/vr/ - Retro Games

Well I'm done with my DQ1-4 marathon on NES. What a great fucking series and I really regret not diving into them sooner, there is so much I'd like to say.... maybe one day I will, just a few words for now

2 was my favourite, probably because I like to suffer; but 3 and I'll say in a way even 4 have undeniable better battle systems.

I actually enjoyed 4's AI system, sure there are times when the AI does stupid moves, sure there are times I wished I could tell Mara to use offensive spells while at the same time not having Nara waste MP I'd rather keep for healing; and it's easy to get frustrated if you focus on the bad side, but at the same time the AI often pulls moves you would never have done if you were controlling them and more often than not it leads into a positive outcome.
The reason is because the AI decides what to do at the start of their move rather than at the start of the turn, which means
>they don't hit air
>they heal as soon as someone's in the red
Rather than waiting for the next turn, which often saves a life
>they know how much HP enemies have left
so they won't waste MP with a strong spell when a mid spell is enough to finish the enemy

I wasn't very fond of the chapter system however. The stories were good (except for Alena's), but it's quite depressing to start from lvl1 again, battling the same low lvl enemies every time and being expected to grind at least 1h at the start of each chapter for exp and money. In the grand scheme it's even more depressing when you eventually bench half of those chars in chapter
5.

Another great thing about 4 was that unlike in 2 and 3, you can't rely on Shield of Strength spam to heal in the late game and have to rely on several other methods, one of which includes using characters in your wagon.

4 also had great looking and varied dungeons. In comparison with the end of 3 and its return to known territory and grey bricks is night&day