Dragon Quest games

[That_Tj]

I was looking for games that i could play after i finish playing FE:Echos. One of the suggestions that i found was Dragon Quest 8. I wanted to see what people thought about this series, and if i were to start what game should i start with? 

 Any help would be awesome. 

[Slumber]

Dragon Quest is one of my favorite franchises, with 7 being my favorite game of all time. They're fairly simple, straight forward JRPGs, but they typically have a ton of charm, and they tend to be pretty challenging. 

While 7 is my favorite for the things it does right, I'd say 8 really probably is the best place for new players to start. It's no easier than the other games in the franchise, but all around I think it does the best at the most. It has far and away the best presentation in the franchise, it's got a decent story, major scenes are voice acted, it's colorful, and very, very memorable. It's generally seen as one of the shining JRPGs on the PS2. And while that title isn't as contentious as it was for the SNES or PS1-era, that's still a great accomplishment. 

The DQ games tend to be pretty grindy though. Not that the grind isn't fun, but I know that's not a lot of peoples' cup of tea. But if you have the time and commitment, you'll probably find a LOT to love about DQ8. 

Edited July 11, 2017 by Slumber

[Interdimensional Observer]

I've only played the DS version DQ5 (it was originally released on the SNES). It was the only one I could get my hands on, though I'd like to grab DQ4 when possible. I've also read DQ5 the favorite of the DQ franchise's founder.

The game was good, the plot, while simple and packed with classic RPG cliches, is nonetheless quite touching, though I don't want to spoil why. I found most of the Party Chat dialogue once you made it to the final third (I took some time to wander around to all the cities despite not needing to) very endearing. On the gameplay side, it's extremely traditional, you buff, heal, and physically attack (because attack magic is garbage) in a turn-based format with no gimmicks whatsoever. DQ5 is noted for letting you tame wild monsters, and you'll need at least a couple good ones (a Slime Knight is a good choice) for the early part of the game- though you get enough humans later on to replace them if you want to, I did b/c Party Chat and the feel of having them around. You also get to pick a wife out of three choices, each with a different personality and combat leanings.

From what I've heard, DQ as a whole from what I'm aware generally stays fairly conservative in its gameplay and stories, though they do make room for some change. 4-6 are considered a loosely connected trilogy by the way, and 1-3 are more directly connected too. DQ7 is supposed to be really, really slow to start, and features a bunch of isolated mini stories instead (though with some underlying connections). DQ6 I don't hear a lot of, but its class system was later refined in 7. DQ8 I'm sort of interested in, but I'll wait for a price drop and snag it used. 1-3 are fairly short and granddaddies of the JRPG- don't expect that much from them. DQ9's notable online element in the form of Grottos has been shut down. DQ10 is not available outside of Japan and is an MMORPG.

As for grinding- I don't think it's all that much needed unless you want to go to 99, I finished DQ5 will my characters below 50 level-wise I think.

[Magical Glace]

I love Dragon Quest games.  8's probably my third favorite overall, for that one specifically, though I prefer 6 as my all time favorite and 7 as the runner up (7 is pretty similar to 6 but I prefer the execution of 6, I found 7 a bit bloated in some ways).  

I do agree that DQ8 is probably one of the best places to start though.  Tbh the only part of DQ8 I found particularly grindy is pre-Dhoulmagus, since that fight is very difficult if Angelo isn't level 30.  It's doable, but I usually prefer to avoid doing it without the spell Angelo gets at that level.

4 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

DQ6 I don't hear a lot of, but its class system was later refined in 7.

I'm going to say I prefer the way 6 handled classes to 7, especially PS1 7.  7's class system was super full of needless classes compared to 6's, especially in the PS1 version where human advanced classes could pass on skills rendering the entire existence of Monster classes practically moot because most of the easier to get ones gave skills human classes gave for way more effort, including some reliance on RNG.  In 6, focusing almost solely on the human classes with only two monster classes made it so it felt like everything had something to offer.  

