Rank the DQ games

[Del Murder]

You know, I think I've made the 'rank the FFs' topic at least twice at this forum but I've never seen one for the Dragon Quest games. I'm sure not as many people here have played the majority of these games as they have the FF games, but there are 9 of them so it would be interesting to see how people's ranks stack up.

Here's mine:

1. VIII
2. IV
3. V
4. IX
5. III
6. II
7. I
8. VII

Not played: VI

In general I prefer the games with actual characters than blank slates with no dialogue. The two I was the most sure about are VIII being the best and VII the worst. VII was the only game I could never get through. I fell like DQVIII was the FFVII of this series, a breakthrough game taking it to the next level. IX seemed to regress a bit, and it felt more like the other remakes for DS than the sequel to DQVIII.

[Mirage]

9. VIII
Not played: IV
Not played: V
Not played: IX
Not played: III
Not played: II
Not played: I
Not played: VII
Not played: VI

[Wolf Kanno]

From what I've played:

I - Favorite
III
VII
VIII
IV
II -Least fave.

I'm the opposite of you Del, I never felt like DQ did a good job telling a good character driven story, I'm often times, not as impressed.

[Bastian]

1. IX
2. IV
3. V
4. VI
6. VIII
7. VII
Not played:
I, II, III

I really think they did a perfect job with IX. Really looking forward to seeing what they do with X!

I notice that we've all ranked VII the lowest. I couldn't even force myself to finish it (will someday). Why does everyone else rank it so low? For me it is the repetitiveness and length. I DO NOT like super insanely long RPGs and once I heard how long it was, I lost all interest.

Like Del, I felt like VIII was the FF VII of the series: it tried to upgrade the series into a new direction... but unlike pretty much all FF fandom, I think that FF VII was several steps too far away. DQ VIII was less so... but it still feels almost like a different series and I prefer IX much more, which feels like the true sequel to 1-7.

[Wolf Kanno]

Actually, only you an Del ranked VII the lowest. VII is my third fave cause I love the job system and the story was pretty good for a DQ game. Mirage has only played VIII.

[Omni-Odin]

IV - Favorite
I
III
II - Least Favorite

Haven't played any others yet, but I have played them in order so which I think makes it easier when I do get around to playing the other ones.

[NeoCracker]

Least Favorite

--IX. What killed me was how blatently exploitable this game was. Lacked any real challange, though I like some DQ because they are quite difficult games, even if it's a bit grindy.

--VIII. I really like the story in this game. Characters aren't that great, but DhoulMagus was a fun villain during his run.

--V. I loved training groups of monsters, and teh fact the story basically spanned your entire life from child hood to parenthood.

[maybee]

I've only played a few of them sorry.

DQ IX- Really loved how you could create your own characters and even choose what clothes to collect and wear.

DQ V- It's really cute how you start out as a kid and then grow up and even choose whom you get to marry later on.

DQ VIII- Can't remember much of this one sorry, but it was fun judging from some vague memories.

DG VI- I like this one the least. It just feels so... tedious so far. But I might pick it up and try and advance on, but at the moment it's really tedious.

What's IV like ? Is it good ? It's ranked so high on everybody's lists !

[Bolivar]

DQVIII
DQV
DQIV
DQVI

I'm putting 8 first, but I'm not 100% sure because I haven't played it since I beat DQV, which left a huge impression on me. All I know is that I played the game for about 40-60 hours and had to put it down, it was just too much, went back to it about a year later and put 60-80 more hours into it and beat the game. It's a true video game "epic."

What's IV like ? Is it good ? It's ranked so high on everybody's lists !

Really awesome. It starts off with short chapters of each character with some novel and innovative ideas for an RPG. Then you start as the main hero to bring them all together and the real game starts and it's bliss.

[Wolf Kanno]

Decided I should redo mine cause I've added a few games since then...

