Support NeoGAF

[Karu]

13 hours in. Last boss at least made me pay attention as

Spoiler

there are three, one after another - automaton island. Took a bit, because of MP shortage and one hit-kill on Ruff

As mentioned before, the way they make you dig a little for certain character resolutions after the main story ended or similiar things is fascinating to me. Really love that.

Spoiler

Specifically talking about ELLIE and Autonomys here, where you have to go the back of the castle to get his little scene with the princess

Enjoy this game so thoroughly I'm already hooked on the franchise. It's just bumms me out I have to rely on the Android Ports as that plattform doesn't hold my attention for long usually in regards to long videogames (FF Tactics, FF V e.g.). Will see... But also interested in Heroes for cheap and eventually Builders.

 

[Chesskid1]

my theory on the first character you meet when starting battles

Spoiler

maeve is maribel from the future and the two graves are the protagonist and kiefer

lets see if im right! grinding outside the village atm

 

[Aeana]

13 hours in. Last boss at least made me pay attention as

Spoiler

there are three, one after another - automaton island. Took a bit, because of MP shortage and one hit-kill on Ruff

As mentioned before, the way they make you dig a little for certain character resolutions after the main story ended or similiar things is fascinating to me. Really love that.

Spoiler

Specifically talking about ELLIE and Autonomys here, where you have to go the back of the castle to get his little scene with the princess

Enjoy this game so thoroughly I'm already hooked on the franchise. It's just bumms me out I have to rely on the Android Ports as that plattform doesn't hold my attention for long usually in regards to long videogames (FF Tactics, FF V e.g.). Will see... But also interested in Heroes for cheap and eventually Builders.

Why do you have to rely on the Android ports? You have a 3DS, it plays DS games.

 

[Slaythe]

I'm stuck. I tried googling but getting spoiled left and right...

So gaf need your help again.

The woodcutter. I need his help. He doesn't say anything but " ohohoh " like beginning of the game. I probably missed a trigger somewhere but I'm tired of the back and forth.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

Why do you have to rely on the Android ports? You have a 3DS, it plays DS games.

The DS games are hard to find, especially if he wants to get V or VI.

 

[LunarKnite]

It really is the small little touches that Dragon Quest adds to the world that make me love this series so much. Like you can't stay at the inn in your home island because it's your home, but you do get to sleep in your own bed for free. And

Spoiler

when you go to Ballymolloy in the present, there's all these flowers likely from the ones planted at the graves.

 

[Karu]

Why do you have to rely on the Android ports? You have a 3DS, it plays DS games.

Well, just wanted to come back to edit, but yeah... "...at a reasonable price", heh.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Check the 'story so far' section. It tells you the reason why. Follow it as you progress.

Just made to the second island and I still don't have an answer to my question. I checked Story So Far and talked to all NPCs.

Help?

Spoiler

I know that she was mad at her people because they betrayed her brother. But I don't know why she kidnapped all women, and women only.

 

[Aeana]

Well, just wanted to come back to edit, but yeah... "...at a reasonable price", heh.

Amazon had DQ5 for $28. That's a reasonable price considering how great it is.

 

[Arkeband]

my theory on the first character you meet when starting battles

Spoiler

maeve is maribel from the future and the two graves are the protagonist and kiefer

lets see if im right! grinding outside the village atm

Your answer:

Spoiler

This is Dragon Quest, not LOST.

However there are some decent plot twists later on, just don't expect them for a while.

 

[Kinsei]

Just made to the second island and I still don't have an answer to my question. I checked Story So Far and talked to all NPCs.

Help?

Spoiler

She hated the villagers for leaving her brother to die and that hatred eventually turned her into a monster. She was doing it all out of revenge. The reason she had a change of heart is because she saw a bit of herself in Patrick.

 

[Stratosphere]

About a couple hours into it as my first DQ game, and so far its great. My very first impression out the gate was basically "Damn, this game is charming af". I think the updated graphics have also contributed to the charm.

 

[Karu]

Amazon had DQ5 for $28. That's a reasonable price considering how great it is.

Not living in the US tho. While they do ship certain things to mainland Europe (where i wont be for the next year as living in Korea right now) I think those cheaper prices are from third party sellers. But thanks anyway though. As I have plenty to lay right now I can deal with that a lil bit later either way.

