20/09/2016

7th Dragon III: Sidequests with (LOTS of) benefits


I just emerged from a slew of sidequests that acted as a welcome breather from all the dungeon-crawling and dragon-killing. Mind you, this turn of events is rather unexpected: in the early stages of the game, I had decided to virtually ignore the sidequests after having tackled a couple of them and realised that they were rather boring in execution. They consist exclusively in running back and forth between people and places to look for this and that item, with sometimes a battle or two thrown in the mix. Add the fact that these quests are just as much on rails as the rest of the game, with pointers conveniently indicating where the people and items involved in the quest of the day can be found, and you'll understand why I decided to steer clear of them. However, the game had other plans in mind and basically forced me to clear a couple of them in intermission chapters. I was not exactly reeling with happiness at first, but I changed my mind when I saw for myself the many benefits of these sidequests. Since then, I've been tackling more and more of them with an ever-increasing delight. These sidequests may be on the boring side of running errands, but see for yourself the awesome benefits they bring:

—The rewards for polishing off these sidequests are always plentiful and tremendously useful: cold hard cash, field skills, rare pieces of gear and items that are not sold at the local shop, skill points, you name them. For instance, one of the quests yielded an awesome skill that can totally suppress random encounters, while another gave me access to a no less awesome skill that can multiply by 1.3 the amount of XP reaped from the next fight. On the spot before fighting dragons, as you may expect.

—These sidequests also provide interesting insights into the storyline, sometimes even at the meta-level of the series itself. Thanks to a trio of quests, I could infer that the original 7th Dragon on the DS is actually a sequel to 7th Dragon III, while 7th Dragon 2020 and 2020-II on the PSP are prequels to it. It's also fun and refreshing to see the characters interact with each other in a light-hearted and often humorous way during the quests, and it certainly helps flesh out my crew as well as NPCs.

—Last but not least, some of the dragons are solely accessible through sidequests. This is definitely the main draw for me, as I plegded myself to slaughter 'em all in the early stages of the game. A good way to know if more dragons can be found in an area after the dragon counter for this area is down to zero is to check for the presence of Dragonsbane flowers in the area in question. If the Dragonsbane is still blooming there, then some dragons are very likely still lurking around. Go clear these sidequests to get them! Not only is it a thrill to unearth hidden dragons, but scouring areas from the Dragonsbane as a result is deeply satisfying. Now that's a job well done!

After having pledged myself to kill all dragons, I've now pledged myself to clear all sidequests, regardless of how mundane and on-rail they may be. There is always a neat benefit to be reaped from them, and they act as a pleasant breather from the frienzied and grindy dungeon-crawling and dragon-slaughtering to boot. Now if you'll excuse me, dear fellow gamers, a guy wants me to deliver a love letter on his behalf. A dragon hunter's work is never done, indeed! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

16 comments:

  1. It's really surprising how useful the sidequests are in the 7th Dragon games. Instead of some pocket money and some potions you actually get some really neat things. I'm not sure how it is in 2020-III, but in 2020 and 2020-II you unlock the powerful EX skills through sidequests and usually obtain some really powerful equipment compared to what you can buy in the same chapter.

    "7th Dragon on the DS is actually a sequel to 7th Dragon III, while 7th Dragon 2020 and 2020-II on the PSP are prequels to it"
    Yeah, the whole thing is kinda weird. There are already signs in 2020 that they are actually prequels and not sequels, specially because of [SPOILERS] Takehaya and Aitele[END SPOILERS]. That means the world will gradually deteriorate until it's back to the medieval ages. Also, that means the dragons win in the end, since in 7th Dragon there's 666 Dragons!

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    1. "In 2020 and 2020-II you unlock the powerful EX skills through sidequests and usually obtain some really powerful equipment compared to what you can buy in the same chapter": it's quite the same in III, I must say. The EX skills are unlocked through sidequests and some nice equipment can be obtained from clearing them, although it's usually accessories and armour rather than weapons. Some really powerful weapons can be obtained by another mean, though... But more on that in a future post! ^^

      The constant onslaught of dragons on humanity and their cyclical return is actually explained in a rather neat-if a bit far-fetched-way in 7th Dragon III. The game actually plays like a love letter to the whole series, because it involves visiting places from the original 7th Dragon as well as from 2020 and 2020-II, and its story encompasses the series' whole chronology. Said story also has a note of finality to it, which makes me think that 7th Dragon III could well be the series's last instalment, conceived to tie up loose ends and bring some closure to the series... But we'll see!