Least to Favorite

DQIX - You know, its not actually a bad game its just one where I put it down and have not really been inspired to go back to, whenever I decide to finish it, I may change its listing.


DQII - Meh, its DQI bigger and better but with some nagging quests and a bit more padding. The introduction of multiple party members is unique but DQ has a terrible targeting system, and said characters are basically Warrior/Red Mage/Mage so its not as thrilling. To be honest, maybe I should give this game another shot cause I often feel I'm a bit prejudice against it cause it sort is the starting point for a lot of my issues with the DQ formula, maybe I should try to look at it from more of a historical standpoint.


DQIV - Boring and tedious, the Chapter set-up is intriguing but they are unbalanced with characters like Toriko and Rangar having short, concise set-ups with more variety of puzzles and gameplay options, while the girls chapters tend to be very long winded, filled with unnecessary grinding and backtracking. I find it strange that the game spends the first 3/4ths of the game building up the supporting cast but once you get to the Hero's chapter they might as well all be generic faceless classes for what personality any of them express by this point. It pulls an FFIII with its main villain being somewhat thought provoking but much like Xande, he's a faceless bogy-man who really only shows up by the end of the game to be beaten down. The switch over from the Job class system of DQIII to character based classes is no where near as smooth and as well executed as FF's transition from FFIII to FFIV. At least the DS remake had the foresight to make the party playable, in the original the non-Hero characters are all A.I. controlled in the final chapter. Overall, it was a game that could have been better had it been on the SNES instead of the NES. I can't fathom why everyone on this forum praises it so much.


DQVIII - Let's face it, DQ is not really a series you play for its plots and while DQVIII has the best cast in the series, its troubling that they ultimately feel like characters FF introduced back in the 16-bit era. DQVIII is a remarkable game but what makes it remarkable also works as a double edged sword revealing the inherent problems and stagnant design that has choked the series and prevented it from having worldwide success. With the exception of its world map design (and even that's debatable) the rest of DQVIII's advancements are things that have been common place for the RPG genre for nearly a decade. Its plot is fun but nothing to write home about, it still plagued with a fairly generic evil demon lord villain, its cast is fun but lacks the compelling elements of other RPGs, and DQ has never really been known for its stirring musical scores. The design of the game is top notch but Level 5 had to update so many old elements that the even though its flawless its still more of a mediocre title at best. Its leveling system is also a bit of a step down from DQVII's but it may actually be better because its far more balanced. Unlike DQIV, I can at least see why people praise this game so much, even if I don't agree with their views.

Dragon Quest - Yes the original, which many will be wondering why its so high on my list. Part of the reason why is because its cleverly designed and said design I feel holds up pretty well by today's standards but also because the game is short and to the point which makes trudging through it feel less like a chore than say... DQII. Its also needed to really tlk about my favorite entry in the series.

DQVII - We go from the shortest game to debatably the longest. If you are looking for a time sink, this is your game. Features some of the best puzzles in the series, an expanded Job class system from DQVI, and a pretty colorful cast of characters in a series I never felt had colorful casts of characters. DQVII takes a lot of ideas from older entries and puts them on crack. Immigrant Town? How about your town people choosing allowing you to build four different types of town with their own unique perks. Casinos? There are three of them and they get more extravagant with each new one you find. Monster party members? You can't recruit them but instead use Monster Hearts to turn your party members into them and they themselves have their own Job Class tier that makes them their own customization system in addition to the job class system. Job Class system? Level up through battles, unlock special skills by mastering classes in specific orders like Warrior to Thief will unlock a Mug skill for instance. The game has probably one of the quirkiest and clever plots in the series and may actually be one of the darkest entries surprisingly enough. Its an impressive game but even though I admire it its also one of the most poorly paced and frustrating games in the series as well and its just enough to make one playthrough enough for me...

