Dragon quest 7 and 8

[sirmola]

Aperrintly, dragon quest 7 and 8 are going to have english 3ds versions. Has anyone played them before? would you recommend them? I have tried to play all dragon quest games except those two(always in the gbc or ds versions), but the only ones i have finished are 1, 2, and, 5. For all others, i lost interest during the pre-final boss grinding. I read an LP of 7, but lost interest(and honestly, the way they force you through dungeons twice feels like artificial game-play extension). I have no previous experience with 8. Does anyone else have anythinge to say? Also, are tere any good DQ8 LPs out there? For reference, the DQ7 LP i read is here: http://lparchive.org/Dragon-Warrior-VII/

Edited November 15, 2015 by sirmola

[Magical Glace]

I've played both. VII's remake is something I've been waiting for for the past two years, the old translation being sub-par, I wanted to be able to play it with the full glory of an up-to-date quality translation.

VII is one of the best games I've played, no exaggeration here. It's incredible. I recommend it to everyone.

VIII isn't as good as VII imo, but I still completely recommend it.

I posted the character name changes for VII in the main NDirect thread, but here are their (and the first town's) new names:

Fishbel is now Pilchard Bay

Gabo has been changed to Ruff

Melvin is now Sir Mervyn

Edited November 15, 2015 by Glaceon Mage

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

Never played 7, but reading the story about 7 is fascinating to say the least.

8 is neat. It has some of my favorite bosses and features. The monster team is pretty cool, and im a fan of the "character specific" skill tree. IIRC it was somewhat hard

Setting that aside DQ is honestly one of my most hated game of all time, for all the wrong reason - its a massive grindy chore, the interface and game flow is slow as fuck usually, the saving restriction is annoying(hoorie is a fucking nuts for liking it), but the story is usually(IMO) well written, so i can't help but play more of it

[Jedi]

I haven't played 7, but I really do want to.

I do remember 8 fondly, so I am looking forward to playing that again and on a portable console.

[Tangerine]

7 on 3DS is fantastic.

8 on 3DS is a direct downgrade of the PS2 version visually and mechanically, its only redeeming features are the extra content. Frankly, DQ8 is gorgeous on PS2 and ugly as heck on 3DS. Normally it's not a big deal for me, but the beautiful overworld is a huge draw of 8 and it sucks how much worse it looks. My suggestion for 8 will always be to buy the game on PS2 and play it on PC with an emulator, and if your PC can't handle it then just play on PS2. It's an amazing looking and wonderfully crafted game, the graphical cuts they had to make don't do it justice. I guess if you've never played the game before it wouldn't bother you as much, though, so if you're never played the games before and the extra content is alluring to you, then get the 3DS version and never look up a detailed graphics comparison lol.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Tangerine

[Leif]

I remember playing the original DQ7 on the PS1. I didn't get very far; I was stuck on the time lord boss. Granted I was 11 when I played this game. It actually has a rather depressing story.

If I remember, you fight God, because God has become jaded and bored with humanity. That's a scary thought when you think about it. There was that village that was turned to stone by the magic rain, too. That was incredibly sad too since you got to see their lives (through flashbacks) before they were all petrified. There was a dude that actually crumbles into dust. Uck. Incredibly disturbing/sad. Also that fight with Matilda made me feel very bad.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Leif

[sirmola]

8 on 3DS is a direct downgrade of the PS2 version visually and mechanically, its only redeeming features are the extra content. Frankly, DQ8 is gorgeous on PS2 and ugly as heck on 3DS. Normally it's not a big deal for me, but the beautiful overworld is a huge draw of 8 and it sucks how much worse it looks. My suggestion for 8 will always be to buy the game on PS2 and play it on PC with an emulator, and if your PC can't handle it then just play on PS2. It's an amazing looking and wonderfully crafted game, the graphical cuts they had to make don't do it justice. I guess if you've never played the game before it wouldn't bother you as much, though, so if you're never played the games before and the extra content is alluring to you, then get the 3DS version and never look up a detailed graphics comparison lol.

Is it worse in any way other than worse graphics, because, as someone who spends 2 hours a day comuting, i care about portability VASTLY more then i care about graphics. (the fact that i don't own a PS2 does not help) The choice is less "which version", and more, "should i bother to get the game at all"

Also, how are these game's class systems compared to six (which felt clunky compared to FF5/bravely default's systems) and nine(which encouraged staying in one class, thus eliminating half the point)? Also, i hated how these systems did not unlock until around 1/3rd of the way through the game.

[Jedi]

8 Doesn't really have a class system, each character has a particular set of perk trees they can level up.

Eight (The protagonist) for example has 3 weapon types you can pick to level up, Swords, Lances, Boomerangs, and his more passive abilities and stuff.

[Tangerine]

Is it worse in any way other than worse graphics, because, as someone who spends 2 hours a day comuting, i care about portability VASTLY more then i care about graphics. (the fact that i don't own a PS2 does not help) The choice is less "which version", and more, "should i bother to get the game at all"

Also, how are these game's class systems compared to six (which felt clunky compared to FF5/bravely default's systems) and nine(which encouraged staying in one class, thus eliminating half the point)? Also, i hated how these systems did not unlock until around 1/3rd of the way through the game.

