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[KittenMaster]

I got the game a bit late so I just now started. I have to say I respect how they withheld a lot of gameplay in order to tell their story in the first hour of the game and respect the scenario they set up. I can only imagine that part wasn't well received in the west on PS1.

I just unlocked the monster dungeon chalice dungeon street pass thingies via a story arc

Spoiler

that was very sad

, but after getting a few hundred gold from the easiest one and a stat boosting item I decided I'm gonna hold off on playing these to avoid getting overpowered.

 

[Daouzin]

Did you get the one in the

Spoiler

outpost town before the castle on the robot island

, it's in a room full of pots.

The other red fragment is in the present after

Spoiler

you restore ELLIE. You have to talk to the man that helped you and then talk to his grand daughter. They are both in the barracks in the South East corner of the town.

I just unlocked the monster dungeon chalice dungeon street pass thingies via a story arc

Spoiler

that was very sad

, but after getting a few hundred gold from the easiest one and a stat boosting item I decided I'm gonna hold off on playing these to avoid getting overpowered.

I'm the same way, but I might tackle a few once I unlock job classes.

 

[thelooseteeth]

The stat-boosting items are one-time drops, also there is a built in mechanism to keep stats in check. You might notice stats that you boost significantly will get very few or zero points as you level up for a period of time.

 

[KittenMaster]

The stat-boosting items are one-time drops, also there is a built in mechanism to keep stats in check. You might notice stats that you boost significantly will get very few or zero points as you level up for a period of time.

I wasn't planning on grinding the stat items, but just doing a single monster dungeon quest gave a big reward (the chests had a lot of gold for this point in the game), and I assume there are a lot more that will become available so I just want to play the main quest normally before I get all of the extra rewards.

 

[Oxx]

My 3DS has turned itself off a few times recently (not while playing DQVII), so I'm playing tentatively.

Lots of trips to church.

 

[thelooseteeth]

...

That's understandable.

 

[goldenpp72]

So I'm kind of on the fence of quitting this game. I got to the part where you first 'gain' job classes, and since then I've just stopped having fun. It's like the game is taking pride in how much it can fuck with you. I progressed to the boss after saving the priest girl in the most annoying dungeon up to this point, only to die and get sent back all the way because there is never a damn save point.

Is this basically the game at this point? It's very clear the game has no respect for ones time, I want to finish but I'm not even sure what to do. Grind? Even more tedious when you have no powers :/

 

[Slaythe]

So I'm kind of on the fence of quitting this game. I got to the part where you first 'gain' job classes, and since then I've just stopped having fun. It's like the game is taking pride in how much it can fuck with you. I progressed to the boss after saving the priest girl in the most annoying dungeon up to this point, only to die and get sent back all the way because there is never a damn save point.

Is this basically the game at this point? It's very clear the game has no respect for ones time, I want to finish but I'm not even sure what to do. Grind? Even more tedious when you have no powers :/

Yo. The game tested me the same way.

I found out there was an unwinnable rng.

The boss can dazzle you every 3 turns which means you have no chance to win.

When I won he didn't use dazzle once...

I wasted 5 hours trying back and forth.

I'm gonna save your sanity, I thought quick saves disappeared if you loaded them.

They don't.

So save when you are under the priestess, in the puzzle room.

Once you do gain classes, go do the first Haven tablet mission. Easy class lvl up. Then abuse the game to make it pay for what it did to you.

 

[Heropon]

I don't know how I didn't catch this town's gimmick sooner when it's literally called

Spoiler

groundhog village (in the Spanish version at least) and there's a clock tower, and that always screams time loop. I think that bridge isn't getting inaugurated anytime soon.

 

[BGBW]

You can backup save files through several different means.

Such as?

 

[magnetic]

Not only does Maribel look absolutely adorable in the shepherd costume (the horns really fit her personality!), but putting enemies to sleep always looks hilarious.

Seeing those ugly vultures hanging their heads down while still flapping in the air cracks me up.

It's a bit of a shame that doing a leg sweep and have the enemies writhing on the ground doesn't show an animation, but doing that for any enemy would have just been too much. I'm already surprised they have unique sleep animations.

Are the status effects on enemies useful in this game? In some RPGs they can easily ignored and just be trumped by brute force, but I always liked the concept of manipulating the enemy in creative ways,like poison, sleep, confusion etc.

That's what I always liked about Pokemon, from what little I played - there are so many interesting ways to mess up your opponent.

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Are the status effects on enemies useful in this game? In some RPGs they can easily ignored and just be trumped by brute force, but I always liked the concept of manipulating the enemy in creative ways,like poison, sleep, confusion etc.