DQV - Okay, so for once a game actually lives up to some of its praise. DQV may have the best story in the game, even if it lacks the compelling characters to tell it the game does some really cool things by playing with the passage of time and I like that the game actually decided to take some of the series cliches and turn them on their head like the Hero not actually being the Legendary Hero. The game is still bogged down with a cartoon villain and god knows the DS versions updated visuals made scenes more immersive than the original fugly SNES version could hope to do. The game also borrowed MegaTen's demon recruitment system and DQ always had nice monsters thanks to Akira Toriyama and that right there made the game fun was just trying to recruit the different monsters and build a stronger team. In fact, I almost never used the Human characters except the Hero because they were never as fun to play with and usually came into the party severely under-leveled. Its definitely a bright mark for the SNES though I still feel that DQ's more simplistic storytelling and insistence on avatar style characters prevent this game from being the epic story it could have been. Still, there are days where I really feel this is my favorite entry in the series...

DQIII - Holy crap did this game change everything. Its kind of sad when people remark about cool ideas from the 16-Bit to modern gaming era that certain RPGs introduce. The game may have one of the deepest customization systems of the console RPGs (at least ones that didn't disappear into obscurity), has a job system that is light years ahead of what FFI was offering and introduced the Immigrant Town concept, as well as Day and Night cycles and one of the biggest plot twists of the time. The GBC version of the game just makes it even better and it still may be one of the best remakes of a game I have ever played since it added more mini-games, a new system to further customize your characters, and bonus dungeons. The game was just pretty spiffy and I love how the world map and the cities in it are based on the real world. I mainly love the game for how well it ties up the Loto Arc and how absolutely clever it was for its time. I should get my GBA out and play this game again.

[Bolivar]

Wolf do you think maybe your opinion on IV is impacted by your memory of playing it on the NES system? It sounds like that version was really rough. I guess some of us were probably seduced by the charm of how well done the DS remakes were.

I really gotta play III soon. I was going to buy a Wii if they localized the DQ Collection, but a fanslation was released not too long ago for the SNES port, I might go to that instead.

[Wolf Kanno]

Even with the advancement s of the DS version brought, I still felt DQIV was mostly underwhelming. Of anything I blame it more on my high praise for DQIII than playing the NES version. I mean no customization system, even the spell break down among characters largely left some characters being better than others, Toriko's cool mini-games and ability to get rare drops is completely absent after his chapter and it was probably the best part of the whole game. The hero's plot is pretty bland too since its basically a repeat of the plots of the first three games, and DQIII really did do it the best. I mean the first chapters largely set-up the stage of the world more than creates a plot because when you reach the Hero's chapter the rest of the party becomes mutes so even when you finally avenge the sister's father, or acquire the legendary blade with Toriko, the game just doesn't really register it in a good narrative way. I mean FFII and III are better story driven games than this one was, and they had more to offer as games on top of that. Let's just say I am not as surprised this game didn't do as well as the DQ games it was sandwiched between.

If you are going to play DQIII, I suggest playing the GBC remke, it adds way more content including later elements like Mini-Medals and Pashichi Tracks. It looks a hell of a lot better than the original as well.

[Del Murder]

Hey I remember this thread. Still haven't played DQVI. Maybe I should, though it's on the bottom of many people's lists.

[Dignified Pauper]

DQVIII - never finished, which is really sad, and I'm too lazy to hook up my PS3, but it had a VERY impressive world.

DQIV - Probably my favorite for the series. I enjoyed the story and the arc of it all, and the DS remake did a great job expanding on the dialogue.

DQIX - I just could not get into this game, and I really tried to.

DQV - Pretty good, but nothing spectacular to me

DQVI - Odd story.

DQI - Nostalgia

DQII - Meh

DQIII - Very Meh

[Cecil Leonhart]

1. VIII
2. V
3. VI
4. IV
5. IX
6. III
Not played: I, II, VII, X

I'm shocked to see how high some of you have ranked the original. That is cool, though, I never thought people liked it more than the later ones.