Nintendo DS Reviews

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation Review (Nintendo DS)

By Hector Cortez May 14, 2011, 1:03 GMT

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation provides hours upon hours of gameplay.

Originally released in Japan in 1995 for the Super Famicom (Super NES), Square Enix brings the classic role-playing game Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation to the Nintendo DS with some slight visual and gameplay enhancements that will appease gamers who grew up playing classic 2D RPGs.

Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation is an expansive game that provides hours upon hours of gameplay. You’ll choose one of nine starting classes to begin your adventure and along the way you’ll meet a variety of characters that will join you on your quest to rid the land of evil.

The game is set in a medieval-inspired time and location, complete with vast castles and kingdoms and characters that fit the traditional class hierarchy. The entire world is cohesive and consistent in delivery and presentation. Everything and everyone serves its purpose, whether it be an important purpose that drives the story forward, or simply a milieu to enhance the fantasy experience.

One thing that those who have never played a Dragon Quest game should know is that you must be incredibly patient. Your character begins with no experience whatsoever so it’s up to you to level up and learn new fighting and defensive techniques. This means you’ll have to purposely and repeatedly involve yourself in random battle encounters in order to stand a chance against the more powerful enemies you'll encounter as you progress through the game. Expect to dedicate hours just to level up your characters to a respectable level—one that won’t cause you to constantly die.

If you can look past the constant leveling up necessity, you’ll be treated to a fun storyline that is full of variety. Tons of quests await you; though some are a bit tedious where you essentially wander around aimlessly until a certain event is triggered that allows you to continue on. Speaking of wandering aimlessly, don’t expect much help from the game in regards to hints as to what you need to do next to proceed. This game was designed in 1995 when RPGs where purposely made challenging. This isn’t an adventure game with an RPG coating sloppily applied on top. This is a hardcore RPG game. You must level up, you must wander (explore), you must role-play.

Overall, Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation is recommended to older gamers who remember the Super NES days and its reign over the RPG genre, and who now want to relive that experience. If you’ve grown up playing modern RPGs that tend to be more forgiving, this game may turn you away. But if you stick with it, you’ll find it’s an enjoyable game that provides well over 40 hours of gameplay.