Usually when Square Enix announces things to do with their mobile universe it is shutting stuff down, like with the announcement last week that Brave Exvius is biting it. Well, we have one rare piece of good news in this arena: Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince is being released on mobile.

Set before Dragon Quest IV, you will be taking the role of the Demon Prince Psaro, the antagonist of the aforementioned title. He has been afflicted with a curse preventing him from harming monsters, so he must become a Monster Wrangler to recruit beasts to do it for him.

To tackle the most fearsome foes you will need to master the game’s synthesis system, which allows you to mash two of your friends together to form a new, stronger monster. There are over 500 to unlock, including old favourites, new surprises, and even dark lords. As you play the seasons will change, with each bringing its own exciting new buds to meet.

Onto the bad news; DQM: The Dark Prince will set you back $23.99, which is certainly not an inconsequential sum by any means. Luckily at least, the mobile version does come with every bit of DLC released in the Nintendo Switch Digital Deluxe Edition with no extra charge. This is quite the boon, as they offer incredibly useful functions.

Treasure Trunks is straightforward in so you get to open a chest once every hour to get some nifty rewards. Short and sweet, but the other two are very helpful. Coach Joe’s Dungeon Gy, presents you with randomly generated dungeons to gallivant around in, great for levelling up. 

The cream of the crop is no doubt The Mole Hole, a place to scout monsters you've befriended before. In other words, no more having to wait for winter to re-recruit that monster you just synthesised. To pick up a great game and all these extra handy tools, head to the App Store and Google Play to purchase Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince.