A big surprise at this month’s Nintendo Direct was the reveal of Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon Classic HD, an exclusive title in Japan until this reveal.
Originally developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix in 1993 on the Super Famicom, Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon stars the titular merchant, who dreams of building his business and, to do so, must venture into dungeons filled with monsters and treasure.
What might seem like a quirky little adventure derived from Dragon Quest is actually the first game in the Mystery Dungeon series, which used a roguelike structure to help popularize the genre in Japan and influence countless games in the decades that followed. Fans who’ve played Dragon Quest 4 will recognize Torneko as he’s on the hunt for treasure to sell at his shop. After speaking with the King and proving he can handle himself, Torneko is given permission to dive into dungeons to find treasure.
Dragon Quest’s Torneko Gets His Due
If you’ve never played a Mystery Dungeon game before, you essentially move through randomly generated dungeon floors to collect gold and items as you progress toward a certain floor. In Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon, your main objective is to gather items for Torneko’s wife to sell in their shop, along with gold and treasures to upgrade it. This creates a nice routine of gathering items and expanding the shop, giving a constant sense of progress.
You first tackle a shorter, 10-level dungeon before heading into more challenging locations. Although the narrative context is deliberately light, it gives a reason to enter these places and, more importantly, reinforces the humorous idea that Torneko continually risks his life for commercial gain. Where a conventional hero would go into a cave to recover a sacred relic or rescue a princess, Torneko might end up being killed by a bunch of monsters simply because he spotted a weapon that could be extremely profitable.
What makes the game stand out is that, even during the most intense moments, it keeps the familiar sense of humour you find in Dragon Quest. It’s funny to see the merchant head out on his adventure, treating it like any other workday, only to wind up a few floors down, surrounded by monsters and second-guessing every choice that led him there.
You’ll quickly learn you’re not playing as a storied hero. Instead, Torneko must rely on his smarts. The game expects you to play that way. For example, when you meet a legerdeman, it’s better to block their spells first or keep your distance and use arrows. If you don’t, this annoying monster might put you to sleep and take you out before you even have a chance to quit in frustration.
Oh, Treasure!
The game’s main aim is to collect treasure, with combat a secondary concern focused on gathering as much as you can before exiting the dungeon. Weapons and equipment are randomly generated and scattered around each floor.
Available weapons include swords, clubs, wands, and other melee weapons, along with herbs with uses beyond healing, such as herbs that enable special attacks and scrolls. Although magic—carried out with wands and the aforementioned herbs and scrolls—is generally limited, it is very effective and should be saved for tougher threats, since they can otherwise end your run quickly.
Things get trickier because Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon only lets you carry so much, and since many items depend on luck, you can’t always be prepared. That’s why I end up running away more often than I usually would. You’ll need to be thrifty, figure out what each item does, learn how every enemy behaves, and react to what’s happening. At first, it doesn’t seem too complex, and once you get used to it, it can feel like you’re just relying on luck.
Verdict
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon Classic HD isn’t your usual adventure, but it is worth playing. The merchant Torneko makes a great roguelike lead, and focusing on his dream of acquiring new items to sell creates an exciting gameplay loop, especially for newcomers. And because it’s a nearly 1:1 remake of the original, it’s pretty barebones in terms of content, so once you wrap up, there isn’t much else to do.
[The publisher provided a copy of the game for review purposes.]
Reviewed on: Switch 2
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon Classic HD Review
Summary
Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon Classic HD isn't your usual adventure, but it is worth playing. The merchant Torneko makes a great roguelike lead, and focusing on his dream of acquiring new items to sell creates an exciting gameplay loop, especially for newcomers. And because it's a nearly 1:1 remake of the original, it's pretty barebones in terms of content, so once you wrap up, there isn't much else to do.
Liked
This is a near 1:1 remake of the original
A tough but fun challenge
The roguelike elements are a blast
Didn't Like
Light on story
Challenging gameplay
