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Dragon Quest Community Thread: Come in! Would you like a Puff-Puff?
- Thread starter Jucksalbe
- Start date
All done with DQ6. I've always loved DQ6's final boss because it actually puts up a fight, just like DQ7's. And you have a lot of options based on how you leveled your characters.
Just a couple more weeks of vacation left, and just DQ8 left to do (though I have to admit I'm kinda itching to replay DQ7 3DS now... even though I hadn't planned to replay it so soon, but that's easier to play on-the-go anyway). The last time I replayed DQ8 was when Red Scarlet and I were both doing it a couple of years back... feels like it's been quite a while now. I think 5 years?
I wish she were still around. Looking forward to it, either way.
I just need to decide whether I want to bother trying to get it going in PCSX2, or just play it on my PS2.
Just a couple more weeks of vacation left, and just DQ8 left to do (though I have to admit I'm kinda itching to replay DQ7 3DS now... even though I hadn't planned to replay it so soon, but that's easier to play on-the-go anyway). The last time I replayed DQ8 was when Red Scarlet and I were both doing it a couple of years back... feels like it's been quite a while now. I think 5 years?
I wish she were still around. Looking forward to it, either way.I just need to decide whether I want to bother trying to get it going in PCSX2, or just play it on my PS2.
Need some opinions on the Dragon Quest IX DLC dilemma. I want to jump into the game, but half the reason I bought it was for the Legacy Bosses (and the armour sets that come with them). Since it's impossible to get them via DLC now, I'd like to get those quests through local multiplayer. What's the best way to do this? I've seen that it's possible to get save-hack a second copy and transfer the DLC over that way. Would that be my best option?
The best option is to get them via the Action Replay codes that unlock them, frankly. But if you are set on getting them via multiplayer, it sounds like what you describe is your only option.
I'm at the final dungeon in DQ6 and I still haven't masted my 2x Gladiator and my 2x Sage. The first time I beat the game I thought the vocation system was simply there and I didn't enjoy it much. I had taken time to grind a bit to unlock vocations and skills. This time I'm simply rushing through without taking time to grind and the game is still very easy. It's also not very fun to grind for skills when most of time takes forever to unlock while a lot are simply terrible.
Really not a fan of the job system in this one.
Really not a fan of the job system in this one.
Have you played DQ7?
The final boss can be tricky, but if you created a well-rounded party, you should have a lot of ways to deal with various things that happen. That's the reason why I really actually enjoy the class system in DQ6 and DQ7, because they illustrate the wonderful balance the series has to the most extreme level, since there are so many variables. Of course, there are also a lot of useless abilities or overlapping abilities, but the result is that you shouldn't ever be in a situation where you can't actually win if you use the skills you've picked up effectively, whatever they may be. I think the trickiest part is the final form of the final boss, where you can really draw the battle out if you don't kill the left hand first, and then the right hand, before focusing on the head.
I think a lot of bad advice is given, as well. Like "you NEED hustle dance or you can't win," which is definitely bullcrap because hustle dance is just a free omniheal, but if you have sages, they should have ~200 MP apiece by the time you reach the end which is more than enough for omniheals and whatever else you need to cast (like kabuff and oomph). You can also get a sage's stone from the style contest and that gives you even more healing capability.
I think a lot of bad advice is given, as well. Like "you NEED hustle dance or you can't win," which is definitely bullcrap because hustle dance is just a free omniheal, but if you have sages, they should have ~200 MP apiece by the time you reach the end which is more than enough for omniheals and whatever else you need to cast (like kabuff and oomph). You can also get a sage's stone from the style contest and that gives you even more healing capability.
Yes but not recently. I have the PSX version. The job system was pretty similar with the difference there are more jobs, less skills for each job and even more skills that do similar things. I remember some skills being unlocked when you mastered a bunch of jobs too.
Agreed about the balance point. I guess that's the bright side of things. I didn't bother either with dances since I have 2 sages and the sage's stone.
