"Cat Quest" is a 2.5D action-adventure game series, and the latest installment, "Cat Quest 3", will be officially launched on August 8, 2024. The latest work follows the cute art style and systematic gameplay, and at the same time, it also brings the stage of adventure to a sea. Players take on the role of a fledgling cat pirate who searches for the treasure of the North Star while navigating a pirate ship against pirate rats and rats scattered all over the world. This time, we experienced this work in advance and will bring this review.
猫咪斗恶龙3 | Cat Quest III 开发商：The Gentlebros 发行商：Kepler Interactive 首发日期：2024年8月8日 所属平台：PS4、PS5、Xbox One、Xbox Series X|S、Switch、PC 属性：动作、冒险、角色扮演、海盗 ※本文基于Steam版本体验进行评测
"Dragon Quest 3" follows the gameplay of the series of 2.5D top-down real-time battles, players will control the protagonist to fight enemies on the large map, the threshold for getting started is not high, and the operation feedback is also relatively mature, which is a plus for this experience. Players can switch between melee and ranged weapons, and depending on the enemy's configuration and actions, the melee/ranged combo mode will greatly affect the player's playstyle. For example, in the adventure, you can obtain three melee weapons, the most basic one-handed sword, a claw with a fast attack speed, and a shield that integrates attack and defense; Ranged weapons include muskets and staffs, and the musket has a set amount of ammo, and the last shot will have a huge effect, but it will have to be reloaded before it can be fired again. The staff has elemental damage, not only does it have no ammo limit, but it also provides a phase teleportation effect when dodging.
In addition to weapon matching, special effects attached to hats, clothing, and accessories will bring different buffs and support effects to players to further enhance the difference in combat style. For example, when using a one-handed sword in a combat style centered on movement attacks, you can attack while dodging with the accessory Warrior Braid; When using the Heart Filler, a weapon that restores health when successfully blocked, it can be paired with Clawford's equipment, which can heal and deal damage to nearby enemies.
In addition, players can also obtain a series of spells as a complementary means of attack, as well as a number of enhanced cosmetics against spells. My outfits for the late game are costumes that heal after dealing damage and accessories that restore mana when healing, and shield weapons with a certain threshold for operation are quite good.
The advantages and disadvantages of the equipment system are obvious, the advantage is that although you will get duplicate equipment during the adventure, you can directly stack the level of the current equipment for the existing equipment after obtaining duplicate equipment. However, the downside is that when these equipment are enhanced in the blacksmith, the higher the cost of investing in a single piece of equipment, the more difficult it is for this equipment to be iterated on by other equipment. If you want to divide the money evenly among other equipment, it is just for the sake of sharing, and the benefit is very poor. The higher cost of gear iterations is also limiting the richness of the gameplay, and even going to the Ice Mouse and Fire Mouse Castles, I pushed them hard with my usual Arcane loadouts (which were still easy).
This is also a common problem in the later stages of the "Cat Quest Dragon Quest" series, as a game that accounts for more than half of the combat proportion, the later combat experience is extremely repetitive, from the miscellaneous soldiers on the map to the final boss can be pushed through with the same routine. Once a style has been formed, you can abandon thinking and rely on muscle memory to push, even if the newly acquired weapon effect is interesting, but the impact is very limited in the face of absolute strength. The characteristics of equipment, accessories, weapons, and spells complementing each other and strengthening each other are also like Cao Cao's nine consecutive combat ships, and if there is no complete set of new genre suits, it is not enough for people to have the idea of iteration. This part is not only the feature of "Cats Quest", but it is also the bottleneck of "Cats Quest".
And since the theme of this story is pirates, the element of water battles between pirate ships is naturally indispensable. A pirate ship can be unlocked at the beginning of the game, and players can sail the pirate ship through the seas to plunder. Like the main character, the pirate ship has its own enhancement elements, and after obtaining the enhancement blueprint, you can increase the pirate ship's rate of fire, firepower, durability, and change the type of special shells. And there are also strong enough enemies placed on the sea, and after fighting them and winning, you will reap unprecedented satisfaction. Go back to the Milk Bucket Bar where the cats gather, and you can also receive a bounty for defeating powerful enemies.
Set in a world set in this vast ocean, players will navigate their own pirate ship between the archipelago and find clues to the treasures of the North Star. There are many elements of exploration buried in the world, such as a treasure chest hidden in a seemingly simple grass, and finding these hidden elements also has a strong positive feedback on the curiosity of exploration. Some scenes also have access to separate labyrinthine dungeons, bringing a touch of freshness to exploration. There are also some crystal puzzle elements with different conditions, some require the crystals to be activated within a limited time, some require the crystals to be activated in order, and some are a combination of the two, so it is also interesting to think about the solution to these puzzles.
The game didn't take long, and I personally played for about eight hours by the time I cleared the game after completing most of the collected elements and side quests (including defeating the Duck of Calamity). Because the game has the problem of strong repetitiveness of the post-experience, the length of this process can be considered appropriate. But if you happen to like this kind of gameplay, there is also an NG+ mode in the game, which can inherit the data after clearing the game and start a new week again. Enemies in the second week will become stronger, the rewards will be more generous, and the level of some strong enemies will even be doubled. If you feel that you can't get enough after playing a week, you can feel the difficulty of the excitement in the NG+ mode. In addition, like its predecessor, Dragon Quest 3 allows players to play in local online co-op, and two-player co-op will bring a completely different experience to the single-player mode. Whether it's a parent, a couple, or even a roommate in the dormitory, "Dragon Quest 3" is a good glue.
Summary of the A9VG experience
"Dragon Quest 3" inherits the advantages of the series, bringing a cute adventure story brought by cute animals such as cats, mice, and mice, and the pirate theme also brings a touch of freshness to the story and gameplay. Although there are still shortcomings and room for improvement, its short and concise story flow and interesting local online mode are worth a visit!
A9VG rating: 8.5