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Dragon Quest Community Thread |OT| Party Chat
- Thread starter Hecht
- Start date
So, finally, here's a community thread for one of the biggest JRPG series. Discuss everything you want about the series here.
But first, for everyone not quite so familiar with Dragon Quest, let's do a "quick" overview.
Dragon Quest / Dragon Warrior
The game that started it all. Not only is it the first game in the series, it's also the origin of what we consider JRPGs today. This also means it's still very barebones. Your party only consists of one character throughout the whole game and even enemies always fight solo. You can explore the world freely and the only hints you get are few cryptical hints from villagers. And it's one of those early RPGs in which you really have to grind.
If you enjoy all that, definitely give this game a try, it's still a lot of fun. The US NES version is greatly improved with some better graphics, an easier to use interface and most importantly battery saves, so make sure to play that version. Or go for the remakes on SFC and GBC, they look quite a bit nicer and the difficulty has been toned down a little. The GBC version is available in English, the SFC version has been fan-translated. There's also a mobile port for iOS and Android.
Dragon Quest II / Dragon Warrior II
The typical sequel. You get a bigger world, you finally get a party of three people and monsters now come in groups. Basically a lot of improvements all around. But beware, the game likes to screw with the player, like when you're trying to recruit your second party member, and it's easy to get lost in the overworld later in the game.
As for which version to play, basically everything I wrote for the first Dragon Quest is true here as well with the small addition that the fan translation is very buggy. Keep in mind that the GBC and SFC versions both come with the first and second game on one cartridge. There's also an iOS and Android version recently released worldwide.
Dragon Quest III / Dragon Warrior III
I only just recently started playing this, so maybe someone else can provide a more detailed explanation, but basically this game adds a class system for the first time in the series. You can freely choose your hero's gender and some kind of psychological test at the beginning determines your personality. Your additional party members can be recruited at a bar. This is also the first time there's a day and night cycle in the series. This seems to be one of the most well regarded entries in the series.
The NES and GBC versions are both available in English, but the SFC version has been fan-translated and seems to be the best version to play. From the looks of it, it's based on Dragon Quest VI's graphic engine. There's also an iOS and Android port based on the SNES version.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen / Dragon Warrior IV
As the name implies this game is divided in several chapters, with the early ones all focusing on a different party member. These are the usual warrior and priest type characters, but there's also a merchant which leads to a Recettear type mini-game. This character seems to be rather popular as he even got his own spin-off series, as you can see further below.
The DS version really is the one to go for here, just because of how much more convenient it is to play. Sadly the English DS release omitted the Party Talk feature, which is a rather heavy loss, so let's just pretend you never heard of this so you won't notice. There's a port for Android and iOS, it was released in the West and even includes the Party Chat cut from the DS version.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
This is the first game in the series with a heavy focus on the story. You follow your hero's life from his early childhood when he travels with his father to his adulthood when you get to choose your future bride. Instead of normal party members, you have to catch monsters that fight alongside you for most of the game, and yes, this was quite a bit before the first Pokémon game. This is just my personal preference, but if you want to play just one game in the series, make it this one.
The only official English choice here are the DS and mobile versions. The DS version is a great port (of the PS2 version), so play this one, I can't say anything about the mobile version, though. The other two versions on SFC and PS2 have both been fan-translated by now, in case you'd rather want to try one of them.
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation / Realms of Reverie
This has the somewhat cliché premise of a party of amnesiac heroes after they get defeated by the big evil boss. Through your journey you switch between the dream world and the real world, maybe kinda like in A Link to the Past. The story is told through a set of smaller stories that happen in each town you visit.
I've only played the DS version, but from what I've heard it has been streamlined quite a bit, and not in a positive way, so it feels like you're rushing through most of the sub-stories with barely anything having a lasting effect. So if you have the chance, try the SFC version. You have to use a fan translation for that, even though we came very close to an English release. If you don't want to bother with that, just get the English DS or mobile versions.
Dragon Quest VII / Dragon Warrior VII
I guess the one thing this game is most famous for is its extreme length. So if you want to finish this, make sure to set aside 100+ hours to get through it. But on the other hand you get a huge world to explore, with a lot of wonderfully written side stories. This has some of my favorite and most memorable side stories in the whole series, so the trip is certainly worth it. Since it's on the PSX, it's also the first game in the series to feature 3D environments. The 3DS version has completely reworked graphics and adds new content as well as changes several things to make it easier to progress. It also has visible enemy encounters, but those seem to be rather aggressive, which leads to an overall higher battle count in this version. Still, overall the 3DS version is the recommended version to play.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
This marks a very important step forward for the series as this is the first mainline Dragon Quest game released in Europe! Yes, Europe only had to wait a mere 18 years for its first real Dragon Quest. The first game in the overall series released in Europe, by the way, was the GBC Dragon Quest Monsters.
