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I had played through Dragon Quest Builders without playing through DQ1 (grinding isn't really my thing), so it was a fun surprise to read this LP and piece together the original story (such as it is) with all of the familiar names. DQ Builders was a fun surprise, it could've been a DQ skinned Minecraft clone, but it managed to do a lot more to set it apart.
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May 25, 2018 02:51
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We hast slain the dragon! Now to have the honeymoon and grow quickly tired of one another whilst we sharpen our knives in front of each other before bed.
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May 25, 2018 03:25
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Oh great, DQ2 is coming up? I was able to enjoy DQ1 well enough to the end despite its age (the fact I played the GBC reboot with all its quality-of-life improvements didn't hurt), but I never could get all the way through DQ2. I loved what it did with its premise in the first half, though! And once you get to DQ3, I'll have no choice but to replay it right along with the thread. I forget what version I played last, but it was a long long time ago. Is there a new definitive version out there that everyone agrees is the best?
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May 25, 2018 03:49
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I love the initial battle against the faux-final boss. "A Dragonlord draws near!" There's... there's more?!?! Anyway, thanks for the great LP. Very much looking forward to DW2.
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May 25, 2018 04:36
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Tuxedo Ted posted:And once you get to DQ3, I'll have no choice but to replay it right along with the thread. I forget what version I played last, but it was a long long time ago. Is there a new definitive version out there that everyone agrees is the best? "The best" for the first three is a matter of whether or not you can stomach phone touchscreen controls. If you can, then the Android/iOS version is the best. If not, you're stuck with the same three options you've had for 20 years: GBC, SNES/Super Famicom, or NES/Famicom. Android/iOS is actually surprisingly reasonably priced for the first three, and reflects the size of the games in comparison to later ones: Dragon Quest I is $3, Dragon Quest II is $5, and Dragon Quest III is $10. Dragon Quests IV-VI are $15, and VIII is $20. Compare that to paying considerably more than that on the DS Dragon Quest IV-VI (they used to be absurdly expensive, but DQ IV and V DS got stealth reprints at some point, so they're reasonable, but DQ VI can still be ludicrously pricey), or full retail or near that for 3DS Dragon Quest VII and VIII. (I have all the DS and 3DS Dragon Quest games because I cannot stand touchscreen-only gameplay. I gave up on DQ VII about halfway through because that game goes on FOREVER and DQ IX because I wasn't feeling it, but beat IV-VI and VIII) Sadly, Square Enix never did a "Dragon Quest I-III DS/3DS" for whatever reason. They did release a DQ I-III collection for the Wii (Japan Only, for the 25th anniversary), but those were just the Famicom and Super Famicom versions of the first three, side by side. I still think they cheaped out and the collection should've been I-VI (I can understand not including VII and VIII for a Wii anniversary collection). Patter Song fucked around with this message at 04:48 on May 25, 2018 |
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May 25, 2018 04:44
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Bregor posted:I love the initial battle against the faux-final boss. Sure there are, you can create them en-masse in any of the Dragon Quest Monsters games!
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May 25, 2018 05:14
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The thing I was going to mention before: Erdrick's Sword was one of the weapons added to the 3DS version of Dragon Quest VIII. Normally, when handling items, the games are careful to use the proper "a"/"an", or in the case of named/unique items, "the." (Like, "a medicinal herb," "the Rainbow Drop," and so on.) This is almost true for the sword-- DQ8 calls it "ye olde Sword of Erdrick" instead.
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May 25, 2018 05:37
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Bregor posted:I love the initial battle against the faux-final boss. That caught me so hard when I played this as a kid. Yay I beat him! I literally threw my hands in the air in celebration then all of a sudden this huge dragon appears and just absolutely wrecks me. Daaamn. I think grinded metal slimes up to level 30 or something before actually beating the game.
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May 25, 2018 05:45
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Chronische posted:Sure there are, you can create them en-masse in any of the Dragon Quest Monsters games! The very first one of those, released as Dragon Warrior Monsters on the GBC, was one of the first games I ever used GameFAQs for, back nearly 20 years ago in 1999. I was breeding all sorts of boss monsters that I didn't recognize but looked cool. Then, later on, I got to meet all of them in the DS remakes of DQ IV, V, and VI.
