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Dragon Quest Community Thread: Come in! Would you like a Puff-Puff?

J

Jucksalbe

Banned
Blasian Persuasion said:
Anyone have any tips on how to beat Bjorn? I was told to grind til Ward learns Multiheal, but it's taking forever for him to just to go up one level. This grinding is not fun.
Click to expand...

I don't remember strategies for specific bosses, but don't forget to use a lot of buffs and de-buffs in DQ games. If you have them, use Kabuff, Kasap, Insulate and Oomph as much as you can. Have one dedicated healer, especially if you don't have Multiheal.
Also: look through your inventory, especially take a closer look at the weapons you own. Many of them can be used as a replacement for spells.
 
P

Psxphile

Member
I don't recall what strategy I used to beat Bjorn all those years ago, but I do remember it was a difficult fight. Looking up some strategies online, I see the standards still apply: Kabuff and Insulate (Son learns at Lv. 23) the party and Oomph the attackers to max your damage per round. Apparently casting Sap/Kasap on him will cause him to waste a turn buffing himself back up so you might want to try that if his Lightning attack makes it difficult to keep on the offensive. Or, instead of Sap you can also use the Zenithian Sword as an item, it casts Disruptive Wave that cancels out enemy buffs.

I remember having Slime Knight with me but I don's know how useful he was, he doesn't even get multi-heal. Anyway, you don't HAVE to fight Bjorn to progress the story apparently so you can always come back later (the reward is definitely worth coming back for though). Sorry I'm not much help, DQV is definitely on my list of games I want to play again sometime.
 
N

NipplesAndToes23

Member
Holy Water really doesn't even seem to work even for weak monsters. I'm sailing in that cavern I got to the Lofty Peak and I'm still running into random encounters.
 
P

Psxphile

Member
Blasian Persuasion said:
Holy Water really doesn't even seem to work even for weak monsters. I'm sailing in that cavern I got to the Lofty Peak and I'm still running into random encounters.
Click to expand...

Holy Water only works when traveling on the world map, not in dungeons/caves/ruins.

I never touch the stuff myself, especially in the older games where inventory space is limited.
 
T

The n00b Avenger

Member
It started in 4(including the remakes made after it). It was mostly used as a nice way to kill metals since it's a guaranteed one damage to them. Useful in games before you had those critical skills.
 
N

NipplesAndToes23

Member
I wish I could buy some magic waters and healing items other than Medicinal herbs, so I could feel like I could stand a chance against the final boss and not fight him with my party's MP nearly depleted, though that wouldn't be a problem if the random encounter reduction spells and items actually worked like repels in Pokemon.
 
P

Psxphile

Member
Blasian Persuasion said:
I wish I could buy some magic waters and healing items other than Medicinal herbs, so I could feel like I could stand a chance against the final boss and not fight him with my party's MP nearly depleted, though that wouldn't be a problem if the random encounter reduction spells and items actually worked like repels in Pokemon.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't be a Dragon Quest final boss otherwise.

I gotta tell you, the high you get from striking that final blow as you are literally one turn away from a full wipe... heaven. Almost makes up for the nerve-wracking tension beforehand as you realize your reserves are depleted and you're going to be trading blows for the next few turns until one of you drops dead first.

But yes, a safety net would be appreciated.
 
N

NipplesAndToes23

Member
Psxphile said:
It wouldn't be a Dragon Quest final boss otherwise.

I gotta tell you, the high you get from striking that final blow as you are literally one turn away from a full wipe... heaven. Almost makes up for the nerve-wracking tension beforehand as you realize your reserves are depleted and you're going to be trading blows for the next few turns until one of you drops dead first.

But yes, a safety net would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

It's been a while since I played VIII, but from what I remember you just flew straight to him, no dungeon in between. I really don't think I can beat this boss with almost no MP.
 
A

Aters

Member
Blasian Persuasion said:
Playing Dragon Quest V right now and the game is trying its best to discourage me from marrying Debora. Asked me about 3 times if I'm sure.
Click to expand...

