Dragon Quest III is one of the best RPGs and games of all time in general. To get the full experience that it provides, play it after I and II. You can get I and II on your phone and play them while listening to a podcast or doing whatever while grinding and exploring the world while commuting. They aren't bad games, in fact, they are full of charm, especially the first one, but they aren't anything special.
Then play the III one. Again either the phone version or the SNES one with a translation patch. This is probably the best DQ experience you can have if you aren't spoiled on DQIII yet. To this day, it is one of the most well-liked and inspirational games in Japan and playing it you will immediately see many, many, many RPG mechanics and tropes being lifted directly from this game. Doing this not only gives you a great experience, but also educates you on the origins of a huge part of gaming and gaming tropes in Japan.
The other way to start getting into DQ is by playing DQ11, which is an absolutely fantastic game, but it becomes a lot better if you have played other ones beforehand, are used to the battle system and know monsters, tropes, etc that it is referencing. It looks gorgeous and is accessible.
The third way to start Dragon Quest is with V on the DS or the PS2 remake (emulate it or otherwise) or DQVIII. They both have fantastic stories and a great setting.
VIII is the only post-VII game I liked, probably because it was my first one. VII and every game after it are too long for absolutely no reason.
Joshua Scott
Guys help I started playing the GBC version of III like 2 years ago and want to pick it up again for the DQ hype. I'm in Aliahan town and have no memory of what I'm doing at this point in the quest. I have a vague memory if a girl getting kidnapped and needing to be rescued.
>Why should anybody play such an archaic game with an archaic battle system and basically simplistic stereotypical plot?
The magic of Dragon Quest is how it plays with its own tradition, so to speak. Turn-based, random encounter battle systems can be exhausting, but they still really work as both a narrative and gameplay device in DQ.
The random encounters exist to make the world feel dangerous and inaccessible. Walking on the overworld is always a danger because you can run out of resources and die. Dungeons are exciting because you have to manage your resources constantly when going in and assess whether you can make it through it. Every individual battle is one where you figure out whether you are supposed to use that spell now, whether you can save on healing for now, etc. Without random encounters, dungeons wouldn't feel tense and dangerous. The luck aspects brings in one of thrill "what's going to come around the corner now?" In real-time battles, the closest thing would be Resident Evil 4's gameplay and resource-management.
First of all, you are not meant to pay too much attention during grinding. You relax, listen to something, talk with your family, etc. Remember that these games were designed to be played in the living room. Nowadays, you can just easily listen to something else when grinding and just press the buttons. You will ask what even the point is - but you still feel a sense of accomplishment by raising levels, getting money, and buying proper items. Ultimately grinding is your choice, you choose how prepared you want to be for the dungeon, which weapon you are going to get the money for and use, whether you will rely on healing spam or not, etc. Because with grinding, your formulated plans are coming to fruition, (if you are not just grinding aimlessly to not die), it creates a sense of accomplishment - this is the roleplay aspect of DQ and it is fun. I became a fan of DQ only this year.
Jason Robinson
>Totally ignore DQIV when even the creator of the series, Yuji Hori, say that it's the best episode to get into Draque >Say to start with V, when it's the best of the series so everything will be bland after it 1, 4, 8 are the best starter. If you start with 1, you basically go in the production order after it (best way to fully appreciate DQ3) If you start with 4, you have a great JRPG full of lovable characters and a few things you never saw anywhere else. After it you can go to 1 or 5. 8 is a great standalone game, can go to 1 or 4 after it.
Dylan Brooks
Are you me user? I bought the game a few years ago and last thing I remember doing was the pyramid. Now I'm not sure if I should try to pick it back up or just go for the SNES version.
>Why should anybody play a game with a stereotypical, simple, archaic plot?
Every DQ game has a simple "hero kills random evil creature or wizard" plot. The wizard is always evil for no reason and has no motive beyond being evil. The hero is a hero for no reason other than it's good to be a hero and be good. That's every game. You won't get more than that.
The "magic" that DQ creates for its fans is how it fleshes out this story in unique and interesting ways. It builds cities, continents and worlds that feel very real and fleshed out, with dialogue that is very fun to read, often very tongue-in-cheek and which implies much more than is being said. They are games made up of many short-stories that taken together lead up to defeating the big bad evil villain, but these short "stories" make you feel more and more accomplished and make you care more and more about the world. The second role playing aspect is this: The game is trying to make you want to save the world portrayed to you.
I will try to give an example. There is a town in DQ3 based on Japan, where an evil dragon is disguising itself as the ruler of the land and is forcing the inhabitants to sacrifice a girl every month in order to avoid being destroyed. There is no narrator telling you all this, but you find out by talking to different NPCs, who, taken together, turn this town into a short story: You find a little girl meant to be sacrificed hiding terrified in a barrel in a cellar, you find people talking about terrible the sacrifices are upon them, you find them xenophobic and distrustful towards you because the ruler has closed the village off and after you defeat a dragon you find an NPC saying: "Wow, I have been a girl all along!" Implying that her mother hid her real gender in order to stop her from being sacrificed. Like a short story, you get little snippets of what is going on and it is making you imagine the rest of the world and what truly occurred.
William Gonzalez
reddit
Colton Young
DQIV is great but it's just not that famous, so I think it might not get you as much into the community of DQ. I-III has what I already said it has - the history, the influence, and the amazing third game. V & VIII have the best story. XI is current.
I do think IV is great and could also be tried, though, but I was also thinking of popularity and thus getting into "the talk"/community.
Grayson Lee
No, they are good. DQ1 on mobile is the best version since it has an orchestrated soundtrack. It's a short game, just a few hours. DQ2 is longer, worse, and kind of annoying, but still interesting to see how much it expands on DQ1. DQ3 is the masterpiece.
Jaxon Green
I don't see a problem with that
Anthony Gray
play it
Caleb Flores
the PS4 Version is worse than the others
Joshua Parker
DQ4 is objectively a better entry point than 5, since it gives some much needed context to 5's plot. The desolation of Zenithia won't mean much to you if you haven't already seen it in it's full glory in 4 and the whole search for the "legendary hero" plot gains a lot if you know what that actually means from playing as that legendary hero in 4.
I think that DQIV is really unique thanks to his original game structure. I can't think of any JRPG that will let you play every character separetly with their own call to adventure and then reunite them in a team of heroes. After a few hours, you immediately think "ok, DQ is not just a boring classic RPG, it's actually full of great ideas and I fucking love those characters!". The chapter of Torneko for example is something out of the JRPG world, there is also the original team dialogs which create a huge bond with every character. I think it's the best to start because you get the classic DQ formula while still discovering a game full of genius ideas even for today, you can really understand why DQ is so loved in Japan with this one.
Adam Reed
This. Everyone seems to forget that 4-6 is also a trilogy and share quite a few elements. While the connection is not as direct as 1-3, 4 introduces a lot of elements and context for the other two games which allows you to understand them better. I'd also say 4 is extremely underrated and is one of the best games in the series.
Zachary Jones
Tbh you are right. You make a good point.
Elijah Reyes
Not OP but the best way to play III is the snes remake.
Grayson Gutierrez
What are the differences? I have a ps4 pro
Dylan White
PC has modding possibilities, better performance and load times Switch (and 3DS in Japanese) have more content
Jackson Thompson
I dunno, I like playstation trophies and I don't like owning digital copies of things if I can help it.
Seems like JRPGS feel right on a playstation.
I saw that the switch version is only marginally worse or about the same graphics wise. It's good, but the ps4 is easy to stream without a capture card.
Owen Morales
sure, your choice. Personally I returned my PS4 copy and will get the switch version instead, or maybe pirate PC because fuck Denuvo.
Gabriel King
Just bought DQ1 on muh phone. I think this one actually suits mobile play really well due to how short and simple it is and $3 ain't a bad price. I've only played IV, V and VIII but I absolutely love all three. I hear bad things about II and don't plan on playing it but I like the character designs.
Most People have already said everything that needs to be said. If you like isekai shit this game is perfect to immerse yourself in an isekai adventure
Angel Sanders
II is nowhere as bad as people say it is. If you're used to old jrpgs, you'll do just fine.
Alexander Rivera
Holy shit. You're right. The next Dragon Quest game should be an isekai. MC will be a DQ veteran that was transferred.
Oliver Carter
V is a masterpiece That is all
Levi Jackson
this. 2 is the game that resembles old school RPGs the most and which was the prime inspiration for great games like Mother and Phantasy Star.
