11/16/05 - Dragon Quest VIII

[Yegolev]

Shadow Hearts 2

I'm sure she'll be thrilled when you tell her "I'll be done playing as soon as I find this last piece of gay porn."

You joke, but that might have her playing it.

[Lemming]

The story is vanilla...

I've read fairy tales with more plot than any of the DWs I've ever played.  I generally pick up DWs for the dungeons, mini games, and because I like the style of the series.  Pretty much the same reasons I pick up the new Zelda every couple of years.

Edit: Truthfully, the only thing I'm worried about is that this is the first DW title to come from Sqeenix.  As long as there isn't mana being sucked from the world by some feminine villain, I think I'll be ok.

[Sauced]

Truthfully, the only thing I'm worried about is that this is the first DW title to come from Sqeenix.  As long as there isn't mana being sucked from the world by some feminine villain, I think I'll be ok.

So far so good, but the villain is a tad effeminate.

[stray]

I haven't played a Japanese RPG in a while, so I was wondering....Would you guys recommend this over Makai Kingdom or Radiata Stories?

[schild]

Makai Kingdom is le brilliant.

[Yegolev]

Radiata Stories is great, but I can't compare it to the others you mentioned.  Compared to the standard JPCRPG, it is really good.  I admit that I am mostly impressed with the NPC implementation, and Tri-Ace is now off my shit-list.  I'll have DQVIII on Dec 25.

[schild]

TriAce was on your shitlist? But but but but they did Valkyrie Profile.

[stray]

Well....I picked this up 2 days ago, but still haven't played. My PC has been grabbing my attention more than usual lately (Gaming-wise, I mean. It's apparant that I already find an ungodly satisfaction out of perusing message boards), and of course, today was Turkey day. I also have Resident Evil to finish.

[Yegolev]

TriAce was on your shitlist? But but but but they did Valkyrie Profile.

Missed that one, but I played a good bit of Star Ocean 3.  I still have the scars.

[Fabricated]

Speaking of Valkyrie Profile there's a sequel coming.

Also, I've been playing DQ8. Awesome, but a noticible step up from the FF series which I have traditionally steamrolled over. You have to grind levels in this game to not get slaughtered in some areas, you can't buy stacks of "revive" items, and even regular enemies can wipe your party easy if they get lucky or you fuck up.

I love it so far, but Yangus has such a strong cockney accent going I have no idea what the hell he's saying sometimes. You eventually end up in a place where other people have similar accents, and Yangus has conversations that sound like some sort of horrible alien tongue.

"OY OY WHAT WE HAVE 'ERE WIT' THE ROGERIN THE OL' MEAT N' TWO VEG' RIGHT O'T 'ERE IN T' ALLEY ARE YOU PLUM KNOCKERED BECUZ I'LL BOX 'R EARS MATE!"

[Mazakiel]

I'm absolutely in love with this game.

I wasn't expecting to like it anywhere close to how much I do, after DQ 7.  But I'm now facing having put...um...we'll leave it at alot of hours playing this game.  It's a very fun, well polished game.  Very fulfilling feeling to beat the game, and fighting Dhoulmagus was probably some of the most fun I've had in a battle in one of these in a good while.  I haven't even touched the FFXII demo, and at this rate, won't any time soon.  And whenever I decide to put this down, I've got the new Wild Arms remake plus a bunch of other games to start on.  It's a good time for console RPGs, though I wish there were some PC RPGs to match at the moment.  Either way, I haven't touched WoW in probably a week, which is quite an accomplishment for a game to achieve. 

[Yegolev]

Just started DQVIII and it is awesome, as everyone says.  This is the first Dragon Warrior/Quest I have played and I really like it.  The combat is especially solid and rewarding without being needlessly complex.  There is a grind but I find combat enjoyable and thus it does not bother me.  I also really appreciate being able to control all of my party members directly.  My wife, since she just watches me play, prefered the much lower combat demands of Radiata Stories since she tends to pass out before I get to the next bit of storyline.  This game feels like what the Final Fantasy franchise might have been like in some alternate universe where they decided not to go the interactive-cutscene route.  I can't find anything wrong with it so far.

I was really disappointed in the FFXII demo, mostly because the controls are total ass.  I am reserving judgement on the other elements for now.

[Margalis]

Just started DQVIII and it is awesome, as everyone says.  This is the first Dragon Warrior/Quest I have played and I really like it. 

Dude, where have you been the past 15 years or so? You never felt the joy of killing your first slime in Dragon Warrior 1?

Dragon Warrior and Final Fantasy were pretty similar games up to FF7. There were 3 FFs for the NES and 4 Dragon Warrior games. Dragon Warrior/Quest kept right on going, it's still the same game, the only major changes have been animation during combat really.

FF started to veer off a bit starting with 6 but really taking hold with 7 and CD technology allowing for cutscenes.

[Fabricated]

Dragon Warrior has sold better overall than the Final Fantasy series in Japan too I think.

To be honest I was never really a fan of the series until this one, since the combat was almost TOO simplistic for my tastes.

[Yegolev]

Just started DQVIII and it is awesome, as everyone says.  This is the first Dragon Warrior/Quest I have played and I really like it. 

Dude, where have you been the past 15 years or so?

If you must know, I grew up in south Alabama with no allowance.  If it wasn't on the shelf at the Movie Gallery, I didn't play it.  It's a wonder that I played anything at all.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be appearing on Dr. Phil's show later today....