‘Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince’ iOS Review – Much Better Than Switch, but Lacking in Two Ways

Back in December, I reviewed Square Enix’s monster collecting RPG Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch. I loved my time with it despite its many technical issues. I expected it to hit PC like Dragon Quest Treasures, another Nintendo Switch exclusive, but I didn’t expect a mobile release. Square Enix’s newest release of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on iOS, Android, and Steam brings all prior paid DLC into the game at a lower entry point, but removes one feature. This is the online real-time multiplayer battles. Beyond that, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Steam and mobile is already a massively better experience just on value with its lower price point and the content included, but is the game worth your time in this crowded release period and with its premium price? That’s what I aim to answer with my Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince mobile review also covering the game on Steam Deck.

If you aren’t familiar with Dragon Quest Monsters itself, it is a spin-off series of the main Dragon Quest games featuring turn-based combat, but instead of the main player fighting, you capture, breed, and raise monsters to fight for you. When I played Dragon Quest Treasures, I enjoyed it, but was told that it is a “Monsters-lite” game so when Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince was announced for Switch, I was excited to play it. I ended up loving it as you can see from my review linked above, but I think it is a very strong monster collecting RPG with turn-based combat regardless of if you like Dragon Quest or not. What made Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince more interesting, is in how it feels like a side story and prequel to Dragon Quest IV. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince also had a seasonal feature where the monsters changed depending on the season and area you’re in.

When it comes to the story, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince, the bits from IV already made it more interesting than the usual spin-off, but I found myself focusing more on getting my own dream monster party rather than worrying about the narrative. I’m super pleased with how well thought out the mechanics are and how the large zones, hundreds of monsters, and combat made me want to keep playing it more even on Switch when I first beat it let alone now on iPhone, iPad, and Steam Deck. Beyond the normal turn-based battles and recruiting new monsters, Synthesis in Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is like Shin Megami Tensei’s fusion, and there is just so much you can do with skills here. The seasons here don’t just change monsters, but also areas you can explore with map changes. This means a water body that you can’t cross will be frozen in one season letting you access a new secret.

Combat in games like this can get monotonous so I’m glad to see the many quality of life features here like the tactics menu that plays out similar to the original Persona 3, direct commands, and more. You aren’t here to just defeat enemies, but also scout them to bring to your party and become stronger. I didn’t end up testing the online multiplayer on Switch much, so I can’t comment on how big a loss that is here, but it is a game mode being cut nonetheless. If you did play it on Switch, keep that in mind as it is the only area the mobile and Steam versions are lacking compared to Switch.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince already shipped with a lot of content, but the DLC only elevated the experience. This DLC was sold in the Digital Deluxe Edition or as standalone DLC for the base game. Just the DLC was over $25 on Switch, so having the full base game with all DLC included for $24 on mobile makes it an amazing deal, but I’ll get to that in a bit. This DLC included The Mole Hole, Coach Joe’s Dungeon Gym, and Treasure Trunks. The Mole Hole was a dungeon that lets you scout (recruit) monsters you’ve fought before and it made min-maxing a lot easier during the game. The DLC was also good to speed things up since you could also easily scout monsters who only appear during a specific season or through synthesis.

The Coach Joe’s Dungeon Gym DLC has randomly generated maps and they are meant to be postgame challenges rather than experienced while playing the game. The final DLC is just a chest that can be opened once an hour with 10 items in total. This is like a cheat DLC if you may. I didn’t think it was good to have useful game modes or content in paid DLC, but that isn’t a problem anymore with all of it included on iOS, Androidl, and Steam in the base asking price.

Now let’s get to the mobile port features. With Square Enix, you can never be sure what features will make it into the final game. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince does not have controller support. This is beyond disappointing since the game is literally a console title ported to mobile. I tried 6 different controllers without any luck to be sure. Aside from controller support, Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on iOS has cloud saves and a few graphics options. The cloud saves work well.

When it comes to controls, I was surprised at how well Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince felt with touch controls. It uses a floating joystick on the left for movement and a jump button mainly while exploring. The one minor issue you might run into is some touch targets being a bit small on the non Plus/Max phones. These aren’t an issue on iPads at all though. The controls feel good, but Square Enix should’ve left full controller support in since this is a console game ported to mobile after all.

