/vr/ - Retro Games

[Anonymous No.5691375]

What are your thoughts on Dragon Quest 2? Just finished it and really liked it overall. Seemed like a definite improvement over the first.

Apparently the NES version is balls hard.

[Anonymous No.5691384]

fuck the snow area difficulty jump

[Anonymous No.5691385]

>>5691375
Main characters look like Bulma, Goku and Krillin, so that's nice.

[Anonymous No.5691404]

>>5691375
I liked it better than the first game too. The location of some of the seals was bullshit tho

[Anonymous No.5691408]

>>5691404
Oh absolutely

I’m gonna be upfront and admit I used a guide at certain points. I love how open the world is and how much freedom you have in the order you do stuff, but some things you need to do/find are ridiculously obscure.

Aside from exploration I was surprised how much fun I had with battles. By the end every decision you make on every turn feels like an important gamble. One turn can seriously make such a huge difference. Seeing when things pay off or losing an important trade with the enemy party feels really addictive and surprisingly exciting.

>>5691384
What version did you play? Heard postNES versions made the last area way easier by adding a free resurrection house.

[Anonymous No.5691412]

>>5691408
Different guy here, DQII was kind of rushed resulting in not enough play testing and deleted content and scenes. In the manual for the original Famicom version there is a screenshot of a illustration depicting the game's opening cutscene, as well as that multiple cutscene would ve illustrated throughout the game. Beside this uncolored screenshot we would never get to see these scenes used in any version.

You can read more about it here:
http://shmuplations.com/dragonquestii/

[Anonymous No.5691414]

I enjoyed a lot; about on par with FF1 and PS1 I think.
I played the GBC port, though, so it was remake-difficulty, not NES/Famicom.

[Anonymous No.5691435]

>>5691414
Could never get into FF1, but maybe that’s because I always tried to play the original version on NES.

How does Phantasy Star compare to FF and DQ? Never played a game in that series before. Gonna take a break from DQ before I head into 3 but might play another old jrpg in the meantime. Probably either PS or SMT or Valkyrie Profile.

[Anonymous No.5691452]

>>5691435
Not him but FS differs from other jrpgs as it is a dungeon crawler. SMT is great, they're my favorite jrpgs personally, but I suggest trying the more modern games as the older games are quite janky and can be very brutal.

[Anonymous No.5691468]

>>5691435
>he's gonna get to enjoy DQ3 for the first time
god i fucking wish that was me. what an absolute masterwork that game is. i hope you enjoy it.

[Anonymous No.5691479]

Shorter proto-three.

[Anonymous No.5691493]

>>5691452
I imagine the early ones are a lot more gameplay-centric though, which is a big deal for me. I watched a playthrough of DDS and if SMT is similar I think I’ll enjoy it.

>>5691468
I’m looking forward to it. I know it’s one of the most highly regarded in the series by a lot of people, and the first two games have done a great job of hyping up Erdrick. Still need a break from DQ first though, wont be able to enjoy it if I start feeling series burnout.

[Anonymous No.5691505]

>>5691493
Funny you say that, the DDS games are spinoffs that are a lot more plot heavy. They're fine game but structure and mechanics wise they resemble more typical jrpgs.

Nocturne would be an excellent starting point for you. Its plot is very minimalistic but has enough depth to still be interesting. It's far more gameplay focused then other jrpgs of its era.

[Anonymous No.5691507]

>>5691493
>>5691505
Also, in regards, to DQIII, get ready for one of the greatest jrpgs ever made. Whenever I feel like jrpgs just aren't for me anymore DQIII is one of the games that reminds me why I loved them so much. A true masterpiece.

[Anonymous No.5691514]

>>5691505
I meant Digital Devil Story, not Digital Devil Saga.

[Anonymous No.5691673]

>>5691468
>>5691493
I played 1-3 back to back and by the time I got to alefgard in 3 I was groaning. In isolation its an amazing twist but you literally go there in all 3 games and it felt like a slog and pace killer for me. I feel similarly about kanto in gsc.

[Anonymous No.5691846]

>>5691507
Original or remake?