This was also part of a bigger push for the Dragon Quest brand in the West, as evident by the huge effort put into the localization. The Western version features voice overs, a graphical interface and an orchestral soundtrack not present in the original Japanese version.
The story is about a castle guard that's the only one unaffected by a curse put on his castle. So you travel with your king and princess to find the perpetrator and break the curse. The game's notable changes are a slower battle system that lets you see your party members attacking the monsters, the introduction of the alchemy pot which lets you create new items from different ingredients and a connected overworld.
You have the choice between an Android/iOS version, the original PS2 version and a 3DS port with added content. The 3DS port is the recommended version to get.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
This is somewhat of a throwback to Dragon Quest III. Your party only consists of user created characters and you can assign vocations (i.e. classes) to each of them. New additions are the multiplayer mode and the fun feature of only having one save file on your game. It's also the only mainline game that's only been released on a handheld.
Only one version, get that one.
Dragon Quest X: Mezameshi Itsutsu no Shuzoku Online
Sadly, this is a subscription based and IP-locked Japan-only MMORPG, so I can't say anything about it. So far it hasn't been announced for a Western release, but it was and will be released on a lot of different platforms in Japan.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of the Elusive Age
Released for 3DS and PS4 in 2017 in Japan and for PS4 and Steam in the West in 2018. The 3DS version features the option to choose between 3D and 2D graphics. The PS4 version is completely in 3D using the Unreal Engine 4. The Switch version is called "Dragon Quest XI S" and will include the additions of the Western version, Japanese voice overs, a partly orchestral soundtrack and the 2D mode from the 3DS version. It'll release in 2019 worldwide.
Dragon Quest Monsters series
Basically these are Pokémon games with a Dragon Quest theme. They retain the basic Dragon Quest battle system, but it's all about catching monsters now. The first two games were both released on Game Boy Color and each got remakes on the 3DS. Sadly, we're still waiting for localizations of those remakes, but the original games got both released here.
The Joker subseries modernized the Monsters series a bit with 3D visuals and on-screen enemies. But, since I've only played the two games here and none of the original series, I can't really compare them to say what exactly is so different about them that they got a new name. What I can say, though, is that they are very much worth checking out. There's an updated "Professional version" for Joker 2 that was only released in Japan (despite a rather late release of the Western version of the original Joker 2). Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 is also getting a "Professional" version, but neither this nor the original version are announced for a Western release.
Dragon Quest Mysterious Dungeon series
Part of the larger Mysterious Dungeon series by Chunsoft, that also includes games in the Final Fantasy, Pokémon and Shiren universe. These are basically rogue-like games. I never played one of the Dragon Quest games in this series, so I can't comment on the quality, but if you like this very niche genre, give them a try. The only one released in English however is the PSX game "Torneko's Last Hope", the one with the ugly cover.
Slime MoriMori series
Of the Slime MoriMori games only the DS title "Rocket Slime" has been released in English (but wasn't released in Europe). These seem to be action-adventure type games which all star the beloved slime.
Dragon Quest Heroes series
Dragon Quest Heroes is an action style spinoff developed by Omega Force that plays similar to their Musou series, but with a bigger focus on RPG elements and some light tower defense influences. Its sequel was released on PS4 in the West, but at the moment the Switch version that combines both titles into one game was only released in Japan and no Western release has been confirmed yet.
Dragon Quest Builders series
Dragon Quest Builders is a building game heavily inspired by Minecraft, but features an ongoing story set after the "bad ending" of the first Dragon Quest. The story is structured in four chapters that have you rebuilt towns from the original Dragon Quest, but there's also an extra mode that lets you build as you please. It was released for PS4, PS3, Vita and Switch in Japan with the West missing out on the PS3 version, but getting all other versions.
A sequel was announced for PS4 and Switch that will feature a multiplayer mode. It was released in December 2018 in Japan, and will be released in the West on July 12th, 2019.
Itadaki Street / Fortune Street
The Itadaki Street games are a series of virtual board games, that play very similar to Monopoly, with some added depth like the ability to buy shares of certain streets. If you haven't been cynical about the financial market, after these games you will be. Fortune Street (or Boom Street in Europe) is the only entry in the series released in the West and I highly recommend picking this up. There's a demo of the newest game for PS4 on the PlayStation Store (in Japanese, obviously) if you want to try it out.
Swords series
These two games are on-rail RPGs, where you have to swing your sword to attack monsters and block attacks with your shield. The Wii game "Dragon Quest Swords" was even released everywhere in the West.
