Dragon Quest IV, V, VI: The Zenithia Trilogy

[darksnowman]

When it came to the marrige choice without hesitation I picked Bianca. I felt it was the right choice for my hero as they quested together when they were kids so they had that connection. Nera I'd just met and wasn't intrested in and as for Deborah, well no bitch tells me what to do so she can rot in her room for all I care. Stupid cow.

 

Im starting to get a little annoyed when at certain points my line-up keeps changing by throwing Bianca in it. I then have to manually switch everyone back which is becoming a hassle. Anyway to avoid this?

 

You're so fickle. I went for Deborah and never regretted it.

 

I don't think theres a way to quickly set up your party every time someone comes and goes. Think of how unweildy it is to buy, sell and move multiple items at once and the stuff with switching round your party fits in.

 

And don't worry about the Golem - there are loads of good monsters.

 

So true, there's heaps of decent looking monsters to try out. I didn't actively seek out a Golem but when I got one I started using it because, to me, it looked like something that was "typically Dragon Quest." :awesome:

[killer kirby]

I used Golem because he IS the best. have him equipped with falcon blade and he just goes through the enemies (of course thats only if you don't want the really rare monsters that you may get.)

 

Oh and Nera is the best out of the 3 only because she is the only one out of them I brought into battle.

[Hero-of-Time]

It sounds like you're too good at the game! I got the impression the monsters only want to join your party if you are much stronger than them, whereas it sounds like you are much further into the game for your Level than the designers expected. You should have had far more monsters wanting to join you than that.

 

If that is the case I better stop power levelling!

 

I reached my home town while I was at work last night, took me a while to get through those caves though.

 

I spoke with KK while playing Monster Hunter yesterday and I think he said I could find a Golem around where im at now. I spent my second break searching for one but couldn't find it. I did find a bunch of blue elephants, some hex creatures and stone golems...oh and a blue dragon which decided to join my team!

 

I may run into one yet in this area as I plan to spend a bit of time doing battles to get some cash together to afford the new weapons and armour that are available in my home town.

[killer kirby]

If not there then around Lofty Peak, sorry, just been a while since I played it >_<

[Hero-of-Time]

If not there then around Lofty Peak, sorry, just been a while since I played it >_<

 

I checked G-Faqs and it seems that Lofty Peak is the place for Golems, guess I will have to progress further into the game then.

[Hero-of-Time]

Well just 1 week left before DQ IX hits and im still not finished this. I can't seem to put a good session in on it as other games are distracting me but im going to have to pull out all the stops if I want to get it done and dusted before next Friday.

 

I have just skipped another generation and I now have my kids with me, little scamps look great. That was the last thing I done so when I get back on it methinks I will go see if I can get ahold of this Golem KK keeps raving on about.

 

I have to say I loved the little scene where I became king and the DQ theme kicked in. Fantastic.

[S.C.G]

I just managed to pick up Dragon Quest : The Hand of the Heavenly Bride for £26... I'm assuming this is a good buy given the ammount of gameplay value the game apparently holds, I don't know if I shall play it right away but I just got so into Dragon Quest IX that I wanted to see what the previous games are like.

[Grazza]

That was the last thing I done so when I get back on it methinks I will go see if I can get ahold of this Golem KK keeps raving on about.

 

I don't disagree with him that it's a good monster, it's just that it's not worth going out of your way for, as you should bump into loads of them anyway. Also, you're a good player, so I'm sure you could complete it with many of the monsters. Personally, I like orcs, cyclops, that sort of thing, as well as the dragons, because they can breathe fire without using any MP.

 

I just managed to pick up Dragon Quest : The Hand of the Heavenly Bride for £26... I'm assuming this is a good buy given the ammount of gameplay value the game apparently holds, I don't know if I shall play it right away but I just got so into Dragon Quest IX that I wanted to see what the previous games are like.

 

Nice one! The price is a little bit steep, but handheld games have always cost a fortune after they go out of print. In terms of how good the game is, it's definitely worth that. Not to knock Dragon Quest IV, but V is the better of the two DS remakes, as "Party Talk" is in it (you can talk to your party about what's happening and where to go), the music is brilliant, the story is epic and, personally, I thought the gameplay was better too.

[killer kirby]

I don't disagree with him that it's a good monster, it's just that it's not worth going out of your way for, as you should bump into loads of them anyway.

