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Bah, I also liked a lot of the interface changes in DQ9 but the game felt...bland? Everything from the different regions to the way the map was split to the dungeons themselves just felt uninspired and copy-and-paste. I know DQ games aren't exactly known for their unique and exotic locales but the earlier games just do something for me, with the music and the vague pixel art that let my imagination run wild. Meanwhile, DQ9 tried to create an entire world within the capabilities of the underwhelming and dated DS, and the game suffered for it. All of this, coupled with a distinct lack of difficulty in the main game (because gently caress the post-game, I barely get any time to play games as it is) led to a decent but uninspired playthrough. Although I did like the visible monsters and the more organic feel of the dungeons, despite their blandness. In comparison, my first time playing snes DQV (via a fan patch) was amazing. DQVI was also pretty great, though I prefer DQV for its atmosphere and plot. Even DQVII, with its jump to PS2, retained that magic pretty well. Regarding the DS remakes of IV, V, and VI (which are objectively improved in all way), I felt they lost some of that magic in favor of that "sterilization" present in DQ9. The quality of life improvements are pretty massive though I am one of those weird ones who thought adding another team member to DQV destroyed any semblance of difficulty. To conclude my lengthy post, DQ9 was a solid RPG but lacking that DQ sizzle (lol get it???), and overall the game felt bland and uninspired. Also, the monster and player models were so drat ugly... KingSlime fucked around with this message at 17:46 on Jul 21, 2014 |
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Jul 21, 2014 17:43
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I just finished DQ4 DS for the second time last week and I have to agree with you about how the game lost a little something in the transition to the DS. Each individual change is objectively a good thing but the end result does feel a bit sterile and toothless compared to the original. I'm replaying DQ2 right now and sometimes I find myself having to decide whether I should leave a dungeon and go all the way back to town to avoid dying, whereas in all of the remakes I just go ahead and head back to town constantly because the random battles aren't particularly threatening and the maps are so small and easy to navigate that having to redo a dungeon is no big deal. That might explain why DQ6 is probably my least favorite in the series, it's the only DQ game that I never played in its original form.
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Jul 21, 2014 22:30
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Oh definitely. Out of the three games, DQVI suffers the most from the streamlining because the snes version featured gorgeous pixel art and it gave the game its own unique feel. Translating the game world to the bland engine of the DS games and re-using the same assets was, in my opinion, hugely detrimental to the game's "vibe". DQIV, ehh anything is an upgrade over nes graphics. DQV had dated graphics for the SNES and even though it had its own charm, the switch to the DS engine wasn't too rough. DQVI, on the other hand, rocked the poo poo out of the SNES and I just prefer that presentation over the blocky 3d.
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Jul 21, 2014 22:52
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I've been playing through the GBC version of DQ2. and... this ain't that great of a game. I just finished the Cave to Rhone, and everything said about that part is correct, that is the goddamn worst dungeon. I was able to get to the shrine in Rhone, but getting to Hargon's place is the new issue. The enemies are so gently caress-off hard that I often times just wipe before even getting half-way there. And the battles I do win are usually a decent drain on my resources. Which I find a little odd, since I'm only around 2 levels lower than the recommended levels that this one FAQ suggests. Honestly, I was enjoying the hell out of the game for the first part. Nice exploration, decent difficulty. But once I had to collect the crests the game just took a downturn. The backtracking and massive amounts of enemy encounters just made this part a slog. I resorted to just pulling up a FAQ to tell me where to go so I could start getting through it quicker. I'm looking forward to completing this so I can put it behind me. I'm glad to experience it since I love the Dragon Quest series so much, but it's so dated now. I can't even imagine playing the NES version, if I think the GBC version is a slog.
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Jul 22, 2014 01:10
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If you're struggling with the regular monsters the boss will wipe you in a heartbeat. Sorry, but you need to grind some levels.
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Jul 22, 2014 02:09
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Going through DQV on DS. I'm at a tower where you need to lower two small bridge platforms to progress. Opened a chest, was s mimic, first round he Thwack'd my entire party. There's no defence against that huh? It's just random number generator fuckery?
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Jul 22, 2014 02:48
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Well, I just beat DQ2. I ended up being about 6 levels higher than when I posted last, due to the amount of times I had to walk through Rhone/Hargon's Castle. I imagine the battle would have gone a lot differently if my main character had not gotten off TWO critical hits for about 190 damage each. I somewhat locked Siddoh down though. Since I just used Increase/Defense a bunch. So he used the same to try and cancel out the buffs/debuffs. Which gave me a lot of healing room. Glad to have that done with though. It's definitely my least favourite Dragon Quest game, but it had some good moments. It's just a product of its time and a bit too outdated at times. Now I may take a bit of a break, and then start DQ3!