All the rest
And finally here's the rest of the bunch, all that didn't quite fit in the other subseries.
Monster Battle Road seems to some kind of card-based action game, two of the games were only released in the arcade and the one Wii game was never released in the West. I have never played or even seen them, so I don't know anything about them.
Dragon Quest Wars is a download-only DSi strategy game. It's quite nice for a while, but don't expect much depth here.
That blue box is an anniversary collection released for the Wii which contains the Famicom and Super Famicom version of Dragon Quest I, II and III and comes with a nice mini medal. Sadly and unsurprisingly, this was never released in the West.
Theatrhythm: Dragon Quest is a rhythm game with a Dragon Quest theme for 3DS, similiar to the Final Fantasy Theatrhythm games. No localization announcement yet and it's rather unlikely it will get one at this point.
Some carefully selected music:
Dragon Quest - Unknown World
Dragon Quest II - Only Lonely Boy
Dragon Quest III - Overworld
Dragon Quest IV - Endor Casino
Dragon Quest V - Violent Enemies
Dragon Quest VI - Folk Dance
Dragon Quest VII - Days of Sadness
Dragon Quest VIII - Conversation
Dragon Quest IX - Pub Polka
Dragon Quest X - Racing Heart
And of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtK051iBMsI
Special thanks to Aeana, who provided the awesome banner! And thanks to Hecht for creating the thread when I couldn't!
If anyone wants to provide a better description for one of the games, feel free to do so. I'll add it to the OP.
So then, enter your name
and join the discussion.
But first, for everyone not quite so familiar with Dragon Quest, let's do a "quick" overview.
Dragon Quest / Dragon Warrior
The game that started it all. Not only is it the first game in the series, it's also the origin of what we consider JRPGs today. This also means it's still very barebones. Your party only consists of one character throughout the whole game and even enemies always fight solo. You can explore the world freely and the only hints you get are few cryptical hints from villagers. And it's one of those early RPGs in which you really have to grind.
If you enjoy all that, definitely give this game a try, it's still a lot of fun. The US NES version is greatly improved with some better graphics, an easier to use interface and most importantly battery saves, so make sure to play that version. Or go for the remakes on SFC and GBC, they look quite a bit nicer and the difficulty has been toned down a little. The GBC version is available in English, the SFC version has been fan-translated. There's also a mobile port for iOS and Android.
Dragon Quest II / Dragon Warrior II
The typical sequel. You get a bigger world, you finally get a party of three people and monsters now come in groups. Basically a lot of improvements all around. But beware, the game likes to screw with the player, like when you're trying to recruit your second party member, and it's easy to get lost in the overworld later in the game.
As for which version to play, basically everything I wrote for the first Dragon Quest is true here as well with the small addition that the fan translation is very buggy. Keep in mind that the GBC and SFC versions both come with the first and second game on one cartridge. There's also an iOS and Android version recently released worldwide.
Dragon Quest III / Dragon Warrior III
I only just recently started playing this, so maybe someone else can provide a more detailed explanation, but basically this game adds a class system for the first time in the series. You can freely choose your hero's gender and some kind of psychological test at the beginning determines your personality. Your additional party members can be recruited at a bar. This is also the first time there's a day and night cycle in the series. This seems to be one of the most well regarded entries in the series.
The NES and GBC versions are both available in English, but the SFC version has been fan-translated and seems to be the best version to play. From the looks of it, it's based on Dragon Quest VI's graphic engine. There's also an iOS and Android port based on the SNES version.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen / Dragon Warrior IV
As the name implies this game is divided in several chapters, with the early ones all focusing on a different party member. These are the usual warrior and priest type characters, but there's also a merchant which leads to a Recettear type mini-game. This character seems to be rather popular as he even got his own spin-off series, as you can see further below.
The DS version really is the one to go for here, just because of how much more convenient it is to play. Sadly the English DS release omitted the Party Talk feature, which is a rather heavy loss, so let's just pretend you never heard of this so you won't notice. There's a port for Android and iOS, it was released in the West and even includes the Party Chat cut from the DS version.
Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride
This is the first game in the series with a heavy focus on the story. You follow your hero's life from his early childhood when he travels with his father to his adulthood when you get to choose your future bride. Instead of normal party members, you have to catch monsters that fight alongside you for most of the game, and yes, this was quite a bit before the first Pokémon game. This is just my personal preference, but if you want to play just one game in the series, make it this one.
The only official English choice here are the DS and mobile versions. The DS version is a great port (of the PS2 version), so play this one, I can't say anything about the mobile version, though. The other two versions on SFC and PS2 have both been fan-translated by now, in case you'd rather want to try one of them.