I like the 2-for-1 status effects better, but usually bosses get immune to that stuff as you go further. I haven't had Sap work on a boss for about 20 hours now, for instance.

As far as 2-for-1s (hits and attempts to apply status effect at the same time), one really helped me get through the part of the game I was whining about yesterday (very minor spoiler):

Spoiler

The Dream Blade (free from a chest) made the Worms of Woe in the final stage of saving Nottagen trivial.

 

[JebaćBiedę]

Emberdale, present. This boy lost something. Any clue?

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

Emberdale, present. This boy lost something. Any clue?

He gives you the clue: pay up at the present day fortune teller.

 

[Cob32]

So I'm kind of on the fence of quitting this game. I got to the part where you first 'gain' job classes, and since then I've just stopped having fun. It's like the game is taking pride in how much it can fuck with you. I progressed to the boss after saving the priest girl in the most annoying dungeon up to this point, only to die and get sent back all the way because there is never a damn save point.

Is this basically the game at this point? It's very clear the game has no respect for ones time, I want to finish but I'm not even sure what to do. Grind? Even more tedious when you have no powers :/

I'm well past that bit now but that's been hands down the hardest boss fight and worst part of the game for me so far.

What level are you? Just keep trying and pray for some good RNG on his blind all attack.

 

[magnetic]

I like the 2-for-1 status effects better, but usually bosses get immune to that stuff as you go further. I haven't had Sap work on a boss for about 20 hours now, for instance.

As far as 2-for-1s (hits and attempts to apply status effect at the same time), one really helped me get through the part of the game I was whining about yesterday (very minor spoiler):

Spoiler

The Dream Blade (free from a chest) made the Worms of Woe in the final stage of saving Nottagen trivial.

Ah, I see. Sap is usually something I always did on bosses, something I carried over from SMT. Seems I can't rely on that forever!

 

[nicoga3000]

Re: Tablets

How long does it take to unlock that feature for Streetpass after

Spoiler

the first island reappears?

 

[ActStriker]

Just finished L'Arca this morning, and got Ruff and

Spoiler

his ability to actually talk

. About 10 hours in.

 

[SuperSah]

Just finished L'Arca this morning, and got Ruff and

Spoiler

his ability to actually talk

. About 10 hours in.

For some reason that took me up to my 14th or so hour haha. I'm really slow.

 

[DaddyDonuts]

Just finished L'Arca this morning, and got Ruff and

Spoiler

his ability to actually talk

. About 10 hours in.

13 hours here!

 

[JebaćBiedę]

He gives you the clue: pay up at the present day fortune teller.

Stupid me. Thanks.

I love how the true winner of the whole Emberdale incident is... the Priest

 

[magnetic]

So I'm kind of on the fence of quitting this game. I got to the part where you first 'gain' job classes, and since then I've just stopped having fun. It's like the game is taking pride in how much it can fuck with you. I progressed to the boss after saving the priest girl in the most annoying dungeon up to this point, only to die and get sent back all the way because there is never a damn save point.

Is this basically the game at this point? It's very clear the game has no respect for ones time, I want to finish but I'm not even sure what to do. Grind? Even more tedious when you have no powers :/

Pro tip: You can do a quick save at any point in a dungeon, and it will be a permanent save, so you can reload it as much as you like.

It's not something that's obvious at all - it's not a single use suspense save. It just appears that way because it quits the game.

Really made the game much more enjoyable for me, especially once bosses get harder.

It's a pretty obtuse feature, but incredibly useful.

 

[SuperSah]

Pro tip: You can do a quick save at any point in a dungeon, and it will be a permanent save, so you can reload it as much as you like.

It's not something that's obvious at all - it's not a single use suspense save.

Really made the game much more enjoyable for me, especially once bosses get harder.

It's a pretty obtuse feature, but incredibly useful.

I wonder why they never explained this. I thought it was a single use save like y'know... all 'quick' saves?

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

Master Thief and Shepard and my slime heart count is already over 40. I need to find more tablets with heart dropping monsters.

 

[Elaugaufein]

Such as?

If you're using digital you can just back up the SD entirely. It's only trying to mix and match that invalidates, any clean SD can be used at any time.

 

[SuperSah]

Just finished the love story in the gardens.

That was a refreshing change of pace.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Such as?

TWLSaveTool if you have access to 3DS homebrew

NDS Backup Tool from a slot2 device on an original DS or DS Lite

r4i SaveDongle or other hardware to back up direct to a computer (I won't link these cause I'm not 100% on a great place to buy that but I have a savedongle and it works well for DS games)

 

[magnetic]

I wonder why they never explained this. I thought it was a single use save like y'know... all 'quick' saves?

