/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.1081856]

Which is your favorite/"the best" Dragon Quest game?
I'm about half way through 1 and I'm really enjoying it. I hear 2 isn't as good as 1 and that 3 is better to skip to.

[Anonymous No.1081858]

>>1081856
Rocket Slime

[Anonymous No.1081857]

2 is fine if you play the remake on SNES.

[Anonymous No.1081859]

Where do you hear this shit from? These games, if anything, get progressively better. If you like 1, all the others will blow you away.

[Anonymous No.1081860]

>>1081859
Some youtube reviewer, forget his name but I think the show was called 16-bit gems or something. He didn't say it was bad, he just said it didn't hold up to 1 and wasn't as good as 3.

[Anonymous No.1081862]

>>1081860
1 is probably the simplest, in terms of gameplay, story, world size, etc. From there each game adds more characters (npc and playable), quests, monsters, everything. For me, that's always an improvement. 4 (the last one released for NES) is incredible.

[Anonymous No.1081871]

>>1081856
3 is considered by many to be the best, 2 is like a lesser version of 3 but has its advantages.
Definitely don't skip 3.

[Anonymous No.1081895]

I'm very new to dragon quest but this thread seems to be the place to ask.

I hear legends of the size of Dragon Quest 7, that if you do all the side quests its over 120 hours, is this true? Is it fun, and not just a grind? Why do I not often hear about fond memories of this vidya if it has so much content?

[Anonymous No.1081898]

>>1081895
I spent quite a while playing that game, never finished it, just started to get bored toward the end

Same thing with 9, I went all over trying to find alchemy ingredients, but eventually just kinda got bored with the whole thing

[Anonymous No.1081909]

The only one I stuck with and finished was Dragon Quest 1 for the NES. I actually enjoyed the grinding, I would get in from work in the morning, load it up and just play a bit while in bed. I would always aim to reach a certain level or save up gold for a new weapon, it was always satisfying when those goals were met, then I'd turn it off and sleep. It was a relaxing journey.

[Anonymous No.1081913]

>>1081895
FFX came out two months later and railroaded it

[Anonymous No.1081927]

>>1081857

2 is fine on the NES too. There is no bank to store items and gold like in 3 but that adds to the challenge. You have more reason to travel too since Return only brings you to the last town you saved in and doesn't let you just warp anywhere

[Anonymous No.1081932]

I've been going on a DQ binge lately and so far I have completed 1 - 3 on NES and just got to chapter 5 in DQ4. The games so far have been getting progressively better with each release and I would have to say 3 is my favorite at this point. Maybe once I finish 4 I might consider it better. 2 is fantastic, especially after playing 1 and seeing how the world really opens up for the first time.

[Anonymous No.1081936]

Dragon Warrior Monsters 1/2

I haven't played anything else.

[Anonymous No.1081963]

Been playing the entire Dragon Quest series since the start of the year, finished DQ8 a couple nights ago.
It's strange, but I can't really choose a single DQ as my favorite, every one of them had something that made me keep playing them.
DQ1+2 simplicity, DQ3's system, DQ4's characters, DQ5's story...and on.

[Anonymous No.1082113]

Personally, I find Dragon Quest 4 as the best of the series with 7 as a close second place and 3 in third.

[Anonymous No.1082119]

>>1081860
Clan of the Gray Wolf. And I disagree with him. Dragon Quest 2 really fun I feel better then 1. The only problem I really had with 2 is that you have to find Seals and they don't really explain well where they are. But outside that I felt 2 was a great game and made you feel like you are a active party to defeat the great evil. 3 is even more so where it give a amazing twist. Which if you played the games in order when they came out would blow you ever loving mind.

[Anonymous No.1082154]

>>1082119
While the hate for 2 is unjustified, I still feel that 2 is the weakest game of the Erdrick/Roto Trilogy. On top of the Crest search, the game's balance near the end of the game is completely messed up, even in the SNES and GBC remakes. The pitfalls in the Cave to Rhone are completely retarded, and the jump in monster difficulty of Rhone Plataeu is insane, the worst I've ever seen in an RPG. 1, who's only flaw was being too much of a grind fest in the NES version, was far less flawed than 2 was, and 3 fixed pretty much every problem that 2 had.