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation / Realms of Reverie
This has the somewhat cliché premise of a party of amnesiac heroes after they get defeated by the big evil boss. Through your journey you switch between the dream world and the real world, maybe kinda like in A Link to the Past. The story is told through a set of smaller stories that happen in each town you visit.
I've only played the DS version, but from what I've heard it has been streamlined quite a bit, and not in a positive way, so it feels like you're rushing through most of the sub-stories with barely anything having a lasting effect. So if you have the chance, try the SFC version. You have to use a fan translation for that, even though we came very close to an English release. If you don't want to bother with that, just get the English DS or mobile versions.
Dragon Quest VII / Dragon Warrior VII
I guess the one thing this game is most famous for is its extreme length. So if you want to finish this, make sure to set aside 100+ hours to get through it. But on the other hand you get a huge world to explore, with a lot of wonderfully written side stories. This has some of my favorite and most memorable side stories in the whole series, so the trip is certainly worth it. Since it's on the PSX, it's also the first game in the series to feature 3D environments. The 3DS version has completely reworked graphics and adds new content as well as changes several things to make it easier to progress. It also has visible enemy encounters, but those seem to be rather aggressive, which leads to an overall higher battle count in this version. Still, overall the 3DS version is the recommended version to play.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
This marks a very important step forward for the series as this is the first mainline Dragon Quest game released in Europe! Yes, Europe only had to wait a mere 18 years for its first real Dragon Quest. The first game in the overall series released in Europe, by the way, was the GBC Dragon Quest Monsters.
This was also part of a bigger push for the Dragon Quest brand in the West, as evident by the huge effort put into the localization. The Western version features voice overs, a graphical interface and an orchestral soundtrack not present in the original Japanese version.
The story is about a castle guard that's the only one unaffected by a curse put on his castle. So you travel with your king and princess to find the perpetrator and break the curse. The game's notable changes are a slower battle system that lets you see your party members attacking the monsters, the introduction of the alchemy pot which lets you create new items from different ingredients and a connected overworld.
You have the choice between an Android/iOS version, the original PS2 version and a 3DS port with added content. The 3DS port is the recommended version to get.
Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies
This is somewhat of a throwback to Dragon Quest III. Your party only consists of user created characters and you can assign vocations (i.e. classes) to each of them. New additions are the multiplayer mode and the fun feature of only having one save file on your game. It's also the only mainline game that's only been released on a handheld.
Only one version, get that one.
Dragon Quest X: Mezameshi Itsutsu no Shuzoku Online
Sadly, this is a subscription based and IP-locked Japan-only MMORPG, so I can't say anything about it. So far it hasn't been announced for a Western release, but it was and will be released on a lot of different platforms in Japan.
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of the Elusive Age
Released for 3DS and PS4 in 2017 in Japan and for PS4 and Steam in the West in 2018. The 3DS version features the option to choose between 3D and 2D graphics. The PS4 version is completely in 3D using the Unreal Engine 4. The Switch version is called "Dragon Quest XI S" and will include the additions of the Western version, Japanese voice overs, a partly orchestral soundtrack and the 2D mode from the 3DS version. It'll release in 2019 worldwide.
Dragon Quest Monsters series
Basically these are Pokémon games with a Dragon Quest theme. They retain the basic Dragon Quest battle system, but it's all about catching monsters now. The first two games were both released on Game Boy Color and each got remakes on the 3DS. Sadly, we're still waiting for localizations of those remakes, but the original games got both released here.
The Joker subseries modernized the Monsters series a bit with 3D visuals and on-screen enemies. But, since I've only played the two games here and none of the original series, I can't really compare them to say what exactly is so different about them that they got a new name. What I can say, though, is that they are very much worth checking out. There's an updated "Professional version" for Joker 2 that was only released in Japan (despite a rather late release of the Western version of the original Joker 2). Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 3 is also getting a "Professional" version, but neither this nor the original version are announced for a Western release.
Dragon Quest Mysterious Dungeon series
Part of the larger Mysterious Dungeon series by Chunsoft, that also includes games in the Final Fantasy, Pokémon and Shiren universe. These are basically rogue-like games. I never played one of the Dragon Quest games in this series, so I can't comment on the quality, but if you like this very niche genre, give them a try. The only one released in English however is the PSX game "Torneko's Last Hope", the one with the ugly cover.
Slime MoriMori series
Of the Slime MoriMori games only the DS title "Rocket Slime" has been released in English (but wasn't released in Europe). These seem to be action-adventure type games which all star the beloved slime.