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Jul 22, 2014 03:06
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BadAstronaut posted:Going through DQV on DS. I'm at a tower where you need to lower two small bridge platforms to progress. Opened a chest, was s mimic, first round he Thwack'd my entire party. Stones of Life will take the hit for you, some gear will resist instant death, other than that you pray to the Random Number God.
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Jul 22, 2014 03:11
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BadAstronaut posted:Going through DQV on DS. I'm at a tower where you need to lower two small bridge platforms to progress. Opened a chest, was s mimic, first round he Thwack'd my entire party. It only has just enough MP for one use of that. If you have someone with Drain Magic (like Slime Knight), you can use that at the start of the fight and prevent the Mimic from ever casting it.
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Jul 22, 2014 03:47
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I've been tempted to replay DQ5 or DQ6 recently but I'm torn on which. I like DQ6 more and it's a better game, but its been much longer since I played 5 so I'm leaning towards it currently.
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Jul 22, 2014 03:57
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Adam Bowen posted:I just finished DQ4 DS for the second time last week and I have to agree with you about how the game lost a little something in the transition to the DS. Each individual change is objectively a good thing but the end result does feel a bit sterile and toothless compared to the original. I really liked the beginning and end of DQ6 but I really don't like the middle part of the game where your characters don't really have any motivation to do anything. They tried to say that it was a "journey of self discovery" or something, but it still felt like aimless wandering until you make it to the last world. DQ5 and 8 are probably the best games in the series, but I really like DQ7 because of how huge it is and a lot of the individual stories are really cool.
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Jul 22, 2014 04:03
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Evil Fluffy posted:I've been tempted to replay DQ5 or DQ6 recently but I'm torn on which. I like DQ6 more and it's a better game, but its been much longer since I played 5 so I'm leaning towards it currently. I faced this conundrum a year or two ago and enjoyed replaying 5 over 6. There's more replay value in 5 thanks to choosing a different wife and recruiting different monsters. 6 was interesting to replay using different jobs than the logical obvious choices, but not nearly as fun as messing around with your party in 5. 6 really is the better game in most regards but 5DS has a certain charm that makes it more fun to replay. It really did benefit the most from its remake. Also, 5 has Traps and Treasures.
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Jul 22, 2014 04:43
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Help me figure out what I was doing in DQ4 DS months ago when I quit playing it? I'm in Chapter 5, and I have the Zenithian Shield and Armor. I don't really know what else to tell you, but I figure that's a starting point.
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Jul 22, 2014 04:51
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Crimson Harvest posted:Help me figure out what I was doing in DQ4 DS months ago when I quit playing it? You should probably go looking for the Helmet now. I don't want to be really spoily about it.
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Jul 22, 2014 05:20
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Ok, wrapped DQ4 DS up just now. I enjoyed the middle of the game far more than the end. Although, the final boss' SEVEN forms or phases or whatever was kind of fun, but a little silly. A tricky fight, and definitely had me on edge a few times when people died. Thankfully I had passed out Yggdrasil leaves beforehand and got super lucky on Zings.
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Jul 23, 2014 00:00
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KingSlime posted:Oh definitely. Out of the three games, DQVI suffers the most from the streamlining because the snes version featured gorgeous pixel art and it gave the game its own unique feel. Translating the game world to the bland engine of the DS games and re-using the same assets was, in my opinion, hugely detrimental to the game's "vibe". I wish I could play the SNES version of DQVI in English, but with the DS version's enemy sprites. It was the first game in the series to use animated enemies, and they're not as good as DQIII's, and nowhere near the PS1 and DS games. They feel a bit weak without sound effects, too. E: Technically, DQIV on the NES had an animated final boss, which they go crazy with in the remakes. It feels like a homage to Cell from Dragon Ball Z, with all his different forms.
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Jul 23, 2014 00:09
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That loving Sned posted:I wish I could play the SNES version of DQVI in English, but with the DS version's enemy sprites. It was the first game in the series to use animated enemies, and they're not as good as DQIII's, and nowhere near the PS1 and DS games. They feel a bit weak without sound effects, too. If anything it'd be the other way around: DQ4 was released in 1990 and DBZ started in 1989. 
