Honestly, Dragon Quest games have been on my radar for decades. But I never got into them. And if this is the latest, most refined version they've released, maybe I did myself a favour.
I get that people like the character designs, and they're fine. But they're clunky in 3D, and really don't work for the surprisingly adult/dark themes.
But for me, it was the mechanics of this game. This was released in 2019 and you have to rely on save spots?
Save points. In the year 2019 (now 2023). Did you save your progress? Sure, but the last save point was over an hour ago, and traveling back to it doesn't make sense.
How about battles? Turn based - which is fine and fun, but even set to "ultra fast" speed, you still have to click through every. Single. Line. Of dialogue. End of the battle? Click to acknowledge your exp. Click to acknowledge your coins. Click to acknowledge your item drops. Really? Really?! It will just sit there if you don't press the button.
And that applies for cut scenes, too. At least as a default - you can set it to automatically proceed, but it does so with such a huge delay, 2 seconds between a line of dialogue concluding, and the start of the next line, that you might as well push the button yourself.
Ok, but what about in the field? Well, you have to hold down the right trigger to run. Or, you can use "autorun" which is more infuriating than it sounds. It's not a sprint toggle, no, it's this weird mechanic where your character just runs whereever you pointed him. Sure, you can adjust the trajectory, but it's like trying to turn a boat rudder in jello, or it suddenly snaps into a new direction, and keeps turning. Why? Why are you like this?
Other dumb things that don't make sense are items. Do you want to use an item in battle that you picked up earlier? Well, you better have put into that specific character's hands before the battle started!
Related to items, when you're buying them, you can only buy 9 at a time. 9 (nine). And no more. You may have the money and space, but the interface won't let you buy more than that. I tried moving the cursor over - some old games made you specify the tens place separate from the ones place, but... Nope. Want 20 of something? You're gonna have to make 3 specific purchases.
Ok, and the big problem? The plot.
You're a hero of light!
That's it. That's all of it. Nothing more than "you're destined to be a hero." So you go out heroing.
That's... Fine(?). For a 10 or 12 year old. It's fine for a 10 or 12 year old, from 1990, but... No, nothing.
Also, the game gives dozens, hundreds of characters voice lines.
But not our "hero." He's perpetually silent.
Maybe that still works for some folks. Maybe they like projecting themselves onto this blank canvas, but, again, it's 2019/2023. It's been done, and it's boring. Legend of Zelda barely manages it anymore, but at least they give Link some good facial expression. Not a huge fan of LotZ games, either, for what it's worth.
So, I don't know. If these things are all just staples of the series and other folks love it, that's fine, and that's good. I just don't get it, it's not for me. It feels too clunky, too old, and not at all polished.
I get that people like the character designs, and they're fine. But they're clunky in 3D, and really don't work for the surprisingly adult/dark themes.
But for me, it was the mechanics of this game. This was released in 2019 and you have to rely on save spots?
Save points. In the year 2019 (now 2023). Did you save your progress? Sure, but the last save point was over an hour ago, and traveling back to it doesn't make sense.
How about battles? Turn based - which is fine and fun, but even set to "ultra fast" speed, you still have to click through every. Single. Line. Of dialogue. End of the battle? Click to acknowledge your exp. Click to acknowledge your coins. Click to acknowledge your item drops. Really? Really?! It will just sit there if you don't press the button.
And that applies for cut scenes, too. At least as a default - you can set it to automatically proceed, but it does so with such a huge delay, 2 seconds between a line of dialogue concluding, and the start of the next line, that you might as well push the button yourself.
Ok, but what about in the field? Well, you have to hold down the right trigger to run. Or, you can use "autorun" which is more infuriating than it sounds. It's not a sprint toggle, no, it's this weird mechanic where your character just runs whereever you pointed him. Sure, you can adjust the trajectory, but it's like trying to turn a boat rudder in jello, or it suddenly snaps into a new direction, and keeps turning. Why? Why are you like this?
Other dumb things that don't make sense are items. Do you want to use an item in battle that you picked up earlier? Well, you better have put into that specific character's hands before the battle started!
Related to items, when you're buying them, you can only buy 9 at a time. 9 (nine). And no more. You may have the money and space, but the interface won't let you buy more than that. I tried moving the cursor over - some old games made you specify the tens place separate from the ones place, but... Nope. Want 20 of something? You're gonna have to make 3 specific purchases.
Ok, and the big problem? The plot.
You're a hero of light!
That's it. That's all of it. Nothing more than "you're destined to be a hero." So you go out heroing.
That's... Fine(?). For a 10 or 12 year old. It's fine for a 10 or 12 year old, from 1990, but... No, nothing.
Also, the game gives dozens, hundreds of characters voice lines.
But not our "hero." He's perpetually silent.
Maybe that still works for some folks. Maybe they like projecting themselves onto this blank canvas, but, again, it's 2019/2023. It's been done, and it's boring. Legend of Zelda barely manages it anymore, but at least they give Link some good facial expression. Not a huge fan of LotZ games, either, for what it's worth.
So, I don't know. If these things are all just staples of the series and other folks love it, that's fine, and that's good. I just don't get it, it's not for me. It feels too clunky, too old, and not at all polished.
