Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai PAX West Impression

Experiencing the main story will be difficult though as the Temple of Recollection is so addictive that plenty of time can be spent enjoying each run through it.

Dragon Quest has been a franchise that has been around a long time.  From the earliest days of turn-based roleplaying game to today, the franchise has large presence in gaming.  What it has not been known for is having entries that play out based on a manga.  That makes Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai a unique entry as the game is an action RPG and also based on the manga/anime was recreated in 2020.  RPGamer got a chance to take a look at a demo with Square Enix at PAX West that showcased the random dungeon Temple of Recollection.

In the Temple of Recollection, the party’s levels get lowered to one and they fight their way through each layer of the temple until they either leave with their accumulated treasure or get wiped out.  In the demo, players used Dai, Pop, and Maam to fight their way up using pre-set skills for each character and get a feel for how the Temple handles.  There are a set of four layers with a random assortment of Dragon Quest enemies, with even the Metal Slime able to make an appearance causing a drastic increase in levels if one is lucky enough to defeat it.

After the enemies on each floor are defeated, players get a choice of two doors to enter which give stat or skill boosts to a random party member or everyone, with purple doors designated for harder fights.  These doors allow players to choose between increasing equipped skill proficiency, combat or defensive stats with three options that can increase one member or the whole party.  Picking and choosing these options and collecting treasure can feel very satisfying, particularly with the boss fights providing a fun challenge.  These boss fights are also somewhat randomized with only some options available to be seen on lower floors, but with tougher and more memorable foes from the anime making an appearance the further in they go.  When available, players can opt for a door to shop where currency found in the Temple can be used to get healing items or bond memories.  Bond memories vary in rarity and can allow new abilities to be learned or increase stats, and can be levelled up within the Temple.  The demo had players able to collect them, but equipping them and viewing scenes from the manga will be in the final version.

Combat is on an arena floor with players moving freely in a decently sized area.  Every character feels a bit different as Pop’s long-ranged basic attack makes him stand out.  While on the defensive side every dodge feels different with Dai’s being a side shuffle and Maam’s being a full roll.  This leads to a layer of strategy for every party member on how to avoid incoming attacks.  In the demo, there were three equipped skills for each party member that ranged from powerful attacks, to vital healing spells from Maam that were vital for survival with no curative items to start with.  Players can swap at a button press to any of the three party members with enemy AI having a tendency to target the one the player is controlling.  The other two members had effective AI in which to assist as players tried out different methods to defeat enemies.  In particular Maam’s healing went off as quickly as possible while under AI control, making her the MVP of this particular session.  Regular enemies are just hit until defeated while bosses have both a health bar and a shield that when depleted staggers them for free hits.

The Temple of Recollection is just one of the modes that’s in Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, as the main story mode encapsulates the first 41 episodes of the anime for players to make their way through with their party.  Experiencing the main story will be difficult though as the Temple of Recollection is so addictive that plenty of time can be spent enjoying each run through it.  There’s plenty to look forward to when Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai releases on September 28, 2023 worldwide for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.