Dragon Quest Builders

[Inferno lizard]

I haven't seen a thread for this game so I decided to make one. I got this on the switch when it came out, and I've had an absolute blast playing it. I've spent well over 150 hours playing it, and I've built an expansive town in Terra Incognita.

 

Here is an album featuring my town: https://imgur.com/a/A5iLF

Edited March 18, 2018 by Inferno lizard

[Slumber]

I did the main story after I got a sudden DQ craving last month. Thankfully it also coincided with the Switch release, so I just sat in bed playing it at night for two weeks. 

I never messed with Creative Mode in Minecraft, so Terra Incognita just didn't appeal to Mr. 

[Wanderer-Of-Fates]

Would you guys recommend getting it? I was considering it for a while- looked cute and fun. Is there a winter biome? I love winter places in video games.

[Slumber]

4 hours ago, Wanderer-Of-Fates said:

Would you guys recommend getting it? I was considering it for a while- looked cute and fun. Is there a winter biome? I love winter places in video games.

There is, with a giant snowman in it. Unfortunately, at least for the main game, the winter biome is a questing area, and not so much a building area.

And I'd recommend it if you want a much more streamlined/structured crafting game, and/or if you really like Dragon Quest. I went more in from the DQ fan angle, and enjoyed it a lot.

Edited March 18, 2018 by Slumber

[Wanderer-Of-Fates]

7 hours ago, Slumber said:

There is, with a giant snowman in it. Unfortunately, at least for the main game, the winter biome is a questing area, and not so much a building area.

And I'd recommend it if you want a much more streamlined/structured crafting game, and/or if you really like Dragon Quest. I went more in from the DQ fan angle, and enjoyed it a lot.

Ok, thanks! Can you still build in the winter biome a little bit?

I actually haven't played much DQ, do you have a specific game to recommend starting with to get into the series?

[Slumber]

4 hours ago, Wanderer-Of-Fates said:

Ok, thanks! Can you still build in the winter biome a little bit?

I actually haven't played much DQ, do you have a specific game to recommend starting with to get into the series?

Yes, you can build in the winter biome, and you can take back blocks to the main hub area to build with winter blocks if you would like. 

I'd recommend starting with 3-8.

Of them, 8 is probably the most beginner friendly. It's got charming characters, the best presentation, voice acting(Assuming you live outside of Japan), and it just got a 3DS remake that adds a bit. Also it's more or less the game structure that 11, which is probably coming to the west within the next few months, is built off of. 

3 is a pure adventure. You build your character(Stats and growths are determined by personality in this game), you go and recruit generic party members of your choice in terms of class and personality, and then you just go from beginning to end. The game is paced very well, and despite it being so simple, it does a lot of charming stuff and it offers probably the best feeling of "adventure". 

4 is sort of like Final Fantasy 4, in that it's the first time in the series where they try to build a greater narrative with established characters and static party members(2 kinda did this, but not really). It's a bit barebones in this regard and not as open as 3, but it starts a 3 game "trilogy" and is solid enough. 

5 is probably the game most people would say is the best DQ after 8. It's well executed and charming. It comes after 4, and it tries some things I can't recall the series ever trying since. 

6 gets somewhat back to the "adventure" after 4 and 5 put down a lot of structure. It still has unique characters and all that jazz, but it let you play around with character classes and it's not quite as guided of an experience of 4 and 5. Lots of charm and it's pretty fun. 

7 is not only my favorite DQ game of all time, it's probably my favorite game of all time. It's definitely the most narratively focused DQ of them all, and it offers a lot of character freedom, building on DQ6's class system. It makes the battle system incredibly fun, and it has a very strong story/string of stories that rarely ever makes you upset that you're not out exploring and killing monsters and unlocking new jobs. But it's probably the most hardcore DQ. It takes a few hours to get going, and while the others can be finished in 50-70 hours, DQ7 is probably going to take at least 100. It's an investment, to say the least. 