 

[Velcro Fly]

You can get the DS games relatively cheap from Amazon either from Amazon itself or used through Warehouse Deals. Of course the mobile versions of IV-VI are perfectly fine but if you'd prefer the DS versions, they are available.

(this is US Amazon btw)

 

[LunarKnite]

Spoiler

She hated the villagers for leaving her brother to die and that hatred eventually turned her into a monster. She was doing it all out of revenge. The reason she had a change of heart is because she saw a bit of herself in Patrick.

That doesn't answer why

Spoiler

she specifically kidnapped just the women.

 

[Timeaisis]

Should I be buying equipment or will I get some through the story? I've only just got

Spoiler

Hanlon

to temporarily (?) join my party.

I'm still using sticks for swords lol.

 

[SkywardBeam]

Fuck I started the game in german by mistake and now Kiefer is called Gismar (and the bag "Beutel" but whatever). Is the dude that lets me change names still in this?

I don't know why, but they changed more names in the German version. Kiefer is Gismar, his father is King Sigmar and the hero's uncle is called Hoki instead of Pike. But why? I can understand Kiefer, but the rest...

 

[Kinsei]

Should I be buying equipment or will I get some through the story? I've only just got

Spoiler

Hanlon

to temporarily (?) join my party.

I'm still using sticks for swords lol.

Buy gear.

 

[MoonFrog]

Should I be buying equipment or will I get some through the story? I've only just got

Spoiler

Hanlon

to temporarily (?) join my party.

I'm still using sticks for swords lol.

I used the sticks til after that dungeon and then bought some copper swords. Used those throughout the next island. I got some daggers from chests to upgrade Maribel's gear.

Think I also bought some leather armor and one shield.

 

[Mejilan]

A bit late to the discussion. But I think the reason that trees and shrubs in the overworld pop in and out the way they do is that they're just 2D sprites. It seems like it's only the 3D geometry that fades in and out of view. Bit janky, but not the end of the world.

That doesn't answer why

Spoiler

she specifically kidnapped just the women.

You are allowed to read between the lines.
My take was that

Spoiler

she specifically harbored hatred for the men of the village because they chickened out of supporting her brother and consequently got him killed. She wanted them to suffer, but harbored no ill will towards the women and girls. She took them and put them into a kind of limbo with no suffering and no bad memories. She didn't punish the women by abducting them. She punished the men by taking their wives and daughters, forcing them to tear apart their homes, and basically leaving them to rot in false hope.

 

[Mejilan]

Should I be buying equipment or will I get some through the story? I've only just got

Spoiler

Hanlon

to temporarily (?) join my party.

I'm still using sticks for swords lol.

If you can afford the cash, gear upgrades can make a big difference in DQ. Not necessarily every single upgrade you see, but certainly if you're skipping one or two town's worth of upgrades.

I wouldn't rely on the temporary NPC party members to coast through content.
I WOULD, however, use those same temporary members to speed up gold farming, if you're running low on cash.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

I beat the 3rd and I'm level 14-16

That's generally what level you'll be when you unlock class changing so that's really high. Might want to chill out on the leveling considering the job level caps.

 

[Gravijah]

I bought Style Savvy: Fashion Forward over this.

I'm sorry.

 

[WonkyPanda]

What's the general length of the game?

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Should I be buying equipment or will I get some through the story? I've only just got

Spoiler

Hanlon

to temporarily (?) join my party.

I'm still using sticks for swords lol.

I bought a bamboo spear for Maribel and I think mallets or something for Kiefer and MC. Don't grind for equipment. Just buy what you can afford. If you can't afford much, save it till the next town. You'll have plenty by then. Save your money if you don't see a noticeable upgrade in stats. If it adds 1-2 points and costs like 300 gold, just ignore it, continue on your way and wait for better gear in the next town.

 

[Brandon F]

What's the general length of the game?

Took me about 130-ish hours on the PS1 to do everything, but granted that was without the help of various progression assists that the 3DS version offers so expect less here, significantly less if you don't bother with all of the optional stuff.

 

[enoirmeplz]

Amazon had DQ5 for $28. That's a reasonable price considering how great it is.

