Product Info

Platform

iOS, Android

Publisher

Square Enix

Developer

KLabGames

Series

Dragon Quest

Genre

Action, Adventure, RPG

Players

1 (1-4 multiplayer)

File Size (Minimum)

1.4GB

Release Date (NA)

Apr 20, 2026

Purchase From

Android

iOS

Dragon Quest Smash/Grow is the latest mobile game from Square Enix, based on the Dragon Quest series. It’s a free-to-play action role-playing game (RPG) that offers a fun experience and is simple to play with a variety of modes.

Navigate at Ease

The mobile game does a great job of introducing the basics through step-by-step tutorials and its simple, easy quests that gradually become more challenging. There’s a variety of things to do and try but take your time exploring it. 

Use the touch screen almost anywhere to move in the desired direction by slightly moving your finger. Your character will continue moving until you lift your finger off the screen in this aerial-like view. As you travel, you’ll encounter enclosed areas where you have to battle in action, not turned-based. Your task is to defeat them all in order for the barrier to go down to move forward. Attacks are automatic when you are within reach of an enemy. Players simply need to move close enough to engage with and avoid enemy hits. If you have magic spells, you can attack further away whereas sword attacks and spears require a closer range. Enemies will indicate their attack path with a red-colored line or flash red before attacking. These indicators help players avoid an early defeat, especially when there’s a large amount of foes on the screen. 

While traveling, you will come across statues that grant Blessings, temporary power-ups to your offense and defense. You can choose one out of three options. For example, fireballs shooting towards nearby targets during battles. You can earn more Blessings by filling the gauge at the top left of the screen. This gauge fills up as you defeat enemies, who drop Growth Crystals to help fill it. Once you complete a quest, the power-ups reset. 

Players also have access to the Coup de Grâce, which unleashes powerful attacks. To initiate this, tap the sword icon on the screen. However, players must fill up the gauge by attacking enemies first. Once the sword icon turns red, you can unleash your special attack. This can cause enemies on the screen to bounce off walls or even perish.

Test Your Strength

The game gradually reveals the story as you progress. You will begin in an unfamiliar world after customizing your character’s appearance. Along the way, you will befriend a robotic character that looks like Giru from Dragon Ball GT, who will accompany you on your journey. Throughout the game, you will explore different areas, complete quests to battle monsters, and more. 

Outside the mobile game’s main story, there are various modes available. For example, players can take on metal slimes for extra experience points. Take on Nodestone Quests to earn nodestones and materials to enhance your character’s growth in their Vocation Tree, such as gaining max health points and increasing effects. Participate in trials to test your strength against powerful enemies, or join gauntlet events where you compete against enemies to earn points. There are plenty of activities to do if you run out of stamina for story quests. Some quests require you to complete these events in order to progress. For instance, to unlock the next story quest, you must achieve a score of at least 20,000 in the Golem Gauntlette. Be prepared to play this event multiple times since it’s going to take a few battles to get the goal before proceeding the story. The drawback is if you fail to complete the battle within the time limit or all members perish, you do not gain any experience points. Ughs.

It seems like the game interrupts the flow of the main story to encourage players to explore other aspects of the game and gain more experience than just following one path. It feels like a pain at first but I see why to get the full experience.

Create a Dream Team

Players will control a customized character, which can be edited anytime if you decide to change your character. You’ll play solo for a few chapters in the story until you can eventually add additional teammates, whose appearances players can also adjust at any time. You can have up to three characters on your team, but only one can play while adventuring. Not to worry as players can swap between teammates with a simple press on their avatar icon. Doing so will switch fighters instantly. 

Gacha mechanics do exist in this mobile game where you can spend in-game currency and special tickets to pull weapons and equipment to help increase your character’s stats. If you have multiple of the same item, you can increase the item’s max level for better stats when upgrading it. While it’s not necessary to use this mechanic, it does help benefit your character’s stats and be more prepared for tougher foes that lie ahead.

The game also offers coins that feature a design of a monster called Memories. These can be equipped outside of your equipment slots to add more stat buffs. Like equipment items, you can increase these Memories by ranks by collecting enough coins of the same monster type. For those who have played Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, it’s similar to the coins you earn in the game, but in Smash/Grow, they take it further. At first the game offers the ability to upgrade one at a time but later you play in the story’s chapter two, you can upgrade multiple types at once. I find it a little weird why this option couldn’t be added already and locked out. 

The game offers a variety of currencies that work on various functions. For example, coins are used to help upgrade your weapons. Gems, which are shaped like the iconic slimes, are mostly used in the game for exchanging tickets, tokens, and stamina. It is a bit overwhelming at first with the different currencies and may take some time to understand which one is used for what. 

If that wasn’t enough, players can participate in co-op adventures with up to four players and other adventurers. It’s required to use a token to use this feature, which players can earn one per day. Due to the early access provided, we weren’t able to test out this function. 

If you enjoy the scores from Dragon Quest, they continue to thrive here in the mobile game. Character designs resemble Akira Toriyama’s art style, making it feel like an authentic adventure in the series.

Overall, a Pleasant Experience

Gacha mechanics don’t feel like they’re thrown in your face, but more like an option that’s helpful to your character. The game locks down a lot of options when first playing and gradually unlocks them as you progress through the first two chapters. However, some options, like ranking up multiple Memories, should be available much sooner. 

The ability to retake quests in hard mode adds fun and while also gaining more experience points, but requires players to complete the chapter first, which is understandable. Additionally, the option to do a “quick quest” where you let the game automatically complete the quest for you without going in, is great and saves time, allowing you to focus on other areas. It’s also an easy trap to waste stamina. 

Overall, it’s a fun mobile game to play. The game offers a lot to start and gradually slows down but if you pace yourself each day or every other day, it’s worth taking a trip in this Dragon Quest world without feeling burnt out. Plus, it’s easy to jump back in and play in-between your day. 

Yes, Square Enix does have a history of ending support for many of their mobile games and while we do not know how long Dragon Quest Smash/Grow will last, it still feels like a game worth enjoying daily, if not weekly, especially for those who enjoy Dragon Quest.

Early access to the mobile game was provided by Square Enix. Dragon Quest Smash/Grow releases on iOS and Android on April 21, 2026 UTC (April 20, 2026 PDT). Fans can visit the official website for more information and download options.