do NOT compare this to pokemon! Different games that involve raising monsters.
But what's this? To get strong monsters you need to synthesize, yet it seems that's an issue for some people. Perhaps because of the fact that when you "breed" called "synthesize" in the ds versions now, you don't keep your monsters. If you've played these series before you wouldn't complain about that since that's the point. You synthesize to get stronger monsters(increasing +), and/or different ones of the same rank.
Another "downside" may be the fact that this game doesn't have as many monsters as Dragon Quest Joker 2 Professional(only in Japan).
Aside from that, it does have a short storyline, but has PLENTY of postgame content such as a difficult extra boss that will have you synthesizing many times to get the perfect team to be able to survive those Frizz Crackers! The ability to test/have fun with your monster/s team/s while earning prizes on wifi, and more!
If you don't have wifi then this game will DEFINITELY not be as enjoyable, but you can still try to breed as many monsters as possible! Not to mention you can still play with your friends if they also have this game! You can even scout their monsters, which will come in handy later, since you WILL need 2 of a certain monster to be able to synthesize the last one, so you'll want a buddy at some point!
Some other minor bonuses that I noticed, include remixed versions of past songs from both dragon warrior and dragon quest games ahh nostalgia.
Now get to synthesizing!