[Anonymous No.1082172]

>>1082154
Wow, fuck that part of the game. The robots in the cave kept killing me in one turn after reducing my defense, and then you have the batboons.

[Anonymous No.1082201]

>>1082154

Although the end of 2 was pretty rough I still think its a better game than 1 just because it is so much bigger with so much more to do. 1 almost feels like a beta RPG with how small it is.

[Anonymous No.1082203]

i liked 2 because it was an improvement over 1, you had a party. i didn't like some things about it though, like no bank and return not letting me go where i want.

4 was amazing, all those chapters building up to the last one. you got a feel for different characters and their stories before you got to even play as the real hero. i liked 3's box more though than 4's.

[Anonymous No.1082485]

>>1082203
>Final Fantasy Legend II.

[Anonymous No.1082509]

>>1082203
>i liked 3's box better than 4's

but that's 2

nice collection btw

[Anonymous No.1082548]

Just finished this, it's my first DQ game. I think I'll play 1+2 on gbc next.

[Anonymous No.1083176]

So guys, I want to get into this series starting at 1. I see for the NES there's a Japanese version (don't know if there is a fan translation), an American version with some stylistic changes, and then I guess there are SNES versions too. Recommendations?

[Anonymous No.1083184]

>>1083176

SNES version

[Anonymous No.1083186]

>>1083184
Care to elaborate?

[Anonymous No.1083191]

>>1083186

Best graphics and audio, reduced grinding. Fan translation lets you choose between Dragon Quest names and Dragon Warrior names.

[Anonymous No.1083201]

>>1083191

Music is more fleshed out as well, being based on the Symphonic versions.

[Anonymous No.1083208]

If I ever tame a wild slime in real life, I'm going to name him Slalin.

[Anonymous No.1083215]

>quit FF1 halfway through because I got sick of the grinding
>quit PS1 after being impressed a bit but then noticing the amount of grinding I'm doing on Moltavia
why ruin an otherwise good game with grinding

I hear DQ is even worse with this

[Anonymous No.1083221]

>>1083215
Well the thing with DQ1 is that there is no bosses so you ONLY GET experience through grinding. Which sounds bad, but the truth is you spend most of the game exploring and familiarizing yourself with the environment, talking to people and piecing together information until you have a solid idea of what you have to do, and when you do that it's a fetch quest that unlocks the door to the games boss. All the games dungeons are without bosses, it's just about exploring a dark environment, the fear of getting lost, the thrill of finding what you want only to realize that NOW you still have to get OUT of the dungeon.
You can look at it as grinding but the way I see it I feel like I'm on an epic quest. Every enemy I have to kill on the way is just preparation for the final encounter at the end.

[Anonymous No.1083223]

>>1083215
Yuji Horii (the creator of Dragon Quest) actually gave a reason why there's so much grinding in Dragon Quest. He said that RPG should be a upward climb. Where you should always feel like you need to get stronger. If you can just blow through a RPG without grinding there's no feeling of actual progression. At least that's what he feels. Outside Dragon Quest 1 and 2 the grinding has been toned down. You still need to grind every so often it's not nearly has bad as 1 or 2 was.

[Anonymous No.1083225]

>>1083215
>I hear DQ is even worse with this
You're an idiot for believing whoever told you that. DQ3, 4, and 5 have almost no grinding, and the remakes of 1 and 6 eliminate the grind in those games.

also
>quit FF1 halfway through because I got sick of the grinding
>needing to grind in FF1
RPG's just aren't your kind of game. FF1 is pretty light on grinding.

[Anonymous No.1083229]

>>1083215
>FF1
>grinding

When you first cross the sea to get to the elf kingdom, you're only about level 3 and you should probably get up to level 8 before taking on the marsh cave, but that can be sped up by wandering east of Provoka around some mountains until you reach a little tip of land that almost touches the northern continents, where you can fight much stronger monsters. Because it's only a couple tiles, you can fight a battle, heal up completely, then fight another battle when ready, letting them have it with FIR2 as many times as necessary. This should quickly let you get to level 8. After that, the game is paced so that a normal amount of exploration will keep you right around the levels you need to be at. So, no, I wouldn't say there's excessive grinding in FF1.