Even in 3DS 7 where the game attempts to give the monster classes more of a niche, I still found it easier to stay in the human classes (particularly once the super human classes started unlocking) after grabbing Multiheal from the Healslime monster vocation.  I do appreciate the faster class growth though, it was slow in the PS1 version of 7 and in 6.  And to some degree mourn the loss of combo skills (I would have preferred if the game did more to directly tell you about them rather than do away with the concept entirely, they were a guide dang it before but they didn't have to be.  Though on the flipside, you can no longer break the game with Swords Dance so easily).

tl;dr less was more with regards to the 6/7 class system.

[Res]

I love the Dragon Quest series; it has some of my all-time favourite games. The gameplay is simple and can grow a little dull at times, there's not a lot of strategy and usually some grinding is required (although it's easy enough to grind while watching TV). However, the games are packed with charm, fun characters and cute stories.

Personally I'd probably start with DQ5; it has one of the more unique and well-regarded stories, it was also my introduction to the series and I remember it being a good one. I also don't remember too much grinding being required, whereas DQ8 has a steep leap in difficulty that almost requires a little grinding (unless you strike very lucky). DQ8 and DQ7 are my second and third favourites respectively, although Interdimensional Observer is right about DQ7 being very slow to get going (the introduction was cut much shorter for the DS version, from what I hear, and it's still rather slow!). 

[sirmola]

My favorate DQ story is 5, but 9 is my favorate, gameplay wise. This is partly because i like how the class system is implemented. 9's class system opens up much earlier than those in other games. (whereas six and 7 both require you to play for over 15 hours before unlocking classes). 7 is one of the longest and slowest games i have ever played. I recomend the DS version of 5 for a first play-through (pro tip: use a slime knight as a party member. they are easy to get, have good stats, can use good equipment, some decent spells, and don't fall off in usefullness). Note that 8 is the only us-released DQ game that i have not played.

[Slumber]

8 hours ago, Glaceon Sage said:

I love Dragon Quest games.  8's probably my third favorite overall, for that one specifically, though I prefer 6 as my all time favorite and 7 as the runner up (7 is pretty similar to 6 but I prefer the execution of 6, I found 7 a bit bloated in some ways).  

I do agree that DQ8 is probably one of the best places to start though.  Tbh the only part of DQ8 I found particularly grindy is pre-Dhoulmagus, since that fight is very difficult if Angelo isn't level 30.  It's doable, but I usually prefer to avoid doing it without the spell Angelo gets at that level.

I'm going to say I prefer the way 6 handled classes to 7, especially PS1 7.  7's class system was super full of needless classes compared to 6's, especially in the PS1 version where human advanced classes could pass on skills rendering the entire existence of Monster classes practically moot because most of the easier to get ones gave skills human classes gave for way more effort, including some reliance on RNG.  In 6, focusing almost solely on the human classes with only two monster classes made it so it felt like everything had something to offer.  

Even in 3DS 7 where the game attempts to give the monster classes more of a niche, I still found it easier to stay in the human classes (particularly once the super human classes started unlocking) after grabbing Multiheal from the Healslime monster vocation.  I do appreciate the faster class growth though, it was slow in the PS1 version of 7 and in 6.  And to some degree mourn the loss of combo skills (I would have preferred if the game did more to directly tell you about them rather than do away with the concept entirely, they were a guide dang it before but they didn't have to be.  Though on the flipside, you can no longer break the game with Swords Dance so easily).

tl;dr less was more with regards to the 6/7 class system.

This I wholly disagree with. I do agree that the PS1 version made a lot of classes redundant, but 3DS 7 fixed that(I do miss class combo skills). 

My problem with 6's system is that it never felt like I was working towards something with the classes, and once they were mastered, that was pretty much the end of it. If I'm remembering correctly, 6 had a smaller number of base classes, and only 3 higher tier classes. 7 gave you a LOT more to actually use and work towards with the class system. If I put work into playing a Fighter, I know that once I'm done with that, I can put time towards Cleric or Warrior and actually get something out of my work. And once I'm done with THAT, I can work towards another hybrid class and hopefully unlock an even higher tier than that. 

