Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

[Hero-of-Time]

I played it purely as a single player game and loved it. Its definitely worth your time. Also, if you wanted the extra content, I'm pretty sure there's a workaround to get DLC working on DS games.

[Glen-i]

11 hours ago, Jonnas said:

Is the game good in its own right without all of that multiplayer stuff?

Absolutely, the only thing I'll say is that once you get to the tavern, you can use it to create the other three members of your party.

You would not believe the amount of times I've seen people overlook this and play through most of the game with one character.

[Hero-of-Time]

@Jonnas here's how to access the DLC, despite the severs being dead for years.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/937281-dragon-quest-ix-sentinels-of-the-starry-skies/77723677

[Dcubed]

Holy necrobump! Now here’s a game I’ve not seen in a loooooooong time.

Yeah, DQ9 is perfectly fine in single player.  I mean… it’s still a Dragon Quest game, so you know what to expect.

Only things I’ll note is that this game features the Tension system introduced in DQ8, as well as Grottos which are… well… basically Mystery Dungeons! After all, the Mystery Dungeon games were originally a spinoff from Dragon Quest, so it’s just coming full circle here

I do think that the game is better in multiplayer, it’s the only DQ game I’ve ever fully completed because the co-op multiplayer elevated the experience so much for me; but otherwise in single player? It’s pretty much your standard Dragon Quest fare with a couple of small wrinkles here and there (most notably the Tension system, the Alchemy Pot and the Grottos).

As for the online/DLC stuff? It’s still very much accessible, since it was always built into the cartridge and just merely unlocked by going online.  Getting your DS online in 2024 is dead simple, the only real issue is dealing with the DS’ ancient WEP WiFi security settings (but if you’re only connecting online for the few seconds it takes to unlock the DLC stuff, turning off your WiFi security for a minute or two shouldn’t be an issue).

Edited March 20 by Dcubed

[Jonnas]

Thank you for the replies Decided to go ahead and buy it.

22 hours ago, Glen-i said:

Absolutely, the only thing I'll say is that once you get to the tavern, you can use it to create the other three members of your party.

You would not believe the amount of times I've seen people overlook this and play through most of the game with one character.

Oh, just like Dragon Quest III. That's really neat.

20 hours ago, Hero-of-Time said:

@Jonnas here's how to access the DLC, despite the severs being dead for years.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/937281-dragon-quest-ix-sentinels-of-the-starry-skies/77723677

Cheers! I have no idea when I'll play this, but it sounds like it can be done on the 3DS as well

Incidentally, if it were just a few quests and equipment pieces, I wouldn't care too much, but I see that there's also a series of extra optional bosses, and that sounds very appealing, especially for this series.

20 hours ago, Dcubed said:

the only real issue is dealing with the DS’ ancient WEP WiFi security settings (but if you’re only connecting online for the few seconds it takes to unlock the DLC stuff, turning off your WiFi security for a minute or two shouldn’t be an issue).

Does a mobile hotspot using phone data also work?

Edited March 21 by Jonnas

[Dcubed]

8 minutes ago, Jonnas said:

Does a mobile hotspot using phone data also work?

Some people have apparantly gotten it to work, but I've never been able to get it working myself.

YMMV basically.

FWIW, DSi enhanced games (of which DQ9 is not one of them) are able to use the more contemporary WPA security settings, and those games work just fine with a modern router.  Have been able to play those games online with zero issues.

Edited March 21 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

36 minutes ago, Jonnas said:

Does a mobile hotspot using phone data also work?

Yeah, I think people in the Gamefaqs thread I linked were using their phones rather than faffing about with their router settings.