Will this spinoff prove to be a hidden gem?

Developer In-house, Armor Project, Bird Studio

Publisher Square Enix

Format Switch

Origin Japan

Release December 9

This spinoff and prequel to Dragon Quest XI begins with a playful trick: the first treasure chest you encounter can’t be opened; instead, a text box teases that you will soon discover plenty of treasures to claim for yourself. The ‘you’ in this case is plural, with the story focusing on blue-haired siblings Erik and Mia during happier times – well, relatively speaking, as we begin with the two orphans enslaved aboard a Viking ship, plotting their escape.

The Dragon Quest series has always targeted a broad audience. In Japan, especially, it’s loved by children and adults alike, but as a Switch exclusive starring two younger protagonists (as well as two talking fairies that have the appearance of a cat and piglet respectively), Treasures evidently skews towards the former – even if we still spot one bawdy reference near the beginning of our hands-on demo. There’s still the distinctive Akira Toriyama aesthetic and the use of an English dub, albeit much of it limited to single lines rather than fully voiced dialogue, but this has the more immediate pick-up-andplay comfort of a light action RPG. Given how ultra-traditional to a fault we found XI – despite making occasional overtures towards something more modern – it’s refreshing to roam around more freely. Our heroes are able to jump and crouch, and automatically clamber up on to ledges, while enemy encounters also take place in real time within the same field, rather than the game whisking you away to a separate arena.