So yeah. Those would be my recommendations. A lot of people recommend 9, but 9 is probably the blandest game, IMO, on the series. It's just... Boring. It doesn't have the charm or the sense of adventure that 3-8 offer. 

[Inferno lizard]

2 hours ago, Slumber said:

7 is not only my favorite DQ game of all time, it's probably my favorite game of all time. It's definitely the most narratively focused DQ of them all, and it offers a lot of character freedom, building on DQ6's class system. It makes the battle system incredibly fun, and it has a very strong story/string of stories that rarely ever makes you upset that you're not out exploring and killing monsters and unlocking new jobs. But it's probably the most hardcore DQ. It takes a few hours to get going, and while the others can be finished in 50-70 hours, DQ7 is probably going to take at least 100. It's an investment, to say the least. 

 

Spoiler

I do have a question about 7. Do you ever get Maribel back after she leaves? I got seven as my first DQ, but after she left I was like screw this, and downloaded 8.

 

[Slumber]

57 minutes ago, Inferno lizard said:

 

  Hide contents

I do have a question about 7. Do you ever get Maribel back after she leaves? I got seven as my first DQ, but after she left I was like screw this, and downloaded 8.

 

Yes, but not until pretty late in the game.

The only person who leaves who you don't get back is

Kiefer.

[Inferno lizard]

33 minutes ago, Slumber said:

Yes, but not until pretty late in the game.

The only person who leaves who you don't get back is

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Kiefer.

 

I figured he wasn't coming back. At the very least I hope he gets a happy ending.

[Slumber]

7 minutes ago, Inferno lizard said:

I figured he wasn't coming back. At the very least I hope he gets a happy ending.

I think he got his own spinoff game, now that I think about it.

[Wanderer-Of-Fates]

9 hours ago, Slumber said:

Yes, you can build in the winter biome, and you can take back blocks to the main hub area to build with winter blocks if you would like. 

I'd recommend starting with 3-8.

Of them, 8 is probably the most beginner friendly. It's got charming characters, the best presentation, voice acting(Assuming you live outside of Japan), and it just got a 3DS remake that adds a bit. Also it's more or less the game structure that 11, which is probably coming to the west within the next few months, is built off of. 

3 is a pure adventure. You build your character(Stats and growths are determined by personality in this game), you go and recruit generic party members of your choice in terms of class and personality, and then you just go from beginning to end. The game is paced very well, and despite it being so simple, it does a lot of charming stuff and it offers probably the best feeling of "adventure". 

4 is sort of like Final Fantasy 4, in that it's the first time in the series where they try to build a greater narrative with established characters and static party members(2 kinda did this, but not really). It's a bit barebones in this regard and not as open as 3, but it starts a 3 game "trilogy" and is solid enough. 

5 is probably the game most people would say is the best DQ after 8. It's well executed and charming. It comes after 4, and it tries some things I can't recall the series ever trying since. 

6 gets somewhat back to the "adventure" after 4 and 5 put down a lot of structure. It still has unique characters and all that jazz, but it let you play around with character classes and it's not quite as guided of an experience of 4 and 5. Lots of charm and it's pretty fun. 

7 is not only my favorite DQ game of all time, it's probably my favorite game of all time. It's definitely the most narratively focused DQ of them all, and it offers a lot of character freedom, building on DQ6's class system. It makes the battle system incredibly fun, and it has a very strong story/string of stories that rarely ever makes you upset that you're not out exploring and killing monsters and unlocking new jobs. But it's probably the most hardcore DQ. It takes a few hours to get going, and while the others can be finished in 50-70 hours, DQ7 is probably going to take at least 100. It's an investment, to say the least. 

So yeah. Those would be my recommendations. A lot of people recommend 9, but 9 is probably the blandest game, IMO, on the series. It's just... Boring. It doesn't have the charm or the sense of adventure that 3-8 offer. 

Oh that’s nice! I’m glad that you have that freedom in the game.

