First Review The Dragon Quest Monsters makes a triumphant return!
Graphics: Remember the awesome cell-shaded graphics of DQ8? Well, their back, and they look amazing. Still, the transition to the DS makes them a bit clunky, but all in all, the graphics are great.
Sound: Even though Joker does not use orchestrated music like in DQ8, it's music is still amazing. The music is basically remixed, modernized versions of old DQM music, specifically the battle themes and sound effects. Very nostalgic, which is a good thing.
Gameplay: Joker plays like a hybrid of class DQM and DQ8. The new scouting system is pretty good, but can be frustrating at times. Also, the Skill System returns, and is better than ever. Each monster has a specific trait that improves it's battle abilities by making it able to psyche up, land critical hits more often, poison or paralyze an enemy when attacking, etc. Oh yeah, and there are NO RANDOM BATTLES! That's right, you SEE the monsters on the field, and can fight or avoid them at your leisure. Oh yeah, and the game takes roughly 15-30 hours to beat, which some good replay actions.
Overall: Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker is one of the best DS RPGs around. It brings new life to the DQM series for the first time since Dragon Quest Monsters 2 came out. Despite the fact the number of monsters is considerably lower, this game still fails to disappoint. I highly recommend this game to anyone who is an RPG fan.