The cozy life-sim Pokemon spin-off, Pokemon Pokopia, has taken the gaming world by storm, with fans getting lost in the sandbox world full of the franchise’s iconic creatures. Pokemon Pokopia has already earned the honor of being the highest rated game in the franchise, including both mainline and spin-offs, with a score of 89 on Metacritic. The only problem is that Pokopia is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive, meaning Switch 1 owners who haven’t made the jump to the new console won’t be able to experience it. Luckily, there is already the ideal alternative waiting on the original Switch.
While Pokemon Pokopia is undoubtedly worth picking up a Nintendo Switch 2 for, a brand-new console comes with a hefty price tag and may not be in every gamer’s budget. For players who want to get a similar experience to Pokemon Pokopia with a game available on the Switch 1, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the way to go. The game sits at an almost equally impressive Metacritic score of 86, and was developed by Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force, the same team that created Pokemon Pokopia, giving it a similar gameplay loop and mechanical feel as the recent Pokemon spin-off.
Pokemon Pokopia Solves Animal Crossing’s Biggest Villager Problem
One of the major sticking points for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players regarding villagers is essentially fixed by Pokemon Pokopia.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 Walked So Pokemon Pokopia Could Run
The Pokemon and Dragon Quest franchises have an intertwined history, with Game Freak’s monster collector drawing clear inspiration from Enix’s classic JRPG. As such, it’s only fitting that Pokemon would follow the lead of Dragon Quest once again, with Pokopia building upon the foundation of the Dragon Quest Builders games. For fans of sandbox survival crafting games like Minecraft or the Dragon Quest franchise, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an experience that shouldn’t be slept on.
Drag weapons to fill the grid
Drag weapons to fill the grid
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The basic premise of Dragon Quest Builders 2 is that the Hero player character is a Builder in a world where the ability to craft things has all but disappeared. With the aid of their amnesiac companion, Malroth, the Builder sets out to explore several different islands in need of rebuilding, helping out residents along the way and defending their settlements from monster attacks. Not only does Dragon Quest Builders 2 have the sandbox building mechanics that give Pokopia players the freedom to create whatever kind of world they wish, but it also has a JRPG story worthy of the Dragon Quest name.
Key Features of Dragon Quest Builders 2
- Collect materials and craft items
- Freedom to place building materials almost anywhere
- 4 major islands for building, several smaller islands to explore
- Buildertopia island free of monsters for creative building
- Action-style combat
- Iconic Dragon Quest monsters
- Online co-op for up to 4 players
The highlights of Dragon Quest Builders 2 look fairly similar to Pokemon Pokopia. Players can collect materials for use in crafting, and place blocks and items to build structures around the world. Like Pokopia‘s different biomes, Dragon Quest Builders 2 also includes 4 major story locations for players to build up to their liking, unlocking as they progress through the main quest. Additionally, players get access to Buildertopia, which acts similar to Pokopia‘s Palette Town as a blank canvas for players to let their imaginations run wild. Dragon Quest Builders 2 also has what is essentially a precursor to Pokopia‘s online functionality, with 4-player co-op and the ability to visit friends’ worlds.
How Dragon Quest Builders 2 Differs from Pokemon Pokopia
Aside from the Dragon Quest theming, Dragon Quest Builders 2 has a few major differences from Pokemon Pokopia that players should be aware of before diving into it. The biggest difference is that Dragon Quest Builders 2 places a heavy emphasis on combat alongside building. Players will often have to engage in boss fights against monsters attempting to attack their settlement, forcing players to team up with allies and engage in action-based combat to take them down. Although it’s not the most complex combat system, players will likely need to spend some time fighting the monsters they find throughout the world in order to be strong enough to take down boss enemies.
Another major deviation from Pokemon Pokopia is the lack of a Pokedex system for collecting and categorizing monsters. However, there are some tamable monsters in Dragon Quest Builders 2, and unlocking these monsters will allow the Builder to use abilities like higher jumps while mounted on a Slime or being able to direct a Hammerhood to automatically break rocks in an assigned area. These abilities function like Ditto’s Transformations in Pokopia, mixed with the individual skills each Pokemon has, but there are only 13 tamable monsters in the game, compared to Pokopia‘s over 300 recruitable critters.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a Perfect Stand-alone Experience for Switch 1 Owners
Although Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a sequel, players don’t need to have played the previous Dragon Quest Builders game to jump into this one. And this is likely the ideal way to do so, since Dragon Quest Builders 2 greatly expands upon the first game with helpful quality-of-life features, such as a fast-travel system, the option to switch to a first-person camera perspective, and new underwater exploration ability. Lore-wise, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is set in the aftermath of Dragon Quest 2‘s events, so players may get more out of its story if they have played Dragon Quest 1+2 HD-2D Remake and are familiar with the franchise’s Erdrick Trilogy arc. However, it’s completely enjoyable as a stand-alone experience, and it still looks and plays solidly on the original Nintendo Switch hardware.
- Released
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July 12, 2019
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ due to Alcohol Reference, Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Blood, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes
