dragon quest

DJRI · 07-04-2006, 09:40 AM

dargon quest came along way up and now is on ps2 with such a cute controller lmfao and people love it what do u have to say to this

Kenshiro · 07-04-2006, 01:23 PM

I have to say welcome back, Dragon Quest. The series just doesn't get enough props outside of Japan, even when we got four of them stateside (and I own all four) These games were inspiring me well before Final Fantasy established itself.

The first one is almost unplayable now, but still had a great premise and was so basic that you could see the effects of every new weapon you spent hard-earned gold on (and it WAS hard-earned) and each level gained. 2 and 3 were just great games, period, and 4 was amazing. 7...whew. It's hard to pick it back up after a lull, that's for sure. (Where's that other shard go now? Who's this person speaking to me?) I've been told 8 did a better job with its job system than 7, but 7 looks like it could easily be a 150-hour game if I ever get around to it.

Malev · 07-05-2006, 09:58 PM

8 didn't have the job system. It was more of customizing you characters by udgrading their weapons profficiency or a special personal stat (Hero's Courage, Jessica's Sexyness, etc.). Mostly, this was to gain special attacks, magic spells, or extra damage rather than change their stats.

Revolver Koala · 07-05-2006, 10:58 PM

I've only played the original DQ (in its incarnation as Dragon Warrior) and DQVIII. Honestly, I didn't like either very much at all; the first one being simplistic and not aging very well is very much understandable, since it was the pioneer of its genre, but I didn't like DQVIII at all. It seemed like all I did was slog through a bunch of fighting with a super mediocre plot to give me an excuse to be running around smashing a bunch of monsters. I mean, the slime controller is awesome, but... What am I missing that makes this series so popular? I found it unrelentingly pedestrian.

Opethian · 07-06-2006, 09:07 AM

Dragon Quest was the first RPG i ever played in my life on NES it was amazing (then Final Fantasy came out and it was even more!)

Dragon Warrior 2 was a nice addition with control of more than one character and more monsters i always adored the artwork

Dragon Warrior 3 was my favorite for the longest time, you could choose the role of your party members, the story was awesome, the game was fairly long

Dragon Warrior 4 can you say NPCs? the caravan idea was pretty cool although i felt the game was short but the graphics were a notch up from the previous by a bit

Dragon Quest 5 this game was graphically bad for a snes game, it had a pretty good story and the optional boss was a nightmare i still havent played the remake on PS2 for this yet but i plan on soon

Dragon Quest 6 i think this is the best game on the series, i love the idea of the dream world its kinda like how chrono cross had the serge/lynx story line
the animated monsters is a big plus and the spells!! this story is also probably the best

Dragon Quest 3 remix take my favorite NES rpg and animate the monsters, spells, and upgrade graphics, also they added the board game areas to get some awesome equipment and added more armor and weapons, this game is a must have!

Dragon Warrior 7 this game was long but the story was great the combat was also classic! this game didnt need FMVs like most PSX RPGs it was classic i loved it! the ending was also great

Dragon Quest 8 i still havent finished this game but so far i like it im up to almost the final Dhoulmagus fight, i like the combat, the story is decent, cant wait to check out the ending, the game feels like its going to be pretty short tho

the only dragon warrior/quest game i dont own right now is DW2 which i lost in the 80s but if you like any of the games i highly suggest you check out a rom or 6 and the remix of 3 (the game boy color version of 3 is also the remix)

*Eggman* · 07-06-2006, 12:43 PM

DQ8 is a masterpiece. 70 hours or so to finish.

It's a bit slow to start but it takes off after a certain point. If you can't just enjoy the game for the pure charm that it has, I don't know what to say.

MidnightRecession · 07-06-2006, 08:00 PM

I played 8 for about an hour and couldn't get past how much I hated the art.

:/

zhek · 07-07-2006, 08:11 AM

8's gameplay is just too much of a throwback to be that interesting. There's a point where you can't just stand on legacy and pretend that that's great gameplay. I wasn't ever a big fan of Akira Toriyama's art style to begin with, so that didn't do anything for me. But even Chrono Trigger has more gameplay depth then DQ8 seems to have, so to be so far behind the curve AND have artwork I don't care for... Eh.

Being particularly LONG doesn't mean anything. There are many great long RPGs. And maybe DQ8 has some nice elements. But 70+ hours of tepid gameplay isn't that amazing. I might not like his style, but it's relatively smooth looking. I can't knock it for that. But again, it comes down to an archaic RPG system, with a few modifications. It feels rediculously close to Dragon Warrior for a game that new.

Revolver Koala · 07-07-2006, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zhek

It feels rediculously close to Dragon Warrior for a game that new.

That was my problem with it. It looked shiny and nice, but I felt like I was playing a game that was much, much older, and not in a nostalgic sense but in the sense that it hadn't changed too much since the original. The voice acting was annoying, too.

*Eggman* · 07-07-2006, 12:33 PM

Honestly, I never even bothered to think about how "archaic" or whatever the battle system was. I just shut up and enjoyed the game and it never stopped being fun. Battles never lasted very long and the difficulty in boss battles kept things interesting enough. Not to mention that, after the first arc, the game does get much more interesting.

And what the hell, the game had easily some of the best voice acting in video game history. I seriously cannot understand how anyone could ever say that any character aside from King Trode had bad voices. They were absolutely PERFECT.

That's not even speaking about the fantastic writing, the amazing music or how great the game looked. In my eyes, the game's only fault was how long load times could be.

zhek · 07-08-2006, 06:06 AM

And I'll maintain the bulk of the battles felt like a holdover from one of the first RPGs I ever played. Yeah, it looks nice, the VA was fine, but the story's pretty simple and the gameplay is a pretty minor leap from the FIRST in the series, considering.

Toastyohs · 07-08-2006, 09:52 PM

DQ8 was one of the few rpgs I've played to completion in my lifetime. I don't understand why, either. Everything that throws me off and makes me quit playing other RPGs was present in DQ8, yet there was something that just kept me going for the entire 88 hours it took me to complete it.

I don't know what kept me going through all the turn based battles, 20-30 minute trips just from town to town, and a difficulty that shoots up really high in the middle of the game. Even with all that, I loved the hell out of this game.

Syxx · 07-12-2006, 07:53 PM

I like all of them except for 5, I couldn't get into it. Oh and the preview movie for the new Dragon Quest game (where you play as a slime) was so funny because of the cut scenes. I saw them previewing it on G4 and I was laughin my ass off the whole time. I really want to play that game. The guy from Enix said it was a 2d zelda style game.

dog$ · 07-12-2006, 09:16 PM

I appreciate Dragon Quest for how it presents itself and how it maintains its own style through time, as well as the emphasis on what your role is within the game's story.

The battle system is fine because it's straightforward and only as flashy as it needs to be. I don't need to spend 5 minutes to watch Knights of the Fucking Round every goddamned time I use it just to confirm that I hit people for 9999 hit points of damage. The longest battle effect in a DQ game lasts no more than 10 seconds, and that's how it should be. Fights are quick, and that's how I'd want it to be. People need to understand that if you're looking for a complex battle system, you're never going to find it in a Dragon Quest game. "Ever".

Then there's the complaints about the DQ stories and, well, there's two main points I always have:

1) Storylines in videogames are still universally garbage, so DQ's no different in that regard.
2) The function of storyline in DQ is much more passive compared to other RPGs.

If I can make a comparison to Final Fantasy in this regard, I think the main emphasis is that the most important exposition and development in FF is who you are, whereas with Dragon Quest the most fundamental point is what you do.

Think about it - every FF game is full of inter-character dialog, plot twists that all hinge on what the characters do, etc. Meanwhile, the world that surrounds the players of FF is secondary if not unimportant. When an FF game ends, the elements of storyline that are last mentioned and resolved are what the characters say to each other.

Meanwhile, in DQ, the characters have relatively little to say to each other and each individual character has little development beyond their stereotypes. Rather, a much higher amount of character interaction comes with the numerous quests that you encounter as you progress through the game. When you end a DQ game, you revisit the places you've been to before and the NPCs there show the impact your presence has made, i.e., the role you have played in their part of the world.

Drama has its appeal, so I can see why a given FF game might seem to have a "deeper" storyline than a given DQ, but I insist that the way in which a DQ game has its story and world unfold around the player is more engaging than watching the development of the people who do so.

Which goes to the other point, especially present in DQ8 - few if any other RPG series give you a sense of exploration than DQ. For comparison I bring up another game I love to shit on, Tales Of Symphonia; ToS has an overworld but in comparsion to DQ8 it feels tiny. One of the things I hated the most about FFX was that all character movement was done on preset paths - the element of exploration was basically removed. DQ games encourage you to go off of the beaten path and explore the world they've provided.

This is why I like DQ games - they present a world for you to truly get engaged with, a world where once you've finished the game you can look back at all the different regions and say to yourself "hey, I remember going there" and come to realize how much of a difference your party has made on the whole entity. Toss in better composed music than what Uematsu can put out, and you're good to go.

zhek · 07-14-2006, 04:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dog$

The battle system is fine because it's straightforward and only as flashy as it needs to be. I don't need to spend 5 minutes to watch Knights of the Fucking Round every goddamned time I use it just to confirm that I hit people for 9999 hit points of damage. The longest battle effect in a DQ game lasts no more than 10 seconds, and that's how it should be. Fights are quick, and that's how I'd want it to be. People need to understand that if you're looking for a complex battle system, you're never going to find it in a Dragon Quest game. "Ever".

I don't know why you bring up KotR and "complex" battle system, they're two different things. It's not that we miss long FMVs in battle sequences, it's that the game is only a stone throw away from being the same exact thing as the original Dragon Warrior in terms of what you DO in that battle. Short battles don't necessarily imply DW1 simpleness, it's just that DQ as a series can rely on it because it's part of what makes it DQ.

But again, in my opinion, it's not a better game for leaning on archaic gameplay... There are many good RPG storylines, most of them aren't console RPGs though... and even then, there's better then dirt simple. I really don't get it, you play a game you admit has a throwaway storyline for it's incredibly simple gameplay? It's not like it's a puzzle game here either... it's not like some super engaging simple as hell gameplay, it's just old RPG style...