That girl makes the whole situation resemble Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. I think DQV has a strong Shakespeare vibe with it.

The n00b Avenger said:
It started in 4(including the remakes made after it). It was mostly used as a nice way to kill metals since it's a guaranteed one damage to them. Useful in games before you had those critical skills.
Click to expand...

Holy Shit.
For my entire life I've been playing my DQ games wrong.
 
P

Psxphile

Member
Aters said:
Holy Shit.
For my entire life I've been playing my DQ games wrong.
Click to expand...

I think that's most of us. Apparently camping outside of towns and killing everything in sight until you can afford everything before moving on is the wrong way to play. And not just in DQ. My childhood... ruined. So much time wasted trying to git gud.
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Psxphile said:
I think that's most of us. Apparently camping outside of towns and killing everything in sight until you can afford everything before moving on is the wrong way to play. And not just in DQ. My childhood... ruined. So much time wasted trying to git gud.
Click to expand...
I'm replaying DQ7 on PS1 right now and it's amazing looking back how much time I wasted doing just that.

Edit: when I was 12
 
C

Cheerilee

Member
Aters said:
Holy Shit.
For my entire life I've been playing my DQ games wrong.
Click to expand...

In my own defense, the first game I put serious time into was DW3 on the NES, so that's where I learned how Holy Water works. Nobody told me that Enix came up with a new use for the stuff one year later.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
Psxphile said:
I think that's most of us. Apparently camping outside of towns and killing everything in sight until you can afford everything before moving on is the wrong way to play. And not just in DQ. My childhood... ruined. So much time wasted trying to git gud.
Click to expand...

That's how I still do it, because that's how I enjoy it. I've done runs of plenty of games where I avoid leveling at all or overleveling and well, it's just not usually that fun. I like random encounters!
 
P

Psxphile

Member
Man God said:
That's how I still do it, because that's how I enjoy it. I've done runs of plenty of games where I avoid leveling at all or overleveling and well, it's just not usually that fun. I like random encounters!
Click to expand...
Oh dear... Stockholm syndrome.

Now repeat after me: 'the grind' is not my friend...
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
Mediking said:
The only DQ I ever played was DQ: Sentinels of the Starry Skies. I LOVE THAT GAME!!!!!!!!
Click to expand...

It's a great game. A lot of fans hate on it because it's not DQVIII Part 2. I love it. I mean, I have complaints, but it's a great game in it's own right. I imported it, spent 200+ hours on it, and then got the US version (won it in Nintendo's pre-release contest along with a DSi). Spent another 200+ hours. My friends got it and we had a lot of fun doing multiplayer.

My thoughts on each game (because I never get tired of ranking things).

1 - VII: Great somber tone. Probably the grimmest DQ. Pretty awesome episodic story with great town vignettes
2 - III: Set the standard for DQ. Established the tone and nailed the gameplay formula.
3 - IV: This used to be my favorite, but I'm not going to lie, the DS version lowered my ranking because of how god awful the translation is. I really should get the Cell version though. My username is taken from this game.
4: VI: People don't like this game. I don't know why. It deserved a better remake than it got, but it's still amazing game in it's own right. SOme really cool character designs and neat story.
5: IX: My only complaint with the game is that the main story is a bit too easy for my taste. But the game play here is fantastic. An absolute joy to play. Great main story IMHO with a cool final boss. Has my favorite normal battle theme in the franchise
6: V: A fan favorite. I think it's a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, it has a great main story, but I think it suffers in the town vignette stories, which is more important to me.
7: VIII: Hipster Saro coming incoming. This is the FFVII of DQ. Popular because it was the prettiest game in the series and a lot of people's first DQ. To me, while it is certainly an amazing looking game, it felt like a downgrade after DQVII both in terms of stories told and also game play. Plus... it introduced my two least favorite things about recent DQs: tension and the alchemy pot. If it sounds like I don't like DQVIII though, trust me, I do. I love every DQ. Yangus and Trode are amazing characters, and this game has the best final boss theme in the series (the final boss design is whack though).