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May 25, 2018 05:49
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Can confirm the mobile version of DQ 3 plays great, it's even got a quick save anywhere feature that functions more like standard saving but faster AND an auto save! Which is perhaps not in the spirit of the original but I certainly appreciate it. I use spare time at work to grind. Looking forward to DQ 2! I know nothing about that particular entry.
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May 25, 2018 05:52
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Patter Song posted:"The best" for the first three is a matter of whether or not you can stomach phone touchscreen controls. If you can, then the Android/iOS version is the best. BrightWing posted:Can confirm the mobile version of DQ 3 plays great, it's even got a quick save anywhere feature that functions more like standard saving but faster AND an auto save! Which is perhaps not in the spirit of the original but I certainly appreciate it. I use spare time at work to grind. Welp, I'm sold. I kinda loathe touchscreen controls, but for old RPGs they're fine. Thanks for the recommendations.
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May 25, 2018 06:38
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Patter Song posted:"The best" for the first three is a matter of whether or not you can stomach phone touchscreen controls. If you can, then the Android/iOS version is the best. If not, you're stuck with the same three options you've had for 20 years: GBC, SNES/Super Famicom, or NES/Famicom. Speaking of this, is there a 'modern' version of DQIV that doesn't give Alena a bad Russian accent? That really bugged me in the re-releases. 
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May 25, 2018 07:55
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Thanks for the lovely LP, ZedPower. Short but sweet. I hope you don't mind me dropping a bit of nerditry on the thread. Princess Gwaelin Shenanigans As mentioned in the LP, lots of people have comments if you carry the princess in your arms, including all innkeepers if you spend the night together (  ) and the Dragonlord himself. However, while that fluff is nice, that's all it is: just flavor text you read once and forget about in subsequent playthroughs.There is, however, a very crunchy aspect of carrying Princess Gwaelin around--die she's in your embrace, and the game doesn't consider her to have been rescued. Back into the cave dungeon she goes, and her dragon guard is back as well, as if it respawned. This is, of course, exploitable for lots of fast EXP, since the Green Dragon is pretty much the best thing you can fight on your experience curve until basically near the endgame barring luck manipulation to kill Metal Slimes. Cue what DQ1 speedrunners call the "Dragon Loop": get strong enough to barely survive a Dragon encounter, pick up Gwaelin, then wander around in the swamp outside until you eat an ignoble death. Rinse and repeat until you're ready to tackle stronger foes. The game's plot doesn't move on until you return Gwaelin to the king, and everyone in-game is none the wiser about your cold, calculating decision to abandon a helpless girl multiple times until you're strong enough to save her for real, though I imagine this puts a massive crimp on the relationship you eventually have with her. dotchan fucked around with this message at 11:10 on May 25, 2018 |
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May 25, 2018 08:02
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dotchan posted:and everyone in-game is none the wiser about your cold, calculating decision to abandon a helpless girl multiple times until you're strong enough to save her for real, though I imagine this puts a massive crimp on the relationship you eventually have with her. What relationship? All you gotta do is leave her there once you're done grinding. Cuts way down on the domestic headaches. 
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May 25, 2018 09:35
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dotchan posted:The game's plot doesn't move on until you return Gwaelin to the king, and everyone in-game is none the wiser about your cold, calculating decision to abandon a helpless girl multiple times until you're strong enough to save her for real, though I imagine this puts a massive crimp on the relationship you eventually have with her.
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May 25, 2018 09:44
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Squibbles posted:That caught me so hard when I played this as a kid. Yay I beat him! I literally threw my hands in the air in celebration then all of a sudden this huge dragon appears and just absolutely wrecks me. Daaamn. I meant more that the game calls the chump costume “A Dragonlord” when the fight starts, then the real guy is “The Dragonlord.” Indefinite article implies that there are others. Maybe the Dragonlord has a closet full of wimpy costumes in his lair somewhere? Anyway it struck me as funny in the video.
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May 25, 2018 16:12
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Speedrun of Dragon Warrior in 27:19 that is totally based on manipulating the RNG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgh30BiWG58
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May 25, 2018 16:22
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I laughed when I saw Torishima in special thanks. Dude genuinely deserved the place, good luck getting Toriyama back then working without him. In fact, I believe I read it was indeed Torishima that got Toriyama into Dragon Quest's team. Talking about Toriyama, Herms tweeted this yesterday and this is the best moment to link to it: https://twitter.com/Herms98/status/999796133646950400?s=19 Also I saw the "a Dragonlord" too but these games had little space so I'm guessing every encounter but the final one (which can't load the same due to not being a new monster but a separate form, so it wouldn't make sense) loads a generic message for monsters, which makes sense in every case but this one. It's a logical thing to do and it's such a minor error, it can be ignored. Anyways, very enjoyable LP, great job! Can't wait for DQ2, I had watched the GDQ speedrun of this one but I know nothing about that one.
