It’s been 6 days since I’ve started on DQ IX, and I’ve yet to complete the main story. Currently, I’m stuck at what I think is the last main boss, so I’ll have to go grind on more metal slimes. Meanwhile, I’ve been reading different opinions about how awesome or sucky the game is. Famitsu gave it a 40/40, while Amazon Japan is flooded with 1 and 2 star reviews.
Screw Famitsu, since I don’t believe that there is any game is perfect. Also, screw the 1 and 2 star Amazon Japan reviews, since that’s a concentrated effort by some 2ch trolls. Out of those who bought the game, everyone would be currently busy playing the game, except those trolls. As such, to me, DQ IX’s level of awesomeness will be defined only by myself. No way am I letting some punks sway my opinion of the game.
Here’s my take on it:
What I love:
While it’s common sense that the graphics on the DS are no match for it’s competitor the PSP, I must say that the graphics for DQ IX have surpassed what I have expected for it to be. Sure, there were promotional videos of the game before the release, but you can really trust the quality of the graphics until you see them on the DS.
There’s this really awesome introduction sequence that is remarkable for a game on the DS. Also, the good old Dragon Quest theme that plays along with it just reminds me of the days of DQ I and II.
The 3D enviroment has vastly improved from the other Dragon Quest remakes on the DS and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker. Everything is in 3D, even the battle scenes. Speaking of battle scenes, I’m impressed at how they are made to look as though they are real time reaction battles, when the battle system still remains the same; Good old school RPG battle style.
The music is rather decent, but all the towns have the same theme music, which gets kind of boring after a while. The only 2 pieces of music that I really like are the battle theme and the theme in the Angel World.
The gameplay is pretty much similar to the past DQ games. It’s mostly grinding up so that you can defeat the boss that stands before you, and more grinding until the next one. Metal slimes are your best friend if you decide to embark on the route of grinding, but you can choose not to do so and make the game more challenging. I’ve been grinding quite a bit, so the bosses aren’t exactly as difficult as they should be for me when it’s time for my showdown with them.
There are a total of 12 classes, 6 basic and another 6 that you have to unlock via quests. Currently, I’ve only played all 6 main classes and unlocked 2 of the other 6. Some of the classes are really useless, like the Ranger. Why the hell did I even select that class? Anyway, so many classes would mean that you can get your money’s worth and playing the game for over a hundred hours just to grind every class on you main character to level 99.
The plot is fairly interesting (DQ V still owns), but since everything’s in Japanese, I have to slow down so that I can fully read the dialogue. Thankfully, furigana is present for all the kanjis. Sometimes, even in places where kanji can be placed, hiragana is used instead. The language level of the game isn’t too harsh, so I’m estimating that a JLPT 3 should be sufficient for playing the game and enjoying the plot. Just keep a dictionary at hand.
What I hate:
Sandy, the fairy that follows you around and pops out once in a while, is really irritating. Her dialogue makes me want to punch the daylights out of her. Aren’t there any other fairies in the world that I can have as a companion?
I appreciate that the game allows me to customise how my other party members look, but it’s a real shame that the party members are just there to fight for you. They don’t play a part in the story at all, which makes them feel like robots or dolls that only exist for battle, instead of proper characters.
What’s up with the limitations on wifi connectivity? Only WEP and unsecured connections are allowed, meaning no WPA or WPA2. What the hell? If I want to connect to the Internet so that I can access the downloadable content, I have to temporary disable the security for my router, which is a real pain in the ass. I wonder if this is a software problem that lies with the game, or a hardware problem that lies with the DS.
No multiplayer experience for me, since no one I know has bought the game. If you are living in Singapore and own a DS, get DQ IX from Gamescore so that we can play together!
And that’s all I have to say about DQ IX. If I had to rate the game on a scale of 40 like what Famitsu is doing, I’d give it a 38. I still love and enjoy DQ IX though, since a game doesn’t have to be totally perfect for one to love it.
So what are you waiting for if you have a DS? Get Dragon Quest IX already!
I’m probably never going to play the DQ series because Akira Toriyama’s character designs piss me off. I hate how his guys look. Then again, I like Dragonball. Doesn’t make sense eh?
Actually Eternal Sonata is probably the worst RPG I’ve played so far, despite it having the best looking backgrounds, dungeon designs and other eye candy.
I’m not really bothered by the character designs. After all, if I’m alright with stuff like Akagi, there’s nothing else that’s ugly to me.
Famitsu doesn’t actually rate games out of 40, but four reviewers each score the game out of 10. The quoted score of 40/40 is just the total of these four review scores added together.
As the above user said, 4 Famitsu reviewers gave it a 10/10 instead of a one perfect score. These things fluctuate from time to time, so I think it’s a little unfair to say Famitsu is biased (not that I read their magazine).
As for the low Amazon Japan reviews, it seems like what the main gripe about the game (especially from the DQ purists) is the storyline. I’ve played about 15 hrs so far, and I share some of that sentiment.
The main character is a blank face per usual, but there really isn’t any character development or a real backbone to the story that makes people delve into the DQ world. The DQIX story is basically Angels from a Heaven world needs to kick out monsters from towns and cities in order to save the world (not unlike Secret of Mana). But these events are discrete and unemotional. The only reason the characters move from point A to point B is some fisherman/farmer/Princess/… wants monsters destroyed for their own convenience.
The network play is nice; but as a single player game, not having any characters from the story in your team makes you just simply not care. The ganguro character is sort of a symbol that the developers missed the “character” of DQ (ooh I need a fairy to hold my hands because there’s no interaction from our team!).
Otherwise, I’ve been enjoying the gameplay (no random battles!) and the replay value. But I can’t get rid of that mini-game feeling from a mini-console.
Yeah I freakin’ am all over this game. It’s so cool. But I agree that there is no such thing as a perfect game. When I was living in Japan, I wanted to kill all those “Sandy-ish” girls…but suprisingly I don’t really care that much that she is in the game.
I LOVE the customization of the characters. That’s what I’m all about (despite the fact that they are just dummies).
Hey man if I could get my dumb DS to get online with it, I would so play with you!
Sadly, there’s no wifi play for DQIX.