The cozy life-sim Pokémon by-product, Pokemon Pokopiahas 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 that Switch 1 owners who haven't made the leap to the new console won't be able to experience it. Fortunately, there's already the perfect alternative waiting for the original Switch.
While Pokemon Pokopia is undoubtedly worth buying 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 have a similar experience Pokemon Pokopia with a game available on Switch 1, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the way to go. The game has an almost equally impressive Metacritic score of 86 and was developed by Koei Tecmo's Omega Force, the same team that created Pokemon Pokopiagiving it a similar gameplay loop and mechanical feel to the last one Pokémon by-product.
Pokemon Pokopia solves Animal Crossing's biggest villager problem
One of the major sticking points for Animal Crossing: New Horizons players when it comes to villagers is essentially fixed by Pokemon Pokopia.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 went so Pokemon Pokopia could run
The Pokémon and Dragon Quest franchise has an intertwined history, with Game Freak's monster collectors taking clear inspiration from Enix's classic JRPG. As such, it is only fitting that Pokémon would follow the lead of Dragon Quest once again, with Pokopia builds on the foundation of Dragon Quest Builders game. For fans of sandbox survival crafting games like Minecraft or the one Dragon Quest franchise, Dragon Quest Builders 2 is an experience you shouldn't sleep on.
Drag weapons to fill the grid
Start
Drag weapons to fill the grid
EasyMediumHard
The basic prerequisite for Dragon Quest Builders 2 is that the hero player character is a builder in a world where the ability to create things has all but disappeared. With the help of his amnesiac companion, Malroth, the Builder sets out to explore several different islands in need of rebuilding, helping residents along the way and defending their settlements from monster attacks. Don't just do it Dragon Quest Builders 2 has the sandbox building mechanic that provides Pokopia players the freedom to create any kind of world they want, but it also has a JRPG story worthy Dragon Quest name.
Key features of Dragon Quest Builders 2
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Collect materials and crafts
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Freedom to place building materials almost anywhere
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4 large islands to build, several smaller islands to explore
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Buildertopia island free from monsters for creative building
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Action style combat
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Iconic Dragon Quest monster
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Online co-op for up to 4 players
The highlights of Dragon Quest Builders 2 looks pretty similar Pokemon Pokopia. Players can collect materials to use in crafting and place blocks and items to build structures around the world. As Pokopiadifferent biomes, Dragon Quest Builders 2 Also includes 4 large story locations for players to build to their liking, unlocked as they progress through the main quest. Additionally, players gain access to Buildertopia, which is 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 Pokopias online functionality, with 4-player co-op and the ability to visit friends' worlds.
How Dragon Quest Builders 2 differs from Pokemon Pokopia
Apart from Dragon Quest theme, Dragon Quest Builders 2 has some major differences from Pokemon Pokopia which players should be aware of before diving into it. The main difference is that Dragon Quest Builders 2 puts a lot of emphasis on combat alongside building. Players will often have to engage in boss battles against monsters that attempt to attack their settlement, forcing players to team up with allies and engage in action-based battles to take them down. While not the most complex combat system, players will probably need to spend some time fighting monsters they find throughout the world in order to be strong enough to take down boss enemies.
Another major departure from Pokemon Pokopia is the lack of a Pokedex system for collecting and categorizing monsters. However, there are some tamable monsters in it Dragon Quest Builders 2and by unlocking these monsters, the builder will use abilities like higher jumps when mounted on a Slime or being able to control a Hammerhood to automatically break rocks in an assigned area. These abilities act as Ditto's Transformations in Pokopiamixed with the individual skills each Pokémon has, but there are only 13 tamable monsters in the game, compared to Pokopias over 300 recruitable animals.
Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a perfect standalone experience for Switch 1 owners
Even if Dragon Quest Builders 2 is a sequel, players do not need to have played the previous one Dragon Quest Builders game to jump into this one. And this is probably the perfect way to do it, because Dragon Quest Builders 2 greatly expands on the first game with helpful quality-of-life features, such as a fast travel system, the ability to switch to a first-person camera perspective, and new underwater exploration abilities. Lore-wise, Dragon Quest Builders 2 takes place in the aftermath of Dragon Quest 2s event, so players can get more out of their story if they've played Dragon Quest 1+2 HD-2D Remake and are familiar with the Erdrick Trilogy arc of the franchise. However, it's completely enjoyable as a standalone 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 all 10+ due to alcohol reference, comedic mischief, fantasy violence, mild gore, mild language, suggestive themes
