Support NeoGAF

[UncleSporky]

So I'm in the town with the first casino. Anyone has some tips for me? No luck at the slot machine and pairs isn't my style. Had some luck with my first win at Poker and the double or nothing. But only the first time. Now I always have to find the cards which is higher than a Queen or King.

Maybe a late reply to this.

The card matching game is the best thing. If you clear the board and make every match, you get ALL those items, some of which sell for 6-10k. It only costs 5 tokens to play which is the equivalent of 100 gold. And it's super easy to win.

I spent an hour playing it and kept track of the items I was getting. Spent 2700 gold worth of tokens. Sold every item I got from it except stuff like herbs and manure, and earned 87,454 gold. That combined with previous wins was enough for me to outright buy 5000 tokens to get the best item available at this point in the game, not to mention all the awesome items you get from the cards alone. And that's just the first incarnation of the casino.

Here is a link to a Japanese app that will help you make notes on which cards are where.

Translations
Big button on the top left:
Reset

Pull-down menu translations, in order:
Temple of Dharma [Alltrades] (Past)
Temple of Dharma [Alltrades] (Present)
Coastal
Immigrant Village [Haven]
All casinos


Since the cards are all randomized, there's not really any reason to jump around on the board and pick random cards, just go in order from left to right, top to bottom.

Pick the free 6. Hopefully you don't get more than one match from that, it's actually bad to get matches from the free pick because it's less potential matches that you know about to pick up later. If you found one of the hands, congrats, either avoid the shuffler or pick up the free move once the game starts. Then just choose cards in order, making matches whenever you can. It's essentially a game of "how many can I make before I get the shuffler," that's the deciding thing on whether you'll win or lose the round.

But really you'll win often enough to make it very worth it.

 

[rpmurphy]

For the card matching, a good percentage of the time, the shuffle card and/or the free card will appear on the bottom row. Since the prices for plays go up in the second casino, it becomes more important to try to maximize the chances to:
1. Expose the shuffle card on the free 6 flips.
2. Avoid flipping a match on the free 6 flips.
3. Expose the extra flip card soon after if you do get a bad selection from the free 6 flips.

The best outcome from the free 6 flips is getting the shuffle card and 5 distinct cards.

 

[UncleSporky]

For the card matching, a good percentage of the time, the shuffle card and/or the free card will appear on the bottom row. Since the prices for plays go up in the second casino, it becomes more important to try to maximize the chances to:
1. Expose the shuffle card on the free 6 flips.
2. Avoid flipping a match on the free 6 flips.
3. Expose the extra flip card soon after if you do get a bad selection from the free 6 flips.

The best outcome from the free 6 flips is getting the shuffle card and 5 distinct cards.

Yeah I wondered about that. It was kind of uncanny how often that happened, if it is actually weighted toward that then you might want to expose the bottom 6 cards instead of the top 6 and work backwards.

But I won a lot working strictly top down too.

 

[zroid]

I can offer this at least-
Zeplings tablet cap is lvl 25
Nail blighters cap is lvl 30 if or no cap at all

yeah thanks. I knew about Zeplings but unfortunately m.c. and Maribel are 27 now (Ruff still 24 though). I don't think I have the Nail Blighters tablet yet, better find it.

 

[rpmurphy]

Yeah I wondered about that. It was kind of uncanny how often that happened, if it is actually weighted toward that then you might want to expose the bottom 6 cards instead of the top 6 and work backwards.

But I won a lot working strictly top down too.

Yeah, for the first casino, I just did the middle 6 and worked the outside cards and that was just fine, but the chances of finding the shuffle card in one of those were pretty low. I had to switch my strategy and keep tweaking it with the second casino since I wanted to keep it a money multiplier.

 

[Tizoc]

Thin air isnt as thin as the name implys guys

 

[The n00b Avenger]

Hey now no fat-shaming

 

[MoonFrog]

I think if they run away they are capped out and if they do the exclamation mark they are not.

 

[Tizoc]

Where the heck is bulgio? Do i gotta talk tompeople in the first island for him to spawn?

 

[ElFly]

Where the heck is bulgio? Do i gotta talk tompeople in the first island for him to spawn?

IIRC he is only available once you get the flying carpet

 

[Megawarrior]

Maybe a late reply to this.

The card matching game is the best thing. If you clear the board and make every match, you get ALL those items, some of which sell for 6-10k. It only costs 5 tokens to play which is the equivalent of 100 gold. And it's super easy to win.

I spent an hour playing it and kept track of the items I was getting. Spent 2700 gold worth of tokens. Sold every item I got from it except stuff like herbs and manure, and earned 87,454 gold. That combined with previous wins was enough for me to outright buy 5000 tokens to get the best item available at this point in the game, not to mention all the awesome items you get from the cards alone. And that's just the first incarnation of the casino.

