Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince pre-orders are available worldwide

Square Enix announced the upcoming role-playing game Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is now available for digital pre-orders and pre-purchase exclusively for Nintendo Switch. Additionally, the team at Square Enix also revealed more details on the game's new battle and monster recruitment systems available to players once it officially launches worldwide on December 1, 2023.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is the latest installment in the Dragon Quest Monster series, where you immerse in the epic story of the dark prince Psaro, a monster wrangler, and build a team of monsters to battle against your enemies as you progress through the adventure in order to become the Master of Monsterkind.

In the game, players can scout monsters and send them into battle, controlling up to eight team members, with up to four in your main party and four more in your reserves. In turn-based combat, players can issue precise orders to each individual monster or set general tactics, such as 'Show No Mercy' or 'Focus on Healing', and leave it to the monsters to decide the specifics.

The Power of Synthesis can create new monsters by combining two parent monsters to make a new one. The feature has been overhauled for Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, and it now includes more intuitive combinations for returning gamers and newcomers to discover.

There's a whole lot more to discover in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, such as monster talents, a battle arena, and several familiar faces that fans of the series will recognize at first glance. 

The Dragon Quest series is no stranger to spinoffs. While the latest installment in the mainline Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age was released in 2017, and the next one, Dragon Quest XII has only been shown in a teaser, the saga has received other spinoffs in the meantime. Dragon Quest Treasures launched recently, and the upcoming Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is just around the corner. The MMO Dragon Quest X also received an offline version but is stuck overseas as a Japan-exclusive.

Players who pre-order or pre-purchase Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince will also receive the Head Start Set, which includes:

• Stardust Earrings x1
• Scholar's Specs x1
• Bonus Ball x5

If you are interested in the game, check our comparator for the best deals on Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince before the official launch worldwide on December 1, 2023.