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May 25, 2018 16:23
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Wow. Telephone cards. What a weird product of its time.
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May 25, 2018 16:32
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So, how many Rainbow Drops does it take to get there? Well, if you say zero, that's wrong, because then the Hero can't go far enough. If you say one, well, it's true that the Hero can get there with one, but we can do a little better. We can do it in half a Rainbow Drop.
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May 25, 2018 16:57
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ulmont posted:Speedrun of Dragon Warrior in 27:19 that is totally based on manipulating the RNG: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgh30BiWG58 That is a thing of beauty.
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May 25, 2018 17:20
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Blaze Dragon posted:Also I saw the "a Dragonlord" too but these games had little space so I'm guessing every encounter but the final one (which can't load the same due to not being a new monster but a separate form, so it wouldn't make sense) loads a generic message for monsters, which makes sense in every case but this one. It's a logical thing to do and it's such a minor error, it can be ignored. It's just a translation issue, really; whomever came up with the wording for the text introducing the enemy didn't think of this particular battle when he wrote it. Something like "An enemy draws near. The (enemy name) wants to fight." or something would've worked fine in all instances.
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May 25, 2018 18:20
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Hang on a minute. That's not a fountain in the kings town! That's a torture pit of damage tiles whose victim is walled in by water! More evidence of his nefarious ways!
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May 25, 2018 20:40
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Patter Song posted:Dragon Quest/Warrior II is...a much harder undertaking. There's a lot of value in that game and I look forward to commenting on your playthrough of it, but I vowed long ago to never, ever, ever actually play it again (even though I'm regularly tempted to go through the old Dragon Quests). Dragon Quest II might be the worst game in the series, but it was gloriously innovative and a massive step forward technically and in terms of the plot and structure. I admire a lot about it...but better you than me. Heh, I did LP the first Shin Megami Tensei, so I know all about the whole notion of "this game is historically significant but man talk about taking one for the team". I wouldn't touch DW2 again with a bamboo pole if I was just replaying it on my own for myself, but I'm 98% sure getting to vent about its moments of outright sadism will be worth it. Well, 97% sure. loving love Fiona Apple posted:Will you be making a sperate thread for DW2 or will you keep it all here? It'll be a separate thread, it'll make for cleaner archiving in the end. I'll announce it both here and in the new LP thread when the time comes though. RickVoid posted:Great work on DW I! The extra dialogue was great, looking forward to seeing your take on DW II, if you do go ahead and do it. I've never actually played DW II, all I recall of the last LP I tried to read was the protagonist naming his new staff St Pimp-Stick III. So... nowhere to go but up! Ooof yeah that's... that'll be a low bar to clear for sure. But it's the LPer's curse from time immemorial, you always gotta be on your guard because the moment your concentration slips for even a second, references to prostitution just slide right in there from out of the blue! It is our cross to bear. YggiDee posted:I love the victory lap at the end of these games Yeah, that's a pretty elaborate way to end things for the time. It could have been done in a deeper way but even getting to walk around without monsters feels really good, and it's satisfying to experience first-hand the result of your actions. FoolyCharged posted:Hang on a minute. That's not a fountain in the kings town! That's a torture pit of damage tiles whose victim is walled in by water! More evidence of his nefarious ways! All the more reason to get the princess outta there. Nutrition aside, she was probably safer with the dragon.
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May 25, 2018 22:08
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I'll admit that I know almost nothing about Dragon Quest so I don't know why 2 is considered so bad. However I do know that 1 and 3 are considered classics while nobody talks about 2 so maybe that explains it.
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May 26, 2018 00:34
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The big reason people get down on II is the endgame. Which, to be fair, was awful in I and III too, but even then II is probably on a whole other level.