[Anonymous No.5692664]

>>5691846
Snes remake for DQIII. The gbc version has another bonus dungeon but it's a huge downgrade in terms of audio and visuals. DQIII on snes came out at the end of the console's lifespan and looks and sounds amazing.

[Anonymous No.5692796]

>>5691375
It was very boring to me... DQ1 at least was very short, but this one was very long and hard. For me, DQ3 was where Dragon Quest started to become good.

[Anonymous No.5692925]

>>5691846
>>5692664
How’s the mobile version? I know ff6 on mobile is infamously bad but DQ 1 and 2 were very well done ports. Jrpgs are something I like to whittle away at so having them on my phone to play during little moments of downtime is nice.

[Anonymous No.5692991]

>>5692925
It's not terrible, but not great. It's essentially a gutted version of the snes remake. It does have a new official translation which is interesting, though I personally feel the fan translation of DQIII is perfectly fine.

[Anonymous No.5693409]

>>5691375
i hate that the other characters dont get to use many good weapons as the main hero and the last dungeon have a great jump in dificulty but i like this game even more than the first

[Anonymous No.5693427]

I think Dragon Quest 2 was really innovative. The journey to getting the ship, meeting the two other characters, was neat, and then once you get the ship it becomes an open world game that you wander around solving however you like.

[Anonymous No.5693459]

-Hiding quest items in super shit and unclever places constantly.
-You get hinted at having to find an invisible sunken ship with a quest item in the middle of the ocean, that can't be searched until you talk to a random key NPC in a later discovered castle.
-Have to step on one tile with an invisible drop at the bottom of the worst super death pit in the game to get the thundersword.

I fucking hate this game.

[Anonymous No.5693468]

>>5691404
The location for the Sun Seal was horseshit.
I recalled an NPC saying it was in a Fire Shrine, so I spent a while searching through the volcanic dungeon before throwing the towel and consulting a guide.
I probably should've used the Echo Flute to know I was looking in the wrong spot, but still.

[Anonymous No.5693479]

NES Jarpigs are honestly fucking terrible. The only ones I enjoy are translated DBZ I,II and III. The first game is pretty meh but the 3xBP patch fixes it.

[Anonymous No.5693484]

>>5693479
>Jarpigs
Good to know your opinion is worthless right away.

[Anonymous No.5693486]

^tosser

[Anonymous No.5693498]

>>5693484

[Anonymous No.5693506]

I've been playing through the SNES version of DQ2 recently and I can get to Rhone but then I get devastated before I can reach the monolith. And every trip back through the cave I get rekt near the end anymore.

Fuck these pieces of shit.

[Anonymous No.5693525]

>>5693479
Try some Ganbare Goemon Gaiden, they're funny and good jarpigs.

[Anonymous No.5693571]

^faggot

>>5693484
Based

[Anonymous No.5693579]

>>5691375
I played the GBC version and I found it pretty fun what it was. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone not interested in the history and evolution of JRPGs, but I think if you approach it from that angle it's really interesting since it's so open and exploration focused. Once you get the boat it's pretty much "go find the seals, good luck with that shit" which I can see why people don't like that, but if you look at how obnoxiously linear JRPGs eventually got then in some ways it's a bit of a fresh experience for the genre.

I'm usually pretty dense with these kinds of things and end up missing important clues, but the only thing I had to look up was how to open the floodgate which ended up making me feel stupid because you needed to move outside the town boundary and scroll the screen up, which is a trick the first game pulled and it didn't stump me there so I should have been expecting it again.

Also the one section of the game where the one prince gets cursed and you're stuck with two party members and no clue on how to save him is honestly one of my favorite moments in a JRPG. Definitely made me shit my pants for a while when I realized I had to figure out how to get him back while down a arty member and I was already getting my ass kicked with a full party

[Anonymous No.5693582]

>>5691375
Cave of Rhone was a slog and so hard

[Anonymous No.5693674]

>>5693409
Yeah but the other two get to make up for it with magic. Jrpg protags usually aren’t magic guys but I thought it was interesting the main player character never learns even a single spell.

If I had to choose between reviving the mc or one of the other two, by the end of the game the other two had higher priority just cause they both had the revive spell. Mc is the best damage dealer so you need him alive but the others are your insurance. I love how one sequence of turns can make or break a run, it’s real thrilling. Though I get why it could be frustrating as well.

