Review of Dragon Quest Heroes: Torneko's Mystery Dungeon - Classic HD Switch 2, Nintendo Switch 1/2, PC/Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
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Your goal is to reach the lowest floor and clear the dungeon, but you’ll most likely die within your first few (dozens… hundreds…?) attempts. But of course, Torneko doesn’t actually die—instead, he crawls back to the surface and heads to the shop to recover.
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You start over from level one, without any items, and head back into the dungeon. But since this is a strange and mysterious dungeon, the layout will be completely different. No two runs are exactly the same, and you’ll have to tackle the dungeon and learn it all over again every time you go down there.
You might be thinking, “Wait a minute, this is a roguelike game, right?” And… yes! That’s true, in the strictest sense—though perhaps not in the sense you’re thinking of. Because, dear reader, *Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon* is based on the classic 1980s game *Rogue*, the genre’s pioneer and the origin of the term “roguelike.”
However, if you’re used to modern roguelike games with abundant progression paths, interconnected subsystems, and complementary ability synergies, this game will seem rather bland by comparison. Torneko’s Mystery Dungeon isn’t a roguelike; it’s a game similar to Rogue—and that distinction is more than just a semantic one.
Don’t let its simplicity fool you—there’s a lot to love here. One of the reasons Rogue spawned other popular franchises like Mystery Dungeon, Diablo, and other well-known games is its deeply satisfying and addictive gameplay.
Before we even formulated the concept of the gameplay loop, Rogue had already cemented the idea in gamers’ minds: explore, die, and repeat. The constant iterations and combinations that can arise from the game’s random elements create a nearly limitless number of experiences.