Wow, thanks so much for all the information! They all seem like something I’d like but I’m leaning toward 8 to start with based on your description. I can see myself playing all of these in the future (7 seems pretty freaking awesome!). I’m glad I asked, I found some great games to play! I also like long games so even better!

[Tamanoir]

On 19/03/2018 at 12:31 AM, Slumber said:

I think he got his own spinoff game, now that I think about it.

Kind off.
Dragon Quest Monsters : Caravan Hearts features a younger version of himself.  The game itself takes place partly on DQ1 world. The 4 deities from Summoner also have an important role.
It's a really interresting game, but not the easiest one to get into. There's an Hunger meter? Monster don't breed, but fuse with Hearts. ANd you control Caravans, who have different characters helping you (Priest heals, Swordsman attack and so on), with a weight limit. It's definiitely worth a try for a DQ fan (there was a fan translation a few years ago).

 

About Dragon Quest Builders. How is the game difficulty ? And how restrictive is it ?

[Inferno lizard]

8 hours ago, Tamanoir said:

About Dragon Quest Builders. How is the game difficulty ? And how restrictive is it ?

The story mode gets progressively harder with each chapter. Chapter 3 in particular has some tough enemies, though that is mitigated by the fact you can have teammates in that chapter. Also, what do you mean by restrictive?

[Tamanoir]

2 minutes ago, Inferno lizard said:

The story mode gets progressively harder with each chapter. Chapter 3 in particular has some tough enemies, though that is mitigated by the fact you can have teammates in that chapter. Also, what do you mean by restrictive?

Do you have a lot of materials for building/Money, or is it hard to acquire ?
Do you have easy opportunity to train ? Do you need to grind ?
Do you have some limitations of any kind ?
Is there immediate game over ?

My example of restrictive game would be Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon. This game gives you a limited amount of time to train yourself, and some characters are unavailable for a large part of the game.

Also, are the combat mechanics easy to control/understand ?

[Inferno lizard]

1 minute ago, Tamanoir said:

Do you have a lot of materials for building/Money, or is it hard to acquire ?
Do you have easy opportunity to train ? Do you need to grind ?
Do you have some limitations of any kind ?
Is there immediate game over ?

My example of restrictive game would be Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon. This game gives you a limited amount of time to train yourself, and some characters are unavailable for a large part of the game.

Also, are the combat mechanics easy to control/understand ?

There is no money. There is no trading. There is no economy. As for resources, usually you can find everything you need. There are some extenuating circumstances, and each chapter has a different take on the resources you can use, but overall I didn't find it that restrictive.

There is no experience. There are no levels. You can increase your health with seeds of life, which you obtain through quests and a few found throughout the world. Other then that, your attack and defense are determined by your equipment, of which you will get progressively better stuff throughout the chapter.

Limitations: In each chapter you have a set base where you're supposed to build. You can still build outside the base, but doing so won't grant any bonuses what you build grants unless you build it within the base's limits. However, in the free build mode, the entire starting island counts as your base, so there's not really that restriction.

Game Overs: There are none. If you die, you lose half the stock of everything in your inventory and respawn back at base. However, you can go back to where you died and reclaim the items, and unlike minecraft, they won't disappear.

The combat mechanics are pretty simple.

Hope that answers all your questions :)

[Res]

I completed this game last month. Loved it!

My main complaint in terms of constraints was the ‘official’ building area was so darn small!

To add to what Inferno says:

The best part of the Switch version of this game is it removed all the time constraints to get the full rewards. The PlayStation version gave you a limited number of in-game days in which to complete each chapter; that was done away with in this version.

I think the difficulty is fairly easy. Controls are intuitive. The end chapter bosses can seem really hard but there’s a trick to handling each one (I dislike boss combat so I used guides for the big boss fights and found the game relatively easy after that).

 

[Tamanoir]

Oh, Thank to both of you @Res @Inferno lizard !

I'm starting to consider this game may be a good reason to get the Switch.