Well, the only classes that have more skills compared to DQ7 are the casters, which learn two skills per rank in DQ6, and that's modified by the hybrid skills in DQ7 which you alluded to -- you learn them by going from one class you're proficient in (i.e. having reached rank 5 in it or having fought at least 30 battles in it if you were already over rank 5) to another and achieving the same status. Of course, hybrid skills were removed in DQ7 3DS and they moved back to having more skills per class, but they also don't carry over from advanced classes anymore in that version so I guess it balances out!
I think the main difference is that DQ7 is a much longer game, so it gives you quite a bit more time to get your classes maxed.
In the end, I don't think any DQ game has had a perfect class system yet. I'm a big fan of the one used in 6 and 7, as I mentioned, but they are gimped by the game making weapons restricted by character instead of by class, and tying progression to number of battles fought means they work best in particularly lengthy adventures. DQ9 removes the character/class level duality and forces you to level each class up from a weak level 1, and then implements a system where lower level characters get less experience than higher level characters. Not to mention the fact that spells don't carry over. Still, of all of them, I ended up coming to appreciate DQ9's setup the most, despite really hating it at first. Although if they do classes again in DQ11, I hope they change it up a bit again.
I definitely agree that DQ7 let you way more time to level up your classes. It's a very long game but it gives you time to properly level up your classes. The first time I played it was years ago when I was in high school and I spent the whole summer playing the game.
I'll definitely go back to DQVII eventually. I was waiting to replay it because I was convinced the 3DS would make it here but since this is not the case the PSX version will have to do. I just don't think I have enough time until my vacations end to beat it and I'm not in the mood to play a very long game.
Yes, the weapon restriction is something weird since it kind of goes against the freedom associated with a job system. Why would you try to make a physical powerhouse if he/she can only equip a whip? Still, there is usually a way to put a good weapon on them. In VI for instance, some of the mini medals weapons like the miracle sword can be equipped by everyone which is very nice. I guess it's a way to balance it out a bit.
I still love the games quite a bit but I don't think the DQ games have a very good job system. I really love DQ9 even if it has what I believe to be big design problems. The game was more about building a team of four specialized heroes than having everyone have the same skills and it was a very fun co-op game. I beat the whole game in co-op with a friend and we played it for over 150 hours beating all the cameo bosses.
While you go back to level 1 when you switch job there's usually way to go back up quickly with the tools you have in the game. I remember that we had those dungeons maps which you could share and we always kept some with metal slimes in it. I even went to events at gamestop to get special maps! You also had a lot to do with the alchemy pot and the quests so while you were working on finding ingredients or completing quests you would get exp back.
The big problems with IX where how they had some insane requirements to unlock jobs. I remember painfully the one where you have to beat a metal slime with a mage but only after casting a defensive spell. You are more or less at the mercy of the RNG hoping the slimes won't run away. There was another one where you had to kill enemies by using poison but these enemies would keep healing themselves.
I'm almost done with DQVI now, I'm just trying to unlock the hero class for the main character so I have the skills that removes buff to make the final boss easier then I'm done.
KiTA
Member
Aeana, having played DQ7R, how do you feel about the skill/class rebalance? I was quite worried when I heard about it and most people's reactions were kinda mixed.
I'd play through the PSX version but for some reason they never hit PSN and muy old CDs are rather scratched. And missing.
I'd play through the PSX version but for some reason they never hit PSN and muy old CDs are rather scratched. And missing.
In the end, I thought it worked very well. Abilities not transferring from advanced classes makes the monster classes valuable, since you can get many of the same abilities from advanced classes through them, but they transfer from monster classes. And even if you don't use monster classes, I like how it makes certain classes more attractive. Unfortunately, it also makes some classes much less attractive, but it's a good balance overall since advanced classes learn more abilities overall than they did before.
The most regrettable thing about the game is the lowered maximum "effective" level for each area paired with the very frequent visible encounters resulting in you leveling fairly quickly, too quickly if you're not careful. At least there are several uncapped areas in the game.