One of my only real issues with Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch was on the technical side. The frame rate was rough at launch with visuals not being great either. The former got addressed to some degree unlike Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, but the latter never got fixed. On iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 12, and even iPad Pro, I had no major issues with the visuals or performance. There are some hiccups on iPhone 15 Pro when running at the highest graphics quality setting and moving through some locations, but it isn’t remotely as bad as on Switch. The game feels massively better to play on iOS. Check out the comparison below for the low and high graphics options on iPhone 15 Pro:

There aren’t specific visual or frame rate settings on mobile outside of the resolution option in display settings. This lets you play at low, medium, or high graphical quality options. These presets also affect other settings like the frame rate limit and post-processing. This setting can only be changed from the title screen on mobile while you can adjust it on the fly on PC. I stuck to the high setting on all my iPhones. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince sadly has some minor performance issues even on iPhone 15 Pro as I mentioned above. The low setting seems unusable with how blurry it gets. On my 2020 iPad Pro, the high preset has more regular frame drops than iPhone, and it also seems to be running with some tweaked settings. Overall, even the older iPad Pro runs it well, but not as good as iPhone 15 Pro as expected. Every device I tested on including the iPhone 12 ran it a lot better than Nintendo Switch.

Visually, it looks a lot cleaner than Switch even on older iOS devices when played at high. Square Enix didn’t just do a bare-bones port here. It has fullscreen support during gameplay on my iPhone 15 Pro, and even has a pattern or artwork to fill the screen during areas with pre-rendered or static 16:9 elements. This pattern or artwork is mainly used on my iPad Pro since it doesn’t support fullscreen there for gameplay. This also applies to Steam Deck to make up for that aspect ratio in parts. I’m glad to see Square Enix put in the work here to make sure it still looks good regardless of aspect ratio.

Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince Steam Deck impressions

On Steam Deck, regardless of my settings, I couldn’t get Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince to run at a locked 90fps even at the low preset when played at 800p. I decided to opt for a 60fps target, and that was a lot easier to achieve. One oddity is the game not letting you adjust resolution when playing on Steam Deck normally. You can do this by forcing the resolution from the game’s properties before launching it. Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on PC lets you adjust graphical quality (low, medium, high), anti-aliasing (off, low, medium, high), maximum frame rate (30 to uncapped), toggle v-sync, and adjust display mode (windowed, fullscreen, borderless). If you play at 60fps, I recommend setting your Steam Deck OLED refresh rate to 60 to avoid jitter as well.

Having now played Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on iOS, iPadOS, Steam Deck, Switch OLED, and Switch Lite, there’s no doubt that the Switch version is the worst of the lot despite the online mode being removed from mobile and Steam. The massive increase in performance and better visuals with all DLC included at a much lower asking price only makes it better. One thing to note is that the game is marked as Steam Deck Playable and not Verified because Valve says some in-game text is small and may be difficult to read. I didn’t have any issues with this, and I feel like Valve has marked games with smaller text as Verified before. Either way, you can safely buy this one to play on Steam Deck.

If you skipped Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince on Switch, the new mobile and Steam ports are the way to go. While the mobile version lacking controller support is disappointing, it is still a game I see myself playing regularly with its improvements over switch and fantastic core gameplay loop. Having all the DLC included means you will have enough content to last you even longer. If you do value controller support in a game like this, the Steam Deck is the way to go. Hopefully we see Square Enix keep bringing more Dragon Quest games to mobile in the future. Right now, the iOS version of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is easily one of the best mobile releases of the year.

Razer Kishi Ultra Mobile Controller Review – The Best Mobile Controller in 2024?

Back in April, the Razer Nexus (Free) app on iOS and Android was updated with support added for an unannounced “Razer Kishi Ultra” controller boasting features like analog stick deadzone customization and more. Since then, Razer has announced and released the Razer Kishi Ultra with support for more than just phones. The Razer Kishi Ultra is also the most expensive mobile controller as far as I’m aware, but it offers more features than expected for specific devices. Having used the Razer Kishi and the Backbone One including the new USB-C versions for years now, I didn’t think I needed a new controller, but the Razer Kishi Ultra changed my mind in a way the Hori Split Pad Pro did on Nintendo Switch a few years ago.

