16/09/2018

Dragon Quest V: Dreamy early stages


The mention of the Dragon Quest series makes me feel all mushy and nostalgic, despite the fact that I became acquainted with it as late as 2012 when I played DQIX. That legendary playthrough means a lot to me: not only was DQIX my first DQ game, but it was also my first turn-based RPG ever, the first of many solo runs and, last but not least, my longest run of any game, clocking at a good 212 hours. I loved DQIX to pieces, and subsequently bought every single DQ entry released on the DS and 3DS, as well as the Gameboy Colour remakes; and yet, weirdly enough, my gaming instinct didn't feel like touching any of these games for the last six years. I guess the memory of that formidable DQIX run was still too fresh in my mind, and it needed to fade away a bit before my gaming instinct craved the series again. It seems that I have indeed forgotten my happy times with DQIX enough, for my gaming instinct suddenly urged me to play DQV. And so I (happily) complied.

I fully expected to be reunited with all the beloved staples of the series in DQV, and I was not disappointed. My breath caught in my throat when meeting my first Metal Slime, and finally killing one after many a try made me feel ridiculously happy happier than vanquishing a bunch of pixels should ever make me feel. I could feast my eyes again on the gorgeous fighting screen backgrounds that had enchanted me so much in DQIX; this seems to be something that the series masters perfectly, and it makes me feel like a lone wanderer more than any open world ever could. I quickly got reacquainted with those oh-so-DQ-esque habits of rummaging through peoples' drawers and warbrobes and checking for fresher and better gear in every new town. Last but not least, I grinded, grinded and grinded in fact, I'm still grinding.

One feature that failed to pop up was the class system of DQIX: and, well, I must confess that I was relieved by that absence. Although I can work my way around class systems in turn-based RPGs, the truth is that I don't like them much: I prefer my chosen one's progression to be simple and straighforward and to rely solely on the power of levels and brute force. Having to choose between classes generates ponderings and hesitations that I simply don't need in my RPG, and I'd rather make do with what I'm given. That being said, DQV offers a replacement for classes in the form of monster recruitment. I was initially planning to give that feature a pass and to focus solely on my given party; but then, I crossed the path of a lovely jailcat that was willing to join my crew, and there was no turning back. Although that new feline recrue could do little more than scratch foes at first, a couple of playing hours molded her into a formidable fighting powerhouse. There's no way I'm letting go of her now, and she'll definitely be part of my team till the final boss.

Talking about my party, DQV offers the most perfect mix of solo run and party run I've seen this side of Trails in the Sky. My titular hero has been the only fixture in my party so far, aided by a number of extra party members that come, fight by my side and go as the story unfolds. I really love that setting that allows me to enjoy the best of two worlds: I get that extra oomph in battle thanks to those guests, yet I can still lavish stat-raising items on my MC without a second thought. This also gives me the opportunity to try different fighting strategies, which is something lazy me probably wouldn't have bothered to do otherwise.

I just love how straightforward and heartwarming DQV is. The game world is charming and welcoming, just like DQIX's world was; it has an quintessential and intemporal quality that can probably appeal to any RPG fan or at least not ruffle anyone's feathers, unlike very distinctive RPG settings such as FFVII's steampunk world and it somehow manages to capture the very essence of fantasy RPG. You know what to expect right from the start: set foot in a town, talk to the locals, agree to solve their big problem (there's always a big problem going on), go to the nearby dungeon, solve the big problem, collect your reward rinse and repeat until the end of the game. And then you have the mandatory grinding, which may be stifling to some but is also quite soothing and reassuring: no matter how strong the foe, it can always be ultimately defeated with a healthy amount of grinding. No complicated strategies to master, no luck involved: just grind enough and you're set. In an RPG landscape full of increasingly outlandish fighting systems, such simplicity and predictability are a breath of fresh air.

I have 10 hours under my belt already; and while I'm pretty sure that my DQV run won't ever be as long as my DQIX one, I still think I have a good number of hours of enjoyable play ahead, if only because I'm grinding so, so much. But hey, I can't help it: battles flow so swiftly with the maximum text speed that I find myself stuck in an transe and unable to stop; and the battle backgrounds are so gorgeous, I just want to gaze at them over and over again. In a nutshell, I'm hooked, and I love being hooked. See you soon for more DQV tidings, dear fellow gamers! Thanks for reading, and be my guest anytime!

6 comments:

  1. Oh yes, this game is heavenly! I personally despise DQIX for a lot of reasons; the story, the lack of actual party members connected to said story (which leads me to playing solo, which leads to needing more grinding, which leads to me getting sick of the game quicker), the class system, how rare some drops were (which is poison for a solo run), etc, etc. And for those reasons I never managed to finish it. I like making my own character and that's about it.

    But this game...I began it after DQIX and it pulled me right in. The story is amazing; I love games that let you follow a character throughout their whole life, instead of just a year of highschool or whatever, and this game is one of the best in that genre. I played the other ones after this, and now I'm eagerly awainting for DQXI to go on sale, but I'm pretty sure this will remain my favourite for ever.

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    1. 'Heavenly', indeed. Nice choice of word here, Kumiko. ^^

      I guess you're going for the PS4 version of DQXI? Man, I'm so pissed off with Squeenix for scrapping the planned western release of the 3DS version. Not that this will stop me from playing that game, mind you: since I own a japanese 3DS, I'll definitely get my paws on a japanese copy, and I'll play it even if I have to check a translation every step of the way.

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    2. Completely agreed on the scrapped 3DS version of XI. Man, I was so hyped to play using the old school 16 bit sprite mode... But, alas, with the 3DS pirating running completely rampant, it's not very surprising they canned the plans. Hell, DQ never really sold that well outside of japan, Square was probably afraid it just wouldn't justify the extra work and budget.

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    3. Yup, probably. That's still a weird situation, when you think of it: Squeenix localized DQIX as well as the remakes of the Zenithian trilogy on the DS, at a time when the series was not so well-known; now the series has gained global recognition, and they won't localize the 3DS version of DQXI? I'm sure they have their reasons, but this is still mildly puzzling, to say the least.

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  2. Dragon Quest V will always be my favorite DQ by a long margin. Reading both this and your next post about it it's kinda sad you're not enjoying it as much as I did. Anyway, I geenrally don't care much about the story but DQV really has a very nice story and the overall theme is so subtle yet so on-your-face at the same time that I found it impossible to not like it. Hopefully the game will grip you again.

    Oh, and I just wanna point out that the quests/story forcing you to explore and find out where to go next is one of the points that I love about RPGs in general. A shame these new-generation RPGs nearly all place a big shiny star in the map for your next event or sidequest objective. It really kills the joy of exploring the maps and talking with the NPCs and such.

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    1. Aah, I still enjoy it enough, don't worry. ^^ In fact, the last couple of hours have been much better.

      A bit of "where do I go next?" is expected in most old-school RPGs; however, the Dragon Quest series is a particularly bad offender. It's pretty ironic that DQV provided directions in its early stages ("go to that tower to the north" or the like) despite the fact that the explorable map was tiny at that time, yet won't even give you a shred of a clue after the world map opens entirely. I would honestly have preferred things to be the other way around.

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