Dragon Quest Heroes series
Dragon Quest Heroes is an action style spinoff developed by Omega Force that plays similar to their Musou series, but with a bigger focus on RPG elements and some light tower defense influences. Its sequel was released on PS4 in the West, but at the moment the Switch version that combines both titles into one game was only released in Japan and no Western release has been confirmed yet.
Dragon Quest Builders series
Dragon Quest Builders is a building game heavily inspired by Minecraft, but features an ongoing story set after the "bad ending" of the first Dragon Quest. The story is structured in four chapters that have you rebuilt towns from the original Dragon Quest, but there's also an extra mode that lets you build as you please. It was released for PS4, PS3, Vita and Switch in Japan with the West missing out on the PS3 version, but getting all other versions.
A sequel was announced for PS4 and Switch that will feature a multiplayer mode. It was released in December 2018 in Japan, and will be released in the West on July 12th, 2019.
Itadaki Street / Fortune Street
The Itadaki Street games are a series of virtual board games, that play very similar to Monopoly, with some added depth like the ability to buy shares of certain streets. If you haven't been cynical about the financial market, after these games you will be. Fortune Street (or Boom Street in Europe) is the only entry in the series released in the West and I highly recommend picking this up. There's a demo of the newest game for PS4 on the PlayStation Store (in Japanese, obviously) if you want to try it out.
Swords series
These two games are on-rail RPGs, where you have to swing your sword to attack monsters and block attacks with your shield. The Wii game "Dragon Quest Swords" was even released everywhere in the West.
All the rest
And finally here's the rest of the bunch, all that didn't quite fit in the other subseries.
Monster Battle Road seems to some kind of card-based action game, two of the games were only released in the arcade and the one Wii game was never released in the West. I have never played or even seen them, so I don't know anything about them.
Dragon Quest Wars is a download-only DSi strategy game. It's quite nice for a while, but don't expect much depth here.
That blue box is an anniversary collection released for the Wii which contains the Famicom and Super Famicom version of Dragon Quest I, II and III and comes with a nice mini medal. Sadly and unsurprisingly, this was never released in the West.
Theatrhythm: Dragon Quest is a rhythm game with a Dragon Quest theme for 3DS, similiar to the Final Fantasy Theatrhythm games. No localization announcement yet and it's rather unlikely it will get one at this point.
Some carefully selected music:
Dragon Quest - Unknown World
Dragon Quest II - Only Lonely Boy
Dragon Quest III - Overworld
Dragon Quest IV - Endor Casino
Dragon Quest V - Violent Enemies
Dragon Quest VI - Folk Dance
Dragon Quest VII - Days of Sadness
Dragon Quest VIII - Conversation
Dragon Quest IX - Pub Polka
Dragon Quest X - Racing Heart
And of course: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtK051iBMsI
Special thanks to Aeana, who provided the awesome banner! And thanks to Hecht for creating the thread when I couldn't!
If anyone wants to provide a better description for one of the games, feel free to do so. I'll add it to the OP.
So then, enter your name
and join the discussion.
Last edited:
Here's hoping to a nice holiday discount on the iOS releases! (Something tells me those are only 32-bit, however, and won't get an update soon enough.) I'll be able to post with my impressions here once that happens.
Awesome OP, very helpful for sorting out the various spinoffs especially!
DQ11 is probably my most-anticipated upcoming release, only competition is the RE2 Remake, and it's definitely my most-anticipated JRPG.
Hope Monsters 3 gets a western localization. No biggie though - I can just go back and play the first two if it doesn't.
Absolutely, III is my favorite entry, and it works best if you've played the previous ones.
Well - I guess you could get away with playing the first, then skipping to III. II is technically connected as well, but it doesn't have as strong a link with the other two.
DQ11 is probably my most-anticipated upcoming release, only competition is the RE2 Remake, and it's definitely my most-anticipated JRPG.
Hope Monsters 3 gets a western localization. No biggie though - I can just go back and play the first two if it doesn't.
Absolutely, III is my favorite entry, and it works best if you've played the previous ones.
Well - I guess you could get away with playing the first, then skipping to III. II is technically connected as well, but it doesn't have as strong a link with the other two.
Dragon Quest 3, definitely. I still find 1&2 a lot of fun to play, but most people seem to find them rather grindy and hard to get into.
3 is definitely worth playing, it was Dragon Quest's FFIV, where the series hit it's stride
I played DQ1 on an Android phone and really enjoyed it, but it was a bit grindy.
I think the chances for that are pretty low, but who knows? The one game I'm kinda sad we missed out on is the Theatrhythm game. I loved the Final Fantasy version of that. Well that, and Dragon Quest X, of course, but I can understand that might be a difficult sell in the West.