Here is a link to a Japanese app that will help you make notes on which cards are where.

Translations
Big button on the top left:
Reset

Pull-down menu translations, in order:
Temple of Dharma [Alltrades] (Past)
Temple of Dharma [Alltrades] (Present)
Coastal
Immigrant Village [Haven]
All casinos


Since the cards are all randomized, there's not really any reason to jump around on the board and pick random cards, just go in order from left to right, top to bottom.

Pick the free 6. Hopefully you don't get more than one match from that, it's actually bad to get matches from the free pick because it's less potential matches that you know about to pick up later. If you found one of the hands, congrats, either avoid the shuffler or pick up the free move once the game starts. Then just choose cards in order, making matches whenever you can. It's essentially a game of "how many can I make before I get the shuffler," that's the deciding thing on whether you'll win or lose the round.

But really you'll win often enough to make it very worth it.

Thank you for this because I was not having fun on the slots even tho I won 1000 coins like 3 times in a row once

 

[Tizoc]

IIRC he is only available once you get the flying carpet

Ok found him and finished the next dungeon

 

[Megatron]

I'm at La Bravoure,

Spoiler

I am trying to find Honoure. He gave me the carpet,mint didn't work, so he left. Ruff says he is in the treasure room above the church but how do I get there? I see no ladders/stairs/tunnels. Any ideas?

 

[Nerokis]

Anyone know what affects magic damage in this game?

I thought it was wisdom, but according to a number of people on the internet, all that does is raise the chance to dodge spells? 20 hours in and I'm just realizing this.

 

[Akala]

I'm at La Bravoure,

Spoiler

I am trying to find Honoure. He gave me the carpet,mint didn't work, so he left. Ruff says he is in the treasure room above the church but how do I get there? I see no ladders/stairs/tunnels. Any ideas?

Look in the wooded area.

 

[KittenMaster]

Anyone know what affects magic damage in this game?

I thought it was wisdom, but according to a number of people on the internet, all that does is raise the chance to dodge spells? 20 hours in and I'm just realizing this.

IIRC, It goes by the D&D style saving throw system where magic can either be halved or not affect something but the actual magic damage is fixed for the most part.

 

[Nerokis]

IIRC, It goes by the D&D style saving throw system where magic can either be halved or not affect something but the actual magic damage is fixed for the most part.

Ahh, okay. Thanks for the info.

Now that I think about it, I remember this standing out during the mobile version of DQ1, as well. Guess I haven't noticed that damage is fixed because I've had Maribel set to not using magic 90% of the time.

 

[Megatron]

Look in the wooded area.

Oh Jeeze, how did I miss that? Lol. Thanks!

 

[ActStriker]

Addicted to pairs.

Send help

 

[Raw64life]

Just hit my first wall with cumulus vex. He's annihilating me. Maribel is my only character that had oomph and multiheal and

Spoiler

with her gone for the moment

it's making this fight impossible for me at level 23-25. I've gone 40+ hours without having to do any grinding but it looks like I might not have a choice now.

 

[Niraj]

Sorry if it's been said already, but there are two new tablets to download, Demon's Den and The Wild Woods. I wish you could hold more. I don't have enough room, so going to have to clear some out.

 

[goldenpp72]

Hey guys, I think I'm nearing the end but I'm a bit lost again. I just got the option to pick whoever I wanted to come with me and go beat up the monsters in the dark tower, but when I get there the door is sealed. The pillar guy said find the roamers but I can't. Any direction from here?

Also I don't intend on doing the optional stuff, if this is the end, would level 36ish be good enough for this battle or should I work out a bit. I'm at the 63 hour mark now.

 

[redcrayon]

Hey guys, I think I'm nearing the end but I'm a bit lost again. I just got the option to pick whoever I wanted to come with me and go beat up the monsters in the dark tower, but when I get there the door is sealed. The pillar guy said find the roamers but I can't. Any direction from here?

Also I don't intend on doing the optional stuff, if this is the end, would level 36ish be good enough for this battle or should I work out a bit. I'm at the 63 hour mark now.

Which dark tower are you referring to, have you [spoilers for after raising all islands]

Spoiler

woken the elemental spirits yet? If so and you mean the final dungeon, you need to approach it and touch it in the Godstone (now repaired) as you can only get in at the top. Have you tried talking to the King in Estard?

 

[goldenpp72]

Yeah I awoke them all but don't recall having a god stone. When I spoke to the king he gave me a speech about changing the world and that's it.

 

[redcrayon]

Yeah I awoke them all but don't recall having a god stone. When I spoke to the king he gave me a speech about changing the world and that's it.

Sorry, I meant the

Spoiler

sky stone flying thing, do you have access to that? Have you seen the cut scene where the spirits attempt to speak to the Almighty? That happens directly after awakening the water spirit. Then the black tower rises, and the next step after that is to get into it from the top floor using the sky stone. You should be able to see its icon to board it outside the gates of Estard town, or right next to you after you use Zoom.