The loading times on the 3DS version are worse, and DQ8 already had long loading times to begin with. People say the game itself "feels faster", I can't really confirm or deny that, but I thought I'd mention it. The sound quality is a little worse (still great), but that's to be expected. Those are the only non-graphical differences in the core game that I've seen personally, so if you're cool with some long-ish loading times and you can't play the PS2 version on PC, the game is definitely worth experiencing if 3DS is your only option.

Just to expand on what I mean, the beautiful fully-explorable world map is the biggest victim of the 3DS port from a gameplay perspective. It's purely graphical, but it really does impact the gameplay because it's such a big feature. There are random barren spots at view, trees that pop in and off screen, and it just looks quite bad compared to the original. But again, if you either pass on the game or get the 3DS version then it's definitely worth picking up. It's a wonderful game regardless of the port's issues.

[spoiler=3DS vs PS2]

DQ8's class system is similar to DQ9's, except with every character locked into a specific class. You assign skill points in weapon trees and unique ability trees. It's available from the start of the game.

DQ7's class system is unique on its own and definitely encourages you to switch around. It's a lot like FFT where you need to level combinations of classes to learn new abilities and more advanced classes, but it's also very grindy. The story is definitely the main draw of DQ7. The class system feels like it takes forever to unlock, but that's because DQ7 is a very very long game. Portability is a huge plus for a game like it.

Edited November 16, 2015 by Tangerine

[Magical Glace]

I remember playing the original DQ7 on the PS1. I didn't get very far; I was stuck on the time lord boss. Granted I was 11 when I played this game. It actually has a rather depressing story.

If I remember, you fight God, because God has become jaded and bored with humanity. That's a scary thought when you think about it. There was that village that was turned to stone by the magic rain, too. That was incredibly sad too since you got to see their lives (through flashbacks) before they were all petrified. There was a dude that actually crumbles into dust. Uck. Incredibly disturbing/sad. Also that fight with Matilda made me feel very bad.

God's actually a pretty nice guy. You fight him as more or less a casual test of strength. The only real questionable thing he did was... vanishing to let humans take care of the aftermath of fighting Orgodemir

Is it worse in any way other than worse graphics, because, as someone who spends 2 hours a day comuting, i care about portability VASTLY more then i care about graphics. (the fact that i don't own a PS2 does not help) The choice is less "which version", and more, "should i bother to get the game at all"

Also, how are these game's class systems compared to six (which felt clunky compared to FF5/bravely default's systems) and nine(which encouraged staying in one class, thus eliminating half the point)? Also, i hated how these systems did not unlock until around 1/3rd of the way through the game.

DQ7's class system is unique on its own and definitely encourages you to switch around. It's a lot like FFT where you need to level combinations of classes to learn new abilities and more advanced classes, but it's also very grindy. The story is definitely the main draw of DQ7. The class system feels like it takes forever to unlock, but that's because DQ7 is a very very long game. Portability is a huge plus for a game like it.

DQVII's class system is more of an expansion on VI's than anything. You still fight X amount of battles to get a vocation level that's independent of the character level, there's just more classes and the addition of combo skills (which I hope the game is clearer about this time... there was no indication in the original that they existed beyond an extremely generic "As an X, Y is becoming matured" message that I for one had no idea what it was referring to until I looked it up).

Regarding how "worth it" VIII 3DS will be, I'm probably going to play it just for the new plot content. I don't get why Empyrea got buffed though. She was hard enough to begin with.

[Tamanoir]

VII is one of the best games I've played, no exaggeration here. It's incredible. I recommend it to everyone.

I fully approve this message. Even with the subpar graphisms, and old translation.

I started playing it after FFX, where I thought I had become bored of RPGs, but I loved it immediately.

I haven't played DQVIII, so I'm glad to finally be able to play through it (not being as good as DQVII doesn't sound that bad, because damn is DQVII good.)

Edited November 16, 2015 by Tamanoir

[Tangerine]

That depends on who you talk to. I consider the original DQ8 to be a better game than any version of DQ7; exploring the world map is some of the most fun I've ever had with a game, and the graphics and art style still hold up well to this day. They have different strengths though; I like the story of 7 much more, but as a game it's hard to deny that DQ8 is the best. 7 is much too grindy for me to just pick up and play these days.

DQ7 is probably the only game in the series that I think truly benefits from being portable finally.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Tangerine

[Tamanoir]

That depends on who you talk to. I consider the original DQ8 to be a better game than any version of DQ7; exploring the world map is some of the most fun I've ever had with a game, and the graphics and art style still hold up well to this day. They have different strengths though; I like the story of 7 much more, but as a game it's hard to deny that DQ8 is the best. 7 is much too grindy for me to just pick up and play these days.

DQ7 is probably the only game in the series that I think truly benefits from being portable finally.

How is the exploration compared to DQIX ?

Because, despite all its faults, it was my favourite part of this game.

[Magical Glace]

How is the exploration compared to DQIX ?

Because, despite all its faults, it was my favourite part of this game.

