Playable Final Fantasy XII demo with Dragon Quest VIII: Does anyone care?

[Ishin Ookami]

I picked up my copy of DQVIII this tuesday at my supplier, a privately owned Video Game store that prides itself with underselling any store in the Greater Toronto (as in canada) area. The recently hired salesman there upon hearng my interest in the game, started ranting on the FFXII demo trying to sell the game to me on that alone. My question to him was "Yah, So what? Its Dragon Quest man!"

So my question is, does anyone here really give two cents about a playable demo about a game who's development cycle has been ripe with scandel (initial director had a mental collapse) constant delay's, hideously androdgenous male leads, and is a sequal in a series which recently, due to the lack of hironobu Sakaguchi, has not been what it once was?

Oh by the way, when I bought the game I looked at the salesperson who'd been so high on the demo, and offered to open the case of my copy, and hand him the demo then and there if he knocked $20 off the bill. Personally, i think I was overcharging too .

[Necronopticous]

Yeah, we care.

[XxSephirothxX]

I'd pick Final Fantasy X-2 over Dragon Quest VII any day, and I'm sure XII will be a lot better than X-2. Not to say that DQ VIII isn't going to be a good game, but nothing about XII looks bad.

[Destai]

If a person thinks its Squares fault that someone willing to buy a game for a free demo that person is indeed an idiot.

[Ishin Ookami]

I'd pick Final Fantasy X-2 over Dragon Quest VII any day, and I'm sure XII will be a lot better than X-2. Not to say that DQ VIII isn't going to be a good game, but nothing about XII looks bad.

To quote from jay and silent bob...

BLASPHEMY

FFX-2's concept alone had me asking... "What?" from yuna becoming a pop slut to the whole squall in drag gag that was paine. the whole DQ franchise is so huge that in japan it cant be released on a school day, and there is a huge police presence at video game stores due to reports of muggings for the game alone. And personally, from a gameplay perspective, the only FF titles that can hold a candle to the depth that is DQ is FFV and FFVI.

as for FFXII, Im sorry but Im still reeling from the shock that Vann is not a girl. I mean, well just c'mon look at... well the reports still state its a "him" but Im not convinced. Im expecting a cinema in FFXII involving vann doing his imitation of the ending from crying game. And Im sorry but that sort of thing sort of dulls the enthusiasm. That and well, Its friggin dragon quest man! different tastes I guess, I mean for me buying the game for the demo is like going to a bon jovi concert just to see britney spears openning for him. You get a brief shot of a lesser talented brand, then leave missing the REAL good stuff.

I also really miss sakaguchi and amano working on Final Fantasy.

[Necronopticous]

I have already played through the Final Fantasy XII demo and I'm still picking up Dragon Quest VIII almost entirely for the demo. I'll play Dragon Quest VIII as a repercussion of that, although I admit Dragon Quest VIII is definately the most attractive looking game in the series thus far in my eyes.

[XxSephirothxX]

To quote from jay and silent bob...

BLASPHEMY

FFX-2's concept alone had me asking... "What?" from yuna becoming a pop slut to the whole squall in drag gag that was paine. the whole DQ franchise is so huge that in japan it cant be released on a school day, and there is a huge police presence at video game stores due to reports of muggings for the game alone. And personally, from a gameplay perspective, the only FF titles that can hold a candle to the depth that is DQ is FFV and FFVI.

as for FFXII, Im sorry but Im still reeling from the shock that Vann is not a girl. I mean, well just c'mon look at... well the reports still state its a "him" but Im not convinced. Im expecting a cinema in FFXII involving vann doing his imitation of the ending from crying game. And Im sorry but that sort of thing sort of dulls the enthusiasm. That and well, Its friggin dragon quest man! different tastes I guess, I mean for me buying the game for the demo is like going to a bon jovi concert just to see britney spears openning for him. You get a brief shot of a lesser talented brand, then leave missing the REAL good stuff.

I also really miss sakaguchi and amano working on Final Fantasy.

Sure, the plot was asinine and just downright ridiculous, but the battle system was actually fun. I don't consider "hardcore" RPGs with boring stories and hours upon hours of tedius leveling fun, which is why Dragon Quest never attracted my attention before. Maybe the system is really "deep," but that doesn't make it enjoyable to actually sit down and play. I'm sure DQVIII would be good, but I'm not going to buy it, at least not until it's a lot cheaper, and certainly not just for a demo. I'd rather get the whole experience of FFXII at once, anyway. And as for Vann...well, he looks a little effeminate, but then, really, how big a deal is that? Tidus and Zidane both bear striking resemblances to Meg Ryan. Kuja was pretty damn girly looking.