Also, level 36 is plenty. I beat the final boss

Spoiler

on my second attempt at level 34, and choice of equipment, classes and items carried all mattered far more than the meagre stat increases from the huge amount of time it takes to level at that point. Its more important to level the class you want to use in the end battle. It's a long fight, I recommend magic water/prayer rings or having a healer class that can regain magic points.

 

[kromeo]

Does the game ramp up in difficulty at any point? I've just finished the

Spoiler

iasland with the automatons

and so far I think it's by far the easiest game in the series, the last boss I barely even had to heal. I've been ignoring the monster tablet things because I don't want to end up even more op..

 

[redcrayon]

Does the game ramp up in difficulty at any point? I've just finished the

Spoiler

iasland with the automatons

and so far I think it's by far the easiest game in the series, the last boss I barely even had to heal. I've been ignoring the monster tablet things because I don't want to end up even more op..

I found there was a difficulty increase in the boss fights around the last 3/4 islands, because at that point they start having a variety of attacks that hit all party members and tend to act twice a turn. Random battles never become challenging though.

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Use spoilers to discuss the END BOSS please?

 

[Sammy Samusu]

Got the

Spoiler

flying carpet

and found the mini coin castle. I though I'd get lots of rewards but I only got the poison dagger, lol.

 

[Tizoc]

Got the

Spoiler

flying carpet

and found the mini coin castle. I though I'd get lots of rewards but I only got the poison dagger, lol.

Ahem
They're called Mini Medals

 

[redcrayon]

Got the

Spoiler

flying carpet

and found the mini coin castle. I though I'd get lots of rewards but I only got the poison dagger, lol.

I kept dashing back there whenever I had enough medals, but don't think I ever got anything that made me go 'wow!'.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

Got the

Spoiler

flying carpet

and found the mini coin castle. I though I'd get lots of rewards but I only got the poison dagger, lol.

Ugh. I'm almost to that point and that would be incredibly disappointing.

I feel like I've been collecting Medals forever in this game compared to when I actually get to use them.

 

[balohna]

This automata island is a drag, I've gone back and forth all over because I assume I'm supposed to go to an area... but no, I had to talk to someone first THEN go there. Happened like 3 times to me. Even without that, so much back and forth.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

I kept dashing back there whenever I had enough medals, but don't think I ever got anything that made me go 'wow!'.

Miracle Sword is pretty nifty since it's like 25 points stronger than any other weapon at that point and it heals you. I always look forward to that one. Even the Roamer sword that you get at around the same time which is also really strong is a bit weaker.

Also most anything past 80 medals gives a pretty good reward

 

[Ricker]

So I started playing this,still in the first 2 villages,no combat yet but I started getting this glitch or maybe its a setting but everytime I go in a house and come back out,or the church,whatever,I am stuck at there is no one to talk to or something,I have to hit Y to move the cursor back to examine for me to do anything...remember last cursor or something of the sort I have to de-activate ?...really annoying.

 

[redcrayon]

Miracle Sword is pretty nifty since it's like 25 points stronger than any other weapon at that point and it heals you. I always look forward to that one. Even the Roamer sword that you get at around the same time which is also really strong is a bit weaker.

Also most anything past 80 medals gives a pretty good reward

Maybe I just wasn't looking hard enough for medals- I only got that just before the final dungeon, and at that point the hero and Mervyn were equipped with Metal King Swords.

 

[The n00b Avenger]

I always put top priority on getting nose for treasure so I know I never miss anything

 

[javadoze]

Just about to tackle the final dungeon.

For the most part, I quite enjoyed this game. While I don't know how I'd rank it amongst other DQ games, it has some of the best vignettes in the series. My biggest problem probably has to be the pacing and the tedium of the main gameplay loop (go to the past -> discover town's problem -> go to dungeon -> beat up boss -> day is saved -> go to present version -> collect fragments and maybe solve a new problem that popped up). Don't get me wrong, the mystery of what lies with the next island can be interesting, but the predictability of it after awhile can get a little draining (in particular, I started getting tired of it by Hubble, the backtracking in that one didn't help either). But I have to say things started picking up again when they shook up the formula after you finished all the islands and

Spoiler

had to revive the four spirits in the present and everything starts tying together into a central plot.

DQIX still remains my favorite from a gameplay standpoint, DQVIII the best presentation, and DQV with the best main story.

 

[Tizoc]

Ok i am lost
I finished nottegen past and now there are 3 tablets the game keeps telling me about
2 are in present whirlpool but how do i even reach it?

 

[Apple Turnover]

Ok i am lost
I finished nottegen past and now there are 3 tablets the game keeps telling me about
2 are in present whirlpool but how do i even reach it?

