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Thread: Rank the Dragon Quest series

  1. #16
    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
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    Sometimes Youtube comes through and finds you a gem when you go looking for certain things.


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    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
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    You know, in hindsight, after I popped IX back in for a little more fun time, I need to re-arrange my list. I actually think IX is my least favorite entry, just because it combines the two weaknesses I have with IV and VII: an unsatisfying story combined with a tedious grind that makes playing it for long bouts of time exhausting. Like I tried to play a little more and realized how much I still had left to do in the post game and I'm already debating about slapping IV in to give it another shot instead cause I keep playing IX to only realize I have better things to do with my time.

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    *permanent smite* Spuuky's Avatar
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    FFIV has the best cast and either second or third best story and definitely the best world structure of any DQ

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    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spuuky View Post
    FFIV has the best cast and either second or third best story and definitely the best world structure of any DQ
    I'm just going to have to disagree here. I would argue VIII has a better cast and III and VII easily have the coolest world structures with the two worlds of III and it's killer plot twist; while VII has the sporadic world that is neatly pieced together and interconnected the further you go in.

    IV starts off strong with a few hiccups here and there, but the fifth chapter is just a poor conclusion to all the setup from the previous chapters. Though I would concede this is more an issue of the game's meager platform than due to the writing. IV had a bigger concept than the NES could handle at the time is the main issue. It still has the most memorable villain in the franchise.

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    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    Fynnek Zoryasch (Twintania)
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    WK knows what’s up

    Heck, I’d even go further than that and say that, while IV’s cast was the best at the time, there wasn’t a single DQ afterwards (sans IX and maybe X) that didn’t have a better cast than it. Like WK said, though, it’s more a matter of the platform than the writing though.

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    *permanent smite* Spuuky's Avatar
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    I'm just sitting here wondering what DQVIII and IV you could possibly have played that would make the likes of Yangus, Angelo, and Jessica better than DQIV's. It's truly a mystery. I would compare them to DQVI but even though I 100% completed that game I literally can't even remember all the party members.

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    Do the games before DQIV even count as having casts?

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    Do Myself a Mischief Vermachtnis's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Golbez View Post
    Do the games before DQIV even count as having casts?
    The girl Warrior and Priest from III are two of the most popular characters.

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    Radical Dreamer Fynn's Avatar
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    I mean, the cast of IV have plots. The casts of VI and VIII have that AND they have personalities. Yangus and Jessica are pretty much the pinnacle of character in the DQ series

    And I love the DQ cast. Carver, Millie and Ashlynn have character arcs that are very closely tied to the main plot and the MC’s personal journey so they really feel like your companions. I can’t even remember why your party joined you in IV. Was it because you’re the chosen hero?

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    Memento Mori Site Contributor Wolf Kanno's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Spuuky View Post
    I'm just sitting here wondering what DQVIII and IV you could possibly have played that would make the likes of Yangus, Angelo, and Jessica better than DQIV's. It's truly a mystery. I would compare them to DQVI but even though I 100% completed that game I literally can't even remember all the party members.
    Just as I'm trying to figure out what super edition of IV you must have played cause as I said, IV's cast has a few outstanding characters but the other half are kind of boring, and then the game makes them all act like generics at the most critical point of the plot, largely undermining what character development the game tried to give them. Even then, I only feel like Ragnar, Torneko, Alena and Kyril get any real fun character moments. Borya is kind of boring and the twins aren't really that engaging beyond being eye candy in the official art. The MC is one of the less interesting in the series and the VII hero pulls off the "bastard child of a star-crossed lovers" shenanigans far better imho. Largely because his parents actually have some depth to them whereas the IVMC's parentage is told through secondhand accounts.

    VIII's cast is actually pretty fun since the hero has the mystery about why the curse doesn't work on him as well as his relationship with the princess which helps give him more characterization than most DQ heroes get, Yangus is hilarious being a simple-minded bandit turned to bungling gentleman, Jessica is a nice fiery mage in a series well known for it, but she gets her interesting moment when she gets possessed by Rhapthorne later in the plot, and Angelo's backstory and relationship with his half brother is actually developed well enough that he could have been the main hero of a different series if he wasn't stuck in DQ. Hell, even the King is a fun bumbling figure and his interaction with the rest of the quirky cast is actually fun. They're charming, and the cast is small enough to make is easy to see their feelings one what transpires in the plot without even needing to rely on the Talk command.

    What makes their cast stronger is largely the fact the game stayed consistent with actually letting their personalities shine through during the course of the whole story. As I've said before, IV's largest issue is that it spends half the game making you care about the cast before you get to Chapter V and suddenly the game makes it feel like you're playing a really stripped down DQIII without any of the clever story points or an actually engaging MC. It's almost like IV was two different games haphazardly put together and the resolution of all the story arcs made in the beginning are completely lackluster. Did you kill Balzack and avenge the Twins? Yes, but the game treats him like any other generic boss you fought up until then and after, no fanfare or the Twins getting an extra line or two about accomplishing their goal. Find the Zenthia Sword with Torneko? Guy never says a peep , his own wife retains more characterization by the last chapter than he does. I can't even remember if the game ever explained what happened to Alena's kingdom because the last chapter is so dry and uneventful until the very end when Psaro finally enters the picture. Hell Ragnar is like the only person who gets some closure and that's only because his new goal by the end of his arc is finding the Hero, which he obviously does. tThat's the issue, it's easy to forget how fun they were in their own stories cause the game sucks any joy or personality from them and that's like the point in the game you really should be doubling down on that type of stuff. IV's cast is quaint, like FFII's cast, but I would hardly try to argue FFII's cast is superior than some of the later entries in FF outside of them being so lightly characterized that it's easy to argue that none of them are annoying.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Golbez View Post
    Do the games before DQIV even count as having casts?
    Depends on whether you only count playable characters or not. DQII's playable cast have some background and quirks going for them, but not so much to really flesh them out as characters, the fan art community gives them more personality than the actual game did. DQIII's main player cast are largely generics, but the supporting cast whom you follow the smaller stories for are actually decently fleshed out for an NES title. Loto might be whatever your imagination makes them out to be, but their father Ortega is shown to have some personality and figures like Kandar, Orochi, and even Zoma actually have quirks that make them standout in the story.

  12. #27
    *permanent smite* Spuuky's Avatar
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    If you thing the likes of Yangus and Jessica are "charming" instead of "people you have to tolerate to get through the game" I guess that's where we disagree.

  13. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Spuuky View Post
    If you thing the likes of Yangus and Jessica are "charming" instead of "people you have to tolerate to get through the game" I guess that's where we disagree.
    Oi Gov ! You don't think Yangus is a charming fella ?

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