darksnowman Posted March 10, 2012 Posted March 10, 2012 Joker 2 is £10 at Play.com/, buy , buy, buy! Do you no less! ...the temptation...
Grazza Posted March 13, 2012 Posted March 13, 2012 I've got myself into a muddle again with DQM: J. As I say, I've completed the main game, but the post-game is giving me problems. I keep re-Synthesising my monsters, but they don't seem to be getting stronger any more (they are Rank A). I've got a couple more questions on the Advanced Monster Scout Test to do, Rank S and X of the Battle Arena, and then the content after that. So, I just wanted to ask @Ike if it takes a lot more time to complete the rest? I don't want to give up now, but it's wearing thin.
Ike Posted March 14, 2012 Posted March 14, 2012 I've got a couple more questions on the Advanced Monster Scout Test to do, Rank S and X of the Battle Arena, and then the content after that. So, I just wanted to ask @Ike if it takes a lot more time to complete the rest? I don't want to give up now, but it's wearing thin. If you want to battle Solitaire then you have to do the Monster Proficiency test as well which is a bigger pain than the Battle Arena since it requires specific monsters. After you beat Solitaire you can then battle Estark and Captain Crow and that's pretty much it if I remember right. If your A ranks aren't strong enough it's time to move onto the S ranks Although they require quite a bit of Synthesising to get.
Grazza Posted March 14, 2012 Posted March 14, 2012 Thanks very much Ike. If you want to battle Solitaire then you have to do the Monster Proficiency test as well which is a bigger pain than the Battle Arena since it requires specific monsters. Yeah, that's a pain! I'm on Question 9, but so far the test has "encouraged" me to change my healer (a King Bubble Slime) into a Living Statue, which I don't think was a very good idea of mine. Now I need to make Malroth, which means fusing my Living Statue with a Demon-at-arms (which I'll have to make). Assuming I can manage to do that, do you think Malroth will make an OK healer? I've got the Uber Healer and Agility Boost III skills, it's just the MP I'm thinking about really. My attackers are a Buffalogre and a Golem, and at the moment I am not bad at scouting Gigantes, but that's because I've got three monsters with Psyche. I'm thinking of making an Atlas, but reluctant to make S Rank monsters in general if it means losing Psyche.
Ike Posted March 14, 2012 Posted March 14, 2012 Thanks very much Ike. Now I need to make Malroth, which means fusing my Living Statue with a Demon-at-arms (which I'll have to make). Assuming I can manage to do that, do you think Malroth will make an OK healer? I've got the Uber Healer and Agility Boost III skills, it's just the MP I'm thinking about really. He comes with the Healer skillset (upgrade to Uber Healer of course ) and has high MP and wisdom. His speed is a bit average so Agility Boost III (or Uber Agility Boost) would be a good idea (unless you your one of those crazy people how like healers going last :laughing). His attack stat is a little higher than his Wisdom so he can do some decent physical damage as well which is nice. He's probably not the best healer but he is a very good one.
Grazza Posted March 17, 2012 Posted March 17, 2012 So, I completed the post-game of DQM:J. Monster Arena Rank X Solitaire Estark Captain Crow Before that, I decided to knuckle down and level-up my monsters. Found a place where it's quite easy to Whistle for Liquid Metal Slimes, and just fought them over and over again. Got my Golem, Buffalogre and Malroth (healer) up to level 40-42, which proved plenty for all the subsequent battles. One thing I found interesting is that, though you may be tempted to gain the "Anti-Metal" skills, it is not necessary. My Buffalogre, for instance, had Attack III maxed-out. Combine that with an anti-metal weapon (of which there are least three in this game) and he can knock off approx 20 HP in one go (just with a normal attack), which is enough to defeat a Liquid Metal Slime. All the same, Metal Slash is still useful. Another thing I found surprising is that it's hard to Synthesis a Rank S or X monster with something else and keep its rank. They usually reduce to Rank A. Anyway, I remember buying DQM:J in GAME all those years ago at the same time as Dragon Quest V. I never thought I'd complete it (got stuck at Celeste Isle the first time), so it feels satisfying to have done so. I'm never going to like monster collecting games as much as proper RPGs, as I find them more confusing. However, I would still like to play another one on 3DS, I'm just not sure I have the energy for DQM:J 2 on the DS at the moment. I was tempted when it was £9.99, but the price has now gone up. I hope monster collecting is put back into the main Dragon Quest series (without Synthesis), as I think it was great in V and VIII. In the former, you simply replaced older monsters when you got a better one. In the latter, only certain monsters were scout-able, eg. three specific Golems, each with their own name, whereas in DQV you could collect as many as you liked but they were all generic. To me, VIII had the best system as you could aim for very specific teams. For example, collect those three Golems and they became "My Three Golems", with the opportunity to merge into a better one. So, let's hope for Dragon Quest XI, with a Monster Arena as good as VIII's (in fact, let's just hope the game is as good as VIII full stop!) In the meantime, I'm glad I have closure with the DS game, DQM:J!