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Jul 23, 2014 00:36
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Crimson Harvest posted:Ok, wrapped DQ4 DS up just now. I enjoyed the middle of the game far more than the end. Although, the final boss' SEVEN forms or phases or whatever was kind of fun, but a little silly. A tricky fight, and definitely had me on edge a few times when people died. Thankfully I had passed out Yggdrasil leaves beforehand and got super lucky on Zings. The DS remake made that battle a lot harder and take a lot more time. In the NES DQ4, the boss would change forms every round or two, so it didn't feel like it was changing forms so much as it was, well, evolving right in front of you.
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Jul 23, 2014 01:08
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With all this talk, now I need to find my DQ4DS. 
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Jul 23, 2014 13:25
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Alpha Kenny Juan posted:With all this talk, now I need to find my DQ4DS. Similarly, I can't find my DQ5 and fear it was one of the three games I lost while travelling and I forgot it was in that pack. That's not going to be so cheap to replace, and this thread makes me want to do so pretty badly. This is your guys' fault! (not really)
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Jul 23, 2014 13:31
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Crimson Harvest posted:Ok, wrapped DQ4 DS up just now. I enjoyed the middle of the game far more than the end. Although, the final boss' SEVEN forms or phases or whatever was kind of fun, but a little silly. A tricky fight, and definitely had me on edge a few times when people died. Thankfully I had passed out Yggdrasil leaves beforehand and got super lucky on Zings. Did you do the post game?
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Jul 23, 2014 16:22
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I'm interested in exploring the series (after coming from Final Fantasy and other JRPGs for a while). Are there any recommended jumping off points (preferably NES/SNES?)
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Jul 23, 2014 23:52
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The SNES version of Dragon Quest 3 is the one I'd recommend, I think. Beautiful graphics, excellent gameplay, the gameflow isn't too restrictive, and most importantly there's a good English translation patch. It's got basically everything the series is known for except recruiting monsters and honestly I've never been a fan of the monster recruitment stuff in DQ.
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Jul 23, 2014 23:57
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Don't start with 2, because it is highly inconvenient and rather unbalanced. If you start with 1, understand that it's so short and simple as to be unrepresentative of what the series has become. 3 is as good an entry point as any; pick the SNES or GBC version, not the NES version.
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Jul 24, 2014 00:01
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dukerson posted:I'm interested in exploring the series (after coming from Final Fantasy and other JRPGs for a while). Are there any recommended jumping off points (preferably NES/SNES?) Zurai posted:The SNES version of Dragon Quest 3 is the one I'd recommend, I think. Beautiful graphics, excellent gameplay, the gameflow isn't too restrictive, and most importantly there's a good English translation patch. It's got basically everything the series is known for except recruiting monsters and honestly I've never been a fan of the monster recruitment stuff in DQ. Like Zurai said, try the SNES version of 3. The NES version of DQ4 is good too, but in general the SNES games will be more polished. DQ2 is probably still terrible for the mid-late game in any and all remakes though.
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Jul 24, 2014 00:16
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Zurai posted:The SNES version of Dragon Quest 3 is the one I'd recommend, I think. Beautiful graphics, excellent gameplay, the gameflow isn't too restrictive, and most importantly there's a good English translation patch. It's got basically everything the series is known for except recruiting monsters and honestly I've never been a fan of the monster recruitment stuff in DQ. This, definitely. It's also one of the only games where you start off with four characters, three of which can be any class you choose. You can change their jobs later and carry over some of their stats and all of their spells, or create as many characters as you want and keep them in reserve at the tavern. If that sounds a bit overwhelming, the default three they give you are pretty much perfect for a beginner. In any case, with four party members and a bunch of useful spells from the moment you leave the first town, you won't need to be hitting slimes for a while just to afford a slightly bigger stick.
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Jul 24, 2014 00:18
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Adam Bowen posted:Did you do the post game? Absolutely not. I wanted to get on with DQ5 as fast as possible, you see  When I go back to DQ3, I think I'll play the GBC version. The SNES one crashes/freezes on my flashcart, and it's full of text and menu bugs that annoy the heck out of me. For example if you have a female Merchant, the Appraise skill doesn't work at all.
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Jul 24, 2014 02:06
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Crimson Harvest posted:Absolutely not. I wanted to get on with DQ5 as fast as possible, you see You missed out on some plot stuff and another final boss. It's highly recommended to go back and play the postgame.
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Jul 24, 2014 04:11
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I guess I'd recommend it if you've never done it before, but I don't really like the DQ4 post-game. The extra plot is dumb and unnecessary, and getting through the new dungeon requires way too much grinding.