It's a long shot for sure, probably not on the cards whatsoever. But the fact that NieR: Automata even exists has restored my faith in gaming miracles!
Not getting DQ Theatrhythm still stings. The FF version is one of my favorite games in the franchise, though it's hard to directly compare it to the other FF games for apparent reasons.
IV is far from my favorite game either but I bow down to the fanbase's superior taste :P
I'm playing DQ VII 3DS for the first time. Played the PSX version once back in the days. I'm starting to enjoy it a lot. It seems in the first 15 hours or so the game really likes to make you go into the same dungeons both in the past and present which is annoying. Once I reached the Alltades Abbey the pacing got better and messing with the vocation is fun. I'm still early on and just after the Yggdrasil vignette. Is it worth it to mess with the Monster vocations? I had Ruff master one and Soothing is nice since it costs 0 MP which help in dungeons. I also have healslime heart and chimera heart from chests. Is it easier to get hearts from tablets because they don't seem to drop in the normal areas.
Good to have this OT back!
I hope Square doesn't take too long to announce DQ XI's western release date. Going by the Import thread, it's looking like it belongs in the top tier of the franchise, which is a really exciting prospect. A big budget, AAA classic turn-based HD JRPG has been a long time coming.
I hope Square doesn't take too long to announce DQ XI's western release date. Going by the Import thread, it's looking like it belongs in the top tier of the franchise, which is a really exciting prospect. A big budget, AAA classic turn-based HD JRPG has been a long time coming.
I thought this was real for a moment and choked on my water.
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I'd rather SE give it a meaningful market push than push it out as soon as possible. The reality is probably a late release with no marketing though.
Sorry :(. I wish it were.
As to the bolded--you're probably right.
I think the game will do 'okay,' like DQVIII and IX before it. Maybe, if it comes over that way, multiplatform can help it in the west. It'd be nice if it did better.
Mostly though, I just really want to play it myself.
My husband just got the true end in XI on PS4. I'll direct him to this thread to post his thoughts. He had like 135 hours on the clock and still hadn't done everything. He was in the low 70s for levels. He overall liked the game, but didn't love it. His main complaints were that the bosses were glass cannons and that switching out party members gives you a huge handicap in terms of turns (that complaint is likely PS4-only as the turn system is the classic version in the 3DS version)... and of course Greig if you remember his rant a couple months ago. He also didn't like the pandering in the true end; I didn't either.
Wondering what DQXI's playtime will look like for me. I'm not a completionist by any means, wondering if I can knock it out in the customary 40 hours for a JRPG, or if it's going to be a black hole vortex timesink like the 80+ hour DQVII.
Where I'm at with DQ:
I've played DQ through DQIX. VII, VIII, and I through III are fairly fresh in my mind at the moment as I played them all fairly recently. I want to replay the Zenithian games because for how central they are to my understanding of DQ, my memory of them is not as fresh. In particular, I want to give VI another chance as, for me, it just sort of slips out of the equation. I'm not sure that is entirely fair to it and when I see praise for it, I sort of wish I understood better where that was coming from exactly. My favorites are IV, V, VII, and VIII, roughly in that order too :P. (And that's why I would like to revisit IV and V). My thinking on DQ is centered on those games.
In detail (some of this taken from old posts of mine):
I started with VIII, which I got as a gift the Christmas after it came out and I really fell in love with the art-style, the gameplay, the cast, and the the fairy-tale aspect of it all.
I played DQVIII a couple of times in those years, and, being an avid fan, I naturally picked up DQIX and the Zenithian remakes as they came out on the DS.
I don't remember IX much. I played it to completion but didn't love it as I had VIII. It doesn't figure much into my thinking about Dragon Quest.
IV and V are about creativity in narrative structure and strength of scenario for me:
DQV is somewhat like DQVIII in that one of its core strengths are its character arcs, particularly the main character's arc but also those of the people important in his life--his father, his potential wives, and his children. Unlike DQVIII, however, DQV's main narrative is the main character's arc and the narrative structure is built around that, filling out the world and story while going through various disjoint phases of the main character's life. This structure allows for lasting dramatic impact from events listed above (and some key ones not listed). It is a great fusion of narrative ambition and user-friendly console RPG.
DQIV, on the other hand, lead into another strain of DQ brought out in full display in DQVII in particular. Namely, DQ often is about characters other than the hero and their stories, rather than the hero's story. DQIV is a game where you take control of non-heroes going about their personal business and how they then come to be engaged in the hero's quest. It puts you in atypical perspectives and mines these for unique scenarios.