>>5693427
>>5693579
Yeah I had no idea the first two games in this series were so open. You always hear about how open zelda 1 is but these games don’t get the credit they deserve in that regard. I don’t think linearity is always a bad thing, but I’m still surprised at just how much the jrpg genre seemed to lose it’s way in regards to this kind of design.

How open/linear is the rest of this series? I imagine at some point they get way more story focused and linear.

[Anonymous No.5693687]

>>5691375
I just finished this for the first time a month ago, so the experience is still fresh in my mind. I really enjoyed myself up until the point where I got the ship, and everything past that point being a tedious hassle. It doesn't help that the ship moves painfully slow, and you can't take two steps without repel.

DQ1 was a more enjoyable experience by far.

[Anonymous No.5693706]

>>5693468
lol I feel you. They could have used more consistent naming. By the time I found it I didn't need to grind for Rhone anymore.

[Anonymous No.5694219]

>>5693479
kys shmupfag

[Anonymous No.5694310]

Funny just finished DQ2 couple of days ago. It's...alright in terms of NES JRPG. It's just not a fun game to really play because of how unfair the game is.
Firstly it's just a grindfest. but even that can't really help you since you have the Green Prince that falls over like paper.
Second the dungeons are just massive but there's little reason to explore them since they might just have 1 extra chest that all it will have is a herb (Also FUCK CAVE TO RHONE).
Third items are just hidden everywhere so you are force to just hit search in a lot of areas hoping to just stumble upon it.
Forth is enemies just have really annoying attacks like draining 10+ MP, enemies that can crit that can easily just one shot even the Hero and those fucking apes that can cast Sacrifice

[Anonymous No.5694924]

>>5694310
They made the other prince a lot better in the rereleases/remakes from what I’ve heard. I played on mobile and he was a useful member of the party.

[Anonymous No.5695970]

>>5694924
Heard also any items hidden on the floor gives a sparkle which might be a godsend to DQ2. Sadly I can't enjoy playing on mobile so best one I could play is SNES which is better but still has a lot of issues.

[Anonymous No.5696340]

>>5691435
>>How does Phantasy Star compare to FF and DQ?
Favourably. It's mechanically simpler than FF1 but much more pleasing to the eye than any RPG on a Nintendo system until the mid 90's, several medium sized worlds to explore. It's just about as much adventure as you can fit onto a cartridge.

[Anonymous No.5696364]

>>5695970
Normally I agree and consider mobile garbage due to the lack of haptic feedback and how unreliable touch controls often seem, but the DQ ports have made me reconsider. It sounds like I would have enjoyed other versions much less, both for qol features and portability.

I still detest mobile for anything requiring reflexes or precision, but for turn based stuff I think it works pretty well.

On that note how ‘active’ is Valkyrie Profile? Sounds like the game has a bit more going on than just selecting a move. I’d rather get the mobile version than emulate but if timed button presses are actually important then I’ll probably reconsider.

[Anonymous No.5696398]

>>5693479
is shmupfag a mexican?

[Anonymous No.5696438]

>>5691435
Phantasy Star is a great game with an abysmal official translation (as with most 8-bit JRPGs). Try and find a fan translation or play a remake or something if you can, that is unless you like first food.

As for DQ2 there were times I thought if I got strange jig'd one more time I'd have a controller through my TV.

[Anonymous No.5697050]

>>5696364
I wish I could enjoy them on phone. Even got SMT 1 when it came on mobile but even with pure dungeon crawler just felt off doing it. But with everything I've read about if you are someone who want to experience DQ2 mobile might be the best way to do it.

[Anonymous No.5698004]

Didn't someone on /vr/ play this game using only the princess?

[Anonymous No.5698007]

>>5698004
yes, but he ultimately quit on Malroth
RIP

[Anonymous No.5698518]

>>5693674
Of the rest I've only played DQ3 and 5.
DQ3 is open as fuck after the boat.
DQ5 is more linear. I'm not sure if certain events can play out of order, but exploration is still necessary to progress.

[Anonymous No.5700029]

>>5698004
>>5698007
I get wanting a challenge but that sounds horribly unfun and tedious

[Anonymous No.5700031]

>>5700029
Spawned some great fan-art, though.