I and II are about tied for me. To me, they are sort of prototypes. They didn't quite have the formula down, but they go a long way in establishing the series. I've played both games many times and love them. But I can't say I'd recommend either to first time players.

X... I haven't played enough of it to really rank it, bu what I played of it was great. It's like an even bigger version of IX. I can't say I'm fond of the zoned world, but I guess that's the normal now
 
A

Aters

Member
Megalosaro said:
It's a great game. A lot of fans hate on it because it's not DQVIII Part 2. I love it. I mean, I have complaints, but it's a great game in it's own right. I imported it, spent 200+ hours on it, and then got the US version (won it in Nintendo's pre-release contest along with a DSi). Spent another 200+ hours. My friends got it and we had a lot of fun doing multiplayer.

My thoughts on each game (because I never get tired of ranking things).

1 - VII: Great somber tone. Probably the grimmest DQ. Pretty awesome episodic story with great town vignettes
2 - III: Set the standard for DQ. Established the tone and nailed the gameplay formula.
3 - IV: This used to be my favorite, but I'm not going to lie, the DS version lowered my ranking because of how god awful the translation is. I really should get the Cell version though. My username is taken from this game.
4: VI: People don't like this game. I don't know why. It deserved a better remake than it got, but it's still amazing game in it's own right. SOme really cool character designs and neat story.
5: IX: My only complaint with the game is that the main story is a bit too easy for my taste. But the game play here is fantastic. An absolute joy to play. Great main story IMHO with a cool final boss. Has my favorite normal battle theme in the franchise
6: V: A fan favorite. I think it's a bit overrated. Don't get me wrong, it has a great main story, but I think it suffers in the town vignette stories, which is more important to me.
7: VIII: Hipster Saro coming incoming. This is the FFVII of DQ. Popular because it was the prettiest game in the series and a lot of people's first DQ. To me, while it is certainly an amazing looking game, it felt like a downgrade after DQVII both in terms of stories told and also game play. Plus... it introduced my two least favorite things about recent DQs: tension and the alchemy pot. If it sounds like I don't like DQVIII though, trust me, I do. I love every DQ. Yangus and Trode are amazing characters, and this game has the best final boss theme in the series (the final boss design is whack though).

I and II are about tied for me. To me, they are sort of prototypes. They didn't quite have the formula down, but they go a long way in establishing the series. I've played both games many times and love them. But I can't say I'd recommend either to first time players.

X... I haven't played enough of it to really rank it, bu what I played of it was great. It's like an even bigger version of IX. I can't say I'm fond of the zoned world, but I guess that's the normal now
Click to expand...

I agree that VIII is overrated. It just feels thinner story wise, still a great game though. However, I absolutely hate customizable party members. They are not real characters, and I don't want those strangers in my party, so IX is my least favorite. I didn't play I-III and X.
 
B

Barrylocke

Member
Megalosaro said:
7: VIII: Hipster Saro coming incoming. This is the FFVII of DQ. Popular because it was the prettiest game in the series and a lot of people's first DQ. To me, while it is certainly an amazing looking game, it felt like a downgrade after DQVII both in terms of stories told and also game play. Plus... it introduced my two least favorite things about recent DQs: tension and the alchemy pot. If it sounds like I don't like DQVIII though, trust me, I do. I love every DQ. Yangus and Trode are amazing characters, and this game has the best final boss theme in the series (the final boss design is whack though).
Click to expand...
I can understand your issues with tension (I'm not a huge fan myself, especially with how its done in DQ8) but what about the alchemy pot bugs you? Is it the implications of grinding/farming components?
 
P

PumpkinSpice

Banned
Barrylocke said:
I can understand your issues with tension (I'm not a huge fan myself, especially with how its done in DQ8) but what about the alchemy pot bugs you? Is it the implications of grinding/farming components?
Click to expand...

I have problems with it as well. They lock the most powerful items in the game behind using it, and it's just an annoying road block where to get them you need to get all kinds of junk + follow a guide online to get to them. I much prefer them just being in a chest even in a tough side dungeon or better still just available for purchase.