There's almost always a thread to keep you going with 7 that really isn't quite as present as 6, and pretty much all of the human classes are unique. Yeah, there's overlap with some monster classes, but monster classes are supposed to be their own separate system, and putting work towards those can be just as interesting as the human classes. And while the human classes are all intended to be fully usable, the highest tier monster classes end up fitting crazy extreme niches that make the whole thing feel way different than the human classes. 

The class system in 7 is pretty much the only reason to keep playing the game for the 100-120 hours the game lasts. Like, yeah. The story is unique, and probably the most out-there and often times the most depressing thing to ever come out of Dragon Quest by like, a country mile. But 100+ hours would be a big ask if the gameplay wasn't constantly varying, and the class system in 7 allows that.

In fact, I mentally dock points when I see a game do a class system kind of similar, but never reach the crazy depth and breadth of DQ7's class system. Dragon's Dogma is the big one, since that game even uses the same terminology for its class system. It has hybrids and advanced classes. And I love Dragon's Dogma. Its classes are a lot of fun. But I was completely upset that the hybrid and advanced classes were just given to you, and that the fact that there were only 3 base classes didn't give a crazy amount of hybrid and advanced classes. There's no reason that this should have upset me as much as it did, but it did, because I saw a bit of Dragon Quest 7 in DD, and that bit I saw didn't come close to living up to DQ7's. 

Edited July 12, 2017 by Slumber

[Magical Glace]

10 hours ago, Slumber said:

This I wholly disagree with. I do agree that the PS1 version made a lot of classes redundant, but 3DS 7 fixed that(I do miss class combo skills). 

My problem with 6's system is that it never felt like I was working towards something with the classes, and once they were mastered, that was pretty much the end of it. If I'm remembering correctly, 6 had a smaller number of base classes, and only 3 higher tier classes. 7 gave you a LOT more to actually use and work towards with the class system.

While 6 did have less human classes overall, my problem with 7's class system was less the human classes (which I found were handled fine) and more the monster classes just being A. wholly redundant with the human classes that don't require monster hearts (the lower level ones) or B. overwhelmingly time consuming or RNG reliant to get (the monster heart drop rates are not fun, and grinding through the lower level monster classes can be just as time consuming).  As for the number of advanced classes in 6, that's actually undershooting the mark, at least for the DS version.  There were 9 basic classes and 6 advanced classes, plus one superclass (Hero) and two monster classes (Dragon and Liquid Metal Slime).    

If I put work into playing a Fighter, I know that once I'm done with that, I can put time towards Cleric or Warrior and actually get something out of my work. And once I'm done with THAT, I can work towards another hybrid class and hopefully unlock an even higher tier than that. 

...So... exactly like DQ6.  Once you master Fighter/Martial Artist, you can go to Cleric/Priest or Warrior and get something.  This is literally no different between the two.  Advanced classes unlock in pretty much the exact same way in both games.

There's almost always a thread to keep you going with 7 that really isn't quite as present as 6, and pretty much all of the human classes are unique. Yeah, there's overlap with some monster classes, but monster classes are supposed to be their own separate system, and putting work towards those can be just as interesting as the human classes. And while the human classes are all intended to be fully usable, the highest tier monster classes end up fitting crazy extreme niches that make the whole thing feel way different than the human classes. 

See above.  The monster classes that don't feel wholly redundant require either slogging through the ones that do or relying on unreliable monster heart drops to access.

The class system in 7 is pretty much the only reason to keep playing the game for the 100-120 hours the game lasts. Like, yeah. The story is unique, and probably the most out-there and often times the most depressing thing to ever come out of Dragon Quest by like, a country mile. But 100+ hours would be a big ask if the gameplay wasn't constantly varying, and the class system in 7 allows that.

Keep in mind DQ6 has a shorter main story than 7, DQ6's main campaign is only 40 hours or so (assuming you know what you're doing, since some people get lost on their first run and the file I'm using as reference was a second playthrough meaning I already knew where to go and when).  Even when there's less classes, there is way more than enough that you can keep mastering more during the amount of time DQ6 takes.   In truth though, I'd play it through the whole 100 hours just because it's a DQ game that's similar to DQ6.    