If you don't mind buying used you can get it from GameStop in the states for ~25 or less. Use the code CAG16 to get 16% off. Worked on IV-VI. Each came to ~$19 w/ PowerUp Pro account discount.

 

[Biske]

I also enjoy Maribel as a character, but holy hell does she waste magic like a MOFO. "Fight Wisely" should include not being wasteful, not casting "Bang" until she runs out of MP.

Just had to get that off my chest, I guess...

Carry on.

Look man, Maribel doesn't screw around. She is gonna fire ball your ass, and she is gonna fire ball it hard, all the time, every chance she gets.

 

[MegaManTrigger]

I bought Style Savvy: Fashion Forward over this.

I'm sorry.

The only appropriate reaction:

 

[Neoweee]

Amazon had DQ5 for $28. That's a reasonable price considering how great it is.

You can get the DS games relatively cheap from Amazon either from Amazon itself or used through Warehouse Deals. Of course the mobile versions of IV-VI are perfectly fine but if you'd prefer the DS versions, they are available.

(this is US Amazon btw)

The mobile versions are $15, and I think an improvement over the DS versions. The constant Auto-Saving and faster text speed are nice pluses.

 

[Oxn]

The mobile versions are $15, and I think an improvement over the DS versions. The constant Auto-Saving and faster text speed are nice pluses.

Yea but touch screen controlling is so horrible. I couldnt get further thatn like 6 hours in dq6 because moving was such a chore.

That and dq6 was pretty mediocre as far as dq games go.

 

[Eusis]

I mean I guess it could have just been a long series of dialog scenes that last 2 hours like The Best RPG Ever, Persona 4, but that's not Dragon Quest.

Ah hahaha, I wish. Doing Golden it took over 4 hours, it really does make DQVII look better in hindsight given you'd get through the intro and the first area in that time frame without it being all talk.

Anyway, for that first area, anyone remember if in the PS1 version let you

Spoiler

use the doll against Matilda/Maeve to end the fight there? I tried to check but only saw that you could give it to the boy when revisiting the graves.

 

[TurnipFritters]

I appreciate the tablet dungeons as a concept, but I feel like I won't be spending as much time in them as I did with DQ9's grottos since they're just stitched together from already existing environments that you already have to traverse two or three times each.

 

[gblues]

Nintendo gonna Nintendo, the drinking in the (2nd island)

Spoiler

Emberville/Engow Fire Festival

was changed to tea. :eyeroll:

Worth it tho.

 

[Heropon]

The overall plot is advancing a bit (fourth area in trouble):

Spoiler

The characters now suspect that someone powerful is behind the bad events happening in the past and I got the fourth party member. The present animal town is full of animals again and I'm intrigued, also because there are other people in the island but the other part is out of reach. Good thing to know that the present islands have more than "return to the local dungeon to get more fragments".

 

[Mercador]

Just bought it but my daughter took it from my hands damn... Oh Well

 

[Conan-san]

She's a spell caster.

And I'm sure when she can do that on a regualr basis she'll be great but this is hour one into the game proper and she needs not have a to hit penalty in the stratosphere and a shit weapon dice.

 

[Eusis]

Nintendo gonna Nintendo, the drinking in the (2nd island)

Spoiler

Emberville/Engow Fire Festival

was changed to tea. :eyeroll:

Worth it tho.

Is this something that the main characters were partaking in? Because the back of the case says "use of alcohol" so either they weren't being fooled by that or other instances of "they're clearly drinking alcohol" (which should really curb such ridiculous behavior but ah well) or they wanted to avoid a very particular area many are still wary of touching and have probably gotten more skittish about if anything over the last few decades.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

And I'm sure when she can do that on a regualr basis she'll be great but this is hour one into the game proper and she needs not have a to hit penalty in the stratosphere and a shit weapon dice.

She doesn't have a hit penalty, she just has low strength.

You do know that a "miss" in Dragon Quest is just another way of saying their attack power is too low to overcome the enemy's defense power right. It's different from when the enemy actually dodges your attack(a different message will come up for that)

 

[Eusis]

She doesn't have a hit penalty, she just has low strength.

You do know that a "miss" in Dragon Quest is just another way of saying their attack power is too low to overcome the enemy's defense power right. It's different from when the enemy actually dodges your attack(a different message will come up for that)

. . . You learn something new everyday.

