Dragon Quest IX

[Del Murder]

Anyone else playing this? I just started. Made my character look like a Super Saiyan Vegeta.

DQVIII was so great and I can't wait for this one. I hope it's not a letdown being limited to the DS.

[JKTrix]

Went to the New York launch event, took some pictures.
Picasa Web Albums - JKTrix - DragonQuested

Been playing it off and on since then. I got my boat, unlocked all the extra jobs available at this point.
I like it a lot. Don't forget to check the DQVC (in-game online store) every day if you can use the internet, some good/rare/exclusive stuff comes on there.

[Flying Arrow]

I'm toying with the idea of getting it. DQVIII was the best in the series, and pretty much the best J-RPG of the entire last generation of consoles. The only thing really holding me back on IX is the multiplayer aspect. I know no one else around here who plays these games, so I'm wary of that hampering my fun. Also, I'm kind of disappointed about the hand-heldedness of it. I love my DS, but I really doubt it'll provide as memorable an experience as VIII's sublime world map.

[Dignified Pauper]

I'm finding IX enjoyable, although, I wish they would have made multiplayer wi-fi instead of local DS only. That, I feel was just dumb. But maybe it's not possible due to hardware, I don't know.

[JKTrix]

The game is just as playable in Single player as any Dragon Quest game that came before it. Don't worry about not being able to play multiplayer if you're a loner like me. The multiplayer part of it isn't even that well-integrated, as the only progress a 'guest' character retains in the game is the stuff directly related to their character (money, XP, items). Guest characters do not progress their 'stories' even if they are participating in the story events of the host, which can be a little frustrating if you're the type who wants to play through the whole thing with someone like it was Diablo or an MMO.

Also, 5 was the best.

[NeoCracker]

I actually agree with JK, V is a lot better, and I"d say the best in the series.

That said, IX is pretty rad.

[Del Murder]

Not having random battles in a DQ game is weird, but it's a welcome change. Now I can explore the vast areas without running into something every 10 seconds.

I'm still in the first area. I only play it during the daily train commute so not that much at a time.

[Bastian]

Why do I still not have this?! What is wrong with me?!

I only recently finished DQVIII, actually. And I only bought it a year and a half ago, but didn't like it much so stopped. But then I bought DQIV for the DS and loved that and so started VIII again after finishing IV . . . Now I'm a total DQ convert!

I can't wait to get IX. I forgot it came out. I'll have to hit the store tomorrow.

But can you guys explain the multiplayer aspect? Can your friend play with you from beginning to end?

[Bolivar]

went into gamestop 2 days ago to get my own copy of FFXIII and saw a post-up in the store with commercials running on it.

so, I WANT THIS GAME SO BAD. I'm still working on V though and I'm not going back to that for some time. VI on the DS will probably be out by the time I'm done with that, so I'll probably start there instead of DQIX.

wish more handheld games utilized internet instead of local.

[gao]

I just started playing this ~ it's the first DQ game I've actually played. *ashamed*

I'm really hoping to find other people in the street to swap Treasure Maps with etc.

[Del Murder]

I wasn't really sure what jobs to make my intial party, so I went with Priest, Mage, and Thief. I hope that turns out good.

They're all level 5 right now, with the hero at level 9. Right now I'm just grinding to get money to buy them better equipment because their initial equip sux. It also sucks that they don't get the same amout of exp as the hero since he's such a higher level, but I guess with the multiplayer aspect SE doesn't want people powerleveling others. =/

[Del Murder]

Getting really into the game now and it's a lot of fun. So far I'm glad I brought along a Thief instead of Warrior. The ability to steal items or make items a guaranteed drop is really cool. This makes Alchemy easier (which is also fun, I love creating new stuff).

[Dignified Pauper]

Wait, thieves are useful? I'll look into this.

[Del Murder]

They can't use shields, which gives them a lower defense rating, but they can use most heavy armor to make up for that. Daggers usually aren't the strongest weapons available to you, but they have nice added affect bonuses like paralyze, and that comes in handy. They also get an ability that allows you to steal an item from an enemy (though that misses often) and their limit break-type move makes an enemy guarantee to drop loot, which makes farming items (for alchemy or whatever) tons easier.

Their defensive and offensive capabilities aren't the best, but they are actually higher than most of the other starting vocations. They also get a couple heal spells, making them a very well-rounded fighter.

[NeoCracker]

The biggest issue is that if you've played a few DQ games, this will be really easy. For all the options they give you, they needed to up the difficulty.

Though I guess if you've never played one before, this game might offer some challange.