Sumez | 3,043 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) DQ9 is a strange one, it's very popular among the series fans, but when it was released a lot of people were left unimpressed, or downright disappointed by it. I think that really ties into DQ8 winning over a lot of new fans to the series, and then following that up with a game like DQ9 probably left them feeling underwhelmed. The complete lack of actual characters over a completely player-generated party (similar to DQ3) was a bold move, and the game of course is overall much lower budget than its immediate predecessor. It's really a good game, but it's another one I maybe wouldn't recommend playing first, if you're planning on playing more of the series anyway.IMO DQ3 and DQ6 are probably the best games at demonstrating the core Dragon Quest experience without too many unique ideas of their own. DQ6 is divisive one, a lot of people don't like it much, but in my opinion it might be the best of the series, if not at least top 3. Edited June 4, 2021 by Sumez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagusSmurf | 577 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) I've played the original English versions (U.S. release when possible, best patched version when not) of the first nine games and the GBC remakes of the first three. Also a few of the spinoffs. (Monsters, Monsters 2, Monsters: Joker, Rocket Slime) Reasonably good series with great monster designs, good music, and generally good exploration and progression. Enjoyed all of the main series games I've played aside from the terrible first two but the remakes made even those sort of okay. VIII was the best DQ I've played. Have a lot of nostalgia for GBC III too but not sure I could defend that one being 2nd. Replayed the first three on NES earlier this year as part of a big NES push, just beat III this week: https://www.videogamesage.com/forums/topic/6172-the-2021-backlog-challenge/page/19/?tab=comments#comment-197205 Currently on IV. Really appreciating some of the interface improvements from III. All hail the return of the Door command. As good as this franchise generally is (past the first few anyways) at trying to make each game's episodic Local Medieval Crises and the characters involved in them interesting, it has often not really bothered at producing interesting main plots and party members. That was acceptable for the NES era (and even there IV has the Chapter system to make it more memorable) but after that it causes the games to feel lacking there compared to their contemporaries. VIII was a solid step in the right direction there and in terms of production values (and it got decent sales and recognition in the west because of it) but then it took them over a dozen years to give it a worthy follow-up (or so I hear; haven't gotten to XI yet). Other general issues: The Dragon Quest battle system is basically fine but (for obvious reasons) ultra-typical. And it's kind of strange how every DQ game with a job or skill system past the original version of III post-dates FFV but none ever really did it better. For all the hype about V, I felt it more had a good idea and framework than was actually a great story in itself. The total lack of effort on giving party members dialogue or making the time between big moments feel meaningful kill a lot of its potential, though I guess the remakes could help some in filling in the details. Monster recruitment is pretty whatever, too. If you just casually take whatever you get offered it works fine at filling out your party but it fails as a system you're actively involved in because it's based entirely on random chance and there's no way to determine which monster species are even recruitable without a guide. Three-person parties was also kind of questionable. VII's length and some other aspects of its design are totally ridiculous. Sumez touched on some of this. Hope you don't ever miss a shard somewhere! I still liked it but if someone told me they hated the game I'd pretty much have to say "yeah fair enough, it kind of deserves it." It's also pretty ugly but there's a remake now I guess. Edited June 4, 2021 by MagusSmurf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,043 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, MagusSmurf said: the terrible first two DQ2 is one of my favourites What's so terrible about it? I kinda agree on DQ5. Like you said, the "later" DQ titles feels a little off coming from its contemporaries, especially the Final Fantasy series, because it focuses very little on party members and individual characters. And... that's honestly perfectly fine. It's just not the focus of the games, it's more about the exploration the world building, and the little vignettes you come across on your way. But in DQ5, the focus is actually on your party members, but they still don't really get any real dialogue or character moments (outside of the first act anyway), which makes the whole thing fall a little flat to me. I still like the game, but I don't think this approach fits the Dragon Quest series as well as other people seem to. Edited June 4, 2021 by Sumez Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagusSmurf | 577 Posted June 4, 2021 Share Posted June 4, 2021 7 minutes ago, Sumez said: DQ2 is one of my favourites What's so terrible about it? https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/587248-dragon-warrior-ii/68911703 also I think I spent like a third of my playtime just grinding in Rhone by the final save point. Getting through the Cave to Rhone in the first place was already kind of tedious but at least once you knew what you were doing there it felt like a reasonably reachable (if requiring a bit of luck) goal. Grinding in Rhone was just boring. also also it just didn't do too much to appeal to me personally or differentiate itself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted June 7, 2021 Author Share Posted June 7, 2021 (edited) It would be sweet to see a DQII remake... Edited June 7, 2021 by avatar! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRobot | 5,868 Events Team · Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 Pretty sure it's Dragon Warrior you's guys. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 For @FenrirZero I love the music to Dragon Quest - among the most canonical video game music ever! Over the years, there have been a LOT of DQ soundtracks, and these are my favorite, all part of their Symphonic Suite arranged albums. Interestingly enough there have been different orchestras over the years that have performed DQ music, I think the best releases are the ones show in the picture which are performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The exception being DQVIII which is performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. These are out of print, and can get very pricey. The DQ III soundtrack for example is quite rare and hard to find. Now, you can find a copy on ebay for $25 if not less - but, it's a bootleg! Yup, over the years these video game music was notoriously bootlegged. Anyway, thought I'd share! 