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Jul 24, 2014 04:54
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Ah. Well, too bad for me I guess, I shut the system off about half way through the credits. Currently cruising along in DQ5 with a Bad Apple, some kind of mud man, and my sabrecat bro trying to get the fire/water rings. Are there any kinds of monsters I should keep a lookout for to try and recruit? Is there even anything you can do to recruit them besides killing them?
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Jul 24, 2014 06:12
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Crimson Harvest posted:Ah. Well, too bad for me I guess, I shut the system off about half way through the credits. Yeah, that's pretty much it, kill them and hope they join you. I think the last one killed is the one that has a chance of coming back, so be aware of that if you're hunting something specific that usually pops up with other monsters. Slime Knight is usually the monster of choice in overall usefulness across the whole game since you can get them early on fairly easily, though obviously there are stronger monsters who usually take forever to recruit.
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Jul 24, 2014 07:06
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In DQ5, I have just competed the very long cut scene that involves statues - but where am I meant to go now...? I'm still in the castle. Is there any easy way in-game to do away with these kinds of 'where now?' moments by talking to a party member or similar to get a hint?
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Jul 24, 2014 08:24
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Adam Bowen posted:I guess I'd recommend it if you've never done it before, but I don't really like the DQ4 post-game. The extra plot is dumb and unnecessary, and getting through the new dungeon requires way too much grinding. Both of these are true, but you get a new playable character out of it and that is awesome.
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Jul 24, 2014 11:47
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Crimson Harvest posted:
I'd snag a golem as soon as they start showing up in encounters. I found them one of the few monsters worth using over the human classes since they have a ton of base damage and defense, yet can still equip almost all types of weapons and armor.
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Jul 24, 2014 13:41
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I'm a little late on the DQ9 harping, but I have to admit that I really dug it for a reason that I didn't see mentioned in my brief skimming of the past few pages: You can play the entire game in co-op.  When I first played it around release I thought it was kinda enjoyable and charming for what it was, but set it aside as college tends to kinda suck things from things. Two years later I'm in Germany with my then-girlfriend who picked it up as a result of a Dragon Quest kick, she's en route to fight the Wight Night, and I boot up my copy to try the multiplayer out. As it turns out, your Man can replace one of the host's party members and wander around independently of the main party, helping in combat as you please, or even just starting combat in an entirely separate area. It basically turns the entire game into a tiny 4-player MMO, which is how I was able to even remotely tolerate the post-game Grotto extravaganza 
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Jul 24, 2014 13:49
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BadAstronaut posted:In DQ5, I have just competed the very long cut scene that involves statues - but where am I meant to go now...? I'm still in the castle. IIRC, you can talk to one of your party members right after loading your save to get something like that. I think you're supposed to go to a cave north of the continent you're on now, but obviously you should be going on a world tour with your kids and spamming the party chat button for their reactions. Also you can pick up the Zenithian Helm now. Oh. Make sure you save before going to Deborah/Nera's hometown. Or have all your money in the bank.
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Jul 24, 2014 13:53
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Hey guys, sorry if this has been asked and answered a bunch already. I just wanted to know how the Android version of VIII was. I've played every (main numbered) game in the series in some portable way, except for VII and VIII. Basically, between the Android version and not at all, which should I choose? Thanks in advance!
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Jul 24, 2014 14:52
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SpiderLink posted:Hey guys, sorry if this has been asked and answered a bunch already. I just wanted to know how the Android version of VIII was. I've played every (main numbered) game in the series in some portable way, except for VII and VIII. Compared to the PS2 version, the Android/iOS version is reported to have noticeable loading delays in battle. The whole game runs in portrait orientation (which, apparently, Japanese players prefer), and it lacks the good voiceovers and orchestrated soundtrack of the US release. But unlike the mobile ports of Final Fantasy games, it doesn't replace the graphics with lovely ones or have any conspicuous errors. The slowness might really bother you, as 8 was already the slowest game in the series due to using full animations in battle. However, if it's really a choice between the mobile version and nothing, I'd say go for it, as it's still Dragon Quest 8.
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Jul 24, 2014 15:00
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I lost so much of my money in that tower by being killed by the flame head things before I pushed the rocks that I now need to do some grinding just to afford to go shopping. 
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Jul 24, 2014 15:04
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Bongo Bill posted:The slowness might really bother you, as 8 was already the slowest game in the series due to using full animations in battle. Is there a way to have a fast forward button mapped to a controller when playing it emulated? That could seriously speed things up.
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Jul 24, 2014 15:06
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