Dragon Quest I, II & III are heading West on September 27th!

[Hero-of-Time]

10 hours ago, drahkon said:

Yes, I did appreciate the experience but sometimes...can't believe I'm about to say this...sometimes the grind has to stop

 

[drahkon]

Pff...in order to progress you sometimes have to stop doing something you love

[darksnowman]

On 27/01/2021 at 9:52 AM, drahkon said:

Pff...in order to progress you sometimes have to stop doing something you love

Like progressing with unlocking the Avatar state.

Been playing DQ II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line off and on since the turn of the year (I got it for a few quid in the Christmas/ January eShop sale). It's a nice, relaxing, comfort-foody sort of game which I think I've played exclusively on Sunday nights before the real-world grind of another week begins.

Last night I put it on for the first time in a while and it took me a minute or two to remember where I was going. No logs to check in these oldies. It was a tower on the west of the map that I needed to go back to--I say back to because I remember slogging over there before and not having the necessary item to progress. Oops, but trekking there and back before means I'm over-levelled for the time being which helped me plough back there and progress with the needed item I'd collected the last time I played. 

Immediately after, I got the boat and ventured out to sea. The old man I got the boat from told me exactly where to go, but the implications didn't click with me because it'd been a while since I last played and I'd forgotten the names of the opening towns and castles. For some reason, I just thought I was being nudged back to the starting area to show off the party of adventurers I'd now put together, and would receive further instructions there.

It is an open secret, up there with what happens in FF VII, that:

Spoiler

The world of Dragon Quest I is in DQ2. 
 I suppose I was right in remembering that Tantegel, where I was sent, is the starting area... just the starting area of DQ I!

I was totally blindsided that this was the moment in the game it would happen. Then, as I sailed in for a peek at the neighbouring landmass I was like   and went straight to the castle to see what it was like!

So cool. Discovering this back in the day must have been amazing to experience.

[Hero-of-Time]

I've been a bit burnt out with gaming this month. I finished 3 games early on in the month and then just couldn't bring myself to play anything else. I managed to snap out of that mood over the weekend and decided to carry on with my adventure on Dragon Quest III. It took a while to get into it again after taking a break for a couple of years. I didn't have a clue where I was at but I didn't want to start it again as I had already put in 10 hours. Anyway, the credits rolled this evening and the adventure of Adam, Ike, Grazza and Jonnas is finally over.

Spoiler

I'll start off by saying that this is my least favourite Dragon Quest game that i've played. There was a certain charm and simplicity to the first two games but I think it's lost here. The game doesn't really give you that many clues as to where you need to go and as such I found myself having to consult walkthroughs a lot of the time. This wasn't great either due to the some of the name changes made to the different versions.

I'm usually not a fan of JRPGs that allow you to customise your party with different jobs and that was still the case here. I kept reading about how you should switch classes in order to maximise your stats but I honestly couldn't be faffed with it all and instead done my own tried and tested method of grinding the hell out of the game. This meant that no job switching was needed and everyone just stayed the same class throughout the whole game.

In classic JRPG fashion, the last castle was a nightmare to get through. You have to make your way through huge areas and tackle multiple bosses before you get to the final fight. Thankfully, this version of the game has a save anywhere function. However, that still didn't help me during the final battle as I had used too much MP on my way to the fight. I had to evac out of there, heal up and then make my way through the castle again, except this time I ran from all the battles and made regular saves in case things went pear shaped.

I still found the game to decent, it just doesn't match the greatness of the other DQ games that i've played. I'm hoping that when the 2D-HD version arrives that there are some QoL features that helps players navigate the world without needing to look up where to go. 

Another DQ down and that just leaves me with DQVII and DQVIII to complete and then i've finished them all. I'm in no hurry to play them though, especially VII.

[Ike]

Wait, you haven’t finished VIII before?

[Glen-i]

15 minutes ago, Ike said:

Wait, you haven’t finished VIII before?

Holy crap, is that true, @Hero-of-Time!?

Save it for last. Out of the ones I've played, (everything except the first 3 and 10), that's my second favourite. 3DS version is generally the better of the two in my eyes, because of two extra party members for more flexibility, and better loading times.

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Ike said:

Wait, you haven’t finished VIII before?

Crazy, isn't it? Back when I played it on the PS2 I got pretty far (check the DQ VIII thread in one of the other boards) but I ended up dropping it for some reason. I still have the PS2 version and the 3DS version so there's really no excuse.

[Jonnas]

On 19/04/2022 at 5:53 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

I'll start off by saying that this is my least favourite Dragon Quest game that i've played. There was a certain charm and simplicity to the first two games but I think it's lost here. The game doesn't really give you that many clues as to where you need to go and as such I found myself having to consult walkthroughs a lot of the time.

That's fair. I love the open-endedness at that point, but I can see how it can become too much. It also doesn't help that the ocean prison is so difficult to run into, even when you know what to look for.

On 19/04/2022 at 5:53 PM, Hero-of-Time said:

I kept reading about how you should switch classes in order to maximise your stats but I honestly couldn't be faffed with it all

Hm, that's some pretty odd advice. The only class-changing in this game involves a promotion to "Sage" after Level 20, and it's a straightforward upgrade for mages/clerics, anyway. If there is any other kind of class change, I don't think I ever found it.

[Hero-of-Time]

5 hours ago, Jonnas said:

That's fair. I love the open-endedness at that point, but I can see how it can become too much. It also doesn't help that the ocean prison is so difficult to run into, even when you know what to look for.

Hm, that's some pretty odd advice. The only class-changing in this game involves a promotion to "Sage" after Level 20, and it's a straightforward upgrade for mages/clerics, anyway. If there is any other kind of class change, I don't think I ever found it.

At Alltrades Abby you can change your jobs once at level 20. It's not so much a class change but more about switching jobs in order to maximize stat growth and have a wide range of moves at your disposal.

Edited April 21, 2022 by Hero-of-Time