Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai review

Anime and video games go together like chocolate and peanut butter, with plenty of successful crossovers happening over the years. There are plenty of anime stories that have been adapted into successful video games, from Dragon Ball to Naruto. Conversely we’ve also had video games that have inspired anime series, such as Persona and Danganronpa. Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is more confusing than that though, being a game based on an anime based on a game.

If you aren’t aware of Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (which I wasn’t until this game was announced) it’s an anime series about a young hero called Dai who is on a quest to save the world from the Dark King Vearn and his underlings. On his adventures he meets plenty of new friends who join him on his quest, like the cowardly mage Popp and the kind healer with a gun Maam, and they all work together to take on the dark commanders of the dark army. It’s very much babies first anime, and reminded me of my younger years watching Dragon Ball and getting way too invested in muscly men. Don’t worry about watching the anime before playing the game though, because you’ll be told pretty much the whole story in great detail in Infinity Strash.

It takes a while for Infinity Strash to get going, as you’re slowly introduced to Dai and shown a variety of anime cutscenes. Even as the game continues, the balance of cutscene to action is probably 50/50 at best, so settle in for some storytelling. The combat does come eventually though, and, although it’s fairly simple, it’s effective.

Although Dragon Quest is in the title of this game, don’t be expecting any slow turn-based battles in Infinity Strash. The combat here is full-on action, with Dai sporting a cheeky sword combo, abilities on a cooldown, and a host of flashy special attacks he can use once his meter is full. You’ve also got a block and dodge to help deal with incoming damage, which when timed correctly can result in negating all damage and can even help build your meters.

A lot of the small Slimes and Drakys barely require more than a hit to take down, but bigger foes take a bit more punishment and planning. When you lock on to one of these tougher enemies you’ll see a meter that once depleted stuns the big beast and allows you to get in some extra damage. You’ll also need to survive some huge attacks too, which can be done by dodging or by using your special abilities to negate them entirely. These encounters feel pretty cool the first time around, but one fight is rarely all you have with an enemy.

As a Dragon Ball Z fan I’m more than familiar with an anime that features a whole lot of fighting the same big baddie for multiple episodes, and that’s what it feels like Infinity Strash is aping. You’ll often be presented with back to back stages where you’ll just battle the same boss over and over with slight differences, and it’s hard to deny that it feels repetitive. The combat is a whole lot of fun, but a bit of variety wouldn’t go amiss.

Fortunately you can mix things up by swapping to different party members, who all play completely differently. Popp has ranged attacks and can speed up his ability cooldown by meditating if you can find a safe spot to do so. Maam has the ability to load up her magic gun with different damaging and healing spells to support the team, and is a great option if you’d just like to backup some AI buddies. The fact that each character you play as has totally different abilities is wonderful, and there’s than just the main trio to discover on your adventure.

All those characters will need leveling up and strengthening to battle the dark army, which is best done by obtaining and equipping memory bonds. These core moments in the story provide stat boosts to the party members you equip them to, and gain bonuses when grouped with other memories that connect to them. You can level them up too using amber you find at the Temple of Recollection, and you’ll need to as you progress to later chapters.

The Temple of Recollection is a really interesting element of Infinity Strash, and is a great place to go when you just want to jump into the combat. By proceeding through this almost Roguelike style dungeon (where you actually start at level 1 every time you enter) you’ll unlock new memories and collect a whole lot of amber you can use to upgrade everyone. With random enemies and a variety of stat boosts standing in your way, it’s a tough place to survive but it’s worth persevering for the rewards.

A lot of the issues in Infinity Strash stem from how much narrative is thrown your way between missions. Especially because instead of scenes from the anime you’re shown static images of the characters with voiceovers, it’s just hard to get through so much of this sloppy storytelling. There’s also a more personal pet peeve I had to deal with when playing Infinity Strash, and that’s the constant repetitive voice lines. Every time you nail the timing of the standard sword combo you’ll hear Dai shout “get ready”, and it happens over and over again. Often the characters also repeat voice lines from the cutscenes you see before fights too, and it just feels unnecessary.

Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai is a fun way to experience the story of this Dragon Quest based anime, but the narrative focus is a little excessive. The combat is fairly simple but fun, and with a little more enemy variety and a little less talking this could be a must-play for anime lovers.