Iirc, go east from Pilchard Bay on the boat, and sail a little south near the rocks you'll encounter to find the whirlpool.

 

[Oregano]

Ok i am lost
I finished nottegen past and now there are 3 tablets the game keeps telling me about
2 are in present whirlpool but how do i even reach it?

You need to use your boat and then you can just find the whirlpool.

 

[Tizoc]

Iirc, go east from Pilchard Bay on the boat, and sail a little south near the rocks you'll encounter to find the whirlpool.

Finally found it thanks

 

[Sammy Samusu]

The rich guy quest was kinda confusing... but I'm back on track now, I'm inside the tallest tower.

I also have like 12 tablets in my bag. I guess I could have unlocked 1 or 2 new islands if I wanted to?

Ugh. I'm almost to that point and that would be incredibly disappointing.

I feel like I've been collecting Medals forever in this game compared to when I actually get to use them.

Well, I had 48 medals and only got 1 reward, the second reward unlocks at 50 medals.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I am at the island with the

Spoiler

automatas (?)

. Question: How long until classes?

 

[Rodney McKay]

Ugh, I feel like I'm never going to get this game!

I ordered it from amazon and after a while it finally shipped, but I was away on vacation and for some reason they didn't leave it at my apartment so it returned to Amazon.

Then I called to get it resent, but they gave it to someone else already so they have to send an all new one which could take up to a month.

 

[Oregano]

Volgograd(sp?) spoilers:

Spoiler

 

[Raw64life]

Does the game ramp up in difficulty at any point? I've just finished the

Spoiler

iasland with the automatons

and so far I think it's by far the easiest game in the series, the last boss I barely even had to heal. I've been ignoring the monster tablet things because I don't want to end up even more op..

I just failed against cumulus rex another 5 times. On my last try, he wiped out my party in 3 turns by doing his 100+ damage to all party members attack 2 turns in a row. Granted I'm over 40 hours in but this is the first boss that's given me major problems so far.

Also annoying that you can't quicksave in the sanctum so you have to walk through the dungeon every time. It's like they went out of their way to make it as tedious as possible.

 

[flintstryker]

Ok after not playing for a while I am now at alltrade and I can't leave the fucking casino

 

[Tiktaalik]

This is my second Dragon Quest game - I tried IX a few years ago but dropped it after about 5-6 hours due to lack of interest.

I'm about the same distance into VII now, 5-6 hours - just finished the 'past' plot at the second island I've discovered - and while I'm not -loving- the game I have enough attachment to get me to keep playing. I haven't found any of the characters I've met so far to be particularly interesting but at least the party characters are predefined and have actual personalities, the lack of which is part of what turned me off to IX. Battle has been kind of boring but I've played plenty of RPGs that take their sweet time opening up the battle system to the player, so I can be patient with this one. And I do like the vignettes.

I suppose my main criticism of the game, at this point, is that I don't see any real driver of the plot beyond (spoilers for people who haven't played 5-6 hours)

Spoiler

"hey, there's other islands out there, maybe we should look for them."

I suppose that's motivation enough, but in general I find I get more invested in the plot when the consequences for the main character(s) deciding to sit on their hands and do nothing are more, um, consequential than "nothing happens and the world remains its current idyllic self." Maybe those consequences arrive later in the game, but at the point I've currently reached, it seems like if the playable characters just decided to suppress their wanderlust and stay at home, nothing bad is likely to befall either them or Estard. This isn't to say that the characters' motivations are bad, or insufficient to justify their actions, or anything like that - but it is keeping DQ VII from really grabbing me.

To be clear, the above is not a pacing complaint - I'm perfectly fine with a game being a slow burn, my favorite JRPGs of the past decade are the US-localized Trails games in whatever order (I can't decide on an order myself). Slow pacing is fine - I just wish this game would (to me) like it's building toward something.

I am roughly at the same point and I have the same complaints. The game is quite dull in that there is no conflict at all driving the plot forward, and the main characters seem to be receding into the background and are not really participating in the story any more. You get a sense at the start that these kids are bored and want to go on adventures, but the game is not sufficiently building on this with further dialog. With no antagonist or conflict it feels a lot more aimless than it should.

The style of storytelling here is in stark contrast with games like Chrono Trigger or Earthbound, where you were being pushed along into new areas due to immediate conflicts affecting your party characters.

 

[Oregano]

I just failed against cumulus rex another 5 times. On my last try, he wiped out my party in 3 turns by doing his 100+ damage to all party members attack 2 turns in a row. Granted I'm over 40 hours in but this is the first boss that's given me major problems so far.

Also annoying that you can't quicksave in the sanctum so you have to walk through the dungeon every time. It's like they went out of their way to make it as tedious as possible.

Have you not got anyone with Multiheal? I had Mervyn master Healslime for Multiheal and Zing and it's made most fights a breeze, especially when paired with my MC being a Paladin.