As I said above, DQVI did not leave that much of a mark on me. It is a game that gets squeezed on all fronts: from DQIV and V, from DQVII, and from Chrono Trigger. It came across less narratively and structurally interesting than all of these games to me and as just a solid game amongst titans of the genre. I've played the beginning again recently (through waking up the King) and I do think, for example, the stuff they do with invisibility is interesting. I should finish this second playthrough.
I played I-III next on mobile. DQI was the first thing I downloaded when I got my first smart phone in 2015 and I played through it and DQII in close succession. I played DQIII about a year later. It was fun to experience their growing complexity but I also really enjoyed just how simple DQI was. All of them gave me an overload of that "this is a quintessential JRPG" experience. They don't factor much into my understanding of narrative in DQ games, which is the core thrust of this post.
Next I played the 3DS versions of VII and VIII as they came out. As to DQ VII:
I think this makes what I am going to say about playing DQVIII again fairly obvious. It is a game I love a lot, but as I described it above, I essentially fell in love with a "box" that I put DQ in, which, subsequently, the other games defied in certain ways. I didn't quite know who I was letting into my heart, but she was more beautiful than I had assumed. And I had assumed her beautiful. This realization also drew out and put into focus what I perceive to be the strengths of DQVIII, expressed both in the first quote box and in the one immediately above.
I feel that DQVIII is disappointingly simple in structure and narrative conceit, hampering its dramatic potential. I also feel that, outside of the core character-oriented vignettes, it does not have an overly strong suite of stories.
...
These feelings leave me very curious about both Dragon Quest X (which I will probably never play) and Dragon Quest XI, with respect to their scenarios.
I've played DQ through DQIX. VII, VIII, and I through III are fairly fresh in my mind at the moment as I played them all fairly recently. I want to replay the Zenithian games because for how central they are to my understanding of DQ, my memory of them is not as fresh. In particular, I want to give VI another chance as, for me, it just sort of slips out of the equation. I'm not sure that is entirely fair to it and when I see praise for it, I sort of wish I understood better where that was coming from exactly. My favorites are IV, V, VII, and VIII, roughly in that order too :P. (And that's why I would like to revisit IV and V). My thinking on DQ is centered on those games.
In detail (some of this taken from old posts of mine):
I started with VIII, which I got as a gift the Christmas after it came out and I really fell in love with the art-style, the gameplay, the cast, and the the fairy-tale aspect of it all.
I played DQVIII a couple of times in those years, and, being an avid fan, I naturally picked up DQIX and the Zenithian remakes as they came out on the DS.
I don't remember IX much. I played it to completion but didn't love it as I had VIII. It doesn't figure much into my thinking about Dragon Quest.
IV and V are about creativity in narrative structure and strength of scenario for me:
DQV is somewhat like DQVIII in that one of its core strengths are its character arcs, particularly the main character's arc but also those of the people important in his life--his father, his potential wives, and his children. Unlike DQVIII, however, DQV's main narrative is the main character's arc and the narrative structure is built around that, filling out the world and story while going through various disjoint phases of the main character's life. This structure allows for lasting dramatic impact from events listed above (and some key ones not listed). It is a great fusion of narrative ambition and user-friendly console RPG.
DQIV, on the other hand, lead into another strain of DQ brought out in full display in DQVII in particular. Namely, DQ often is about characters other than the hero and their stories, rather than the hero's story. DQIV is a game where you take control of non-heroes going about their personal business and how they then come to be engaged in the hero's quest. It puts you in atypical perspectives and mines these for unique scenarios.
As I said above, DQVI did not leave that much of a mark on me. It is a game that gets squeezed on all fronts: from DQIV and V, from DQVII, and from Chrono Trigger. It came across less narratively and structurally interesting than all of these games to me and as just a solid game amongst titans of the genre. I've played the beginning again recently (through waking up the King) and I do think, for example, the stuff they do with invisibility is interesting. I should finish this second playthrough.
I played I-III next on mobile. DQI was the first thing I downloaded when I got my first smart phone in 2015 and I played through it and DQII in close succession. I played DQIII about a year later. It was fun to experience their growing complexity but I also really enjoyed just how simple DQI was. All of them gave me an overload of that "this is a quintessential JRPG" experience. They don't factor much into my understanding of narrative in DQ games, which is the core thrust of this post.
Next I played the 3DS versions of VII and VIII as they came out. As to DQ VII:
I think this makes what I am going to say about playing DQVIII again fairly obvious. It is a game I love a lot, but as I described it above, I essentially fell in love with a "box" that I put DQ in, which, subsequently, the other games defied in certain ways. I didn't quite know who I was letting into my heart, but she was more beautiful than I had assumed. And I had assumed her beautiful. This realization also drew out and put into focus what I perceive to be the strengths of DQVIII, expressed both in the first quote box and in the one immediately above.