[Anonymous No.1083230]

>>1083225
Not who you are responding to but depending on which iteration of FF1 you're playing it could be a grindfest. The NES version specifically is broken if you don't grind. The GBA and PSP remakes have kinda eased that problem though and I suggest those because they fix the game without "updating it". It's still FF1, it's just smoother.

[Anonymous No.1083232]

>>1083221
Also you forget it's easy to get lost in DQ2. If you are playing without a map or guide (as you should with most RPG in my opinion) you can get lost easily in those games. And as you try to find that one town with the thing you need you keep fighting the enemies you need to level up. Most of the time people complain with grinding because they get to the different places way faster then the designer intended because they were using a guide.

[Anonymous No.1083239]

>>1083232
This so much.
Those overworlds are designed for you to get lost in because they factored in how far ahead you can see and most of the time you can't tell where you're supposed to go until you've already gone that way. But you can certainly find where you're NOT supposed to go, so it's just a process of elimination.
But to have a map and just run in the right direction, every time, without fail? And then to complain that your character isn't experienced enough? No shit, you haven't experienced anything!

[Anonymous No.1083241]

>>1083225
>FF1 is pretty light on grinding
yeah, no
'pretty light on grinding' is paper mario or pokemon

it may not be extreme grinding, but there's definitely a lot
>when you first cross the sea to get to the elf kingdom, you're only about level 3
this was true for my halfway run
>get up to level 8 before taking the marsh cave
I actually went up to 10 to be safe

I don't remember exactly when I quit. but I think it was after I did somethign with some crystal and a giant and I may have been in an undead/rotten-themed area

I don't know what you mean by 'normal amount of exploration'

I'd always have to grind a few levels to go to the next area post marsh cave

[Anonymous No.1083249]

III > VII> IV > V > VI > II > I

[Anonymous No.1083250]

>>1082203
>Great RPG list.
>Mega Man Zero.
>Super Robot Taisen

I want to be your best friend.

[Anonymous No.1083253]

>>1083239
Don't forget those bastard mazes. Hell in Dragon Quest 2 they forced you to go in a complete circle in the first hour or 2 trying to find your cousin who in turns is trying to find you.

[Anonymous No.1083270]

>>1083241
The elf kingdom is the only place in the entire game you need to grind, though. And that's almost entirely because of TMPR being bugged, meaning you need to be around level 10 and have Silver Swords in order to beat Astos. The rest of the game is mostly smooth sailing, and when it isn't it depends more on luck than on levels (Ice Cave).

[Anonymous No.1083316]

>>1083270
The ice cave is more intimidation than anything else. It can be frightening the first time, not knowing what you're getting into, but a good strategy will help you through it without too much difficulty. If you stockpile heal potions, you can save the white mage's mp for the undead creatures. And doing that will save the black (or red) mage's fire spells for the ice-based enemies. Luck plays a factor in encountering the few enemies that can turn your party members to stone or insta-kill them with rub, but if you have a black belt he should be strong enough at that point to take out almost any single enemy in the first round with his fists, and if you have a thief you can usually run away from the really troubling monsters.

[Anonymous No.1083431]

>>1081856

I really love DQ8 for some reason. I think I might just fucking love the graphics. It's the first DQ that has battles that are actually pretty cool to watch...

[Anonymous No.1083465]

Out of the games I've beaten:

V = VIII > III > VII > IX > IV

Just my opinion, I enjoyed all of them.

[Anonymous No.1083471]

>>1083465
V = VIII > III > VII > IX > VI > IV

Forgot to include VI.

[Anonymous No.1083594]

So, wich translation patches would you reccomend for V and VI? I remember trying to play a patched version of VI a few years ago, but I found it to be quite buggy

[Anonymous No.1083667]

>>1083250
i got shit tons of RPG's, you name it i have it.
save for saturn stuff though, but im working on it.

[Anonymous No.1083705]

>>1083594
Heard the PS2 version is the best and there's a patch for it

[Anonymous No.1083716]

>>1081856
1 is my personal favorite, but a lot of that is nostalgia - it was the first game I ever beat. 2 is better than I used to think it was, but still arguably the weakest in the main series. 3 and 4 are both excellent. 5 is probably the best if I'm being totally honest. 6 is great but not as good as 5, which unfortunately colors the experience somewhat. Maybe play 6 first and then 5. 7 is... different, and awkward, but amazing in its own way. It's hard to rank with the others, but if you find yourself enjoying the series I highly, highly recommend it. Far and away the longest of any of them.

