i am really enjoying the way dq3 remake iterates on dq11 re: making walking around the ‘overworld’ interesting again. imo in dq11 they did it mostly just by making most overworld areas feel kind of like… outdoor dungeons in a weird way? like smaller scale and more tightly organized. plus the visible monsters makes it feel more populated and stuff. but i appreciate the way dq3 remake maintains a lot of the traditional abstractions of older jrpgs while still figuring out good ways to make the overworld something that is actually interesting to wander around in and look at, rather than just slog through or rush from one town to the next… good game…
5 Likes
i like walking around in 8’s overworld a lot looking for chests. especially cuz the chests refill themselves over time
5 Likes
i love 8!! just immaculate vibes. the big orchestral version of the soundtrack that got used for the US PS2 release is one of my favorite sugiyama scores. i dont mind that it’s a bit slower paced just cuz i like soaking in the world and combing the fields for treasure and making the party into a well-oiled monster-thrashing machine. i’m also a sucker for cel shading and have a soft spot for Level-5 (Dark Cloud and Dark Chronicle are a couple of my favorite games, i know their maximalist “you can do a hundred different side games and mini quests!” shtick isnt everyone’s favorite but i’ve always dug it. cant hate on a developer that lets you turn randomly generated dungeon floors into mini golf courses and fishing ponds)
the story is so hilariously grim at times it feels like your heroes are just taking Ls left and right and always arriving too late, it’s practically a series of shaggy dog stories. again im sure there are folks who don’t like that but i grew to enjoy it, makes it feel extra satisfying when you finally get to the typical big bad man-behind-the-man Dragon Quest endboss
also it has one of the best optional dungeons in the series and i like how completing it lets you change the ending
also i love yangus!! yantar
6 Likes
oh god i compeltely forgot about the optional dungeon its been so long. yeah fuck it dragon quest 8 isnt weak at all
ill love yantar when he becomes my main healer i promise
yeah i notice a lot of people shit on how level 5 looks but i like it. sorry everyone. professor layton and dark cloud are cute. the gundam with the titus looks great. the only level 5 thing i dont like looking at is ni no kuni because i dont want to play ghibli pokemon
the ps2 cel shading looks so much better than the 3ds graphics even though they did a decent job. like when i first started playing i said ‘this is fine actually’ but i just started missing the ps2 graphics more and more and had to switch over
‘press r2 to see out of your own eyes’ is such a cool way to tell someone how to go into first person mode
7 Likes
8 looks like a PS2 ass PS2 game, which seems kind of ideal if Dragon Quest is supposed to also be technically impressive which I gather was kinda something people expected of each new installment. If 7 didn’t push the graphics far enough (which I disagree with, 7 is beautiful lol) then 8 is them compensating for that like a lot!!
6 Likes
Oh, I just made him punch himself 20 times in a row.
3 Likes
no!! nooo!!!
1 Like
I have been hopping between Earthbound Beginnings and Dragon Quest Monsters (delocalized).
I’m surprised to learn that all the adjustments to Mother were first made to the unreleased localization in 1991. Changes like being able to run. Also surprised to learn these changes were fitted onto Japanese rereleases of the game. Well, what can I say? It’s more beautifully written than 90% of what’s out there. All that neat design they do with levels in Earthbound that Sleepy was describing is done here, too. After 3 or 4 hours, I picked up my second party member. Everyone says they’re a weakling and they quickly prove to be almost useless in battle. I have to stop using AUTO just so I get set him to defend every turn. Otherwise, he’ll just faint. It’s fantastic.
Dragon Quest Monsters is so invested in breeding that almost nothing else matters. Leveling up is secondary to combining two well-skilled killers together. I love the tree hub. I love the dialogue (as always). I love the easter eggs referencing battles from old games. I picked this game because I get to play as Terry from VI. If this was his childhood, I’m not sure how he turns into such an arrogant hero later on.
11 Likes
Haha I totally didn’t use that, whoops.
2 Likes
It’s all good because now Spiketail is giving me endless amounts of grief. I’ve got good gear, I’ve got a strategy that’s kinda working, but once he starts using Inferno twice per turn, it’s over.
1 Like
I have a dragon quest-ion for everyone
How often do you actually use the auto battle tactics? Do you set it to anything other than fight wisely? I basically just have it on follow orders 24/7 I guess unless I’m grinding or traversing some region I’m already very over leveled for. I can see how the auto battle options appeal to the way most of dq is just gambling but I dont really care for it
4 Likes
i’ve used it, sometimes. as things get harder, I turn it off. also important to make sure the characters are set to items off, as well, or they’ll use those up on you, which I found annoying.
honestly it isn’t always great with “Fight Wisely,” because sometimes they’ll use MP when you could probably one-shot kill an enemy with an attack. not very wise
anyway I beat the Knight Aberrant tonight at level 31 and I feel pretty proud of that. tough fight in this game (HD 2D) - the spike armor isn’t the only thing needed this time around (my memories of the SNES remake are that this armor makes the fight a cinch), and I really had to strategize to make it work. that said, the killing blow came from the spike armor deflect and I had 20HP remaining lol
1 Like
Oh my god, thank you, I thought I was the only one. The music in these games does absolutely nothing for me.
4 Likes
i love stat screens that update you with new text as you hit milestones. it should keep track of how many pots i break and books i read and cupboards i raid too though. thats a kind of battle, so log it
WHAT ARE YA WORKIN ON THERE SURE LOOKS A LOT LIKE AN ALCHEMY POT
6 Likes
im kind of ambivalent about the dragon quest music (I had to mute dq1 when I was grinding, good lord) but the dq5 casino music lives rent free in my head
the soundtrack for 7 has been annoying me less than the others i’ve played but it seems to have more music which helps a lot with that. the days of sadness song that meauxdal posted is incredibly good in context too
2 Likes
i really quite like the spookier tracks in these
3 Likes
every time this game goes btw check it out it’s in 3d, time for a perspective shift! it is so good and effective
11 Likes
song in alexandria sounds like fucking its a small world i got to get out of this town
2 Likes