Why is Dragon Quest always being the same good?

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04-24-2006, 12:12 AM
LunarWeaver

Why is Dragon Quest always being the same good?

Now I'm not asking to be assassinated by Dragon Quest fans, but I just don't get it. I've read a ton of reviews (professional and consumer) in trying to decide to get this game and I rented it to see. I do like RPGs, and DQ8 IS a good game, but it could have been much better. That probly makes it sound like I'm asking for a Final Fantasy clone, but I'm not. I can't help it I like my RPGs to be different then when I was playing them on the nintendo. I don't MIND old school, but I don't get how this game being the same as number I but prettier is considered perfectly fine.

I keep reading "Many fans may worry the merger with Square will have ruined the series,but this is the same Dragon Quest you've known and loved since the first and plays similar with a few tweaks here and there." And then everyone cheers and sighs of relief. I don't necessarily have a problem with very traditional battle systems, but on the other hand I don't see why we're clinging to everything everyone always hated about RPGs, but put up with for the better things the genre has to offer. Would it kill them to put up a turn order? Why should I have to guess who's going to go in what order? Why is MP still low enough you barely ever use magic other then to heal? Why does it take forever to level after 20 or so? Saving at churches is tradition, great, but that doesn't mean it's good. I guess I'm just a fan of battle systems that really shake things up... This one takes a surprising amount of strategy and thinking, so it's not like you're just mashing attack, but it really isn't very interesting either. It's just kind of "bleh".

You can say this is traditional and nostalgic and keeping with the roots but... When other series try this critics destroy them. Resident Evil took a ton of crap for pumping out the same game over and over until they redid the formula for number 4. Tomb Raider was the same game over and over until Legend (Angel of Darkness? Doesn't exist). Dynasty Warriors is at number 5 and it's still the same as number 1 and it's scores have dropped dramatically as critics and gamers alike cry for change.

So I guess I'm not understanding how this series gets away with this. We'll be on Dragon Quest 39 and everyone will still be happy playing the same game? I mean I actually read critics saying "While other RPGs focus on flashy cinematics, new battle systems and character development, and intricate plots, Dragon Quest VIII harkens to the old days of simpler times, and we couldn't be happier." What?! So you'd PREFER no RPGs had those things -_^?! You would never hear them say "Even though action games like God of War and Devil May Cry 3 push the boundries of combo systems and fast-paced battles, this action game just requires you to press X over and over and nothing else just like it used to be, 10/10!"

Call me ignorant, but I'm confused o_O
04-24-2006, 12:29 AM
Captain Maxx Power

There's a reason why Final Fantasy outsells Dragon Quest worldwide so consistently - Japan loves by-the-numbers dungeon crawling, everyone else doesn't. DQ is an acquired taste to be sure, but if someone likes it, they don't just like it, they love it and will defend it to the hilt in a FF Vs. DQ debate. So what reviews you read will be done within this mindset.

Saying that it's not like the series hasn't changed since it first came out. Go try playing the monstrocity of a game that is DQ1 with it's over-complex menu system, hours of boring level grinding and lacklustre story and dialogue. It has evolved, but arguably FF has evolved moreso.
04-24-2006, 03:47 AM
Zeromus_X

I always thought DQII was the toughest, but meh. :cat:
04-24-2006, 08:44 AM
DJZen

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxx Power

There's a reason why Final Fantasy outsells Dragon Quest worldwide so consistently - Japan loves by-the-numbers dungeon crawling, everyone else doesn't. DQ is an acquired taste to be sure, but if someone likes it, they don't just like it, they love it and will defend it to the hilt in a FF Vs. DQ debate. So what reviews you read will be done within this mindset.

Saying that it's not like the series hasn't changed since it first came out. Go try playing the monstrocity of a game that is DQ1 with it's over-complex menu system, hours of boring level grinding and lacklustre story and dialogue. It has evolved, but arguably FF has evolved moreso.

FF fans are also notorious for defnding their series to an unnecessary extent. In fact, ALL fanboys do. That's what makes a fanboy, and it's never not annoying.

Anyway, DQ1's menu system wasn't all that convoluted. In fact, that's why it was so popular. It was LESS complicated than the other RPGs that were available at the time. It was considered a breakthrough for its "point and click" style interface. Don't believe me? Play Ultima and Wizardry.

I'll agree that DQII was a migraine and a half to finish in its NES incarnation, but subsequent remakes have been less obnoxious. DQ is made out to be a lot worse than it is by people who've been reared on more modern RPGs which are significantly easier. Anyway, in my current game of DQVIII I haven't had to level grind really. I've had to do more levelling up in my last playthrough of FFIV. I'm enjoying the game a lot more than I thought I would. It's very fun once you get past that first quest.

Though I can't figure out why Yangus keeps saying "COR BLIMEY!" every time Trode speaks...
04-24-2006, 11:53 PM
I Took the Red Pill

Well I think that if you "read a ton of reviews", then you were bound to come by a large number of them that clearly stated it was an Old School RPG, as almost all of them did. It shouldn't have come to you as a complete surprise. You said you like your RPG's to feel new and not like the old Nintendo RPG's, so you should've had ample warning as to how DQVIII is going to feel like an old Nintendo RPG updated, if you read a ton of reviews.
04-25-2006, 12:47 AM
Zeromus_X

Yes, there definitely isn't as much leveling as the older DQ games in DQVIII. :cat:

Hey DJZen, was the GBC remakes for the games and the SNES versions of DQ I, II, and III easier? (Because of smoother menu transition? Or something else?) :cat:
04-25-2006, 01:57 AM
LunarWeaver

Quote:

Originally Posted by I Took the Red Pill

Well I think that if you "read a ton of reviews", then you were bound to come by a large number of them that clearly stated it was an Old School RPG, as almost all of them did. It shouldn't have come to you as a complete surprise. You said you like your RPG's to feel new and not like the old Nintendo RPG's, so you should've had ample warning as to how DQVIII is going to feel like an old Nintendo RPG updated, if you read a ton of reviews.

I did know it before and that complaint paragraph was really just extra baggage to my point: This series evolved very little with each incarnation and it's the only series that gets away with it.
04-25-2006, 11:32 PM
Captain Maxx Power

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJZen

Though I can't figure out why Yangus keeps saying "COR BLIMEY!" every time Trode speaks...

That's 'cos 'e's a roight cockeney geezer, so 'e says "Cor Blimey" a lot guv'nor!
04-26-2006, 01:56 AM
DJZen

Yes obviously, I was saying I couldn't figure out why Trode freaks him out so much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeromus_X

Hey DJZen, was the GBC remakes for the games and the SNES versions of DQ I, II, and III easier? (Because of smoother menu transition? Or something else?)

They were easier because monsters were shifted around and they added stat enhancing seeds in place of some of the lamer treasure. I forget if you gain more gold or not. The remakes of III also added two new classes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LunarWeaver

This series evolved very little with each incarnation and it's the only series that gets away with it.

It "gets away with it" because it does it so well. Anyway if you really think it hasn't changed much, play the original. The differences are pretty drastic.