters battle with enemies.[3][2] While the stages with four lanes like Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, notes in Theatrhythm Dragon Quest scroll from top to bottom rather than horizontally.[4] FMS, which mainly features relaxed field songs and with background showing characters' journey,[3][2] are functionally identical to those from Theatrhythm Final Fantasy. The EMS features the background of the original game's filps.[5][2]

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest also integrates role-playing elements. There are dozens of characters from various Dragon Quest titles, each with their own attributes, such as level, statistics, job, and abilities. Before playing songs, players need to arrange a four-person party. During gameplay, characters automatically attack enemies (in BMS) or walk forward (in FMS), and the attack power or advance speed is related to the player's accuracy. After the game, the characters will earn experience points to level up and strengthen themselves. The game features a challenge mode that allows players to unlock tracks. To clear challenges, such as defeating bosses, players must develop their characters and choose suitable party members.[5][6]

Another mode is Sugoroku, which is a recurring element in the Dragon Quest series. It is a Japanese board game similar to Ladders, where players advance to the goal by rolling dice. Players may encounter events in Sugoroku games, such as playing a BMS song to earn a reward. By clearing Sugoroku boards, players can earn orbs that allow them to unlock characters.[7][8]

Development

Music of Theatrhythm Dragon Quest are selected from the first ten main Dragon Quest titles, which all originally composed by Koichi Sugiyama. There are 60 songs in the base game,[9] with each Dragon Quest game shares around five or six tracks.[10] Additional tracks were released as free downloadable content via the Nintendo eShop.[11] Producer Ichiro Hazama mentioned in an interview that developers would monitor fan feedback as to what additional songs would be included as downloadable content (DLC).[10]

Theatrhythm Dragon Quest, the first rhythm game in the Dragon Quest series, was reveled at Jump Festa 2015 on December 10, 2014 with a playable demo.[2] A trial version with two tracks was released on March 11, 2015.[12] Theatrhythm Dragon Quest was released on March 26, 2015. A promotional moblie app, Intro Quiz Battle, was ran from March 20 to April 30, offering users to listen to intros from Dragon Quest music and answer questions about their origins.[13]

The first collection of DLC was previewed a week before the game was released in March 2015 and featured five songs.[14] The following three DLCs were released in April to May, with a total of 14 tracks.[15][16][17] The fifth of the last DLC was released in June 2015 and contains 4 songs.[18]

Reception

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Famitsu35 out of 40[19]
GameRevolution6 out of 10[4]
Nintendo World Report7 out of 10[20]
Ultra Console Game25 out of 30[21]

Reviews fount that Theatrhythm Dragon Quest followed the formula established by Theatrhythm Final Fantasy,[22] while incorporating distinctive Dragon Quest elements such as job changes and the first-person perspective style in BMS.[21]

The gameplay mechanics was well received. Reviews applauded the title suits for a wide range of players, as it includes three difficulty levels, the option to freely swap between touch and button control schemes, and the Simple Mode for beginners.[20][19] Both the Challenge mode and the Sugoroku mode were also praised by reviews.[20][4] However, Nintendo World Report was dissatisfied with the lacking of multiple modes.[20] Reviews complained that the unlocking of tracks is tedious, compared to Curtain Call, which only four songs needed to be cleared before playing other songs, Theatrhythm Dragon Quest requires ten songs to be unlocked.[20][4]

Reviews found that selected songs evoked a sense of nostalgia and provided a feeling of exhilaration, yet the music library was limited in size.[20][19][21] Destructoid writer Joel Peterson applauded the music composed by Sugiyama with stating that it "is so beautiful, timeless, and memorable", and expressed gladness at owning an import console to enjoy them.[3] However, the base game's track library, which mainly featured arranged music rather than classic 8- or 16-bit soundtrack was criticized for lacking of nostalgia.[20][4]

Reviews praised Theatrhythm Dragon Quest for its smooth, colorful visuals and cute Chibi-style characters.[20][4] However, Nintendo World Report criticized it for lacking 3D support, which had done by Curtain Call.[20]

More than 76,000 copies were sold in its first week, making it the best-selling Nintendo 3DS game in that week.[23] The game were sold 124,000 copied in 2015.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Japanese: シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト, romanized: Shiatorizumu Doragon Kuesuto

References

  1. ^ "『ドラゴンクエスト』シリーズ初の音楽ゲーム『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』が発売決定！". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  2. ^ a b c d e f 箭本進一 (December 20, 2014). "「ジャンプフェスタ2015」に出展された「シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト」プレイレポート。名曲の数々が心を揺さぶる". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese).
  3. ^ a b c Joel Peterson (August 26, 2018). "The Dragon Quest rhythm game we never got to play". destructoid.com.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Heath Hindman (April 12, 2015). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest [Import] Review". gamerevolution.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  5. ^ a b NY+ (January 29, 2015). "「シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト」，多彩なステージのクリア目指す「ミッションモード」の概要が公開。「おおぞらをとぶ」など収録曲情報も". 4gamer.net (in Japanese).
  6. ^ "『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』収録楽曲ほか続報をお届け". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 2015-01-29. Retrieved 2015-02-26.
  7. ^ "『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』"すごろく場"など新情報が一挙判明". famitsu.com. February 26, 2015.
  8. ^ "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest Has A Dice Rolling Board Game Mode". siliconera.com. February 16, 2015.
  9. ^ Richard Eisenbeis (2015-04-14). "Here's Your Complete Theatrhythm: Dragon Quest Song List". Kotaku. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  10. ^ a b Ishaan (2015-02-23). "Square Enix Will Look To Fan Feedback For Theatrhythm: Dragon Quest DLC". Siliconera. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  11. ^ Sato (2015-05-27). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest Adds Free DLC Songs From Dragon Quest I and III". Siliconera. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  12. ^ "『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』の体験版が3月11日に配信決定！". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 2015-03-04.
  13. ^ "『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』 豪華賞品が当たるイントロクイズバトルキャンペーンがスタート！". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 2015-03-20.
  14. ^ Sato (2015-03-18). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest's First Free DLC Tracks Are Memorable Classics". Siliconera. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  15. ^ Sato (2015-03-15). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest Gets New Songs From Dragon Quest III, IV, And V". Siliconera. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  16. ^ "『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』無料追加ダウンロード楽曲第3弾が4月29日より配信スタート！". famitsu.com (in Japanese). April 28, 2015.
  17. ^ Brian (2015-05-26). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest gets fourth round of DLC". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved 2016-02-11.
  18. ^ "『シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト』DLC最終回はファミコン版の『戦闘（DQIV）』など4曲！". dengekionline.com (in Japanese). June 10, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c "シアトリズム ドラゴンクエスト(3DS)のレビュー・評価・感想情報". famitsu.com.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i Daan Koopman (May 17, 2015). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest (3DS) Review". nintendoworldreport.com. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  21. ^ a b c "Golden Eye". Ultra Console Game (in Chinese). No. 368. April 16, 2015. p. 28. ISSN 1008-0600.
  22. ^ Romendil (April 14, 2015). "Theatrhythm Dragon Quest : Farandole de slimes en musique". Jeuxvideo (in French).
  23. ^ Aetas Inc. "「ワンピース 海賊無双3」「SAO −ロスト・ソング−」「Bloodborne」など新作タイトルが上位を独占した「ゲームソフト週間販売ランキング＋」". 4Gamer.net (in Japanese).
  24. ^ "2015年ソフト販売本数ランキングTOP100". 週刊ファミ通 (in Japanese). No. 1415. January 14, 2016. p. 8.

External links

  • Official website (in Japanese)
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