After 7 they're not retro anymore, so that's the end of my rankings.

[Anonymous No.1083761]

>>1083705
Sorry, I should have been more specific. I´m planning on playing the snes versions.

[Anonymous No.1083770]

I think a lot of people are quick to yell GRINDING the first time they start dying. If you consider games like dq3 to be grindy maybe this genre just isn't for you. What would make a game devoid of grinding, being able to progress in a straight line without difficulty? That sounds really boring.
I don't see what's wrong with entering a new location and raising a level or two to cope with stronger enemies before moving on, it feels natural to me.
I think DQ games have masterful pacing and it's a big part of why I like them so much.

[Anonymous No.1083772]

>>1083761

I didn't know there were multiple ones. I played the DeJap translation.

I don't say this a lot but with V I think you are better off playing a remake of it.

[Anonymous No.1083816]

>>1083239
Actually, DW1 came with a map, a list of all the enemies and their attributes, and a list of all the spells you can learn. It was all in the box when you bought the game. I still have all of it. I don't know if all that came with the Japanese versions, though.

[Anonymous No.1083818]

4, but only because I adore the soundtrack, the Hyadain "musical," and the remakes of the previous three.

...because I haven't actually played it yet.

[Anonymous No.1083825]

>>1083816
Dat Ultima inspiration.

[Anonymous No.1083864]

>>1083816
Back during the NES and partly the SNES era the Japanese felt we needed our hand held with RPGs. Tons of them had maps, enemy listings, and walkthroughs.

What's really sad is that we didn't really get into RPGs until FF7 (yes there were a lot of great RPGs on the SNES/Genesis but Americans didn't really buy a lot of them). So a lot of nice RPGs on the NES we never seen.

[Anonymous No.1083879]

God damn DW1 was an amazing game for the time. Some grinding, but not too bad. The perfect weapon availability to balance out gameplay. That level up music the end of a battle. And of course the choice at the beginning of the final battle.

Yeah it sucks by today's standards, but this was my first rpg and I will suck it's dick forever.

My day at work today. Grinding that magic knight (stopspell, sleep)

[Anonymous No.1083880]

>>1083864
The maps and enemy listings were actually Ultima, proto WRPG, inspired.

[Anonymous No.1083890]

>>1083880
Well Dragon Quest was ultima/wizardry inspired. Mostly wizardry.
>>1083879
My favorite part about 1 was the walk back after beating the final boss. How you can revisit every town and the dialog would actually change. Plus how you never need to rescue the princess was always funny to me.

[Anonymous No.1083896]

>>1083890
How is it mostly Wizardry? I'd say mostly Ultima, it takes the overhead exploration straight from it. It's basically Wizardry battles + everything else from Ultima.

[Anonymous No.1083903]

>>1083896
I say that because of what the developers said plus the fact that Wizardry was more popular in Japan then Ultima.

[Anonymous No.1083991]

I've been going through the series since mid summer. So far I've completed 1-3 snes versions. 4 and 6 ds versions, and 5 ps2 version(all in Japanese).

I recommend playing them in order. If you skip to 3 or higher and then go back to 2 I don't think you'll appreciate it as much, but if you play it right after 1, all the additions feel great.

Also if you’re new to rpgs like I was, 2 eases you slowly into extra party members, whereas 3 throws an entire team at you at the beginning which might be a little overwhelming.