Even if you don't want to do it for the most powerful items in the game there are lots of occasions where you kinda have to use the pot to make say a more powerful boomerang or you have to deal with a weak boomerang for a long time.

Plus in the original it takes a really long time to make anything.

I don't really like crafting mechanics in any RPG outside of minecraft/clones though. It's just annoying.

BTW I completely agree, 8 is the worst in the series and while I don't think it's bad it's definitely overrated. Tension, alchemy pot, and skill points were all terrible additions, it has a totally inflexible party lineup, and the world (while big) is just super empty and really discourages exploration.
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
Sheepie nailed my exact opinion on the alchemy pot. Couldn't have said it better myself. DQIX's is a bit better due to rng exploiting but even so.

The skill point system is something I'm torn on. On one hand, dqviii blew it imo. The character specific skills should have been mandatorily learned or something. DQIX nailed it though. But then again, I think DQIX nailed a lot of things game play wise.

Regarding blank slate characters. I've never minded silent protagonists. As long as the characters and stories are interesting, and the characters have a decent design l, I'll work with it.

"Active" characters are different. Obviously if the character's personality and story are great, it elevates the material significantly. But on the flip side, that is really easy to botch. I've never held a game having silent protagonists against it. I have held a game having bad characters against it though.
 
A

Aeana

Member
I think the alchemy pot works really well in DQ8. Itemization is done in a standard Dragon Quest way so items can be reliably gotten, and items usually have a dual use (i.e. it's already equipment or an item, but then you can also use it in alchemy), with a few exceptions like saint's ashes. Things make sense -- reinforcing a boomerang with iron makes sense, for instance. And items are made available at a rate that is manageable -- as are recipes. DQ9 introduced randomized ingredient spawns, randomized the drops from pots and barrels, and most importantly, a TON of alchemy-only ingredients. It's at this point that it becomes a chore, and starts to feel like a loot game, which is not something I ever wanted from Dragon Quest. It also has a ton more recipes, and many of them do not produce anything useful. There's so much vanity and useless stuff going on in DQ9. I know lots of people like that but I don't.
 
M

Man God

Non-Canon Member
I love the Alchemy Pot and prefer it in VIII. I'm going to love it in VIII 3DS with it getting the post game improvements from the start.
 
T

Teknoman

Member
So do the different elemental spells actually count towards weaknesses/strengths? Or do they just cause stronger damage in general?
 
P

PreyingShark

Member
For my b-day my dad let me borrow his card to get DQMJ3 off the eShop.

It triggered fraud protection.

Mom is now freaking out and acting like Nintendo of Japan is going to steal our credit card information. Oh well, looking forward to grinding it out post-finals
 
P

Psxphile

Member
Teknoman said:
So do the different elemental spells actually count towards weaknesses/strengths? Or do they just cause stronger damage in general?
Click to expand...

I really want to answer this but I have no rightly clue how spells in DQ work. For the most part they tend to do fixed damage that only varies slightly by the caster's wisdom (or equivalent) stat. Monsters are either vulnerable to certain types of spells (Fire and Ice, Breath) and thus take regular damage from them or resist... there are no weaknesses or 2x damage in general.

On the other hand, weapons can have elevated damage against monster types: undead, dragon, etc. In fact, monster types pretty much determine what works and what doesn't it would seem: dragons are naturally resistant against Fire/Ice spells from what I remember. Or was it Breath?

Also I feel these rules change slightly from game to game.
 
T

The n00b Avenger

Member
Aeana said:
I think the alchemy pot works really well in DQ8. Itemization is done in a standard Dragon Quest way so items can be reliably gotten, and items usually have a dual use (i.e. it's already equipment or an item, but then you can also use it in alchemy), with a few exceptions like saint's ashes. Things make sense -- reinforcing a boomerang with iron makes sense, for instance. And items are made available at a rate that is manageable -- as are recipes. DQ9 introduced randomized ingredient spawns, randomized the drops from pots and barrels, and most importantly, a TON of alchemy-only ingredients. It's at this point that it becomes a chore, and starts to feel like a loot game, which is not something I ever wanted from Dragon Quest. It also has a ton more recipes, and many of them do not produce anything useful. There's so much vanity and useless stuff going on in DQ9. I know lots of people like that but I don't.
Click to expand...

