REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Now there’s a powerful new way to interact with the wild variety of monsters from the fan-favorite DRAGON QUEST® video game series. Launching today for the Nintendo DS™ family of hand-held systems, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker™ 2 unleashes an epic adventure in which players can recruit, train and battle with imaginative monsters of all shapes and sizes. Better yet, players can create their own customized monsters by synthesizing two different ones and blending their unique traits and capabilities. With the built-in wireless features of Nintendo DS systems, it’s also simple and fun for users to connect with each other – locally and around the world – to share game data and engage in memorable monster battles together.

In Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, players take on the role of a Monster Scout who has crash-landed on a mysterious island. To rescue missing passengers and members of the airship crew, they must assemble a strong team of monsters and fend off enemies in strategic turn-based battles. The game includes more than 300 monsters that can be recruited for battle and synthesized with other monsters to create new, more powerful ones. With more than 240 skill trees to choose from, players can customize their teams to prepare for all kinds of enemy encounters. Some monsters – including the iconic Slime – return from previous installments in the DRAGON QUEST series, while others are new.

“Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 is an extraordinary way for new and experienced fans to immerse themselves in the DRAGON QUEST universe and its colorful cast of monsters,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Players will have fun experimenting with different monster combos and unleashing them on their friends.”

Using a local wireless connection, as many as eight players can battle their monster teams against one another. Players with broadband Internet access can also use the Nintendo® Wi-Fi Connection service to battle other Monster Scouts or take part in a weekly Wi-Fi World Tournament that connects players from all over the globe.

Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 also supports a number of Tag Mode options that can be used to exchange game data with others. By connecting via Tag Mode to other Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2 game owners, players can battle each other and scout their respective monsters. Players can also scout additional monsters by connecting with owners of the DRAGON QUEST VI®: Realms of Revelation™ or DRAGON QUEST IX®: Sentinels of the Starry Skies™ games.

For more information about Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker 2, visit http://dqm2.nintendo.com.