My impressions of the ones that I’ve played:

1 - Simplest(part of its charm), but had the best sense of growth, especially the nes version. The world felt very dangerous; a few steps in the wrong direction and you’re facing a next tier enemies who wrecks your shit, but it’s a great feeling once you’ve leveled up and then they’re easy.
2 – Extra party members are great, but they are much weaker than the hero so they feel more like assistants. The map is way bigger which can be overwhelming, and is probably the worst of the series in being “game guidy”, as in, giant free roam map, but you need to get things in order. The game does nudge you in the right direction, but most players likely won’t feel it.
Because it’s more freeroam than 1, it isn’t as grindy until the end area where the enemies are super dangerous, but I really enjoyed overcoming this area. I feel like the sense of growth in this game is more from obtaining items/party members whereas 1 is from leveling/items.
3 – party members actually useful which greatly increased enjoyment. The job system is great, but going back to level 1 after changing jobs is not fun (I think 6’s system is a step in the right direction). I think the personality system was stupid( mostly from lack of information in game), although I like the idea of choices changing the game and would like to see this applied somewhere else.
(cont)

[Anonymous No.1083992]

>>1083991
4 – Giant leap in quality of storytelling. Starting at the bottom of the pyramid, you play each party member individually, learning their backstory, slowly converging into a fine tip at the end. More importantly is how this effects the flow of gameplay; not only do you get to intimately know each character, you get to experience a sense of growth multiple times as you start from scratch with each. I can see how some people might see this as tedious, but I think if it’s not done with too many characters, it’s great. Personally loved it.
Naturally, this leads to a more linear game, BUT less “game guidy” game. If you feel overwhelmed by giant maps, this would be a good game as exploration is presented in chunks.
5 – Strongest story, but less interesting characters than 4 (imo). Monster recruiting was interesting, but I couldn’t bring myself to put my family in the cart so I only used them no other human members were available, so I’m happy this idea branched into its own series, Dragon Quest Monsters. The idea of living several generations is very interesting, but didn’t change the gameplay as much as 4’s structure. Wish the game wouldn’t guilt trip me into picking a certain wife. PS2 version had a nice consistent difficulty with super smooth animations and AMAZING orchestrated soundtrack.
Also, 4 and 5 took away the job changing, which I prefer. I think it adds to the personality party members and I like the problem solving of “working with what you’ve got” as opposed to just grinding out super characters, although sometimes customization is fun.

(cont)

[Anonymous No.1083994]

>>1083992
6 – As mentioned, I think this job system(although I prefer none) is a step in the right direction, but it still ends up with grinding “job points”. I think a better idea would be to learn jobs faster the more jobs you master. Although, I ended up intentionally not taking up more jobs because my menus were over cluttered with spells( final party was Hero, Battle Master, Sage, Sage) Some separation would be great. Party members less interesting than 4/5(imo).
I felt they dropped the ball with the art aesthetics. I got excited when I heard this game was about a ‘dream world’, but they barely did anything with it. The map is gigantic, and there’s two of them. It was fine until you get the ability to go to the sparse undersea, then I got pissed and started using a guide, but until then the fortune teller was nice in pointing me in the right direction without too much hand holding. I think having less reliance of keys/plot items increased my enjoyment a lot

Not sure exactly which game it started with, but I noticed a gradual increase in what I call “talk missions”, where the story progresses by talking to the right person/right order,etc, with no fighting involved. It’s personally been my least favorite part of the series. I don’t mind a little bit to break up the action, but sometimes it’s just too much and I just go straight to a guide. I’ve stuck out a few and I felt zero accomplishment. I’ll take grinding out a dungeon over combing a town any day.

I’m going to buy the 3ds version of 7 this weekend, which according to Japanese gamers, only takes 60 hours to complete instead of the 100+ of the ps1 version.

[Anonymous No.1084003]

>>1083994
oh, and to answer op's question.

I've enjoyed each game very much, but 4 is my favorite because of the game structure and pacing, sense of growth, music, characters(uniqueness strengthened by no job structure and personal chapters), art direction, beautiful day/night transitions, not too guide reliant, and tough but not too tough difficulty.

[Anonymous No.1084007]

>>1084003
I have to say she made me so confused. I saw a girl with a wizard hat and thought "oh a mage cool" then she had no MP so I thought she was like the hero in 1 where he didn't get spells until a few levels in. Then I saw her deal more damage then the other characters.

[Anonymous No.1084018]

>>1084003
Does equiping her with a weapon better or worse?

[Anonymous No.1084039]

>>1084018
Better. Her weapons tend to be rare, but they are very powerful. Keep a lookout for her special weapon: claws.

[Anonymous No.1084128]

>>1083816
all the DW games did, so did the final fantasy legend games on gameboy