[eestlinc]

as for FFXII, Im sorry but Im still reeling from the shock that Vann is not a girl. I mean, well just c'mon look at... well the reports still state its a "him" but Im not convinced. Im expecting a cinema in FFXII involving vann doing his imitation of the ending from crying game.

No matter what else you ever say or do, i will think fondly of you for this Crying Game reference.

[DJZen]

I was going to buy DQVIII before I heard about the demo. Now I'm just waiting for a few more pay checks.

[Ishin Ookami]

Sure, the plot was asinine and just downright ridiculous, but the battle system was actually fun. I don't consider "hardcore" RPGs with boring stories and hours upon hours of tedius leveling fun, which is why Dragon Quest never attracted my attention before. Maybe the system is really "deep," but that doesn't make it enjoyable to actually sit down and play. I'm sure DQVIII would be good, but I'm not going to buy it, at least not until it's a lot cheaper, and certainly not just for a demo. I'd rather get the whole experience of FFXII at once, anyway. And as for Vann...well, he looks a little effeminate, but then, really, how big a deal is that? Tidus and Zidane both bear striking resemblances to Meg Ryan. Kuja was pretty damn girly looking.

I agree that FFX-2 had a fun battle system, but the story just ruined it for me. I think both need to be in sync.

As for DQ, its a different breed of game. Final Fantasy in its storywriting and game design, is alot more fast paced, its designed to reel you in faster. In comparison it is alot like star wars, in which DQ is alot like babylon 5. slower paced, glacial in the beginning, but that is only because its scope is bigger, and its depth deeper. The storylines in DQ may not be the greatest ever, but they are typically very good. DQVII's concept of starting out the world being ruined, left with one simple island and the time travel concept of travelling back in time to restore the planet, and uncover the mystery of what happened was very interesting, and well paced. And DQVI's idea of having one world a dream world, and one world the real world, and starting you off thinking you started off in the real world and revealing your background little by little was ingenious and very creative. Sure the games and their stories would be more gripping if it was paced quicker, like most FF tales, but then the game would have to lose some of its depth and design. and yes, part of the fun of DQ is levelling up and monster bashing, thats part of the fun in all RPG's and DQ has few peers in how much depth and thought goes into that design.

I think the main draw of DQ is the sense of adventure, the sense that you are embarking on a journey of epic proportions every game you start. That you may never truly be able to see every nook and cranny of the game world you are in due to its massive size. Final Fantasy is meant to be more cinematic, it always has, even in its 16-bit days. problem is now that FF has gotten too cinematic and forgotten its roots. Its all icing and no cake IMO. I really dont care much for graphics, seeing as how I still play 8-bit titles, sure nicer graphics carry more of an oomph, but what is most important is, and always will be gameplay, which is where DQ has always reigned supreme.

Not that Im knocking the FF franchise, FFVI will always be one of my top RPG's of all time based on the opera scene alone, and lets not forget the incredible storyline and incredibly deep gameplay and just how versitile it was. But I have to say it that despite my love for FF and the incredible job Sakaguchi did on it during his tenure, DQ always had the better gameplay and more vast worlds to explore.

[RSL]

I bought the game today. I was going to check out the FF demo but I got too engrossed in Dragon Quest. Now it is time for bed. I'll definitely check out the demo at some point, but I definitely didn't buy the game for this purpose.

I have done things like that in the past, however. The only reason I own Tobal No. 1 is because it had a Final Fantasy VII demo packed with it (though Tobal ended up being strangely fun.)

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

I've never found the Dragon Quest games to be that appealing, story-wise. I play Dungeons and Dragons a lot, and it always struck me as a stripped-down Dungeons and Dragons game which, while interesting, isn't always the best in story or character interactions. It's interesting, but I usually favor the Final Fantasy storylines more. I do love how Dragon Quest games don't really end, it keeps tricking you into thinking it's the end and then going even longer and longer.

I will probably buy Dragon Quest VIII when I have the money, although that could be quite some time from now. Neither the game nor the demo is utterly compelling, but the game itself is rather interesting.

[RSL]

Yeah, the story isn't it's strongest point. But I don't mind, it's more of a throw back to the older RPGs that I loved when I was a kid. I'm really enjoying it even though the story is fairly generic (at least so far.)

[Erdrick Holmes]

Anybody want my demo disc? If it doesn't get claimed in a few hours it's gonna be my new coaster.

[Ishin Ookami]

Anybody want my demo disc? If it doesn't get claimed in a few hours it's gonna be my new coaster.

You know, considering how long it will take me to play through DQVIII enough to actually have seen and done everything in there, which if its anything like past DQ's will take multiple play throughs, FFXII will likely already be out.

Im still planning on selling mine, should be able to get a halfway decent price for it as well considering people are willing to pay for DQ just to get the demo.