Yes it is

Thats why I highly suggest a golem, it's perhaps the easiest to get and they are reliable and they are basically a giant that goes through everything like all the enemies were babies

 

Not to knock Dragon Quest IV, but V is the better of the two DS remakes, as "Party Talk" is in it (you can talk to your party about what's happening and where to go),

Don't diss Dragon Quest IV because of that, it's thanks to the genious of Square-Enix US, they thought it would be a good idea to get rid of the chat system in Dragon Quest IV, which funny enough had perhaps the greatest character personalities in the series. So when I heard they got rid of it, I was truuuuuuuly pissed off too a great extent, and because of not only me, but most of the Dragon Quest community was truly pissed off as well luckily Square-Enix heard the cry and couldn't diss the party chat in DQV (I bet if no one complained we would not have gotten voice chat in DQV either)

[Grazza]

Yes it is

Thats why I highly suggest a golem, it's perhaps the easiest to get and they are reliable and they are basically a giant that goes through everything like all the enemies were babies

 

It doesn't have very good critical hit potential though (unless I'm wrong), therefore it's not much good for fighting metal enemies. I'm playing Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker (a massively complicated game, if ever there was one), and I'm noticing the themes and skills they give the different monsters is quite consistent through all the games. In Dragon Quest VIII, for example, I could never win Rank S in the Monster Arena with My Three Golems, because they're unreliable for critical hits. I much prefer the Gigantes. However, of course I would recommend picking up a Golem in Dragon Quest V, as it's available long before the Gigantes.

 

Don't diss Dragon Quest IV because of that, it's thanks to the genious of Square-Enix US, they thought it would be a good idea to get rid of the chat system in Dragon Quest IV, which funny enough had perhaps the greatest character personalities in the series.

 

Yeah, but presumably S.C.G. would pick up the US or European version, so that's what's available. It's not like I don't recommend IV, I just think V is better. Hopefully they'll remake all of them for the 3DS (or PSP2). I'd buy them again.

 

So when I heard they got rid of it, I was truuuuuuuly pissed off too a great extent, and because of not only me, but most of the Dragon Quest community was truly pissed off as well luckily Square-Enix heard the cry and couldn't diss the party chat in DQV (I bet if no one complained we would not have gotten voice chat in DQV either)

 

Well, thank you for that then! Maybe people are right to complain in general, if they think a game is less than it should be...?

[Hero-of-Time]

Progress report!

 

Firstly I caught that Golem KK was on about. I didn't really have to go look for him as I was doing some grinding around Lotfy Peaks and ran into loads. He seems to level up slower than the rest of my team but his stats are stupidly high so its no biggie. Still can't find this blade your on about yet.

 

Speaking of my team, at the moment it consists of me, my son, Golem and Slime Knight. My son is a total hard case as he has a great range of spells and can use all of the Zenithian gear, which is a nice bonus. The only problem is that with this team no one seems to know the spell Sap. I may have to replace one of them unless someones learns it at a higher level?

 

I came across what seemed to be a sidequest boss, his name was Bjorn and he gave me a tanning. He kept casting buff on himself and then knocking my teams defense down. He then kept getting 2 turns in a round which basically destroyed me. His defense got too high and I couldn't do much damage to him.

 

I decided to carry on with the story and went about doing a bit of levelling up. I grinded for a few hours in Talon Tower as it has an enemy in there called Belhibs which drop a good amount of cash. I saved up enough money to get all the gear from Faerie Lea's shops and decided to trek back to Bjorn.

 

My team was in their mid 30s apart from Golem who was level 20 odd. I started the battle with a few buffing spells and then kept the Slime Knight for single healing and my son for multiple healing. He kept pounding with debuff and eventually it wasnt worth trying to buff my charcters back up. With not having anyone with sap the attle went on for ages as I was only taking small chucks off HP off him but eventually he fell and not too soon as everyone was out of MP!

 

Feeling great I set off back to Talon Tower and went about fighting Bishop Ladja. He wasn't that difficult but again he had strong defense and without a Sap user the battle went on for quite a while. Once he fell I got myself a dragon to ride on and then called it a knight.

 

I can't be far off the end now and was wondering what level was everyone's characters at for the final battle? Just so I know what amount of grinding needs to be done. Only a few days left til IX, I wonder if I can make it in time?

[Debug Mode]

Holy crap, didn't realise how rare Hand of the Heavenly bride is these days..

 

Recommend it to a friend, he can't find it anywhere used, new in stores and the only online stockists that have it still sell it for near full price.

 

Very glad I picked this up on day 1..

[S.C.G]

^ This is why I picked it up for about £26 on eBay while I could as it was literally one of less than a handful of copies on there, will probably play it at some point soon after I've played a bit more of DQIX.

[darksnowman]

I came across what seemed to be a sidequest boss, his name was Bjorn and he gave me a tanning. He kept casting buff on himself and then knocking my teams defense down. He then kept getting 2 turns in a round which basically destroyed me. His defense got too high and I couldn't do much damage to him.

 

Ah Bjorn, good times. He pwned me a few times as I was too stubborn to leave and go level up, lol. What I did was leave him and then return much later in the game. He still took a good while to defeat but it felt good to see him fall.

 

You should complete it for DQ IX- just hope you aren't burned out.

[Hero-of-Time]

You should complete it for DQ IX- just hope you aren't burned out.

 

No danger of that, I can't wait to get my hands on IX!

 

I've just used all 3 rings and arrived at Precaria. I'm off to work now so I will do some grinding while on my break, just around the town area.

[Ike]

I came across what seemed to be a sidequest boss, his name was Bjorn and he gave me a tanning. He kept casting buff on himself and then knocking my teams defense down. He then kept getting 2 turns in a round which basically destroyed me. His defense got too high and I couldn't do much damage to him.

