Dragon Quest 8

[Finch]

:D Yes. :D Yes. :D Yes.

Mute rpg characters make my heart smile.

[blueskied]

Meh. I really really hate Dragon Quest (I've played 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 to varying extents before punching my screen in aggrevation), but this does look very good. Am I going to regret checking it out? I never learn my lesson. Does it still demand a crapload of leveling up, and is the main character still a mute for no good reason?

I think you'll like it. I'm currently 18 hours in and while it is a challenge, it's not as frustratingly difficult as some of the previous games. So far it hasn't required much 'extra' levelling up, but you do need to collect the items hidden around in each area and mix them in your alchemy pot to get stronger weapons, which helps you a lot in battles. I love the tension system as well, it adds a lot of strategy to the battles.

I think it's a terrible shame that they replaced the original Japanese menu system with a crappy new 'more colorful' menu which takes longer to load and will ultimately slow down the game a bit. I'm hoping they offer an option to revert back to the original Japanese menu system, but from what I've read I don't think they will. Oh well. They also changed lots of the town names and basically all the spell names, sometimes to very stupid names. I really don't know what they were thinking. But if the gameplay is intact and all that then that's all that really matters.

[Frogacuda]

I think you'll like it. I'm currently 18 hours in and while it is a challenge, it's not as frustratingly difficult as some of the previous games.

Well difficult isn't an issue, but the old Dragon Quests weren't difficult as much as they were trying. Difficult to me implies demanding skill, but Dragon Quest was only difficult in that it required me to play a bad game for a very long time against my better judgement. There was never any real strategy to winning other than leveling up more and more. The battle system was balanced but about as deep as a papercut.

[Finch]

Ouch. Out of all people, i thought you'd be into DQ, Frog. Guess not.

[AaronChance]

Well difficult isn't an issue, but the old Dragon Quests weren't difficult as much as they were trying. Difficult to me implies demanding skill, but Dragon Quest was only difficult in that it required me to play a bad game for a very long time against my better judgement. There was never any real strategy to winning other than leveling up more and more. The battle system was balanced but about as deep as a papercut.

Then you'll hate it for sure, because the mechanics are more or less the same as the previous games.

[Frogacuda]

Then you'll hate it for sure, because the mechanics are more or less the same as the previous games.

I can put up with the shallow battling if I'm not doing it constantly though.

Ouch. Out of all people, i thought you'd be into DQ, Frog. Guess not.

I was always a Phantasy Star man back in the day. In more recent years the Tales Of games have been my faves along with anything by tri-Ace. I still have to get Radiata Stories.

[Dyne]

you didn't think PS had loads of constant battles? don't get me wrong (ps is a great series) but i hold the DQ/DW games and the PS games in the same regard in that matter.

[rama]

i always thought the battle systems were pretty balanced in the dragon warrior series. i mean..you couldn't get through most fights, even when leveled up properly, with just straight attacking the monsters.

[Frogacuda]

i always thought the battle systems were pretty balanced in the dragon warrior series. i mean..you couldn't get through most fights, even when leveled up properly, with just straight attacking the monsters.

I said it was balanced, just not deep.

you didn't think PS had loads of constant battles? don't get me wrong (ps is a great series) but i hold the DQ/DW games and the PS games in the same regard in that matter.

Of course it did. But there also has't been a new one since like 1993. DQ7 played exactly like DQ2, and that was inexcusable to me. If they were still releasing PS games that played like PS2 I wouldn't like those either. Tales of Phantasia signified a new period in RPGs for me. I haven't been able to go back to old school.

[Finch]

PS is barely playable today until the 4th game. I was trying to slog through the 2nd a few years ago. I got to the part where SPOILT! dies and you have to fight an evil version. I liked the characters knocking on my door and going, "OH! Btw, i want to fight!" I renamed the charas Spyk, Fei, Ed, Jet... I forget the others.


:3 Yeah, kind of knew about the Tales of. Anyone who likes that series more than me sure does like it a lot. I'm interested to read what you think about Radiata. It's one of my favorites since FF X. It's flawed and most definitely rushed to release, but i looooooooooove it. As if that wasn't obvious from the thread a while back.

DQ is DQ. I kind of space out to the battles. The huge amount of animation in the new one makes them fun to watch, but just about the same to play. There don't seem to be as many, tho.
In the land of Dragon Queeeeeest... We make you fight!

(XD Boy, am i funny)