Got all of the characters in DQ8. I always hit my first dramatic damage record on the tortured soul boss because twin dragon lash is so amazing. 599 damage in one turn, with nobody higher than level 13, with twin dragon lash at 50 tension and Yangus attacking at 50 tension. Feelsgoodman. The next time I'll really get a super high amount is on the trap box in the swordsman's labyrinth. Looking forward to that.
I decided to play on my PS2, because it turns out that shadows aren't rendered properly in PCSX2, even with skipdraw=1. Plus you get white lines on the UI in battle, and I'm too much of a stickler to be able to ignore stuff like that. It doesn't look that awful anyway, considering how far I sit from the TV.
I decided to play on my PS2, because it turns out that shadows aren't rendered properly in PCSX2, even with skipdraw=1. Plus you get white lines on the UI in battle, and I'm too much of a stickler to be able to ignore stuff like that. It doesn't look that awful anyway, considering how far I sit from the TV.
playing the iOS port of IV has given me the hankering to play 8, so I started up a new game... well I continued from where my save is from when I first checked it out on PCSX2, but that was getting the crystal ball from the cave so p.much the same thing really.
Up to Alexandria now. Really love that when you're about half way to your destination you can usually see it just pop up over the horizon.
Up to Alexandria now. Really love that when you're about half way to your destination you can usually see it just pop up over the horizon.
What's the general opinion on the Rocket Slime series? I finished Slime MoriMori a couple months ago for the first time and then moved onto Rocket Slime for the DS. I thought it was a damn fine ARPG with wonderful bosses and some of the nicest graphics I've seen. The final battle against Don Clawleone in Slime MoriMori was just incredible, every form had something going for it, from shooting the screen to the Yoshi's Island'esque final form.
I really adore Rocket Slime DS and it was tied as my favorite Dragon Quest along with DQ8 until I played DQ5. It's the one game where non-stop punning absolutely worked and it is one of the best looking games on the DS. It's true that there are ways to cheese the tank battling quite easily, but both moment to moment and conceptually I still had too much fun playing. Even if the 3DS sequel looked aesthetically inferior and re-hashy, it would have been nice to give it a shot.
I've beat the final boss of DQVI at level 37 not sure if that's good or bad, haha. As long one of your sage has the bracelet that doubles your agility you are pretty safe. Strangely the first form was the most challenging.
Kind of want to replay DQIV since it's my favorite and the iOS announcement was a nice surprise. Still, I really don't feel like buying it on iOS only for the party chat because I'm not a fan of touch controlled gaming. I've beat FF dimensions on my phone and I was annoyed by the touch screen interface for my whole run. I also don't feel like buying the same game again. The DS version will have to do.
Can't mention DQIV without posting this oldie by hyadain.
Seeing those DQ8 screenshots remind me how much Ashlynn/Barbara physically looks like Jessica.
Meanwhile I've started Front Mission 3. I've rented back then when it was released but never beat it. It was on sale on PSN so I bought it. It's pretty great so far. The fake internet thing is pretty fleshed out and you have a lot of options to customize your wanzers.
Kind of want to replay DQIV since it's my favorite and the iOS announcement was a nice surprise. Still, I really don't feel like buying it on iOS only for the party chat because I'm not a fan of touch controlled gaming. I've beat FF dimensions on my phone and I was annoyed by the touch screen interface for my whole run. I also don't feel like buying the same game again. The DS version will have to do.
Can't mention DQIV without posting this oldie by hyadain.
Seeing those DQ8 screenshots remind me how much Ashlynn/Barbara physically looks like Jessica.
Meanwhile I've started Front Mission 3. I've rented back then when it was released but never beat it. It was on sale on PSN so I bought it. It's pretty great so far. The fake internet thing is pretty fleshed out and you have a lot of options to customize your wanzers.