 

I heard a lot people say he was tough, but I found him to be pretty easy.

 

The Zenthian Sword can remove his buffs. I think you should have it by now?

 

[Grazza]

Firstly I caught that Golem KK was on about. I didn't really have to go look for him as I was doing some grinding around Lotfy Peaks and ran into loads. He seems to level up slower than the rest of my team but his stats are stupidly high so its no biggie. Still can't find this blade your on about yet.

 

The Falcon Blade? I think you might have to win it or buy it at the casino.

 

The only problem is that with this team no one seems to know the spell Sap. I may have to replace one of them unless someones learns it at a higher level?

 

Do any of them know Helm Splitter? I prefer that because it's a non-magical way to lower defence. Of course, it only affects one enemy (unlike Kasap), but it's totally reliable.

 

I heard a lot people say he was tough, but I found him to be pretty easy.

 

The Zenthian Sword can remove his buffs. I think you should have it by now?

 

[spoiler=]Indeed, I forgot about that. S.C.G., you can use it as an item, that's how it removes enemy buffs.

 

[Hero-of-Time]

I found the Falcon Blade at the mini medals place. I didn't want to trade them though as 2 more medals and I can get a pretty cool shield.

 

Is it just me or is everything near the end of the game stupidly expensive? I had a look at the weapons and armour on offer and I need a massive amount to upgrade everyone and most the fights only offer around 400 gold when I win. At this rate I will never finish this by Thursday.

[Grazza]

Is it just me or is everything near the end of the game stupidly expensive? I had a look at the weapons and armour on offer and I need a massive amount to upgrade everyone and most the fights only offer around 400 gold when I win. At this rate I will never finish this by Thursday.

 

It's not just you - money is the only thing I have to grind for in Dragon Quest. Other than that, the games flow beautifully (IV and V anyway). If you really want to finish it quickly, maybe just stick to the items that have good elemental and magical resistance, like Dragon Mail etc?

[Hero-of-Time]

I've managed to get to the final boss but I left the dungeon before I fought him to heal up and restock some stuff. My hero is lvl 40, my son lvl 38, daughter lvl 37 and golem lvl 28.

 

Its a bit of a kick in the nuts that there is no save point just before the boss. I mean the dungeon you have to do to get to him is pretty long and I imagine I will use a fair bit of magic for healing when I make my way back through it.

 

I will probably do some more grinding while im at work and possibly some more tonight, then have a stab at him in the morning. Im off to look for some more Elixiers as I hear the revive spell works wonders against him.

[Grazza]

The area before the final cave is fantastic for levelling-up - lots of metal slimes, and all the enemies give good EXP anyway. It might be worth trawling that area with a Gigantes and an Orc, both equipped with a critical hit weapon. I found this to be a brilliant way to level up.

 

As for the boss being at the end of a difficult dungeon, yes, that's true, but what's that blue-bottled thing called that gives you your MP back - a Magic Potion or something like that? Take a lot of them with you, do your healing, fill up on that and you're as good as new.

 

Can you take your wagon too? Put a couple of Cureslimes or Healslimes in that, and they can do your healing for you.

[Ike]

Can you take your wagon too? Put a couple of Cureslimes or Healslimes in that, and they can do your healing for you.

 

Pretty sure you can call the Wagon in the final area where the boss is with an item. Maybe you can use different characters to travel through the cave, then switch to your final team before the boss encounter.

[Hero-of-Time]

 

I took a stab at the boss last night as I couldn't be bothered to level up anymore and he was such a pushover. Oh, and what the hell is up with the font they decided to use for him?

 

The first form I just kept casting Insulate with my son and then Oomph with my daughter. Once that was done I had eveyone attacking apart from my daughter who I had keep using the Sage Stone.

 

The second form was a little more tricky. It was pointless casting my stat raising spells as he kept throwing distruptive wave at me so I just left my daughter for healing duty. Again I kept my son casting Insulate whenever it got took of us and then just basically attacked with everyone else. I cast the lightining spell with my son at times as it took off a good chuck of his health. It was a very disappointing end battle TBH.

 

I wasn't keen of the cutscene at the end either as I like to sit back and enjoy the end sequences but I had to move around from town to town myself.

 

Overall I enjoyed the game but I think I liked IV better than this one. I wasn't keen on the monster taming aspect of the game and there seemed to be ALOT more grinding involved in this one aswell, especially if you wanted some decent equipment.

 

Bring on IX!!

Edited July 21, 2010 by Hero-of-Time

[killer kirby]

I wasn't keen of the cutscene at the end either as I like to sit back and enjoy the end sequences but I had to move around from town to town myself.

 

Thats one of the charms to most of the Dragon Quest games, even when you beat the last boss you can have that last hour just to see and say farewell for that grand epic quest that you went through as you finally settle down.

[Debug Mode]

WHERE IS MY DAMN RELEASE DATE S-E? lolz