Razer Kishi Ultra – what’s in the box

The Razer Kishi Ultra box included the controller itself, a few sets of rubber cushions to use depending on your device, a sheet of stickers, and an instruction booklet. For the price point of $149.99, I expected to have a carrying case or at least a pouch included. Beyond that, the box and casing for the controller in the box are good quality as usual from Razer.

The Razer Kishi Ultra rubber cushions come in pairs that are properly labeled for use with iPhone (Pair A), iPad Mini 6th generation (Pair B), and Android (Pair C). If you use a case, you don’t need to use any of these rubber cushions.

Razer Kishi Ultra compatibility – iPhone, Cases, Android, and iPad Mini

While most mobile controllers, especially the telescopic ones, only support iPhone and Android, the Razer Kishi Ultra also supports tablets like the iPad Mini 6th generation. We’ve also recently had some telescopic controllers ship with bluetooth support, but as for USB-C, this one seems to have some of the best compatibility. For the purpose of this review, I tested the Razer Kishi Ultra on my iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 14 Plus, and wired on my iPad Pro. I didn’t test on Android or Windows, but I did try it on my Steam Deck wired. It is detected as a generic Xbox gamepad, but it did work when I was playing NBA 2K25 on Steam Deck yesterday for review and it also supports decent rumble in games like Bakeru that I tested with.

Razer Kishi Ultra buttons, d-pad, and triggers

Before getting to the new features, how does the Razer Kishi Ultra actually feel and perform? I was a bit worried about the d-pad, but it ended up working great when I played games like Garou: Mark of the Wolves ACA NeoGeo or even newer ones like Hades and Hitman Blood Money Reprisal. Beyond the d-pad, the shoulder buttons and triggers work well just like Razer’s older controller. The analog sticks are comfortable and smooth to use with the face buttons being clicky albeit with more travel distance which I didn’t expect after the original Razer Kishi.

Overall, I have no complaints with the Razer Kishi Ultra d-pad, buttons, or triggers after considerable use including some sessions lasting a few hours where I played Zenless Zone Zero while charging my phone through the passthrough charging here.

In terms of feel, the textured finish isn’t rubbery, but it works well for a grip and remains very comfortable to hold even for a few hours. I don’t usually care for Chroma stuff on controllers, and just like the Razer Kitsune, I would’ve preferred if the lights could somehow match the gameplay on screen.

Razer Kishi Ultra – new features

The main draw of the Razer Kishi Ultra is the full-size form factor. Instead of feeling like a compact mobile controller as we’ve seen with Razer’s prior release or the Backbone One, the Razer Kishi Ultra is a full-size one that feels like you’re holding your phone in the middle of a good quality console controller. This may not be a plus for some looking for a compact solution, but it isn’t meant to be that. The full-size form factor makes this the comfiest mobile controller I’ve used by far.

The other features are the Chroma customization through the app, haptics (for Android and Windows), and virtual controller mode (Android only). The virtual controller mode is good for Android games since we see some notable ones skip adding controller support outside iOS on mobile like Genshin Impact.

Aside from the new features, the Razer Kishi Ultra has a 3.5mm headphone jack, passthrough charging (15W), and the L4 and R4 shoulder buttons.

Razer Kishi Ultra features missing on iOS – haptics and virtual controller mode

The haptics and virtual controller mode are only available on Android (or Windows as well for the former) and not available on iOS. I don’t really care about virtual controller mode, but I hope Razer can work on something to enable the haptics in some way for iOS devices as well. I love haptic feedback on PS5 and HD Rumble on Switch, so having something that tries to do similar things on iOS would be nice.

Razer Kishi Ultra price point – is it worth it?

I already think most folks are better off getting a PS5 or Xbox controller to play wirelessly on iOS as the best possible and cheaper option. If you do want a good controller that has a telescopic form factor and attaches onto your phone, the most popular options are already $99.99 so the Razer Kishi Ultra at $150 is definitely a more premium controller. Is it worth that much more? If you’re ok with the current Razer Kishi and Backbone One price point, this is definitely worth the extra price for the comfort, but the lack of the haptics makes it feel like a lesser experience on iOS compared to Android where you get the fully featured experience.