 

[Conan-san]

She doesn't have a hit penalty, she just has low strength.

You do know that a "miss" in Dragon Quest is just another way of saying their attack power is too low to overcome the enemy's defense power right. It's different from when the enemy actually dodges your attack(a different message will come up for that)

Ah, See DQ 9 had misses, doges and "Hit but wasn't strong enough to be of note" so I was expecting that.

She's not really earning her keep (or her right to mouth off) right now. Like I said, when she can pull spells off with enough regularity then fine. Early game she's a nuisance.

 

[Mejilan]

In RPGs, dedicated mages are usually glass cannons that only pay off later, when they have enough spell variety and resources to put down consistently high DPS. Like DQ7 in general, they can be slow burns, but typically more than earn their way if you stick with 'em.

Maribel is a great character long before she becomes an asset in combat. But once she does, she's just that much better. Also, drop a decent number of levels (enough to finally boost her strength to a relatively relevant point) and give her multi-hitting weapons (such as whips) and she starts to really become useful against mid to high numbers of trash mobs, allowing her to save her resources for the fights that really matter. Again, it's a slow burn.

 

[Velcro Fly]

Once you can get a weapon beyond the default stick she is fine. Bamboo spear is 50g really early in the game and it gives her plenty of damage output to help whack things down. Even better if you do your grinding with a guest in the party.

 

[SuperSah]

I'm at the volcano part now.

 

[magnetic]

I'm at the volcano part now.

The boss is hilarious.

 

[gblues]

Is this something that the main characters were partaking in? Because the back of the case says "use of alcohol" so either they weren't being fooled by that or other instances of "they're clearly drinking alcohol" (which should really curb such ridiculous behavior but ah well) or they wanted to avoid a very particular area many are still wary of touching and have probably gotten more skittish about if anything over the last few decades.

Yeah. No doubt that's why. The skeevy uncle is still clearly an alcoholic so it's not like they went the Gandia route (which replaced all alcohol with coffee).

 

[TurnipFritters]

Man this game really showers you with money compared to the original, huh. I think the only time I haven't been able to buy exactly what I wanted was the Leather Dress right before the volcano.

 

[Cindi Mayweather]

Ah, See DQ 9 had misses, doges and "Hit but wasn't strong enough to be of note" so I was expecting that.

She's not really earning her keep (or her right to mouth off) right now. Like I said, when she can pull spells off with enough regularity then fine. Early game she's a nuisance.

All DQ mages are like this. She gains mp at a fast rate. She's a Mage. Mages have low strength. Mages early on in DQ about defense (debuffing), healing, and occasional offense. She's there for supplemental support. Most enemies at the beginning die at 13-16 hp. If Kiefer and MC does 10 hp damage and Maribel does 1-3, she can likely kill it without wasting a turn. You should be conserving her mp as much as possible and using it when you need it, but she's hardly useless and has the most powerful attack of early game. This isn't FF where mp isn't much of an issue and you can cast spells all day and night. That doesn't make Maribel useless.

Man this game really showers you with money compared to the original, huh. I think the only time I haven't been able to buy exactly what I wanted was the Leather Dress right before the volcano.

Disagree. Money has been light for me. At volcano and level 7.

 

[Velcro Fly]

Played for about 6 hours straight. Game is very good and very fun. Need to take a break though. Maybe play some more tonight.

I'm even more sad now that they didn't do a strategy guide for this game. I think it could have been really a cool thing. Builders getting one but not this makes me sad.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

I bought Style Savvy: Fashion Forward over this.

I'm sorry.

Don't be sorry. Style Savvy is a great game. I haven't bought the new one yet but the last one was amazing.

You are allowed to read between the lines.
My take was that

Spoiler

she specifically harbored hatred for the men of the village because they chickened out of supporting her brother and consequently got him killed. She wanted them to suffer, but harbored no ill will towards the women and girls. She took them and put them into a kind of limbo with no suffering and no bad memories. She didn't punish the women by abducting them. She punished the men by taking their wives and daughters, forcing them to tear apart their homes, and basically leaving them to rot in false hope.

Oh too bad we don't have an official answer. But your interpretation makes sense.