I think I might *gulp* be a DQ fan.

[Breine]

I have a copy of DQVIII, but I haven't really played it yet. I need to give it a chance at one point, though.

[Rostum]

I played a few hours of DQVIII and I just couldn't get in to it. It's still sitting there so I'll eventually give it a try again. However, in saying that DQIX looks like it'll be a really good DS RPG.

[Del Murder]

Yeah, it's pretty amazing that a major installment for this franchise is coming first to DS.

[Wolf Kanno]

I'm not too surprised, DQ is huge in Japan, they have to release the games on weekends cause if they release a title on the weekday people call in sick to sit in line for hours to get a copy.

The DS is also one of the best selling gaming systems of the last decade and almost everyone in Japan seems own one. Really combining a popular franchise with a popular console seems like a no-brainer.

I'm more surprised DQ X was announced for the Wii to be honest; but the Wii needs better third party support so god knows I'm not complaining.

[Bolivar]

Yeah, it seems like they always want to put Dragon Quest on the most popular console in Japan, can't blame them for the cultural and monetary justifications behind it.

The day DQX was announced for the Wii was a sad day. Level-5 has already done and is doing more work on the PS3. I could only salivate at what they would be able to do with DQX on that platform considering what they did with DQVIII on the PS2. However, I heard Yuji Horii is not really impressed with the current "cutting edge" graphics and sees no real advantage to them. More power to him, I'm still gonna buy his games (maybe not DQX for a while, though).

[Wolf Kanno]

DQ was never really about the graphics and the Wii is good enough to make a game on scale with DQVIII in terms of world building. I don't know, I haven't really been as impressed with DQVIII as you were Bolivar, sad to say. Course I might just be bitter cause the game did away with the infinetly more awesome job class system of DQVII.

[Bolivar]

DQ was never really about the graphics and the Wii is good enough to make a game on scale with DQVIII in terms of world building. I don't know, I haven't really been as impressed with DQVIII as you were Bolivar, sad to say. Course I might just be bitter cause the game did away with the infinetly more awesome job class system of DQVII.

I would agree DQ was never really about the graphics...

until Level-5 got on board the series. DQVIII and IX are two of the most beautiful games I've seen on the PS2 and DS, respectively. In fact DQVIII was one of the first games that really changed my opinion about cell shading in video games. Looking at how Valkyria Chronicles used cell shading on the PS3, I think DQX would be amazing, at least visually, on that platform.

But like I said, Horii really doesn't care about stuff like that so it will probably not happen.

Sorry to hear you're not impressed with DQVIII. I guess you have a job-system fetish, to me the real enjoyment of DQ games comes from the sum of all the parts - the artwork, the music, the setting, the characters, and the traditional gameplay coming together in the joy of the adventure itself. I get lost in that reaaal easy.

[Hot Shot]

I really dislike DQ games, they just feel really boring and the characters do not excite me at all. Compared to FF, DQ just seems unoriginal and boring.

[Wolf Kanno]

I would agree DQ was never really about the graphics...

until Level-5 got on board the series. DQVIII and IX are two of the most beautiful games I've seen on the PS2 and DS, respectively. In fact DQVIII was one of the first games that really changed my opinion about cell shading in video games. Looking at how Valkyria Chronicles used cell shading on the PS3, I think DQX would be amazing, at least visually, on that platform.

But like I said, Horii really doesn't care about stuff like that so it will probably not happen.

I'm not surprised, one look at DQVII shows how much he cares, released right after FFIX in Japan and a month before FFX in the US and PAL regions. The game looks at best like an early PS1 game or a late 16-bit game. Course the battle animations were extremely well done and fluid but that's the extent of the games graphical prowess.

Sorry to hear you're not impressed with DQVIII. I guess you have a job-system fetish, to me the real enjoyment of DQ games comes from the sum of all the parts - the artwork, the music, the setting, the characters, and the traditional gameplay coming together in the joy of the adventure itself. I get lost in that reaaal easy.

I've always had a mental disconnect with the series, when I'm playing the game, I enjoy the hell out of it. When I'm not playing them, I have to muster up the will to actually put it back in. As I said before in another thread, for me, DQ tends to embody many of the elements I don't like in RPGs but for some reason, taking all these bad elements together in a game creates some weird inverse parallel paradox where suddenly everything works perfectly well and the elements become super special awesome.

I enjoy DQVIII but so far the elements that make it standout are the elements that make it mostly different from previous installments which is mostly the graphics. I'm a little concerned the game sacrificed (more like slimmed down) game play options in exchange for some visual appeal. Oh well, who knows. I'll get back to it eventually, I just have a lot on my plate right now.

As for the Job class junky thing, I do openly admit I'm a sucker for a well done job class system but funny enough, my favorite entry in the DQ series is actually the very first game. It's just so well made and a lot of thought was really put into the story and pacing for an old school 8-bit game.

[JKTrix]

Huh, I thought I posted in this thread already.

Kind of got into the series all haphazardly, my first one being 3 on the Gameboy Colour before going back to 1 and 2. Then I picked up 8, and most recently 4 and 5 on the DS. I also like 8 the least, the biggest reason being that it seemed a little more drawn out. One thing I dig about DQ is that the battles are pretty fast, DQ8 seemed to slow down considerably from the early games. Totally getting 9 and 6 as soon as I can when they came out.

Even though I have my issues with Japanese RPGs in general, DQ manages to do something that hooks me. Dragon Quest 5 is one of my favourite games across all genres. I don't think there's another Japanese RPG that I would consider among my top favourite games.

[Bastian]

I finished VIII. That's IV and VIII now. I'm not sure which one to do next. V or VII?

The thing that I really like about these games is how extremely NOT emo they are. And how very fantasy/castle/magic they are. I wish FF hadn't given that up after FFV, but at least now I've discovered a love for DQ to take its place. :P

[Wolf Kanno]

I don't think you can go wrong with either V or VII.

I have not played V but JKTrix adores it and him and I tend to think alike on games so I'll say that's a good recommendation.

I have played VII and can say its pretty damn awesome if a bit slow in the beginning but good god is the game awesome. I should only warn you that you may need a guide to reference when you get stuck (and you will get stuck) cause trying to find some of the map pieces can be a pain unless you literally talk/click/murder everything you possibly can come across to find those map shards...

[Bolivar]

I would also recommend DQV. Yes, it's a great game, also the characters develop with their own set path like in IV and VIII which you already played, plus it's the next chapter in the trilogy starting with IV. The game is just epic from the moment you start it.

[Roogle]

I played Dragon Warrior I - Dragon Warrior IV on the Nintendo Entertainment System. I lost track of the series, as most people did, after that because they were not released in North America. I am surprised by how the recent titles still play so similarly to the originals.

[Laddy]

Played and beat I, II, III, IV, VII, and VIII.

Love DQ. And Dairy Queen.