I: Yeah it’s not bad at all
II: Yeah it’s not bad at all
III: Yeah I love that one
IV: Yeah that one is pretty good
V: Yeah that one is pretty good, it‘s a bit long
VI: Yeah I love that one, it’s a bit long
VII: Yeah that one is pretty good, it‘s a bit long
VIII: Yeah I love that one, it’s a bit long
IX: Never played it, not sure if it's really playable as intended anymore
X: Never played that one
XI: Yeah I love that one
3 Likes
Was playing some DQ8 last night and before last night, I thought I was in the final dungeon, and was more than a little disappointed, lost steam. Only to realize it wasn't the final dungeon after powering through. Lol
@treefroggy#12141 I love how it has become almost a Dragon Quest convention at this point to see how early and thoroughly they can trick you into thinking you're about to beat the game and how much game is actually left
I have only begun to play my very first one, XI. I'm not very far yet (just added the sisters to my party) but i super love it!!
if I was going to go back and play another, which one should it be?
@espercontrol#12147
DQV for sure, that one‘s still my all time favorite for sure. If you’ve got a DS laying around that's the way to play it imo.
I also highly recommend Builders 2. It may be a goofy spinoff aping Minecraft but it‘s incredibly fun and has one of my favorite stories in the whole series. I’d put it right up there with V and XI
Builders 1 is the only Dragon Quest I have ever finished. I'm a DQ scrub.
@espercontrol#12147
I made this thread specifically because I thought it would be funny how uncontroversial it is to say that almost every Dragon Quest game is good, probably due in no small part to how consistency was always a part of the core design of the games, but there is still a good mix of opinions of which ones are peoples' favourites.
I would honestly say, play 'em all! If you like one, there's a good chance you'll like all of them, at least well enough to not regret it. I used to think they were a bit dry in my youth and young adulthood, and resented their mechanical simplicity, but I think I eventually came to love how consistent they were. I also found I enjoyed them more, with the exception of XI and maybe VIII, letting the AI routines control the party and I control the hero, like old school ones were.
If you have a low tolerance for missing modern conveniences, the 3DS remake of VII is pretty great, as well as the port of VIII. They both provide a pretty modern experience, both of those games are great, both are gargantuan though, and end up feeling _quite_ long at least for some stretches.
Experiences especially as they pertain to QoL and such may vary based on the versions you play. I'm a heathen and played AND enjoyed the Android ports for I through VI, out of necessity sort of. A good deal of my playtime was while commuting, and my city has atrocious transit so I'd often be standing and packed in with people on all sides, so it was one hand on my phone and one hand on the pole at all times lol.
I dunno!! There is a charm to each one. I'll try to give a sort of one sentence impression of each game and I'd choose based on what sounds best for you:
These Three games form a loose trilogy, and while it's not necessary to play them in order, you might enjoy it like that
I: Antiquated and very linear but a fun history lesson, also, doesn't take that long
II: Actually pretty impressive in scope all things considered, great to play after I to experience it as a true solid sophomore release
III: In a weird way this is almost like a really good sequel to Final Fantasy I, you create a party out of different jobs, and later you can change them and retain abilities, and I am a total sucker for a job system, but it's a solid game with a lot of content
These Three games also form a loose trilogy, and while it's not necessary to play them in order, you might enjoy it like that
IV: The one that opens on a sequence of shorter episodes and then after opens up into a more traditional story, worth it for the fun and weird feeling of the beginning but it never gets quite as good as it does in the first part, although it's all good
V: You got a real innovative and well constructed story structure here!! But something that really bothers me in RPGs is when party members come and go and especially permanently, so this one kind of drags for me... This is one of the only ones I had to play more than once to get through
VI: Jobs!!!!!!! Really long but really good
I‘d say it’s best to play the SNES versions of IV, V, and VI if you can. Not that the DS versions are bad, they are in fact good, but they reuse the same set of art/assets that got monotonous to look at (at least to me) after a while. VI especially looks incredible on the SNES.
I: It‘s a really well designed game with charming art direction and graphics (in the NES update). It has a simple but pleasant story made better by playing III. I think the plot doesn’t really explain the main character‘s motivation after about halfway through, but the game is enough of a good time that it’s easy to get past that.
II: It‘s a little long. It’s made better by also playing III.
III: I love it. It is one of my favorites. It‘s great on it’s own, and it‘s also a prequel done right. It enhances the previous entries. I played the NES version, and bought the GBC version for sometime when I feel like playing III again.
IV: It’s a fairy tale with chapters. I had a really good time with it.
V: It‘s a little long, but also it’s my favorite.
VI: I don‘t like this one. I didn’t finish it.
VII: (3DS version) I liked this one a lot, even if the ending didn‘t really work for me. The overall game was great.
VIII: I liked the characters and story and presentation, but hated navigating the 3D overworld, and didn’t like the pacing or the puzzles. I didn‘t finish it. I put it down for a while, and then realized ’a while‘ had been over a year and I decided not to play it any further.
