Dragon Quest: Swords is the newest RPG from Square-Enix, the company best known for its Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts franchises, though Dragon Quest is also very popular in Japan and has a niche following in North America. Square has decided to bring Dragon Quest to the Wii and while the intent of the game was to bring a new spin to the RPG genre via motion control, the results are decidedly mixed.

Role-playing games generally have two main gameplay elements: a larger-than-life story and battles between the main characters and their foes. Most RPGs have an involved story that tries to get the player to buy into the complicated situation facing the characters in a fictional land. Here the story comes up woefully short. The basic crux is that a young boy is sent on a journey through the land to help the queen resolve some difficulties that she is encountering. The story is relatively bland and lacks any characteristics that cause the player to bond with the characters in the game. Perhaps previous RPGs from Square-Enix have set the bar much higher in this regard, but there is no reason why this game should have any less of a story than its other games.

The battle system is where there are major changes over previous RPGs. It extensively uses motion controls to fight the various enemies/monsters that are encountered as the levels progress. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal slashing motions are used to complete attack moves with a sword. In addition, a stabbing motion can also be used to attack. Pressing a button raises the shield to deflect incoming attacks.

There are two flaws with the battle system that hinder the gameplay. First, the slashing motions are repetitive and do not always register correctly. Using the same motions over and over again can lead to a certain level of boredom as it feels like each battle is awfully similar to the last one. In addition, the enemies are set up in certain horizontal, vertical, or diagonal formations. Attacking those given formations in an optimal way requires making the proper slashing motion that correlates with the formation. With the remote sensor not always accurately reflecting the motion of the player, it leads to frustration as the control system registers an attack that did not match what was intended. (It is also quite easy to wear out the shoulder joint in a big hurry by playing the game in long, marathon sessions.)

The second problem with the battle system is the extremely linear gameplay. To some extent, it almost seems like each level is nothing more than a train following its tracks. There are not that many options when exploring levels. Pushing up and down on the directional pad will move forward and backward, while pushing left and right will just turn the field of view left and right. Part of the process of creating a great RPG is the option to explore the world in an open manner. Usually the player decides from a number of options which path will be taken next. In this game, the paths are pre-determined and very stringent on what parts of the world can be explored. Even the town that can be explored in between levels is relatively small and allows very few character and weapon upgrades in the various shops that are available.

Visuals are distinctly average. There are not any inherent problems with the graphics per se, but there is nothing in this game that leaves the player in awe either. Even in the 16:9 mode, there is very little upgrade over old PS2-era RPGs. In regards to sound, it appears that the developer wanted to bring a little old-school video game nostalgia by using old 16-bit sounds. But when playing the game, the older audio makes the game sound cheap.

Another problem in the game is the relatively easy difficulty level. Players with any level of gaming experience should be able to move through the eight levels rather quickly. In some cases, you can beat the game while only dying once or twice. Gameplay at this level should result in the game being completed in ten hours or less. Even relatively new gamers on the Wii can complete this game inside of 15 hours of total gameplay.