Dragon Quest – Dai no Daibouken (or Daï’s Quest in French), spin-off of the famous Japanese RPG series, is a cult manga from the 90s, adapted into an anime over the same period. More than 30 years after its creation, the series returns to television, but also in the form of an Action-RPG. Released on Switch, PC, Xbox Series X and PS4/PS5, this new game is very faithful to the original manga. But he sometimes forgets that it is above all a game. Explanations.
Having inspired the first Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest is one of the most popular licenses in Japan. Since the arrival of the first episode in 1986, almost 40 years ago, this series has been available on almost all consoles, as well as on smartphones, PCs and arcade machines. She covers almost all genres, even if she has a predilection for RPG and its variations. And, of course, it has had some adaptations in manga and anime.
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It was at the end of the 1980s that adaptations multiplied in Japanese bookstores and television. Roto no Monsho, Yuusha no Abelor Dai no Daibuken (“the adventures of Daï” in France), which the oldest among us also know under the name Fly. This manga is not inspired by a game in the series. It is a spin-off supervised by the creator of the series and loosely inspired by Dragon Quest folklore.
Infinity Strash, where the difficulty of adapting an anime into a game
Cult manga and anime from the 90s, whether in Japan or France, Daï’s adventures return 30 years later in the spotlight. In 2020, a new anime adaptation of the original manga, a new manga centered on the hero Avan and several games including an Action-RPG for console are announced: Infinity Strash – Dragon Quest, developed by Square-Enix. Three years later, it arrives on Switch (our test version), but also on Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5 and PC. So the circle is closed.
Adapting a popular anime or manga into a video game is often a difficult and often thankless task. To be convinced, just look at the long list of adaptations of Dragon Ball or One Piece. They do not always do justice to the original work. And this is all the more true for “The Adventures of Daï”. For what ? Because this series is itself the free adaptation of a cult game, as we have just highlighted.
The success of an adaptation depends on many choices. Should we return to the original scenario or write a new part of the story that would enrich the original work? Should it be aimed at fans of the series or new players? To those who read the manga in the 1990s or those who saw the anime in the 2020s? And above all, what gameplay to adopt? For Infinity Strash, Square-Enix made three choices on the scenario, the narration and the gameplay.
Infinity Strash Dragon Quest scrupulously follows the story of the anime
First, on the storyline side, Square-Enix chooses to repeat the original story of the manga identically: apart from the temporal ellipse which serves as a prologue and a pretext to relive the adventure since its start, the story of Daï starts on Monster Island and scrupulously follows all the stages of his epic until halfway through the anime (approximately), from his meeting with Avan to the fight against Rochdemon. Infinity Strash therefore takes no liberties and stays on target.
On the one hand, this decision is good: players who have never read the manga can benefit from the original story, without alteration. On the other hand, this decision is frustrating for all Daï fans who have already seen (and sometimes rewatched) the adventures of Daï and his friends. We would have appreciated a few additional new twists, in line with the story, to bring interest to fans. Perhaps we will have to wait for DLC to enjoy new short stories. But it will be too late.
Then, on the narrative side, Square-Enix chose to cut the game as if it were a manga. Each story arc constitutes a chapter. And each chapter is divided into episodes or levels. There are three types of episode: the “story” levels, which are similar to a visual novel using panels from the manga (and not the anime); “combat” levels which place you in an arena against an enemy; and “adventure” levels which give you some freedom of action and are generally optional. The latter, the most interesting, are also the least numerous, giving a very choppy and fairly slow narrative rhythm.
You also have a level called the Sanctuary, the only departure from the extreme rigor of the scenario with respect to the original story. This is a random dungeon that you have to do over and over again to acquire souvenirs that you can collect like with a Panini album. The shrine is also used to collect materials to improve these memories and the characters’ skills. Going through the sanctuary, like the exploration levels, is not obligatory, but the bonuses they provide are not negligible.
Square-Enix opts for a very classic Action-RPG for Infinity Strass
Finally, let’s talk about gameplay choices. Infinity Strash is an Action-RPG, a very popular style among developers and publishers for video game adaptations. The game offers you several characters whose gameplay is quite similar: out of four playable characters, three (Daï, Maam and Hyunckel) are melee specialists, while the fourth (Popp) is more effective at a distance. However, you will not often have the choice of accessible characters, to maintain this proximity to the original story.
If the “adventure” levels are quite simple to complete, because you can generally count on the complementarity of all your characters (Hyunkel / Daï serving as a tank, Maam taking care of the healing and Popp finishing off the enemies from a distance), the levels “combat” requires a little more strategy. Firstly because you don’t have the choice of your characters. You usually only have one character and your healer is almost never involved. This means that you have to manage the rare sources of life points.
Then because the “combat” levels require you to use dodging more judiciously, with a significant bonus in the event of a perfect parry. A real ballad for those accustomed to Soul-likes, even if the handling is often sluggish. On the other hand, younger players, to whom the game is certainly aimed more, may encounter some difficulty in passing a few levels. They then have to spend a little more time in the Sanctuary.
The fights against the different bosses are varied, but you must fight each boss several times, again to fit the story. There are also rare fights where you will need a particular skill to beat an enemy. All of them work relatively well, as long as you regularly raise their level using the materials you collect in the sanctuary and in the free levels.
Too many quests are optional, Infinity Strash becomes too short
Even rarer are the souvenirs that are important to equip. Souvenirs are divided into three classes: silver, gold and platinum. And each offers a different stat gain (strength, magic, life points, recovery speed, power of an ability, etc.). Once you have found the most suitable combination, you rarely change it. Then you just have to find the materials necessary to improve them.
The game length is relatively short if you decide not to invest time in the Sanctuary or the exploration levels. Of course, not doing this increases the difficulty of the game. Indeed, on the one hand you increase your experience level and the level of your skills more slowly. And on the other hand you don’t improve your memories. On the other hand, if you master the perfect dodge, improving your characters ultimately becomes only an “option”.
Should you play Infinity Strash? The answer to this question depends on your empathy towards the manga “The Adventures of Daï” or the series “Dragon Quest”. If you are a fan and want to relive the story in a more interactive way than in front of your TV, this game will give you a good time. For fans of the Dragon Quest series on console, Infinity Strash should be seen as another initiative to expand gameplay, like Dragon Quest Builders, Dragon Quest Monsters Or Dragon Quest Heroes. An initiative which is not unpleasant, but which lacks ambition. Sometimes messy in terms of handling, it is above all a little too academic in terms of narration.
Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai (English)
Amazon
89.98€