It always seemed like a oversight to me and they just kept it in because people got used to it.

I believe it was indeed just a suspend save in IX?

 

[RPG_Fanatic]

Pro tip: You can do a quick save at any point in a dungeon, and it will be a permanent save, so you can reload it as much as you like.

It's not something that's obvious at all - it's not a single use suspense save. It just appears that way because it quits the game.

Really made the game much more enjoyable for me, especially once bosses get harder.

It's a pretty obtuse feature, but incredibly useful.

Good to know. I will have to remember this if I ever need to stop playing in the middle of a dungeon and want to turn off the system.

 

[Ray Down]

Where do I find the Mermaid Moon, is it in the next island I unlock?

 

[Heropon]

Interesting what they did after the architecture land.

Spoiler

Now I don't know how to call this place, past flower town 2?

 

[magnetic]

Good to know. I will have to remember this if I ever need to stop playing in the middle of a dungeon and want to turn off the system.

Yeah, it's also kinda hidden in the "misc" section. The menu structure most likely is the result of very small iterations reach all the way back, with the series being very traditional.

It doesn't work everywhere, though, which can also be frustrating.

 

[Arkeband]

The way they handle the save text is obnoxious.

Example:

Book lying on a table.

"Do you want to save your game?"
No.
"Are you sure you want to quit without saving?"
No.
Conversation ends.

Saying 'no' here implies you actually want to save but it instead just stops the conversation. Yet if you hit 'yes', your game shuts off.

I can see people making the wrong choice here and losing a lot of progress.

IIRC earlier DQ's would say something like "Do you want to continue without saving?" and then the cursor defaults to "Yes", which makes so much more sense.

 

[Blergmeister]

Don't forget that you keep all exp and items upon death, you just lose half of your on hand gold, but most of that should be in the bank, anyways.

Instead of using quick save as a pre-boss checkpoint I recomend to just tough it out an attempt or two, upgrading your equipment in town before attempting it again, hopefully with a higher level.

If a few rounds of this go by and you are clearly not getting any gains anymore (levels, no more upgrades in the store) then I'd try the quick save as a check point strategy

 

[RampagingSoul]

Just finished Emberdale (present) and about to go to the next island when I pick up the game sometime today. Still enjoying the game overall, been going at my own pace, interacting with everyone I see. Definitely has an old school RPG feel since it is one, but I think that is making me appreciate it more since I didn't really play much RPGs when I was younger besides Pokemon, Fire Emblem, a bit of Baten Kaitos and Tales of Symphonia. This game just has this charm to it that makes me want to keep playing.

 

[SuperSah]

Don't forget that you keep all exp and items upon death, you just lose half of your on hand gold, but most of that should be in the bank, anyways.

Instead of using quick save as a pre-boss checkpoint I recomend to just tough it out an attempt or two, upgrading your equipment in town before attempting it again, hopefully with a higher level.

If a few rounds of this go by and you are clearly not getting any gains anymore (levels, no more upgrades in the store) then I'd try the quick save as a check point strategy

Where are bank locations? I'm carrying 3k and I'd rather not lose half of that...

edit: found one in Estard

 

[aravuus]

The way they handle the save text is obnoxious.

Yeah, it's just so, so stupid. Really don't see the point.

But thankfully death is a slap on the wrist, so you really don't have to save very often. I save around once an hour on average if I had to guess.

 

[BGBW]

TWLSaveTool if you have access to 3DS homebrew

NDS Backup Tool from a slot2 device on an original DS or DS Lite

r4i SaveDongle or other hardware to back up direct to a computer (I won't link these cause I'm not 100% on a great place to buy that but I have a savedongle and it works well for DS games)

Thanks. I have my old 3DS still which is on an older firmware so I may look into homebrew for that.

The way they handle the save text is obnoxious.

Example:

Book lying on a table.

"Do you want to save your game?"
No.
"Are you sure you want to quit without saving?"
No.
Conversation ends.

Saying 'no' here implies you actually want to save but it instead just stops the conversation. Yet if you hit 'yes', your game shuts off.

I can see people making the wrong choice here and losing a lot of progress.

IIRC earlier DQ's would say something like "Do you want to continue without saving?" and then the cursor defaults to "Yes", which makes so much more sense.

'Quit without saving' is the action. Saying yes means you're happy to do that. Also, if I recall it will ask you a third time if you are absolutely sure you want to quit without saving.

 

[SuperSah]

Do all banks have your money or only the one you deposited with??

 

[TurnipFritters]

All banks, past and present. Don't think too much about how that works.

 

[Raven77]

Questions about this game from a total Dragon Quest noob. I still can't decide if this game is for me or not.