DQVIII exploration took a while from what I remember. There's more overworld chests, but if you want to avoid getting too lost I honestly recommend staying on the paths.

[Tangerine]

DQ8's exploration is a lot better than any other game in the series. Compared to 9, the pathing isn't so strict and linear, for one thing. The game is so good looking and map so nicely crafted that it's not even disappointing when you explore and don't find any items or recruitable monsters lol. It can be easy to get a little lost in the bigger areas, but that you can get lost just tells you how much bigger and more explorable the map is than 9's.

DQ8 doesn't require any grinding, but I'd suggest fighting every battle you get into, because it definitely doesn't go easy on you either. If you're into exploring like I was, you should be pretty okay though.

Edited November 17, 2015 by Tangerine

[Magical Glace]

I remember grinding for Multiheal Angelo for Dhoulmagus... But yeah I agree that DQVIII had a really big world that's more exploration heavy than IC

[Tangerine]

Depends on your skill builds, what items you've elected to get, and how much exploring you've done up to that point. Dhoulmagus is definitely a big difficulty spike, but you don't need to grind for him if you have certain spells/abilities and up to date equipment. If you've got solid monsters to fight for you it becomes a bit of a joke as well, but monster teams tend to break the game to begin with, not many bosses last more than a few rounds after they've been used.

[Magical Glace]

I didn't even know the monster teams existed until around evil Sir Leopold. And by that point I was just "whatever" and didn't bother, keeping with just attrition-fighting everything. I was playing mostly blind so I didn't know about a lot of broken things, resulting in Yangus with hammers and such.

Main reason I grinded for Dhoulmagus was "Kay I'm going to need Multiheal" and not thinking twice since Multiheal makes more or less everything easier. I didn't have to grind much after that, since I somehow got through a lot of things I really shouldn't have.

[sirmola]

The loading times on the 3DS version are worse, and DQ8 already had long loading times to begin with. People say the game itself "feels faster", I can't really confirm or deny that, but I thought I'd mention it. The sound quality is a little worse (still great), but that's to be expected. Those are the only non-graphical differences in the core game that I've seen personally, so if you're cool with some long-ish loading times and you can't play the PS2 version on PC, the game is definitely worth experiencing if 3DS is your only option.

Just to expand on what I mean, the beautiful fully-explorable world map is the biggest victim of the 3DS port from a gameplay perspective. It's purely graphical, but it really does impact the gameplay because it's such a big feature. There are random barren spots at view, trees that pop in and off screen, and it just looks quite bad compared to the original. But again, if you either pass on the game or get the 3DS version then it's definitely worth picking up. It's a wonderful game regardless of the port's issues.

[spoiler=3DS vs PS2]

DQ8's class system is similar to DQ9's, except with every character locked into a specific class. You assign skill points in weapon trees and unique ability trees. It's available from the start of the game.

DQ7's class system is unique on its own and definitely encourages you to switch around. It's a lot like FFT where you need to level combinations of classes to learn new abilities and more advanced classes, but it's also very grindy. The story is definitely the main draw of DQ7. The class system feels like it takes forever to unlock, but that's because DQ7 is a very very long game. Portability is a huge plus for a game like it.

THat does look significatly worse. I really perfer handhelds though. (and I am afraid of trying to use a ps2 emulator after the massive hastle that was geting epsxe to work for TRS.)

Also, i have heard that DQ7 forces you to backtrack through all the dungions a second time. Is this true?

Edited November 17, 2015 by sirmola

[Magical Glace]

THat does look significatly worse. I really perfer handhelds though. (and I am afraid of trying to use a ps2 emulator after the massive hastle that was geting epsxe to work for TRS.)

Also, i have heard that DQ7 forces you to backtrack through all the dungions a second time. Is this true?

Yes, but most of the time you're just doing it in the name of treasure that somehow got put there in the present. Some are not repeated at all, being either present only or destroyed in the time skip. In addition, bosses don't resurrect in the present, Gracos V being a descendant of Gracos who fights the same but with more HP being the exception.

[Dai]

At least the announcement of these games' localization has spurred me to finish Dragon Quest VI. Still grinding classes...and about seven of the eight characters I have in my party at the moment are in the Monster Master class...and they just became Troll Masters. Which hilarious grants them the ability to breathe fire. XD

[Magical Glace]

At least the announcement of these games' localization has spurred me to finish Dragon Quest VI. Still grinding classes...and about seven of the eight characters I have in my party at the moment are in the Monster Master class...and they just became Troll Masters. Which hilarious grants them the ability to breathe fire. XD

Just wait until you get characters in the Dragon class

Lets you use those super damaging breath attacks (Ie C-c-cold Breath) for free when mastered. How they use them is entirely up for debate.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Glaceon Mage

[Dai]

I forget where I can get multiple Dragon Scrolls. I know the whereabouts of a few, but not like...infinite supply.

[Tamanoir]

I forget where I can get multiple Dragon Scrolls. I know the whereabouts of a few, but not like...infinite supply.

I think you can actually buy them post game.

Liquid Metal Slime is a whole different matter, though...

[Magical Glace]

Then there's monster classes in VII

Beating up something over and over, waiting for a single measly drop...