Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart

Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart (ドラゴンクエストモンスターズ キャラバンハート) (Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart) is the third game in the Dragon Quest Monsters series, released only in Japan by Enix for the Game Boy Advance. The game was simultaneously announced with Dragon Quest VIII in Famitsu in 2002. Like the other Dragon Quest titles, development of Caravan Heart was led by Yuji Horii.

It is the second Dragon Quest game to be released for the Game Boy Advance (after Torneko no Daibouken 2 Advance). Caravan Heart features the character Prince Keifer from Dragon Quest VII, as the game acts as a prequel to the PlayStation game. This is also the last game released under the Enix name, since the merger between Square and Enix was finalized a few days later, on April 1, 2003.

Gameplay
The game makes huge changes to the series by removing the breeding system. Instead, when defeating monsters in Caravan Heart, the player can occasionally gain "monster hearts" which can be used to merge into a monster for a new more powerful form. Humans also fight in the battles with the monsters in this installment. The human characters have access to 20 character classes, like hunter, bard, fighter, dancer, mage, and mapper. Other differences include a caravan that the player must travel around in, allowing them to add both monsters and humans to their party. The caravan can have up to twelve members in it at a time, and each wagon can only hold a certain amount of weight.

Plot
On Prince Keifer's tenth birthday, the prince was looking for a way to cause a little trouble and snuck out of Gran Estard Castle. This makes his father very angry, and when Keifer is finally caught, he hides in his room. While hiding in the closet, a masked figure that calls herself The Master of the Illusions, Magarugi appears and tells Keifer that if he finds the Orbs of Loto, he will be given one wish. Keifer is pulled into the spirit's realm of Torland, the world of Dragon Quest II. When he first arrives, he encounters a caravan with a weak leader, Luin. Luin is also searching for the Orbs to save his sick parents. After their first battle together, the Caravan asks Keifer to lead them. All together, they must travel the world in order to find the cure for Luin's sick parents and allow Keifer to return to Estard Island.

Reception
Caravan Heart was a top-seller during the time of its release, with over 538,000 units sold within three months of its release and 593,000 units sold to date. The game was given a 35 out of 40 by Famitsu magazine, netting a Platinum Award from the publication.