In fact, I mentally dock points when I see a game do a class system kind of similar, but never reach the crazy depth and breadth of DQ7's class system. Dragon's Dogma is the big one, since that game even uses the same terminology for its class system. It has hybrids and advanced classes. And I love Dragon's Dogma. Its classes are a lot of fun. But I was completely upset that the hybrid and advanced classes were just given to you, and that the fact that there were only 3 base classes didn't give a crazy amount of hybrid and advanced classes. There's no reason that this should have upset me as much as it did, but it did, because I saw a bit of Dragon Quest 7 in DD, and that bit I saw didn't come close to living up to DQ7's. 

I haven't played it, so I can't really comment on how it matches up to DQ7 or DQ6.

And just being clear that I do like DQ7, it's my fifth favorite game of all time (losing out to The Wind Waker, A Link Between Worlds, DQ6, and FE6).  

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Dragon Warrior is...yeah I can't recommend that. Haven't played any of the others.

[Lerandel]

Oh my gosh, I'm a huge fan of Dragon Quest. Been so for a long time.

The Game Boy Color remake rectifies the problems that the original Dragon Quest 1 had, and adds some features from later games. I do need to play more of the games, but from what I've finished, IV is still my favorite.

[Slumber]

On 7/12/2017 at 7:15 AM, Glaceon Sage said:

And just being clear that I do like DQ7, it's my fifth favorite game of all time (losing out to The Wind Waker, A Link Between Worlds, DQ6, and FE6).  

True, I think I overplayed how many fewer classes there are in 6 compared to 7(7 has 20 human classes instead of 16), but in 6, the scale of things you get to work towards and work with are much more limited, and weird for the characters.

Like for Carver, while Gladiator makes perfect sense, it doesn't make much sense for him to really ever be a Sage or a Luminary to become a Hero, which is far and away the best class in the game. Similarly, Milly makes a terrible Gladiator. So for the most part, Carver's progression will end at Gladiator, unless you want to go through the game with a mediocre Magic/Support unit to get him to progress to Hero. Same deal with Milly being the inverse. Additionally, this de-incentivizes you to put work towards any hybrid classes that aren't Gladiator/Sage/Luminary, since classes that AREN'T those 3 don't end up leading to you becoming a Hero. And given 6 is about 1/3 the length of 7, you really can't put the work into classes that aren't those 3 if you want Heroes.

7 alleviates this by making two extra advanced classes that are roughly as good as the Hero class, while also making the requirements for the Hero class much less stringent. Gabo/Ruff makes a perfect Champion, since Paladin and Gladiator both work towards that(Barring the time he'll spend as a less than ideal Priest), and if he masters Champion, he can automatically switch to Hero, which he can then put even more work towards. He'll likely ALWAYS be working towards something that makes sense and works for him.

The more I think about it, the less it's "7 feels like you're always progressing compared 6"(Which I still think is true to some degree), and more "7's class progression makes a lot more sense than 6's".

Edited July 13, 2017 by Slumber

[Magical Glace]

26 minutes ago, Slumber said:

True, I think I overplayed how many fewer classes there are in 6 compared to 7(7 has 20 human classes instead of 16), but in 6, the scale of things you get to work towards and work with are much more limited, and weird for the characters.

Like for Carver, while Gladiator makes perfect sense, it doesn't make much sense for him to really ever be a Sage or a Luminary to become a Hero, which is far and away the best class in the game. Similarly, Milly makes a terrible Gladiator. So for the most part, Carver's progression will end at Gladiator, unless you want to go through the game with a mediocre Magic/Support unit to get him to progress to Hero. Same deal with Milly being the inverse. Additionally, this de-incentivizes you to put work towards any hybrid classes that aren't Gladiator/Sage/Luminary, since classes that AREN'T those 3 don't end up leading to you becoming a Hero. And given 6 is about 1/3 the length of 7, you really can't put the work into classes that aren't those 3 if you want Heroes.

