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Post by Moulinoski on Dec 28, 2022 9:15:34 GMT -5
I will give DQIII credit for pulling that fake ending twist way back in the '80s. But yeah, I don't like that it didn't have real party members, especially after DQ2 brought that into the series. It's true that DQVI doesn't give you directions for a long stretch, but I love exploring and doing sub/sidequests, so for me that's a plus. Honestly, even playing it in the early 2000’s on my Gameboy, I was still surprised. I thought I’d beaten the game then and there and then bam! A mysterious voice laughs at me and there’s yet more game to go! The characters in early Dragon Quest games aren’t really characters anyway. Even from IV on, once their relevance to the plot is over they pretty much just stick around. In this regard, VI is better than the previous games I’ll concede. Even V doesn’t really have its characters do much except come and leave and return. VI at least has events that can happen that involve a party member, however minimal they may be. This lack of personality doesn’t really bother me, though. I play Dragon Quest for the adventure, not the characters. That said, not having a vague direction to go on can get a little frustrating. This is what I mean with VI. In other DQ games, either the map will funnel you towards your next destination organically or you’d be given a clue as to where to go next, even if by that it means you need to collect six orbs or whatever. In VI, I felt like it didn’t have that after a certain point. It’s worse yet when you stop playing for a while and return to it a month or twenty later. This is an issue with a lot of RPGs and adventure games though and I appreciate the recaps that modern DQ gives us. Don’t get me wrong- it’s not like I want DQ to start explicitly telling me where to go next. I just want a small clue, any vague hint.
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Post by toei on Dec 28, 2022 9:39:48 GMT -5
I found that just exploring systematically always lead me to something to do. But I never did put RPGs aside for a month - when I used to play them, I'd stick to one game intensely until I was done with it, and didn't really have other hobbies. Not wise in retrospect, but that's what it was. I do appreciate the characters in DQIV. Just them having their stories and struggles adds a layer to me. Of course DQ is *mostly* about the adventure (and DQVI is the most adventurous of all), but having at least a decent story/characters makes a difference. The fact that they don't have witty quips later on doesn't bother me much. That's DQ7's biggest weakness - the incentive to get those people on an adventure is just so tenuous . And I realized just now that I don't recall a single character from DQ7, despite the fact that I spent like 120 hours on it. Not one.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 28, 2022 17:23:12 GMT -5
I agree that DQ6 was by far the weirdest most obtuse one to explore. Having to go back and forth between the two worlds, that didn't always look all that different in spots, was a bit crazy. Then when you get some of the vehicles like the magic carpet, etc. I also remember some tower had this random tile in the ground that leads into a main path tunnel. It was so freaking not-obvious. An NPC must have dropped a hint about it at some point though. My experience was a bit unique though. Early on in the game there's some town with a big fair in the middle and I thought surely, I spoke to everyone. But I apparently missed THE VENDOR with the damn world map. So I played a massive chunk of DQ6 without the overworld map. That probably would have helped me tremendously in taking mental notes of where I had been or not.
The rest of the series doesn't feel quite like it, so I can see how toei and others with particular tastes might favor its style. For me DQ3 and DQ8 felt like the best world designs. Also, after a few DQ's I started to kind of view the overworld itself as a fun dungeon. Always love exploring every corner possible, charting out the maps in the few that have that feature, etc. I bet the Japanese DS versions party talk for DQ4 makes those characters even better. It's true they don't get fleshed out a ton after their initial introductions and maybe another arc later, but yeah. That cast still stands out a bit more than the others in ways. Also have to give DQ8 credit, I usually like a big party of characters to go around, but that one was four main playable characters from start to finish and I wouldn't change a thing. Loved them. Kind of interesting the 3DS version has more characters though.
I don't want to elaborate a ton on DQ5 for now, since bosh is going through it! Looking forward to his updates on it.
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bosh
HRG Enthusiast
Posts: 207
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Post by bosh on Dec 29, 2022 2:41:16 GMT -5
Not had the time to get any farther in DQV since last update. I have picked up both the Switch versions of DQ 1 & 2 (Which are the mobile versions essentially). I do own the NES version of Dragon Warrior but since I don't have 2, figured I might as well play them both on Switch since its already hooked up. Plan on playing those sometime before the remake of 3 comes out. At this point, I guess all the mainline ones except X if it does not get localized are now officially on the list to play.