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May 26, 2018 00:39
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DQ2 is an amazing game and a hell of a lot more enjoyable an experience than DQ1. No bully. I wish I still had my hand drawn maps and poo poo. This game is an experience. Adamant fucked around with this message at 02:24 on May 26, 2018 |
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May 26, 2018 00:41
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Dragon Quest II is ALSO something I played through recently, right after DQ1, android version. It's open world ish, so I can understand the complaints, as it can be a bit unclear as to how to proceed. The endgame upped the ante, but it had some pretty fun endgame weapons and the like, and I actually quite liked it. I can understand why people don't though, and I've played only the super updated version. DQ III on the other hand, I kinda can't get into, and I'm not sure why. Totally looking forward to the LP of that though!
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May 26, 2018 01:20
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DQ2 is generally real bad about giving you a huge world and then dick all clues as to what you're supposed to be doing. Which works on some levels ("Cool, I'll just wander aimlessly and get into adventures until something happens") and does not on others ("Cool, I'll just be stuck forever because how was I supposed to know I need to examine one particular tree in the middle of nowhere for an item no one told me I needed")
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May 26, 2018 01:26
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I kind of enjoyed how open DW2 is , and I do expect I'll have a good enough time for maybe 90% of the playthrough. I mean, if the game was just overall garbage we probably wouldn't be looking at DQ11 coming out soon. But yeah the endgame is pretty brutal and I'm not surprised it soured a lot of people's opinions.
FrankZP fucked around with this message at 04:37 on May 26, 2018 |
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May 26, 2018 01:33
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Whew, and I thought I was the only one who liked Dragon Warrior II.
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May 26, 2018 04:33
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I really enjoyed it the last time I played it, but that was probably close to thirty years ago. I honestly don't remember having any big problems with the endgame, but I think we were all accustomed to games punching us directly in the dick back then.
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May 26, 2018 04:39
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I enjoyed DQII as well, but it was very grind-heavy, and over the last ~20 years my tolerance for that has dropped very drastically. 
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May 26, 2018 05:31
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Pieuvre posted:I enjoyed DQII as well, but it was very grind-heavy, and over the last ~20 years my tolerance for that has dropped very drastically. Yeah looking back I just can't fathom how I had the patience to grind multiple characters up to level 99 in final fantasy 3. A different time
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May 26, 2018 05:39
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Merry Deciever posted:Dragon Quest II is ALSO something I played through recently, right after DQ1, android version. It's open world ish, so I can understand the complaints, as it can be a bit unclear as to how to proceed. The endgame upped the ante, but it had some pretty fun endgame weapons and the like, and I actually quite liked it. I can understand why people don't though, and I've played only the super updated version. DQ III on the other hand, I kinda can't get into, and I'm not sure why. Totally looking forward to the LP of that though! ArcDemons my friend. That's all.
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May 26, 2018 05:54
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One example: there's enemies in the DQ2 endgame that can cast AOE instant-kill spells that basically have a coinflip for survival rates. Of the three party members only one has a resurrection spell, it costs loads of MP, there's only one item that can revive and it's a consumable, and revived characters have next to no HP so you have to spend even more resources to get them into fighting shape. And that's just one of many, many different gently caress you's the game tosses your way. I legitimately like the game, but I never beat it as a kid and I'm amazed anyone beat it at all at the time. 
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May 26, 2018 06:05
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DW2 wasn't any more vague in what you're supposed to be doing than DW1 really. It's just a bigger scope so it doesn't work as well that way. DW1 is still a game that most people who played it probably didn't beat until the gamefaqs era.
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May 26, 2018 08:29
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Flavius Belisarius posted:DW2 wasn't any more vague in what you're supposed to be doing than DW1 really. It's just a bigger scope so it doesn't work as well that way. DW1 is still a game that most people who played it probably didn't beat until the gamefaqs era. DW1 was the first game I beat as a child. I remember seeing the commercial, then my dad came home with the game later that day. The two of us beat it together. I actually managed to grind to max gold and XP. Kid patience.
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May 26, 2018 18:00
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Asimo posted:One example: there's enemies in the DQ2 endgame that can cast AOE instant-kill spells that basically have a coinflip for survival rates. Of the three party members only one has a resurrection spell, it costs loads of MP, there's only one item that can revive and it's a consumable, and revived characters have next to no HP so you have to spend even more resources to get them into fighting shape. And that's just one of many, many different gently caress you's the game tosses your way. Not ONLY is there only one item that raises the dead AND it's a consumable, but you can only have one at a time, ever.
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May 26, 2018 18:23
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Chronische posted:Not ONLY is there only one item that raises the dead AND it's a consumable, but you can only have one at a time, ever. B-but you have 3 party members? 
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May 26, 2018 18:41
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