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    2. "think that 7th Dragon III could well be the series's last instalment"
      Nope. As far as I remember, in a interview, the game director (who worked on EO previously) explicitly said that there will be 5 games when the 7th Dragon DS was released. Years later, he also said that 2020-II was just a spin-off. So, given this, it's (probably) safe to assume that we'll still see at least more 3 7th Dragon games, unless Sega changed their mind, of course. This was before Imageepoch closed and development was passed on to Sega itself though, so for now we just have to wait and see.

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    3. Gee, I would love to see two or three more 7th Dragon games! Although if Sega maintain the series' current release pace, there will probably be no more portable consoles in service by the time the next instalment sees the light of day... :/

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    4. We're getting 1 for every 2 years, it's more than enough to be perfectly honest. It's a better situation than other series that simply died. I'm just happy Sega is giving a chance and trying to improve on the 7th Dragon games's popularity, in and outside of Japan. Actually, the fact that they bothered localizing 2020-III VDF it's a sign they probably intend on making more sequels/spin-offs and they decided to test waters in western lands.

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    5. Mind you, I'm not saying that Sega is slacking off or neglecting the series. It's just that even if they release another entry in 2018, I'm not sure the 3DS will still be around to host it, let alone the Vita... Ah, well. We'll see!

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    6. Ah, I see. Unfortunately, that's how things go. The new shiny thing shows up and the games just move along with it.

      Still, the PSP had an abnormal long lifespan so I hope the Vita follows suit and, at least, survive until 2018, despite already been hacked too. With the 3DS it's different though, Nintendo usually just completely cuts the support for the previous console almost right after a new one is released. If we're getting the NX next year, and if it's really a portable/homeconsole hybrid, I seriously doubt the 3DS will survive until 2018.

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    7. Well, I'm certainly pinning for a late Vita release of the next 7th Dragon instalment. I don't want to let go of the series so soon after discovering it! ^^

      I also don't have much hope that the 3DS will live beyond 2017. Hopefully some good games will be released before it bails out, and hopefully publishers like Atlus will pick up the pace and localize games faster... I would really be in a foul mood if we ended up missing Etrian Odyssey 5, for instance.

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    8. 7th Dragon won't release on the Vita. I'm 100% sure. Sega hasn't released any game for the Vita at all. No Sonic, no Yakuza spin-off, nothing. They didn't even bothered porting over Sonic CD. Even the new Sonic Mania is a PS4-only game. If anything, it's a 3DS release or, if we want to be optimistic, some sort of NX/3DS release.

      I love the Vita, but let's be realistic, the fact that it was hacked this summer, that it was never all that successful and that Sony themselves said they stopped development of first party games spells the Vita's end. Luckily we're still getting tons of games, specially JRPGs!

      EO5's localization is no brainer. We're getting it for sure. If Atlus even bothers bringing over mediocre games like Caligula or Lost Dimension, than of course they'll bring over the newest game in their second most successful series.

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    9. I'm extremely pissed off that Sega is snubbing portable devices when it comes to Sonic Mania's release. I WANTED to play that game! Oh well, guess I'll have to make do with Sonic Boom: Fire&Ice. If it ever sees the light of day, that is. :P

      If I understood well, the successful hacking of the Vita means that Vita games can now be emulated, right? (I'm far from being an expert in all things piracy.) I hope the dear Vita can at least survive officially until the end of 2017 and that it will then be offered some kind of afterlife like the PSP. Fingers crossed! ^^

      "EO5's localization is no brainer. We're getting it for sure": I so hope you're right! Bring it on, Atlus!

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    10. Ever since Sega abandoned the hardware market, they've been in an awkward position. Call it an identity crisis. I don't think they really know what to do with their IPs or what market in general to aim for.

      From what I know, Vita hacking is rather unstable but still doable. You do a bit of this and that and then just pop in the ISOs of the games for the Vita to read. It has problems sometimes it seems, corrupting savedata or failing to lad entirely. And it's also possible to install emulators (SNES, GBA, etc...). Personally, I'm not really a fan of hacking a console but in the Vita's case I'm rather happy because of the possibilities it can have! We're talking about a walking SNES/Mega Drive/Saturn/Nintendo 64/PS1/PS2/PS3/Arcade emulator machine! Of course, this will probably hurt localisations and the overall support of developers but it will be a sight to behold in a couple of years.