That's basically how I feel.

The 3DS version of 8 also pretty much removes all the flaws of 8's alchemy(by making it instant and basically removing the need for a guide to know the recipes) making it more enjoyable.
 
K

Krammy

Member
I've been messing around with Dragon Quest IX's Debug Menu and I learned that even though animations default to 30fps, the game can actually output them at 60fps or higher. Seeing that, along with using a higher resolution really makes me want a rerelease of this game. There's so much potential that's just squandered on the Nintendo DS hardware.

Left Sanguini is the default 30fps, while Right Sanguini is boosted up to 60fps. It may be hard to notice, so I added a further slowed down version if you click on the image.
 
J

javadoze

Member
Krammy said:
I've been messing around with Dragon Quest IX's Debug Menu and I learned that even though animations default to 30fps, the game can actually output them at 60fps or higher. Seeing that, along with using a higher resolution really makes me want a rerelease of this game. There's so much potential that's just squandered on the Nintendo DS hardware.
Click to expand...

Not to mention the game lagging more when you have 4 party members on-screen at once.
 
L

lewisgone

Member
I finally beat Dragon Quest V on DS, which means I've now played all of the Zenithian trilogy (
accidentally in chronological order, it seems, since I played VI first
). I really enjoyed it! The personal aspect of the story was quite surprising from a Dragon Quest game. The closest I've ever come to feeling moved by a Dragon Quest game before was the ending of IV. V on the other hand had quite a few emotional moments. The game definitely feels the most memorable in its journey - the way the story progresses means most of the locations have some special meaning to the character, unlike say VI, where I can't really remember what really happens for most of that game. That's never bothered me since I like the basic gameplay loop of the series, but I appreciate that this game aimed for something different. As of right now the game might be my favorite in the series.

Now I'm just looking to play III, VII and VIII (which I've never played to completion) and I'll have played every Dragon Quest game (outside of X). I quite like the classic games on DS since they're so basic, and VII and VIII will be out on 3DS soon. Nice to have the games be so easily available in decent formats.
 
M

Mozendo

Member
Just beat DQ4 not sure how I feel about the game.
I love how each character got their backstory and met up with each other, I love it when games do that, but man Torneko's chapter is incredibly dull and I hate it, and maybe it's just me but end game didn't really feel that strong.

So far it's the second weakest DQ game I've played yet. Looks like I can finally replay V and I'm super stocked since I haven't touched the game since 2009.
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
Mozendo said:
Just beat DQ4 not sure how I feel about the game.
I love how each character got their backstory and met up with each other, I love it when games do that, but man Torneko's chapter is incredibly dull and I hate it, and maybe it's just me but end game didn't really feel that strong.

So far it's the second weakest DQ game I've played yet. Looks like I can finally replay V and I'm super stocked since I haven't touched the game since 2009.
Click to expand...

It used to be my favorite. Now is my third favorite due to the sucky ds localization.
 
R

rockman zx

Member
I'm thinking about playing one of the DS games, any suggestions which one should I play first?. The only DQ I played was 8 on PS2, I like it but never finished it.
 
C

Cheerilee

Member
rockman zx said:
I'm thinking about playing one of the DS games, any suggestions which one should I play first?. The only DQ I played was 8 on PS2, I like it but never finished it.
Click to expand...

DQ9 is fairly lightweight, if you ignore the massive post-game content. Should make it easier to beat the game.
 
G

Gloam

Member
Mediking said:
Will the next DQ game be at E3? Should someone make a hype thread for DQ PS4 possibly being at E3? Lol
Click to expand...

I doubt it. I wouldn't waste the time in making a thread. Given the silence on DQXI since the reveal I think it'll be a little while before we see anything new. Maybe September. We might see Heroes 2 or Builders at E3 though.
 
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