I feel that DQVIII is disappointingly simple in structure and narrative conceit, hampering its dramatic potential. I also feel that, outside of the core character-oriented vignettes, it does not have an overly strong suite of stories.
...
These feelings leave me very curious about both Dragon Quest X (which I will probably never play) and Dragon Quest XI, with respect to their scenarios.
It really seems like it does though a lot of the time. I wonder how it works in regards to character speed and such. It would have been much better if there was a "upcoming turns" gauge like in FFX or the Atelier games, because a lot of the time it seemed like a damn crapshoot whether or not someone would have a chance to act before a boss got yet another turn.
All the annoyances my husband had with it made me think of playing the 3DS version instead if it gets localized. But the PS4 version is truly so beautiful that it would be a huge shame.
This is where I was at about a month ago and now I feel like I can finally close the case on VI. I originally tried playing it when it first came out and I put a solid 30 or so hours into it but stopped for some reason. When I came back to it I literally remembered nothing about those 30 hours so I deleted the save and started from scratch. This time around it was a much more memorable experience. Sometimes Dragon Quest music from all the different games runs together for me and I have a hard time remembering which game each song is from, but I feel like VI has some tracks that I'll always remember which game they're from.
I didn't go for any of the post game stuff, but I had a pretty amazing final boss battle where I was down to one character and everything hinged upon a getting a successful Zing. It was crazy intense!
I hope you have a great time revisiting it!
I'm currently playing through Rocket Slime again as it's been ages since I last played it and as I mentioned in the previous community thread my son has been very into Dragon Quest over the last 4-5 months. I need to keep encouraging it because at the very least it gives me an excuse to buy tons of DQ games/swag lol. What a crazy charming game though. Dragon Quest is already pretty charming, but I forgot how off the charts adorable Rocket Slime is.
I've played Dragon Quest IV, V, VI, VII, IX and I own DQ1 on mobile and DQVIII on both PS2 And 3DS. I've also played DQ Monsters Joker 2 on DS and own the first Jokers Monster as well. I'd play DQVIII , it's just I'm distracted by replaying Animal Crossing New Leaf and FFX.
DQV is my favourite.
DQV is my favourite.
Sounds like a good time!
Rocket slime is one of the two DQ spinoffs I've played (the other being DQ Builders). I haven't played it in forever but I adored it when I did. Great game.
Heroes 2 is really great! I liked the main characters in the first game better, but aside from that I enjoyed everything else in 2 more (story/world/etc.)
I'm ambivalent towards VII, I think it's WAY too long in the tooth, but this time-travel aspect of it was definitely the strongest part from a storytelling perspective.
Quick write up of the series based on my ranking.
VII:
Loved the episodic story. Awesome story vignettes. Great cast. Sugiyama's best soundtrack.
III:
The first real DQ. The first game to really nail the franchises tone
IV:
Awesome cast. Great world and structure. The AI in the NES version sucked though lol. Best villain. I don't like the DS version's translation though
VI:
Cool story. Great character designs. Class system was fun.
V:
Best main story, but town vignettes suffered. Pretty cool party idea, but three man teams makes it so I don't want to experiment with monsters
IX: Loved Multiplayer. Great story too. Game is a bit too easy though
VIII:
Pretty game, great soundtrack. The story was a cool concept and there are neat moments, but the cas didn't click and I don't care for vignettes.
I
Classic. Basic but classic.
Ii
A weird gray area between 1 and 3. Amazing ost though.
VII:
Loved the episodic story. Awesome story vignettes. Great cast. Sugiyama's best soundtrack.
III:
The first real DQ. The first game to really nail the franchises tone
IV:
Awesome cast. Great world and structure. The AI in the NES version sucked though lol. Best villain. I don't like the DS version's translation though
VI:
Cool story. Great character designs. Class system was fun.
V:
Best main story, but town vignettes suffered. Pretty cool party idea, but three man teams makes it so I don't want to experiment with monsters
IX: Loved Multiplayer. Great story too. Game is a bit too easy though
VIII:
Pretty game, great soundtrack. The story was a cool concept and there are neat moments, but the cas didn't click and I don't care for vignettes.
I
Classic. Basic but classic.
Ii
A weird gray area between 1 and 3. Amazing ost though.
Love the DQ series. I think 7 and 8 are my favorite. Both games were just huge and I loved all the little side stories in both. 8 to this day is one of my favorite games of all time, I replay it every so often. I can't wait for XI to hit the west
