Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World, the latest installment in Square Enix's monster-collecting spinoff series, is set to launch on December 3. Co-developers Square Enix and Tose Co. have released a new trailer and shared further details about the game, which sees the return of Bianca and Nera from Dragon Quest V.
The Dragon Quest Monsters series functions as the franchise's take on the monster-collecting genre, allowing players to capture, train, and breed a variety of monsters. In The Withered World, players will manage a party of four monsters, with an additional four available as backup. Exploration and combat will involve befriending over 500 distinct monsters, categorized by nine ranks (G through X), size (small or large), and unique personalities.
The game will feature a mix of familiar monsters from the mainline Dragon Quest series alongside new additions. Among the new creatures are the Slime Balls, a trio inspired by onigiri with flavors like sour plum, veggie mix, and shrimp tempura. The Bamboo Badboy appears as a bamboo shoot to attract prey, while the Groovy Grouse is characterized by its constant dancing.
The synthesis mechanic, used for breeding monsters, returns in The Withered World. Before a monster can be used for synthesis, it must reach level 10. After synthesis, both parent monsters disappear, yielding a child monster that can inherit abilities and buffs from its parents. Some monsters are exclusive to this synthesis process, and certain rare monsters can only be created by synthesizing four parent monsters, a mechanic also present in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince.