It remains to be seen if the joysticks on this one don’t drift over time as well.

Razer Kishi Ultra – the best mobile controller in 2024?

If you’ve not read my review of Razer’s older controller, check it out here. Moving from that more compact form factor that I’ve gotten used to for years across Razer and Backbone products to this big one has been interesting. Just like the Hori Split Pad Pro for Nintendo Switch, I find myself wanting both a full-size controller and a more compact one for iPhone.

The Razer Kishi Ultra is easily the comfiest mobile controller I’ve ever used, but I wish it was easier to travel with. I worry about how it might end up in my bag unless I carry it in the big box it ships with. I don’t know if the Razer Kishi Ultra will replace my normal Kishi or Backbone One when I travel, but I’m definitely only using it when I play at home.

At the asking price, I was hoping for hall effect analog sticks though. I’ve had drift issues with multiple controllers over the years and while it hasn’t happened to the Razer Kishi Ultra yet (or the Razer Kishi itself), but I can’t say how things might be in a few more months. This is more of a thing to keep in mind when you buy it.

Having now covered the Backbone One and Razer Kishi models, I definitely want to try out the GameSir lineup as they seem more than worth checking out. Hopefully in the near future.

Razer Kishi Ultra 2 wishlist

When thinking about what I’d like to see in an updated Razer Kishi Ultra, aside from hall effect sticks, I’d like some of the sharper edges like the passthrough charging port to be smoothed out a bit. Beyond that, while I love the L4 and R4 buttons as options, I vastly prefer having paddles on the bottom of the controller since they feel more natural to use. It would be good to have those as options given the premium price. Maybe even L5 and R5 as paddles on the bottom with remapping available in the Razer Nexus app. The final thing I want is a carrying case for this to come with the controller. When looking at the pro level controllers on console, they usually come with a nice hard case. Granted this one doesn’t cost as much as a DualSense Edge or Victrix Pro BFG, but it would be a nice addition to the package that wouldn’t cost too much.

Razer Kishi Ultra review

If you’re used to playing on traditional PS5 or Xbox Series controllers or basically any full-sized controller and don’t enjoy using the compact Joy-Con size buttons and sticks we usually see in mobile controllers, the Razer Kishi Ultra is perfect for you with its comfortable grip, great d-pad, and face buttons. The lack of full feature support on iOS is disappointing, but this is a great addition to the mobile controller space, and I hope Razer can build on this through the years while also offering a carrying case so I don’t have to worry about anything happening to this in my bag when I go out.

Razer Kishi Ultra review score: 4.5/5

Amazon Link: Razer Kishi Ultra

If you’re curious about the book in the header image, it is Andy Kelly’s upcoming book titled Perfect Organism: An Alien: Isolation Companion that I’m currently reading for review. You can pre-order it here.

Disclaimer: TouchArcade may earn a small commission from purchases made using the affiliate links above.

‘Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home’ iOS Review – A Great Start, but Needs More Work

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home has been a very interesting game to follow pre-release. I say this not only because it is a premium mobile-first Harvest Moon game, but also because the reactions from my friends who are longtime fans of the series have gone from apathy to interest with every bit of gameplay shown. Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home launched recently on iOS and Android as a mobile-exclusive entry in Natsume’s Harvest Moon series, and I’ve been playing it for about a week and a half now on iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro for review. Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is a very good farming simulation game, but one that is held back by a few issues right now.

A lot of fans of the Harvest Moon series of games from Marvelous have been around since the SNES or N64 days, but I only got into it on 3DS with Story of Season. Back then, I had no idea about the name change and that Marvelous’ releases would be called Story of Seasons while Harvest Moon would be the name used by Natsume going forward. I’m making that clear now because I don’t want people confused about what Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is and also to give you my history with the series before getting into how I feel about Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home ($17.99).