[Anonymous No.5700390]

>>5691412
if anyone's interested, I managed to find the original interview
https://web.archive.org/web/20120621110141/http://www.geocities.jp/bgrtype/gsl/words/dq2/dq2.html

[Anonymous No.5700431]

>>5700029
So just like Dragpn Quest.

[Anonymous No.5700449]

>>5693479
>jarpig

[Anonymous No.5700502]

>>5693459
none of those are hard to find if you have a sense of adventure.

[Anonymous No.5701307]

Alright /vr/, I'm about to be on a 10 hour road trip and need to know which mobile DQ to get. I own and have completed 1-3 already so don't really need those. Thanks in advance, didn't feel the need to start a new thread.

[Anonymous No.5701796]

>>5701307
Heard the DS ports work alright. If you can get over walking around town and world map with a fake analog stick.

[Anonymous No.5704470]

>>5694310
Guess one more is 90% of the gear you find are all for the main prince. Which just means the other two are fighting for even weak stuff.

[Anonymous No.5704870]

>>5701307
DQ4

[Anonymous No.5704905]

>Prince Princeton
>Princess Princessa

God, I utterly despise the "canon" names they were given.

[Anonymous No.5704929]

>>5704905
Where are those names from?

[Anonymous No.5705030]

>>5704905
Dumb but funny enough to be in line with the rest of the translation. Pretty sure those names would never come up in the game itself unless you plug them in though. If someone says something like that years after release in some dumb PR statement I don’t necessarily consider it canon, even if it’s from an official source.

I actually really like how if you tell the game to name the characters, it randomly selects from a large pool of names. Makes it feel like there’s no “right” name, so they can be named whatever and it still feels like “their” name.

If you need a way to refer to them, prince of cannock and princess of moonbrooke work fine.

>>5700502
A cute. Surprised me how popular this character seems to be with fan artists.

[Anonymous No.5705147]

What's a good experience with III if I want (From most important to lesser but still important)

A good localization
Good music
A challenge

[Anonymous No.5705313]

>>5705147
Go with the Japanese localization.

[Anonymous No.5705363]

>>5704929
I know Princessa is from the localized Fortune Street game. Supposedly it's also used in DQ9.

[Anonymous No.5705882]

>>5705147
NES version is honestly pretty good in all departments. Dragon Quest on NES actually had some care when doing localization. It's just DQ1 and 2 used more of a Ye Old English but by DQ 3 and 4 they mostly just dropped it for just normal sounding speech.

SNES is a great version too but I have fondness for the NES version.

[Anonymous No.5706227]

>>5704929
DQIX

[Anonymous No.5706270]

>>5705363
>>5706227
That's just the translation. The original names are クッキー and プリン.

[Anonymous No.5706281]

>>5705147
Play the snes version, it's not really any easier then the nes version beside if you want to abuse some of the overpowered equipment you can receive from an optional late game mini game. The nes version is arguably easier actually as there is a glitch one can abuse to parry every turn while still taking an action. The snes version also is just really nice from a presentation standpoint. I was released in 1996 near the end of the system's lifespan, it looks and sounds great.

[Anonymous No.5706374]

>>5691435
If you have a Switch, I would recommend the Sega Ages port of the original Phantasy Star. I recently finished the story and I enjoyed it. M2 added some really nice quality of life features. I still had to use a guide to know where to go most of the time, though.

[Anonymous No.5706767]

>>5705882
In regards to 3 on NES how bad/good is the RNG? I got up to the end of 2 and the fucking RNG made me give up.

[Anonymous No.5706785]

>>5706767
As everyone here already pointed out DQ2 is just a messed up game from top to bottom. RNG can get a bit annoying but dungeons are much more enjoyable to navigate since it's not nearly as fuckery. And enemies aren't as bullshit as in DQ2 where they can easily just kill your party even at high levels. Plus outside of maybe the start and half way in the game is nicely designed where you hardly need to actually grind for levels and weapons.

[Anonymous No.5706975]

>>5706785
Well that is a bit reassuring, maybe I will JUST forget about 2 and move on to 3. Thanks anon.