Groups of enemies have behaviors that take advantage of the first-person attack-and-defense, and the way your sword works. Instead of just slicing wildly, you have to click on an enemy and hit A to lock on to that part of its body - which can be good for larger enemies with weak points. Then, whenever you slash (by shaking the Wii remote) you'll hit the same spot. You really have to give it some gusto to get good attacks, and be quick to make multiple slashes in a row. Tougher enemies can take a surprising amount of damage.
The enemies also behave in ways that encourage different strategies - for example, a group of three enemies might sometimes line up horizontally or vertically so you have to slash them at the right time in the right way to take them all out. As you fight, your partner will heal or help attack - but they can run out of magic points, which is kind of annoying. You can also pause and use your own items (like healing herbs and antidotes to cure poison.) While fighting you can hit B to hold up your shield, which is required to defeat some enemies - for example a pig dude we went up against, who charged with a spear. If you aim your shield write, his attack bounces off and he's briefly stunned. If you fail to block it, you're actually knocked back and forced to advance to engage the battle once again. Different swords and shields, with shapes and abilities, will be available in the final game.
Dragon Quest Swords seems like a fun and enjoyable if perhaps simple game compared to the elaborate world built on Dragon Quest VIII, the most recent game in the series. It is definitely well-suited to the Wii, unlike a lot of the games we've recently seen on the system, which adds to its charm. The graphics are bright, colorful and charming. It's not going to be the Wii's first epic, but we enjoyed our demo enough to be eager to play it more when it does release.