If you’re new to farming and life simulation games, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home takes you back from the city to a calming village where you fish, farm, interact with many NPCs, partake in festivals (that need to be unlocked), and even find a companion. The village of Alba, your new home, is dense and cozy (sorry but I had to), and I’m glad it isn’t a big open location because those usually result in a lot of empty spaces when it comes to life simulation games. If you’ve played many in the genre, think of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home as one that focuses more on the characters with a bit less depth when it comes to farming.

After a short tutorial explaining the basics of movement and a bit of farming, you unlock the map and main menu letting you save just about anywhere (this is very important for a mobile game), and this is where you get into the flow of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home where you try and finish quests for NPCs, upgrade your tools, gather, mine (this unlocks a bit later), and of course farm through the game’s main chapters.

The more I played Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home, the more I realized that the developers understood what makes life and farming simulation games great, but fell short in some ways. These may or may not affect newcomers to the genre, but those who have played many recent games will find them lacking. The potential partners are likely the weakest aspect of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. They just aren’t as interesting as other games in the genre. If you don’t care about that aspect, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is quite a polished entry in the genre.

Approaching Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home from a general life simulation game enthusiast’s perspective feels different though. While other platforms are spoiled for choice with tons of games from big and small developers, we don’t really see much like that on mobile, but that doesn’t make up for some of the flaws here, especially at a much higher price point. I think this is a very solid base that the developers can build on to the point where it would even be a great fit for PC and consoles. The only “mobile” aspect of Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home right now is the touch control option.

Visually, aside from the performance and load times that I will cover below, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home looks very good. Some characters look generic, but the interface, farm, building layout, and everything looks good. I also appreciate that Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home supports fullscreen on iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro. It really feels like a game properly tailored to mobile with its visuals and controls.

While Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home does look nice visually for the most part, it is lacking when it comes to the character designs. This applies to your own character with customization options that should’ve been more detailed and also the main NPCs in the town. A lot of them feel lifeless even during cut-scenes. Barring that, I like the aesthetic a lot, and Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home looks excellent on my iPhone and iPad. The one disappointment is in performance. Right now, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is capped at 30fps on my iPhone 15 Pro and iPad Pro. I was expecting above 60fps let alone 60fps, but it isn’t possible to play at a higher frame rate now. The load times are also not as fast as they should be.

On the audio side, I was pleased with the music and sounds in Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home. Nothing stood out to the point where I’d listen to it outside the game, but it sounded good and the music changes were appropriate to the gameplay.

When Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home was announced as a mobile-exclusive game, I was curious how it would control. The developers have done a fantastic job with the touch controls here letting you play by tapping to move, dragging to move, and more. Interacting with objects or characters, farming, and navigating menus all feel good. Some text and touch targets feel a bit too small on iPhone, but they are fine on iPad. I would’ve loved some haptic feedback on iPhone though for using tools and even fishing. Maybe this can be added in a future update.

If you’ve played the two best life simulation games on mobile: Stardew Valley and My Time at Portia, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home feels closer to the former, but it isn’t as polished. I dislike bringing up other games in the same genre to compare, but I’m doing it here specifically for the mobile port. Those two games were built for PC/console and brought over to mobile while Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home was built for mobile and yet it doesn’t feel as tailored to the platform in its features.

Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home is a mobile-exclusive game, and while I appreciate the touch control scheme, it has a few issues right now when it comes to features. The lack of cloud saves is beyond disappointing. When I first downloaded Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home on my iPhone, I played it for about three hours before picking up my iPad to see how it feels there. I found no way to get the save across, and still haven’t been able to move saves across devices. The lack of controller support is also disappointing for a game like this. The developers did a great job with touch controls, but it would be nice to have controller support for when I play on iPad. I would also like some quality of life features for movement, like we’ve seen in recent games in the genre.

As a newcomer to Natsume’s new Harvest Moon games but a fan of all the recent Story of Seasons and other life simulation games, Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home ended up being worth playing, but it needs a few updates and features to be truly essential at full price. I have no issues with developers wanting to charge premium prices on mobile, but Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home lacking basic features like cloud saves and controller support definitely makes it harder to recommend alongside a few other design issues. If the developers continue working on this, it will be one of the best in the genre on mobile, and I’m glad to see them take a chance on a premium mobile life simulation game because that is very rare.