Why won't they release the original I-III in English like they did in their homeland (on the 3DS and PS4) ??? I want to try it and not on the phone! (and it doesn't even look shitty like FF games on the phone)
Jace Gray
V has best story III has best gameplay IV has best music
Logan Scott
It's not a bad game, it's just a little bland. The only problem is the last area who is stupidly balanced, there is a jump of difficulty out of nowhere, something like a 10 level difference between you and the ennemies, so the game force you to farm for no reason at this point when you just want to fucking finish it. But nothing impossible.
Parker Moore
i just put on a podcast and grinded for like 4 hours clicking buttons when i got there, lmao
Jacob Anderson
It's good, funny, entertaining until you get the boat, then all hell breaks loose. I had trouble finding all the items because the places you get your hints at are so removed, random and all over the place. The world is also really hard to traverse.
Jaxon Ross
rented tons of NES games in the 90's, probably played DQ at least once but don't remember >played rocketslime on DS when it was new to the west >emulated DQ1+2 on GBC and got a good two thirds through DQ1 before getting bored >play dragon quest builders demo and then buy the game an hour later >beat it 100% in a week >redownload DQ1+2, finish both >waiting on DQB2 in a month and then probably binge the rest of the series
i wish i had played 1 when i was a kid, DQB is such a love letter to the first game
Angel Torres
Is it just me or is DQ1 really great? I had immense fun playing it, more than with some FFs (IV comes to mind). Being a lone isolated hero travelling the world, using lights in dungeons, the danger lurking everywhere, being surprised and annoyed at strong enemies and the well-structured exploration and open world was very fun. Carrying the princess back personally took me completely off guard, and at the end I felt like a real human hero. It was my first DQ and because it surpassed my expectations so much I thought to myself, when the first, super primitive game is so fun, then how good must the other ones be?
Nathaniel Powell
Yeah I forgot about that too. It was probably something really fun and unique to explore to find things at the time, I can see all the litte japanese boys exploring the world of DQ2, talking about it during school and the pleasure to finally find the end game zone, but holy fuck, it's clearly not funny for us today.
you can give everyone a bikini outfit in that game
but who would do that?
Isaac Martin
DQ2 is kinda like the testing ground for all the things that would eventually become standard for the series. That game introduces all those things like having an actual party, fighting groups of monsters instead of always doing 1x1s, sailing, many setpieces, items and spells that would also return many times in the future. The problem is that part 2 doesn't use those things particularly well while part 3 takes all of those things and then makes a banging masterpiece out of them. Also 2 is the latest in the timeline in the first trilogy, while 3 is a prequel to 1, so you can skip it without missing anything related to plot. Basically 2 is only worth playing as a history lesson and only if you haven't yet played any of the later games, since all of them use 2's mechanics in a better way.
played DQ1 when a kid, and hated it. played 8 on PS2 and got bored with it.
fast forward to last year. play DQ1 for nostalgia, get bored in minutes. play DQ2 out of curiosity, and bored when it takes forever to get to a party member. about to stop trying them, and decide to touch up on DQ3. Kinda confused on some of the options due to lack of in game explanation, so after a few fights, decide to stop playing, nothing interesting happening. next day, decided to look up what certain things do, like personalities, and after seeing how customization works, get the urge to go back and play some more. fall in love with the game. >does this mean i can actually enjoy DQ games?! i finish the game, and decide to buy up more DQ games to play them. DQ4, mostly boring, with only a few nice features. managed to keep going till i beat it. DQ5, finally, the one everyoen talks about, im super excited! It technically has the best story so far, has me actually wanting to know more, but just doesnt tell you enough, or tells the events in the most boring way possible. keep playing, waiting for the gameplay to get good, but just feels slightly worse than DQ4. Decide to look up a guide, to see when i can actually start doing anything interesting with group composition, or customization. Guide says im in the games final dungeon. Turn the game off, and never touch it again.
ok, F this, ill jump to DQ6, it has classes, and customization! classes lower your already low HP on casters, if u make them a caster class like Mage. Get 1 shot by even weak trash mobs who dont give you any points to level up your class. only melee characters are of any use. customization is pointless, and sorting through the list of 300 abilities to get the one you want is obnoxious, since u automatically learn all the useless garbage you didnt want, just to get the ability you did want. dropped the game at the half way point, just boring.