IX: Never played it, not sure if it’s really playable as intended anymore
X: Never played it, probably never going to play it.
XI: I was really excited for the English release of the 3DS version that didn’t happen. I'll probably try it eventually.
Monsters: I have played it a little, and think it seems fantastic. I will save it for when I am in the mood for it.
Monsters II: I have played it a little. It seems okay. I'll probably play it eventually.
Monsters Caravan Heart: It looks interesting. I'll probably play it eventually.
Monsters Joker series: These look like good games that are not for me.
I played through I-V in Japan.
I played through VII in Russia.
I am probably going to save Monsters and III GBC for someplace new, so it's going to be a while.
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@Geoff#12163 VIII: I liked the characters and story and presentation, but hated navigating the 3D overworld, and didn’t like the pacing or the puzzles. I didn’t finish it. I put it down for a while, and then realized ‘a while’ had been over a year and I decided not to play it any further.
Was that the 3DS port or the original? The port put monsters on the overworld which makes navigating less tedious if nothing else.
@Gaagaagiins#12166
Unfortunately, it was the 3DS version.
I was enjoying the characters, but RPGs and especially 3D RPGs are a bit of a tough sell for me.
Dragon Quest and Mother games often work because I find it relaxing to move around in them.
I didn't like moving around in VIII. Seems like a good game, just not a good game for me.
@GigaSlime#12152 oh wait I have played Builders and Builders 2!!! I love those games a lot despite not really caring about minecraft at all. those, with the combo of tim's big video, convinced me to check out the main series! :3
Shouts to Rocket Slime!
I‘ve only played V all the way through. It was on the DS. I had pretty good time. It was the first RPG I played all the way through in Japanese so I am fond of it in a certain way. I played some of VIII and liked it but had a hard time with the encounter rate. I still throw on the music on occasion when I’m looking for a certain kind of mood. I'm hesitant to praise Koichi Sugiyama for any reason though due to him being a massive piece of shit
Edit: I also played some of the Builders 2 demo earlier this year. I sort of washed out of it because it goes pretty hard on the tutorials and presenting them as a part of the story which I feel like you can just see right through, but since a lot of people on here like it maybe it's worth another shot. Always looking for stuff to play with my 4 y/o
Personally I dislike the 3DS version of 7. Once I got the jobs like 30 hours in, I hated the way the costumes looked. Ps1 version for me only.
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@tapevulture#12183 I’m hesitant to praise Koichi Sugiyama for any reason though due to him being a massive piece of shit
My partner and I have this little in-joke between us (okay it's mostly me) where if I ever catch myself humming a Dragon Quest tune while playing it or bobbing my head along to the music as I play I'll just say "nice tune.............too bad I hate it because it was written by a war crime denier!!!" or "nice tune, good thing that guy will be dead soon!!" Yes this is what passes for humour in our home
You know, if he's not unlike most any other famous commercial composer of advanced age, he has probably been a much smaller part of the games than his top billing in the credits would suggest for a while now.
Great thread idea. I‘m a big DQ fan as I assume many in this forum are. Currently playing through VI on the DS - haven’t played it in years so it feels like new. Just a few hours in though.
I won't summarize every game but my opinion is the same as most western fans - my favorites are V and VIII. The former had a big impact on me as a young teen. I love stories of revenge/redemption and growing older. VIII just has fun characters (Yangus and Trode cannot be beat as a duo) and I like that the game starts humble - you're just someone's lackey and bodyguard. No "chosen one" talk.
XI I have 100%ed twice. I really like it, and it obviously has the best graphics and feel due to being the only one in a modern HD console. Nothing about it is bad but the story is not as good others nor the characters. It's probably third or fourth if I had to do a ranking.
I too love DQ, I didn't get super into the franchise until the DS trilogy. Something that is neat is the iOS ports are actually VERY good, even DQ8, the controls are better than they should be for a cellphone. Props for being played in vertical mode as well.
I have played the first couple hours of 11 a few times but just haven't had the mindset to get into it lately. Such a great series. One of the only pieces of gaming memorabilia I have on display is a little plush Smile Slime sitting on my PC tower.
Dragon Quest really became my thing this year. I played XI on PS4 all the way through to the final boss of the first part of the game, died, and then put it down during its release year. I then played VIII on PS2 about a year later and didn't even make it close to Dhoulmagus.
And then it just clicked with me. Hard. I played V on SFC, 1 and 2 on Switch, and am crunching through VIII on 3DS. Worked my way through Dhoulmagus and am now on the second story. I just...man I love it. I love the same-y feelings of the battle systems that run throughout the games. I love the transition from story to story. Give me all of this. Random battles, grinding, crafting. All. Of. It. Goofy English voice acting,
I have IV, VI, VII, and IX loaded on my New 2DS XL for when I make it all the way through VIII, though I suspect it will take quite a bit of time. I even have a copy of XI S on Xbox One ready for when I am ready to do it all over again.
Just give me allllll of the questing for them Dragons.