7 alleviates this by making two extra advanced classes that are roughly as good as the Hero class, while also making the requirements for the Hero class much less stringent. Gabo/Ruff makes a perfect Champion, since Paladin and Gladiator both work towards that(Barring the time he'll spend as a less than ideal Priest), and if he masters Champion, he can automatically switch to Hero, which he can then put even more work towards. He'll likely ALWAYS be working towards something that makes sense and works for him.

The more I think about it, the less it's "7 feels like you're always progressing compared 6"(Which I still think is true to some degree), and more "7's class progression makes a lot more sense than 6's".

I actually found characters in DQ7 similarly specialized, maybe not to the same extent as Ashlynn/Barbara and Carver/Hassan, but things like Maribel as a gladiator makes as little sense as making Milly/Mireyu one.  

Also, Hero requires Ranger as well in 6.  The only advanced classes that don't work toward Hero are Paladin and Armamentalist, which require the base classes of Sage and Gladiator anyway.  Though yeah, Hero is a lot harder to get in 6 for anyone other than the Prince of Somnia, since unlike everyone else he only needs one of the four rather than all of them (meaning he's the only one who can realistically access the class in a no-grind run).  The Hero requirements are less strict for 6's hero than anyone in 7, but for everyone besides him it is indeed stricter in 6.

Edited July 13, 2017 by Glaceon Sage

[Slumber]

7 minutes ago, Glaceon Sage said:

I actually found characters in DQ7 similarly specialized, maybe not to the same extent as Ashlynn/Barbara and Carver/Hassan, but things like Maribel as a gladiator makes as little sense as making Milly/Mireyu one.  

Also, Hero requires Ranger as well in 6.  The only advanced classes that don't work toward Hero are Paladin and Armamentalist, which require the base classes of Sage and Gladiator anyway.  Though yeah, Hero is a lot harder to get in 6 for anyone other than the Prince of Somnia, since unlike everyone else he only needs one of the four rather than all of them (meaning he's the only one who can realistically access the class in a no-grind run).  The Hero requirements are less strict for 6's hero than anyone in 7, but for everyone besides him it is indeed stricter in 6.

Maribel works as a Sage and Luminary, and can work pretty well as an Armamentalist. I'd say most people in 7 work well at at least two things, which is why the road to the Hero class(Or Druid/Summoner for someone like Maribel, or Champion/Godhand for Ruff/Gabo and Aishe/Aira) is so much less daunting for pretty much every character.

[Magical Glace]

1 minute ago, Slumber said:

Maribel works as a Sage and Luminary, and can work pretty well as an Armamentalist. I'd say most people in 7 work well at at least two things, which is why the road to the Hero class(Or Druid/Summoner for someone like Maribel, or Champion/Godhand for Ruff/Gabo and Aishe/Aira) is so much less daunting for pretty much every character.

Milly works as a luminary as well, though (I don't think I've ever gone Armamentalist with her though, if only because of how long class mastery can take outside 3DS 7 human classes.  I think I may have tried Armamentalist!Nevan/Chamoro on my first run, however and from what I remember it worked), though she should probably go through Priest for Fullheal and Zing first.  While there's no Druid/Summoner class in 6, casters still like having Luminary under their belt. 

[Lerandel]

Carver/Hassan made an amazing Gladiator in my game because of Double Up dealing a lot of damage at the end of the game. I was really impressed with Milly/Mileil as a Luminary, and I made her a Sage after she was finished with Luminary because of needing a Kazing user. 

I'm unsure of what game I should tackle next after a replay of DQ1&2 for the GBC. I finished up Dragon Quest V and VI for the first time and thought both were great games. now should I tackle VII, VIII or IX next?

[Harvey]

I want to try out DQ...and I have some of them as wishlist...but for some reason, I'm not driven by them but at the same time, it looks like I'm missing a lot. Kinda in a puzzle here as to whether or not I should try them...

I tried the first one on Android and while it was simple, it wasn't that immersed into it...I'm really not sure which game I should start into at this point. 