I wonder if we'll get a world as vast as DQ8 in DQ11. Or ever again, really. DQ10 is certainly close, but it is what it is. I'd also like to have meaningful treasure on the field again rather than just resources like DQ9 has. In fact, the move that DQ9 made from using traditional DQ items in alchemy to all of these new materials made it feel a lot less cool to me.
To Vamphuntr above: The controls work better in DQ4 since it's a full range of movement rather than just 4 directions. I think DQ4 works the best out of all of the mobile ports in terms of controls.
To Vamphuntr above: The controls work better in DQ4 since it's a full range of movement rather than just 4 directions. I think DQ4 works the best out of all of the mobile ports in terms of controls.
I agree wholeheartedly. DQX's world is pretty big but a lot of isn't very interesting, whereas DQVII did a much better job with landmarks and interesting curios in the distance. Treasure was also a big part of exploration not so much with X. One aspect that I'd like to see carried over to DQXI is the look of the various races, wouldn't mind seeing an ogre or dwarf pop up in a cutscene or town.
If I'm remembering correctly some of the designs in X are close to the look of those monsters in earlier games, but I might be confusing it with something else.
Is that feeling of slow traversal a product of the frequent battles? They were pretty load-heavy in the NA/EU version of the game. I never found moving around the world to be too slow, the battles could drag on though.
Can't say I agree at all. Take load times out of the equation and it doesn't feel slow in any way to me, frankly. And fortunately that's doable with PCSX2 or HD Loader.
Megalosaro
Banned
I dont want zoning in the next game. At least noticeable zoning. DQVIII was clever with how they did the zones so ittl felt like one giant world map. DQX is sectioned, hurting the scope and what not.
It's a sum of all the things. The world was too big, it took a lot more time to walk from one point to another in comparison to the older games, the battles are just way too slow, the menus slow as well (although this probably is a non-issue in the Japanese version, with its normal menus), and the random battles hurt any drive I would have had to explore. Usually, I like random battles, but that's normally on a 2D plane. When you need to walk so much more from one point to another, along with an encounter rate that isn't that much less frequent than that used for tight 2D maps, it gets on my nerves pretty quickly.
100% agree. Playing DQ8 with fast loading is almost a whole new eperience from the PS2 clunky dvd drive.
The encounter rate is suitable for the scale, I think. I just replayed DQ2-6 and played about 8 hours of 9 so I've got a pretty good feel for these things. DQ8's encounter rate is lower in a relative sense than those games, but you have more ground to cover. It works out to be about in line. And it's easier to clear out large groups in DQ8 earlier in the game than any other DQ, with how quickly they give you access to boomerangs and whips, and with how many skill points they give Yangus early on (8-9 per level for quite a while) which gives you quick access to stuff like his group-hitting axe attack. Battles move along pretty speedily if you make good skill decisions.
Frankly, the games with the highest/most annoying encounter rates are 9 and 7 3DS. Combine the constant appearance of visible enemies with super tight corridors and you've got a recipe for irritation.
Battles are still ever so more cinematic in DQ VIII and that takes time. It's not the absolute blazing pace the games have between 3-6.
Running it off an HD on a PS2 though does make a world of difference and keeps it from feeling like FF IX though, but it's still not quite perfect when it comes to battle speed.
Luckily DQ8 has many things to offer aside from not quite perfect battle speed.
Man I'm itching to replay now, wish I could make the time for it.
The addition of animations really doesn't add that much more time, because a lot of it is done within the same window as the text delay in earlier DQ games. I'd say that the slowest thing in the game is probably when an enemy does a whole-party status altering ability on the group and it goes through each character relatively slowly. For stuff like group damaging attacks, it's actually faster in DQ8 than many others because the damage all appears at once instead of sequentially.
I vastly prefer DQ9's encounters to 8's. It's incredibly easy to dodge pretty much whichever battle you want, the maps are definitely not too tight. I have no idea how it is in 7 3DS, given that I haven't played it.