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Post by Moulinoski on Dec 29, 2022 8:46:39 GMT -5
I agree that DQ6 was by far the weirdest most obtuse one to explore. Having to go back and forth between the two worlds, that didn't always look all that different in spots, was a bit crazy. Then when you get some of the vehicles like the magic carpet, etc. I also remember some tower had this random tile in the ground that leads into a main path tunnel. It was so freaking not-obvious. An NPC must have dropped a hint about it at some point though. My experience was a bit unique though. Early on in the game there's some town with a big fair in the middle and I thought surely, I spoke to everyone. But I apparently missed THE VENDOR with the damn world map. So I played a massive chunk of DQ6 without the overworld map. That probably would have helped me tremendously in taking mental notes of where I had been or not.
The rest of the series doesn't feel quite like it, so I can see how toei and others with particular tastes might favor its style. For me DQ3 and DQ8 felt like the best world designs. Also, after a few DQ's I started to kind of view the overworld itself as a fun dungeon. Always love exploring every corner possible, charting out the maps in the few that have that feature, etc. I bet the Japanese DS versions party talk for DQ4 makes those characters even better. It's true they don't get fleshed out a ton after their initial introductions and maybe another arc later, but yeah. That cast still stands out a bit more than the others in ways. Also have to give DQ8 credit, I usually like a big party of characters to go around, but that one was four main playable characters from start to finish and I wouldn't change a thing. Loved them. Kind of interesting the 3DS version has more characters though.
I don't want to elaborate a ton on DQ5 for now, since bosh is going through it! Looking forward to his updates on it.
Party chat adds a lot to the Zenithian / Heavenly trilogy’s games. To DQ7 as well, for that matter. With how different DQ6’s world system is, I guess I can see how it can be unique in that regard and why people might like it just for that. My problem with it is just how obtuse it, like you said. Thinking about it as a dungeon is not a bad idea. It is essentially what they are, just with a lot more freedom of movement. When you get to Dragon Quest XI, some parts of the overworld do feel dungeon-like too. Mind you, I’m criticizing DQ6 a lot but I still like it. There really hasn’t been a bad mainline DQ game! It’s just not one of my all time favorites. I remember someone else mentioning that they don’t remember the characters from DQ7. I can remember the hero, Kiefer, Maribel, Gabo/Ruff, Melvyn, and Aisha? I feel like Aisha is her Dragon Warrior / Japanese name (like Gabo is to Ruff). I remember a few episodes, like the caterpillar episode and Ellie the robot but only vaguely. I just played it this year on my 3DS, too. That one is certainly less about the characters and more about the episodes. There’s a whole multi-part romantic tragedy that I could have done without. The game’s bloated enough as it is and the whole gray rain thing disappears after a while. I also think I preferred the vocation system in 6 over 7 just because the hero gets a shortcut to becoming a hero (haha) whereas you have to do it the long way in DQ7. At least in the 3DS version, you can abuse the tablet dungeons to level up vocations easily as long as you’re below level 20. I did this on my 3DS playthrough to just break the game with a full party of heroes. :] (I struggled to get through the PS1 original, this is fine)
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 29, 2022 9:41:54 GMT -5
Yeah DQ7 will probably be my next one and I'm excited to play the 3DS version in that case. Looks and sounds a lot better to me.
After that I just have DQ9 left.
I'll probably replay DQ3 someday with the 2D-HD version myself. Looks pretty cool.
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Post by Ex on Dec 29, 2022 11:32:18 GMT -5
I wouldn't cross the streams, keep the longer discussions over on the modern side. Figure that's what Ex would say. Yes, we all (I am guilty too) occasionally briefly mention modern games on the retro side. Usually this is to add context to a point about a retro game. And that's not an issue. We just want to avoid talking at length about modern games on the retro side. Rather, that's what the modern side of the board is for. Thanks everybody.
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Post by Xeogred on Dec 29, 2022 16:44:00 GMT -5
I mainly just dropped that big post initially purely for comparisons and differences to the rest of the series. At least it might be a good reference point going through this bigger thread. From then on, it'd probably be like talking about a usual DQ experience. But I'll do so in the modern sections.
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Post by Xeogred on Jan 2, 2023 16:31:24 GMT -5
I keep thinking it'd be funny if one of these guys were a playable recruit someday. Unless there's one in DQ7, 9, or a spinoff?
Your ship captain in DQ11 is one with a pink helmet named "Dave". lol
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Post by Ex on Jan 2, 2023 21:37:19 GMT -5
Dude needs to be in a wrestling game.
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