      "I hope the dear Vita can at least survive officially until the end of 2017"
      Let's get some facts: the PSP was severely hacked almost since it released back in 2004 and it lasted until 2015, when it still got some official translated game and even an official update! We're talking about 12 years (counting with 2004) of continued support. The Vita only released 5 years ago, so I expect it to still hold on until 2018. At least I hope so, too! I still have a big list of hopeful announcements and "to buy" list for the Vita. :p

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    11. "Call it an identity crisis": that's definitely what I would call it, all the more so as I was around back then to witness Sega's rapid fall from grace. I still remember the heated debates that were going on regarding Sega's ability to capitalize on its past achievements and remain a dominant force in the videogame industry, the high expectations of Sega fans in that regard and their crushed hopes when Sega waned and became but a shadow of its former glory. Mind you, the Atari precedent could have been used as a cautionary tale, even though the circumstances obviously differed in both cases. I don't think any console manufacturer can strive as a mere developer, now matter how powerful and well-established they were. Heck, if Ninty were to bail out of hardware manufacturing for any reason, Mario and Zelda would probably soon become mere footnotes in videogame history books, just like the Blue Blur himself. *wistful sigh*

      I'm not sure I would risk installing emulators on one of my precious Vitas, but that sound totally awesome! Just the thought of being able to play 16-bits and PS1/PS2 games on the Vita makes me wriggle with excitement.

      "I still have a big list of hopeful announcements and "to buy" list for the Vita": ooh, now curious little me wants to know what these are! Names please! ^___^

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    12. "I'm not sure I would risk installing emulators on one of my precious Vitas"
      Eh, my PSP is full of emulators. Everything runs fine and doesn't have any problem at all. It's actually a whole lot more comfortable to just play GBA games on my PSP instead of bringing out my GBA again.

      Anyway, as for my "hopeful gets localised" list, I have:
      >Demon Gaze 2
      >Dungeon Travelers 2-2 and maybe the remake of the first
      >SaGa Scarlet
      >Romancing Saga 2 (no news on whether SE is still working on this)
      >Hero Must Die
      >Aegis Rim
      >Danganronpa 3

      And my "hopefully it will be announced for the Vita" list:
      >Disgaea D2 enhanced port
      >Guided Paradox enhanced port
      >New Senran Kagura game
      >New Phantasy Star game
      >Seiken Densetsu 2 and 3 remake like SE promised if Adventures of Mana sells well enough
      >a new Sting developed game
      I guess this is it? I'm sure I'm forgetting some though.

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    13. Nice selection! Most of these titles are also on my list of games that I would like to see developed and/or localized. I would add Ys: Lacrimosa of Dana, although I'm quite confident Nihon Falcom will localize it given their track record with western localizations of the Ys series.

      There's one exception though: after seeing what Square Enix did with Adventures of Mana, I'm not too sure I want them to remake Seiken Densetsu 2 and 3. To think that they would ditch the highly recognizable "Mana" art style, which did so much to establish the series, and settle instead for a cookie-cutter "phone game" art style, with the clunky gameplay to match... *sigh*

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    14. Falcom has been localizing all their games recently so it's almost a safe bet we'll get Ys VIII. (Although honestly, I have no interest in the Ys after Seven. That party system is a complete travesty of the whole series's roots not to mention it just serves to pad out the game.)

      SE can be forgiven though, because the remake was originally mobile-only. They just ported it over to the Vita because they thought it would be a nice way to get some extra bucks. And let's be honest, mobile market's audience doesn't care for good artwork. Just slap some generic anime style and it's guaranteed that will get tons of "nice art!" or "beautiful game" comments.

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    15. "And let's be honest, mobile market's audience doesn't care for good artwork. Just slap some generic anime style and it's guaranteed that will get tons of "nice art!" or "beautiful game" comments": you're right, unfortunately. With hindsight, I wish I hadn't bought this game; not only was it a foul gameplay experience, but it tainted further my already precarious relationship with Square Enix. Hopefully they will redeem themselves with Dragon Quest VII and VIII!^^

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