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,975 Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 Well given the weird overseas niche of it all, if $25 is a great deal vs an original, I'd be happy with the boot if they're nice quality copies. It's the music that matters, and Enix isn't getting paid on it on that format anymore. No need to grease a skeezy wheel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,043 Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 I've seen the DQ3 on vinyl at a somewhat affordable price, and considered snatching it a few times. It has probably my favourite orchestral soundtrack out of the entire series (especially compared to the in-game versions which tbh I'm not that fond of - Sugiyama was clearly composinig with a full orchestra in mind). Though with the new customs laws starting next month, it's probably too late for me to consider investing in one now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted June 15, 2021 Author Share Posted June 15, 2021 back in the day... which was just a few years ago 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted June 16, 2021 Author Share Posted June 16, 2021 19 hours ago, Tanooki said: Well given the weird overseas niche of it all, if $25 is a great deal vs an original, I'd be happy with the boot if they're nice quality copies. It's the music that matters, and Enix isn't getting paid on it on that format anymore. No need to grease a skeezy wheel. Thing is, I feel that if you support bootleggers then you encourage them to steal, pirate, scalp... all these things that make collecting difficult! So rather than support bootleggers, I say save up and look around if you're looking for the CDs, or just listen to the music on youtube - but please don't support scalpers/bootleggers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capn_RDM | 9 Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 On 6/15/2021 at 2:28 PM, avatar! said: back in the day... which was just a few years ago Still kicking myself for not picking up VII when it was consistently available at BB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,043 Posted June 21, 2021 Share Posted June 21, 2021 Don't worry about it, the PS1 version is better You can also softmod your 3DS and get the European one, it's dirt cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagusSmurf | 577 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Finished Dragon Warrior IV NES replay. Hero/Ragnar/Alena/Cristo party that was almost always on Use No MP (if you’ve used Cristo enough, you’ll know why!) pretty well trivialized most of the mid-to-late sections of Chapter 5. Was generally much easier muscling through than trying to deal with the spellcasters’ AI. Brey has his moments early on and Mara was great against Keeleon and Balzack but with the AI how it is they didn’t seem quite worth it. Cristo wasn’t really that great. I mainly kept him around as an extra MP battery for out of battle healing that was seldom needed, but better safe than sorry. He was still consistently contributing in battle at least. His presence also prevented me from ever again having to deal with Antidote Herbs, he could revive Hero if one of the enemies managed to kill him, and with the AI on Defensive his in-battle spellcasting was actually relevant and helpful in the final fight in particular. Talloon might have been better in most circumstances though. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,043 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 11 minutes ago, MagusSmurf said: if you’ve used Cristo enough, you’ll know why! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MagusSmurf | 577 Posted October 7, 2021 Share Posted October 7, 2021 Oh hey, composer Koichi Sugiyama died. Thanks for all the music. I liked it, a lot of it was pretty good. Apparently you were kind of an ass about letting the good versions of your music get used in overseas releases of recent games? Hopefully your replacement is better there. In general wish you had been a better person to go along with your musical accomplishments. Oh well! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted September 7, 2022 Author Share Posted September 7, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki | 4,975 Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 If I remember right it's the latest chapter of Dragon Quest Monsters franchise so I'm pretty confident I'd grab this. They've been trolling on social media pretty hard this game like it was going to come out anytime but it has some wait to go yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makar | 2,029 Posted September 7, 2022 Share Posted September 7, 2022 I’m still holding out hope that they’ll make a dragon quest monsters joker 4 and another rocket slime game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted September 28, 2022 Author Share Posted September 28, 2022 Cover art - I wonder if they plan to release some Collector's Edition? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumez | 3,043 Posted September 28, 2022 Share Posted September 28, 2022 Aw I was hoping for XII news. This still looks cool though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aguy | 777 Posted January 14, 2023 Share Posted January 14, 2023 A demo was released on the eShop yesterday for DQ Treasures. It's pretty short but you get some bonus items and your save carries over. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aguy | 777 Posted September 25, 2023 Share Posted September 25, 2023 A demo for DQM3 was Shadow dropped last week, go download it now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox | 1,708 Posted September 26, 2023 Share Posted September 26, 2023 What happened to that DQ3 remake that was using the octopath engine? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avatar! | 1,855 Posted September 27, 2023 Author Share Posted September 27, 2023 20 hours ago, fox said: What happened to that DQ3 remake that was using the octopath engine? Dragon Quest III in HD-2D development “progressing quite steadily,” says Yuji Horii https://www.gematsu.com/2023/09/dragon-quest-iii-in-hd-2d-development-progressing-quite-steadily-says-yuji-horii Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now