Most dungeon maps are definitely too tight to reasonably dodge in DQ9, and a lot of the time if enemies catch sight of you in an open field, they run straight at you faster than you can run and eventually catch up. And since the monsters all spawn randomly anyway, it's so much more annoying than if they were just random encounters, and this is ignoring the fact that they can spawn right on top of you and force you into a battle all the time. Sure, sometimes you can dodge, but it's not as easy as it should be. In general I find the implementation of visible enemies in DQ9 and DQ7 3DS to be among the worst I've seen in a game. All of the annoyances with none of the benefits. You can't even get pre-emptive strikes by running into an enemy's rear.
Megalosaro
Banned
I thought the encounter system in dq9 too lenient. Battles should have been much harder to avoid. I could go entire dungeons without fighting unless I wanted to. Same with the world map. Most enemies were unaggressive. DQX has the same problem.
Might as well not have encounters if its gonna be like that.
Might as well not have encounters if its gonna be like that.
There were a few points in the game where I thought this as well, but I still enjoyed it much more than the system in 8. What can I say, different strokes for different folks. I'm not really a fan of random encounters in free-roaming 3D RPGs.
I should give the DQX trial a spin at some point, now that there's no IP lock.
I'm about eleven hours into Drahon Quest IV on iPad. I played and best the game on DS a few years ago and I have to say that the iPad version is far superior. The game is beautiful and so easy to play with the rich screen.
Also, I bit the bullet and downloaded DQ8 on ios as well. I was hesitant because I heard about the frame rate and music. After downloading it I can say this is a great game on ios as well. The controls work perfectly fine and you don't have to finely place your character to interact with stuff. If you are close to a chest, just touch the chest and the game will auto walk your character to it and open it. It plays very well. The midi music is actually just as catchy and great as the orchestrated version. I do miss the voice acting but the game is solid and very fun.
Also, I bit the bullet and downloaded DQ8 on ios as well. I was hesitant because I heard about the frame rate and music. After downloading it I can say this is a great game on ios as well. The controls work perfectly fine and you don't have to finely place your character to interact with stuff. If you are close to a chest, just touch the chest and the game will auto walk your character to it and open it. It plays very well. The midi music is actually just as catchy and great as the orchestrated version. I do miss the voice acting but the game is solid and very fun.
I was messing around with the Dragon Quest VII debug menu today, which is a ton of fun. The game is a disaster in terms of how it's graphics are actually handled in-game, with things like incorrect resolutions causing the pixel art to be stretched and crushed, but I'll be damned if I'm not impressed by the sprite layering that's going on under the surface. The secret boss alone is made up of twenty-eight layers! Here's an image of that boss and how it's decompiled by layers.
Favourite secret boss of anything ever.
Megalosaro
Banned
can you slow down that gif a little bit. I can barely see each layer.
Edited that last post with a slowed down gif. While I'm at it, here's the pieces separated as an image, also the original sprite map.
The Real Abed
Perma-Junior
The music in there makes me tear up.
bagandscalpel
Member
On the subject of DQIX encounters, I did like how they made metal slime hunting easy-peasy.
I'm not sure if that's a good thing.
I mean, I remember when I first played DW1, and you're near the end of the game, and the absolute weakest monster in the game appears. Except now he's metal, and slippery, and spells don't work on him at all, and he's near-indestructible, and he doesn't hit you very hard, but it's annoying and it adds up. Killing one meant something, even more than the large experience reward.
DQIX teaches you how to consume them by the dozen. It actively encourages you to get drunk off that feeling. Which is something that people taught themselves and did long before DQIX, but I think something is lost there, and I'm not sure if other DQ games actively encouraged it like DQIX.
Decided to check out the Dragon Quest X trial version since they've removed the region lock. Doubt I'll play more than I have but it seems like a really cool game. Did the offline part and created my fem. Weddie... which are really weirdly animated like they're drunk or something. Kinda off putting but trying a different race seems like it'd be way too time consuming.