So I'm curious, how many people here have played some/all of these games? For the unknowing, they're RPGs dating back to 1986 on the Famicom (1989 on the NES for America, where the name was changed to "Dragon Warrior" until the release of VIII a couple years ago). I have the vague feeling I made a thread about this before but I can't really remember, so I'm sorry if I'm having an underage alzheimer's bout in posting this.
Unlike Final Fantasy, which has changed so much over time that when one really compares FF11 and FF1, they'd be hard pressed to figure out what made them the same series- not that the change is bad, new things are always interesting and all- Dragon Quest is stuck like glue to certain conventions of the series. Not so much that it stops it from expanding and trying new things, but VIII will feel familiar to someone who's played the first, certainly. With some of the series not being released here during the non-existence of Enix of America for a while (V and VI in particular, as well as the SNES remakes) worsening the situation, Dragon Quest has enjoyed only cult popularity in the US.
Dragon Quest is extremely popular in Japan, though- more so than Final Fantasy and Mario, or so I understand it. So many people skipped out on school and work for the release of Dragon Quest III that a real law was passed saying that Dragon Quest games could not be released on weekdays.
The series is basically a bunch of classic style RPGs. You play a "hero" character that you name yourself, typically one who has a balance of different abilities, are sent on a quest of some sort (plot varies greatly in complexity and somewhat in subject matter by game; I, II, and III are a continuous series, as are IV, V, and I think VI; VII and VIII are seperate, self-contained stories), usually (I is an exception; III also has an unusual system) meet with companions who have specialized abilities, and explore the world, getting levels and equipment and spells and all that typical RPG stuff.
The series tries different systems for the gameplay progression, though; in I you fight alone on a simple, straightforward quest, whereas in II you get a party and a ship and have to figure out the way to reach- and exactly where- the main villain is, whereas in III you can optionally set up a party at the beginning or go alone and the game is still more complex, with an extension beyond what seems like the battle with the main villain; in IV this is replaced by a chapter format, where you play as a/some character(s) through their own story, complete it, and move on to another, with the last chapter tying it all together as the hero meets and teams up with the previous chapters' characters; in V, your character starts out as a child and the game follows his life as he encounters problems, matures, and even gets married and has children; I've never really played VI as it's not fully translated; in VII, you start out on a single island, the only one in the world, but on that island you explore ancient ruins that contain, as you figure out, the whole of the world sealed away in portions, and you have to travel into those lands in the past to fix things and unseal them, causing them to return in the present, all part of a grander scheme; and in VIII, you start out with what looks like an odd troupe in search of the person, as it turns out, responsible for cursing them and their kingdom, and the first half of the game has you following his trail around- and teaming up with two more companions- until you learn that something more was behind his actions.
In each case, certain factors stay the same, though; in all games but II (where the hero was more of a soldier-type, with no magic), you play as a "hero" character with balanced abilities, the same menu types (american version of VIII aside) are always used, the battle format is very simlar (although MUCH prettier in VIII; it's traditional that the battle has you looking at the enemies, choosing commands off the menu, and reading a dialogue box chronicling the action, but in VIII, this is enhanced with full-motion visuals of that action, with the camera panning around to see the characters and their attacks), the same spells are nearly omnipresent after their introduction (although VIII used a different translation system for the names), and many of the same enemies (especially Slimes), items, and themes return. The music is usually new in each game, although the title Overture is always there and ever since III, the same save file menu music has been in use.
So, in case my lengthy babbling wasn't an indication, this is pretty much one of my favorite videogame series ever ^^ I love Dragon Quest. It's fun, it holds onto the things that make it Dragon Quest while mixing things up enough to keep it interesting, and I admire that it has remained more or less timing-free. It always gives you lots of room to see and explore everything, more than once- in fact, it's encouraged, and it's quite typical that characters always have lots to say. VII and VIII in particular go nuts with it- they let you talk to your party at any time for commentary on the present situation (in VII they're a bit more ADD striken and comment on nearly everything they see, whereas in VIII they tend to stick more to the main goal of the moment; additionally VII let you talk in battle, although there were very few lines to be found there, and talking too much used up your turn), and ever since V, there's always more to find after finishing the game proper (usually at least one uber-strong extra boss, although later games have incorporated hidden dungeons of varying quality- VIII, on the other hand, has an entire storyline extension and several incredibly strong bosses that put the normal final boss to shame).
Simply put, I find Dragon Quest very fun. It definitely requires patience and enthusiasm- you have to really be interested, and level grinding is usually inevitable at some point or another (ESPECIALLY THE NES VERSION OF I), but it meshes with the way I work pretty well, and I really enjoy it (in fact, I find that these and SOTN-type Castlevanias are the two series I seem to handle the best- I have more patience and obsession with them than even Mario sidescrollers and older Zelda games and such). It's simply an awesome series, if you like it for what it is.
Of course, something I've barely played are the spinoffs. In particular there have been "Mystery Dungeon" style games (only one made it to the US, "Torneko: The Last Hope", but there was another Torneko/Taloon game, and recently there was one for Yangus of DQVIII) and the "Monsters" series (a vaguely Pokemonish series where you tame, collect, and breed monsters from the series to compose a party for the- usually simplistic- story quest, and just for the sake of trying out the different monsters). I'm interested in them, I've just barely played them so far.
So, does anyone else here like this series?
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Originally Posted by DarkDragoonX