darksnowman Posted March 18, 2012 Posted March 18, 2012 Well done, Grazza. Do you try the post game in every RPG? I usually reach the credits, breathe a sigh of satisfaction and tell myself I'll come back for the post game further down the line. I'm having a quick RPG detox at the minute after hitting them hard at the start of this year, after thinking I'd never touch one again after Xenoblade, lol. Reading about you playing DQM and giving it your seal of approval has bumped it up my priority list considerably but I won't be starting it too soon - I'm gonna play some realtime stuff for the time being. But then Infinite Space is needing played too... and Magical Starsign, a game that alongside Kirby and the Power Paintbrush, kicked off my DS backlog all those years ago. Oh, and Atelier Annie, Away Shuffle Dungeon, Contact, Etrian Odyssey III and probably more RPGs... the stupid style contest in DQ VI... there's more DQ IX... Golden Sun 3... The DS will never die.
Grazza Posted March 18, 2012 Posted March 18, 2012 Well done, Grazza. Do you try the post game in every RPG? I usually reach the credits, breathe a sigh of satisfaction and tell myself I'll come back for the post game further down the line. Hmm, I used to do it only if I really loved the game, but I think my compulsive side has taken over. Then again, if I didn't get into the game, I wouldn't even complete the main part. RPGs in which I've completed the post-game... Dragon Quest VI Dragon Quest VIII Dragon Quest IX Final Fantasy III ...And ones I haven't Dragon Quest IV Dragon Quest V (I defeated the post-game boss, but not in the required amount of turns) Final Fantasy XII Etrian Odyssey (everything apart from the final boss) ...And there are many I gave up on quite early, like The World Ends With You, Baten Kaitos and Xenoblade Chronicles. The odd thing about Dragon Quest Monsters is that I'm still not sure how much I like it (I couldn't score it); I just saw it as a challenge to master the gameplay after finding it very difficult initially. Let's say you're playing a normal RPG, you can tell when you're strong enough to finish the game because you start getting less and less EXP (generally at around level 40-50). With DQM, however, you could spend hours and hours piling on more skills. Where do you stop? It's very addictive! But yes, I don't know when I'm going to be able to give up on the DS. I keep telling myself "This is going to be my last game", but then there's DQM:J 2, and after that maybe I should have a look at Pokemon... I can only conclude that the DS itself is a compulsion!
Grazza Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 10 days since I completed the post-game of DQM... ...I just can't help myself!
-Dem0- Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 When are you going to start playing this @Grazza, I've got this, but I was thinking that I'd play it in the Holiday.
Grazza Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 Already started. First impressions: * Music and general tone are both good. Makes me wonder why DQ IX felt so unlike Dragon Quest (tonally speaking). Well, I say the tone is typically Dragon Quest, but actually it's a lot moodier and a little bit scary! * One of the early monsters has the "Materialist" skill set! Apart from healing, that's basically all my favourite skills in one group! * Some great use of the DSi's dual screen real estate (this is something I miss on the 3DS). Very cinematic. I have noticed the graphics seem a bit less smooth than DQM:J (less frames of animation?) and the overall story and setting is less appealing. But... I love it. Didn't take me any time to "get into", I've enjoyed it all the way so far.
-Dem0- Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 crud. you must seriously love this (DQM), I can't wait to play it now!
Grazza Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 crud.you must seriously love this (DQM), I can't wait to play it now! Ever since I played Dragon Quest VIII I haven't been able to get enough of the series. To my mind, no game has ever got the tone so exactly right as VIII and DQ in general. Not too serious, not too childish. It's never gratuitously violent and doesn't have blood or gore but still has things like swords and spears, monsters and fighting. But do I love DQM...? I think it might be obsession more than anything else.