- I love classic fantasy settings, so I think I would like that about this game. I also like the art style.
- I loved, loved...LOVED Final Fantasy 9. Did I mention I loved it?
- I loved the battle system in Grandia 2 on Dreamcast.
- I like a good story but good gameplay and an interesting / charming world to explore would make up for a mediocre story.
- Idk if this would matter but i'm a huge N64 fan.

- I don't like lots of grinding or overly exhausting repetition. I just don't have the patience.
- I don't play a ton of JRPG's anymore. Not for any particular reason.
- I don't like games with minimal variety, whether its environments, enemies, equipment, etc.

Think I would enjoy it?

 

[Teriyaki Blues]

All banks, past and present. Don't think too much about how that works.

I just assumed that Dragon Quest banks possess the finest Time Lord technology.

 

[Pyrrhus]

I got the game a bit late so I just now started. I have to say I respect how they withheld a lot of gameplay in order to tell their story in the first hour of the game and respect the scenario they set up. I can only imagine that part wasn't well received in the west on PS1.

I just unlocked the monster dungeon chalice dungeon street pass thingies via a story arc

Spoiler

that was very sad

, but after getting a few hundred gold from the easiest one and a stat boosting item I decided I'm gonna hold off on playing these to avoid getting overpowered.

The opening non-battle story is actually much longer in the PS1 version. About twice as long in fact. You work on the boat, have more running around in town, a little more of your uncle being an awful human being, and a full no-combat dungeon underneath the shrine before you get to murder your first slime.

 

[Lothar]

Questions about this game from a total Dragon Quest noob. I still can't decide if this game is for me or not.

- I love classic fantasy settings, so I think I would like that about this game. I also like the art style.
- I loved, loved...LOVED Final Fantasy 9. Did I mention I loved it?
- I loved the battle system in Grandia 2 on Dreamcast.
- I like a good story but good gameplay and an interesting / charming world to explore would make up for a mediocre story.
- Idk if this would matter but i'm a huge N64 fan.

- I don't like lots of grinding or overly exhausting repetition. I just don't have the patience.
- I don't play a ton of JRPG's anymore. Not for any particular reason.
- I don't like games with minimal variety, whether its environments, enemies, equipment, etc.

Think I would enjoy it?

Almost certainly if you like classic fantasy settings. You've really been missing out by not playing DQ. There's no grinding. In fact you may want to run away to give it more challenge. There was no grinding in the original and it was made easier. About patience, are you prepared to go over a hour without a battle? I guess you are if you loved FF9 since that also had a long intro.

 

[BGBW]

- I don't like games with minimal variety, whether its environments, enemies, equipment, etc.

Would NPC character types being depicted with the same model (i.e. all young men characters have the same model) and some enemies being "palette" swaps put you off?

 

[Croc]

lol.

so I need a lil bit of guidance for something stupid.

I'm in (right after getting vocation change)

Spoiler

la bravoure doing the magic carpet stuff. I'm supposed to go back to the treasure room to check on that guy but I glanced away from my screen the first time when he was walking us there and I can't figure out how to get back...

 

[Formless]

My 3DS has turned itself off a few times recently (not while playing DQVII), so I'm playing tentatively.

Lots of trips to church.

I had a crash while playing and it totally deflated my motivation after losing an hour of progress.

 

[Raven77]

Almost certainly if you like classic fantasy settings. You've really been missing out by not playing DQ. There's no grinding. In fact you may want to run away to give it more challenge. There was no grinding in the original and it was made easier. About patience, are you prepared to go over a hour without a battle? I guess you are if you loved FF9 since that also had a long intro.

No battles don't bother me at all, as long as whatever i'm doing is engaging or fun. I am a huge exploration fan...HUGE. I mean, most open world games I barely even touch the story cause I like just running around exploring the environment.

Would NPC character types being depicted with the same model (i.e. all young men characters have the same model) and some enemies being "palette" swaps put you off?

No that wouldn't bother me too much unless it became excessive and distracting.

 

[SuperSah]

When you unlock islands, is it worth also checking out the other places on it or just the main place?

For example, modern day Green Gardens (?) and the interconnecting town - worth it or just move on?

 

[Skittzo0413]

Thank god you can change names.

Spoiler

Gabo is SO much better than Ruff

lol.

so I need a lil bit of guidance for something stupid.

I'm in (right after getting vocation change)

Spoiler

la bravoure doing the magic carpet stuff. I'm supposed to go back to the treasure room to check on that guy but I glanced away from my screen the first time when he was walking us there and I can't figure out how to get back...

Spoiler

Southwest corner of the town, it's a stairway hidden between a bunch of trees