 

[The Unlikely Knight]

15 hours ago, Harvey said:

I want to try out DQ...and I have some of them as wishlist...but for some reason, I'm not driven by them but at the same time, it looks like I'm missing a lot. Kinda in a puzzle here as to whether or not I should try them...

I tried the first one on Android and while it was simple, it wasn't that immersed into it...I'm really not sure which game I should start into at this point. 

 

Dragon Quest IV is a good starting point. You experience a short story for each of your party members before gaining full control of the hero, and it helps set up the world and what's going on. There is a mini prologue where  you control the hero, but after that you spend a few hours playing as everyone else.

[Slumber]

21 hours ago, Lerandel said:

Carver/Hassan made an amazing Gladiator in my game because of Double Up dealing a lot of damage at the end of the game. I was really impressed with Milly/Mileil as a Luminary, and I made her a Sage after she was finished with Luminary because of needing a Kazing user. 

I'm unsure of what game I should tackle next after a replay of DQ1&2 for the GBC. I finished up Dragon Quest V and VI for the first time and thought both were great games. now should I tackle VII, VIII or IX next?

Go in order.

Personally, I wasn't a big fan of IX. 50% of my love of these games is the charm in the worlds. IX just... had no charm, IMO.

[Magical Glace]

IX really requires having friends to play it with to fully enjoy.  Unfortunately, unless you live in Japan good luck finding local people to play with.  Looking back on it, it definitely seems like they were testing the multiplayer waters for DQX with it.

 

On another topic, when DQXI released in Japan back in July, Yuuji Horii confirmed the game is being localized as Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age.  I'm pretty excited, hopefully we get all three versions.

 

[Slumber]

9 minutes ago, Glaceon Mage said:

IX really requires having friends to play it with to fully enjoy.  Unfortunately, unless you live in Japan good luck finding local people to play with.  Looking back on it, it definitely seems like they were testing the multiplayer waters for DQX with it.

 

On another topic, when DQXI released in Japan back in July, Yuuji Horii confirmed the game is being localized as Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age.  I'm pretty excited, hopefully we get all three versions.

 

I'd kill for the Switch version. I keep pulling up stuff to play and thinking "Man, it'd be really awesome to have DQ8 on this thing."

Hell, even the touched up ports of DQ1-3 would be great to get over here.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Slumber

[Magical Glace]

1 minute ago, Slumber said:

I'd kill for the Switch version. I keep pulling up stuff to play and thinking "Man, it'd be really awesome to have DQ8 on this thing."

I'm only slightly worried about the 3DS version tbh, since the console's likely going to start being phased out soon.  I want the classic 2D playstyle!

That said I'm not too worried since the script is identical between the three, so it shouldn't be that much effort to do all of them.

[Slumber]

2 minutes ago, Glaceon Mage said:

I'm only slightly worried about the 3DS version tbh, since the console's likely going to start being phased out soon.  I want the classic 2D playstyle!

That said I'm not too worried since the script is identical between the three, so it shouldn't be that much effort to do all of them.

As big of a fan as I am of the 2D games, 8(And from what I hear, 11) did SUCH a good job with the world that I would prefer that to be the typical style of the series from now on. But the way they handled 11 blew my mind, too, so it'd be cool if they could keep doing both.

[Magical Glace]

1 minute ago, Slumber said:

As big of a fan as I am of the 2D games, 8(And from what I hear, 11) did SUCH a good job with the world that I would prefer that to be the typical style of the series from now on. But the way they handled 11 blew my mind, too, so it'd be cool if they could keep doing both.

Oh, I would definitely like if they kept the system DQ11 uses as far as 3D vs 2D goes, both have their merits for me (though I remember getting lost quite a bit in the PS2 version of DQ8 compared to everything else in the series).  DQ8 PS2 was a very pretty game for the era, and DQ11 PS4 looks absolutely stunning and I don't really have a problem with the behind the character perspective... but there's also something really adorable and charming about the SNES style as well and I'm glad they brought it back for the 3DS version.

I unfortunately don't have a PS4 (or a Switch), though, so I'll likely wind up sticking to the 3DS unless I get one of them.