I kinda like the main guy. We got a Trunks, not a Goku, from Toriyama this time, and that is fine by me. We have a lot of Gokus in RPGs already. Plus the first additional character you get is a Goku. So whatever. Plus that purple.
I am pretty good with the soundtrack as well. It feels right to me.
This is me, the guy who is perfectly content with DQ games.
Yeah I actually like the protagonistâs design. Heâs different! And he fits right in the medieval setting⌠I donât think that his was a 90s haircut here - I donât know that it was a haircut here past medieval times at all - but what do I know about fashion. Maybe itâs because Iâm European but the main character is a-okay
EDIT: Never mind what I said about fashion, I thought he had a bowlcut middle part in his haircut. Like, you know, more mediavalesqe. I only played the game for 20 minutes, okay, Iâm hazy on the details. Still, looking at it closely now I still like it!
I always feel a little guilt striking down my first sabrecat. Moreso this time with cubs frolicking nearby.
Then Erik went wild widda boomerang. And we got pepped for The Real Decoy. Building Tension in 8 involved some strategy but could take so many turns, 9âs Coup De Grace could be somewhat manipulated out of randomness. Think Iâm digginâ Pep between 'em.
feel like npcs frowning upon you going through everybodyâs cupboards and smashing all the pottery is an important innovation
I did the thing, I bought the game. Gonna see how many wallpapers I can squeeze out of the first areas of the game.
Oh noâŚthatâs a bummer. I honestly enjoy DQ for its radical take on property rights
Itâs doesnât stop you from doing any of it, though.
The âNo XP from weak enemiesâ rule solves one of my biggest issues, knowing how to pace myself to avoid over-leveling (I never seek out fights but I explore every corner and tend to bump into too many). Itâs implemented quite strictly â as soon as youâre 1 level above the target you get no XP, and itâs a strong message to just run past enemies. Especially with respawning enemies roaming the fields and the ability to trivially bypass them, itâs a great guide as to how long I should be spending on things. And it keeps the gold economy in check, too.
Combined with the âstronger enemiesâ mode, this is working real well. So far âstrong enemiesâ (Iâm level 5) feels like DQ1 balancing.
Dragon Quest takes place in a world where you can enter a shop, go behind the counter and empty out all the locked chests, and the shopkeeper doesnât even flinch. He might even be facing you when it happensâhe will continue talking and selling you goods like nothing happened. Itâs like, people will do what they can to protect things from getting taken, but nobodyâs going to call you a thief or make you feel guilty. No one feels a sense of entitlement over anything even if itâs in their own house. (Does the house even belong to them?) There are no cops in dragon quest
There are a million and one heavily armed town guards, though
I honestly donât know what I think about what Dragon Quest thinks about the player ransacking everyoneâs stuff. Theyâve both updated the fidelity of their world, making it more obviously ridiculous, and introduced new hints about it, like the pot smashing, indicating you should feel bad about it.
My best read is that if you asked Horii about it heâd say it was preserving a childhood fantasy of going through adultsâ closets and dressers. If you ask him if you are supposed to feel bad, heâd respond,
âWell, do you feel bad?â
Heliodor, the first big city you visit, had a surprising theme of class struggle that I enjoyed. The shanty town area downtown is really cool. I loved climbing up and around all the makeshift huts embedded in the city walls.
A little weird that itâs totally bourgeoisie vs. lumpen-proletariat only, but Iâll take it.
Were you referring to the dog companion in your party at the very beginning? Thatâs the only Mother 2 esque bit I noticed.
I just that imagine that everyone knows youâre going to confess at the church eventually (since thatâs presumably what they all do as well) and absolve yourself that way.
Theyâre not too judgemental and in the world of Dragon Quest any wandering adventurer could turn out to literally be the hero of legend who routinely saves the world from the dark lord so wouldnât you want to be as helpful as possible as well to every stranger you meet?
Are there usually guards in towns though? Definitely in & around the castle. But any guard is probably just there to protect from monsters, they certainly donât attack you for doing anything wrong (unlike other crpgs of the time?).
A more interesting topic is jailâŚwhat do you have to do to get into dragon quest jail? In 7 there is exactly one jail with one prisoner, and his monologue is so fruity and specific that i think itâs yuji horii being sardonic about the whole sociopolitical aspect of his games. Like itâs easily the longest npc text box in the game so it must be important.
Of course I havenât played most of the series so my perception of everything might be totally wrong
yeah iâm also really enjoying limited xp + tough enemies mode very muchâ really got the shit best out of me last section i went through
fuck around and find out
about an hour into DQ11
So how do people set this limited exp mode and such? I must have just skipped that. But I also donât really care for DQ to be hard, so itâs mostly just curiousity.
thereâs a âDraconian Questâ menu you can bring up when youâre starting a new game, you can toggle:
No fleeing
No shopping
No Armour
Reduced exp from easy fights
âHardâ mode
Shypox (still not entirely sure what this is, think it makes your mc fuck around randomly instead of doing what theyâre told in fights like the jester class in dq3?)
Shypox makes the main character randomly lose turns in battle for remembering embarassing moments of his life (like telling a joke no one got). Also will sometimes make him too shy to talk to NPCs. You can try again immediately after so itâs just a small waste of time.
As a mechanic itâs rubbish but still 100% recommended
can you turn on draconian quests after starting the game though?