-Dem0- Posted March 26, 2012 Posted March 26, 2012 I see, well I really want to get into DQ now. I've got DQ IV, V, VI, IX & DQMJ2 all to play this Holiday... and that's only part of the DS games in my backlog, let alone 3DS & Wii titles. There's at least 30/40 games that I need to play it's almost a joke. But hey, what are holidays for anyway?
Mr_Master_X2 Posted March 27, 2012 Posted March 27, 2012 Been playing this too! Try to find a Conklave or two on Treepidation! You'll be needing them if you plan on doing lots of synthing/levelling up (for defeating various metal slimes). It's a lot harder this time making X ranks as I can't rely on S/X ranks for free online because I can't get my darn DS to go online anymore... ^On note of that, remember monsters are different at night/day AND when there's a weather pattern on each level.
Grazza Posted March 27, 2012 Posted March 27, 2012 Been playing this too! Try to find a Conklave or two on Treepidation! You'll be needing them if you plan on doing lots of synthing/levelling up (for defeating various metal slimes). I scouted two after I'd read this, thanks. What is it about Conklaves that makes them good at that? Multiple attack? Anyway, this is a really gloomy game! By far the gloomiest Dragon Quest I've played. I'm a bit surprised DQM:J 2 is considered better than DQM:J. OK, I fully admit I found DQM:J a nuisance to play and had to start again before I completed it, and maybe DQM:J 2 is better if you're not familiar with the system. But if you have learned the system from DQM:J, then I think that's the better game. Certainly has a much nicer atmosphere. Not that I'm not enjoying DQM:J 2. It's great! There are lots of little improvements and things that have been tidied-up, like being able to see how far Skill Sets go and how many points you need to get certain skills. Also, things like retaining half your unspent skill points (the same as spent) instead of a quarter and being able to save anywhere you like. Heck, the whole game system is far superior and yet I'm not feeling it as much.
Mr_Master_X2 Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Yes, you get 4 attacks in one! Plus they have the "Early Bird" trait which allows them to always attack first. Also, they can equip all the metal weapons, making metal slimes/liquid etc. ridiculously easy to beat. The reason I suggested catching two is, is you get them both to level 20, then synth them together and you'll make a Conklave X. Quite a bit more powerful for your metal beating needs. Quite a few monsters can do this (slime/green dragon etc.). There's also XY versions, but both monsters have to be level 50 X's (a lengthy task...) I actually made one a few days ago! Metal tickets can easily be farmed. Just a heads up (not sure it's really a spoiler...) but the VANISH skill is actually an optional hidden ability on this game unlike the first game. This makes it way easier to sneak up on metal enemies.
darksnowman Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Heck, the whole game system is far superior and yet I'm not feeling it as much. Maybe just experiencing a bit of burn out seeing as you hopped pretty much straight from DQM:J to the sequel. Take a break, man.
Grazza Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Nah, I'm hooked. Probably just haven't explained myself properly. I love the game, it's just the atmosphere is very, very different. DQMJ:2 is far more ambitious than DQM:J and you can tell. I'm sure it has a lower frame-rate, less than 30fps in all likelihood. I hope the one on the 3DS is 30fps or even 60fps. You might not think it matters much in this type of game, but it does when monsters like the Headhunter jump around so much!
darksnowman Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 * Some great use of the DSi's dual screen real estate (this is something I miss on the 3DS). Very cinematic. Just going back to highlight this point. Its something I hadn't noticed with 3DS games until you mentioned it. Even playing FF III on the 3DS and having it at times stretch across the upper and lower screen didn't make me realise Mario and Zelda don't do it. It definitely added a feeling of grandeur to DS games.
Grazza Posted March 28, 2012 Posted March 28, 2012 Some of the monsters in DQMJ:2 are huge, especially on the XL. I actually wonder if widescreen is at all important on a handheld. It's OK if you have just the one screen, but with Nintendo's dual screen handhelds, I think 4:3 works better.
-Dem0- Posted April 9, 2012 Posted April 9, 2012 I think this bundle looks really nice, the 3DS not so much.
Grazza Posted April 9, 2012 Posted April 9, 2012 Good timing, @\-Dem0\-. I just completed DQMJ:2 in the last hour! I haven't got much to say about it really other than it was a very good game. The music in particular was beautiful and fully orchestrated. Some of the storytelling and staging was fantastic, putting big-budget games to shame. The 3D graphics put me right there in the story, which was moody and almost scary at times. There was one bit in particular that sent a chill down my spine and had me saying "bravo". Both of these things had me thinking "What the heck happened with Dragon Quest IX?" It was a great game, but lacking in terms of presentation.
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