Eli Jones
I love coming back to III. I used to play the one on GBC the most, but I also played the superior SNES version as well. IX is also great, especially if you like character customization.
ppl claim DQ7 is better for customization. look up how it works, its identical to DQ6 not gonna touch that. DQ8 was boring as shit, so not gonna bother going back to that. DQ9 finally has the customization im looking for, and sounds like DQ3 again... but sucks single player, and no ones gonna play that shit now...
honestly was excited for DQ11, but after playing 4-6, i have no interest in DQ11 anymore.
Jordan Watson
First one is REALLY fun, the simple fact that you play a single is original. It's like Zelda, but in a RPG form, and yeah, the final act with the princess is such a fantastic idea. Yuji Horii is underrated as fuck in the west. 2 is when he introduced the whole party mechanic so it's more like a really classic JRPG, but it inspired many and many games. 3 has an incredible system of jobs and you make your own team, replayability is insane and you clearly understand why it's a cult game. I already talked about 4 in this thread, 5 is incredible in term of story, but after that, DQ start to become enchained to his oldschool approach, 8 is just DQ but in 3D for example.
Hudson Johnson
Is the GBC version bad?
Jeremiah Evans
Make sure to find the sekrit golden claw in the pyramid's basement. Also why the fuck would you actually use a warrior rather than a martial artist in the second spot? The hero is already like a warrior except with some spells on top of that. Those slow meatslabs were always the worst physical class in the game
Christopher Sanders
How are Dragon Quest I and II (Dragon Warrior in the States) on the NES? Any big differences between that and the phone version?
Cooper Gutierrez
The phone ones are ports of the snes remakes. You don't have to go into a menu just to use stairs or open chests for example. NES games were janky as fuck.
Jose Wright
Not at all. It's actually really good. Monster Medals and an extra dungeon are included.
James Morris
its fine for I-II.III snes is superior
Jonathan Sanchez
AGI also effected defense, so warriors have terrible defense with low AGI. but I went Cleric for basic heal spells, then Martial Artists for an AGI build, and then switched to Warrior. took too long to do, so ended up being over leveled on my MC. but the final eveolution ended up making a rather broken warrior imo. was fast enough, as long as it wasnt an overly fast enemy, and actually a wall of industructibility, along with adding 1 extra heal, when my other 3 characters heals needed help, due to boss spamming AoEs sometimes. never encountered a challenge again after making this warrior. she also one shotted everything, while everyone else had to rely on a crit to do it usually.
Nolan Jenkins
DQ2 isn't a bad game. I beat it on gbc the other year. It just has an overworld possibly too big for its own good with little direction on where to go a lot of the time (or you do know where to go, but the world is so big you get lost. Especially on the sea sections.)
But I will say that as a chronological sequel to DQ1 and the ability to go back to a downsized version of the original overworld and visit a few places, it's very interesting.
Oh yeah and the final area of the game has a massive difficulty spike where you'll most likely have to grind for a few hours in order to finish the game.
Parker Edwards
Are you in not-India? You need to go northeast and find Kandar in a cave.
Parker White
>DQ9 finally has the customization im looking for, and sounds like DQ3 again... but sucks single player, and no ones gonna play that shit now...
Just play it, the single player is still good gameplay wise.
Parker Nelson
ive been debating it, but kinda burnt out on DQ now, after trying to marathon so many mediocre ones.
Josiah White
>you find an NPC saying: "Wow, I have been a girl all along!" Implying that her mother hid her real gender in order to stop her from being sacrificed. This would cause outrage today.
Eli Jones
There's nothing wrong with the Japanese town speaking in haikus.
Nolan Price
what's up with the accents, though? why did they put them in?
Luis Cook
For whatever reason the localization team decided to take DQ's localization in a new direction. It ended up being popular and now DQ is known as the jrpg with puns in the West.
Leo Garcia
Because they could. Wait till you get to 4 if you think 3's accents are bad. Also they are still there in 11.
Michael Williams
y'all niggas need to watch Mahoujin Guru Guru
Ian King
I, for one, love it It was pretty creative To make them like that
The team that localizes the games started adding them in with DQ8. Honestly I find the DQ community split on them. Half of them like it, half of them don't, but they all agree that it can be a bit much at times, like the first chapter of DQ4.
James Young
Already started DQ1 having fun, just farming right now.
