For the uninitiated, Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King is an old-school RPG which employs a combination of real-time and turn-based play, with a generous portion of animé-style cut scenes thrown in to keep you on track with the main quest. Dragon Quest's trademark is simplicity - both visual and in gameplay, which forms a large part of its appeal. It's not difficult to see why the series has amassed such a huge following.

The hero of the story is a young guardsman whose origins are steeped in mystery. The villain is an evil jester named Ghoulmagus, who, after stealing a powerful artefact from its resting place at Castle Trodain, uses it to curse the castle's inhabitants and envelop the castle in a cage of giant, thorny vines. For reasons initially unknown, the young guardsman is unaffected, and he sets off on a quest to track down the elusive Ghoulmagus and put things to rights.

Accompanying him are king Trode and his daughter Medea, who are unrecognisable in their cursed forms. Once an exquisite beauty famous for her singing voice, Medea is now a horse, and her father resembles a throwback from Yoda's family tree (short, green, and decked out in a brown monk's robe). While Trode isn't an active member of your party as such, he plays an important advisory role throughout the game.

There are four character slots in your party, two of which are initially filled by the young would-be hero and his loyal henchman Yangus – a reformed bandit with a broad Cockney accent. Further into the game you will pick up the remaining two characters: Jessica the fledgling mage, and Angelo the enigmatic knight. Each character brings some unique skills to the mix, and the overall party balance is excellent. The common thread which binds your team together is revenge, with the jester's demise being everyone's primary goal.

The map is large but it is virtually impossible to lose track of Ghoulmagus, who leaves a trail of murders in his wake – and plenty of witnesses who are happy to spill the beans as to his general whereabouts. While the game is linear, you are free to backtrack and explore where you will. There are many interesting and unique monsters to encounter off the beaten track – not to mention the odd treasure waiting to be discovered.

The story behind the main quest unfolds in a series of black and white cut-scenes, with cut-scenes for secondary quests playing out in full colour. These "interludes" form an integral part of the game, and whilst they occur more frequently than in most RPGs are a pleasure to watch, and so well executed you feel you are participating in an animé movie rather than a video game. This impression is supported by Koichi Sugyama's sublime musical score and some pretty decent voice acting.

Whilst in exploration mode the game moves in real time and your entire party is represented by a single character (whomever happens to be at the front of the marching order). The other party members only become visible during cut-scenes, or combat, when the game switches to turn-based mode.

Perhaps it's due to the minimalist approach to visual clutter, but one aspect of the game which takes a little getting used to, is being attacked without warning. With most RPGs you can usually see hostiles in the distance; not so with Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King (unique monsters are the sole exception here… more on those in a minute). Whether you're exploring the countryside, sailing the high seas or merely travelling from A to B on a road, you will find yourself in battle on a regular basis, and if you happen to be part-way through a quest in a particularly dangerous area, you may have to teleport back to a town to rest up before setting out again. This is just a minor inconvenience however, since the combat system runs swiftly and smoothly.

At the onset of each encounter you decide how much involvement you'd like. The system is extremely flexible, ranging from full hands-on control over every party member, to letting them make their own decisions. You can specify their stance - whether they are to fight aggressively or defensively, use special abilities or spells, and even whether to attempt to flee or intimidate your opponents. Once these decisions are made you just sit back and enjoy the fracas, changing combat options as necessary at the beginning of each round. Despite being a turn-based system it flows particularly well, and the animations are a real treat – especially when the combatants employ their special moves, or where spell effects are concerned.

Experience points are awarded to all surviving party members at the end of each battle, and when enough XP are accumulated the character is rewarded with an increase in level and a certain amount of skill points to distribute. It's up to you to allocate these, which gives you some control over which weapons and skills they will specialise in.

The main quest will keep you occupied for many happy hours, but there are plenty of extras to be found in the form of mini-games, puzzles, side quests, collectibles and the monster arena. Here you can pit a trio of unique monsters you have defeated and collected against other teams in a purpose-built arena. These monsters are tougher versions of those usually encountered, and are distinguishable in that they can be seen on the landscape.

In keeping with the game's "less is more" approach to graphics, cel-shading lends a simplistic, hand drawn quality to characters and monsters. These were designed by Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, as is evident by the clean lines and colourful, imaginative creations for which he is renowned. The menagerie of monsters ranges from semi-serious to cutesy and fanciful, and these form a large part of the game's charm. Their names and combat moves are every bit as entertaining as their appearance, and you will never tire of watching them.

While there's no blood and gore as such - and Toriyama's characters may give the impression that the game is suitable for younger children, a closer look at some of the animations and themes demonstrates why Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King has earned its 12+ censor's rating. If you allow your seven year old to play the game and he demands clarification of Jessica's sex appeal stat, or the many less-than-subtle double entendres, don't say we didn't warn you!