Dragon Quest VI, anybody?

Voltire · Post by **Voltire** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 7:49 am

Discuss it here. I just got it yesterday, but haven't had a lot of time to play it, maybe an hour. It good?

I kinda like how it isn't 3D, like IX. Plus it is in English, now!

mjohnson092088 · Post by **mjohnson092088** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:21 pm

i just recently started playing the translated ROM. still really fun, even though the ROM is translated very poorly (lots of typos, and a lot of the text is completely missing). it doesn't stray very far from the gameplay of the NES games. one new feature is the addition of "skills", attacks that can be used free of MP, like what you might've seen in DQ VIII. also, you have a new stat called "charisma" that changes depending on the equipment you're using. i still have yet to figure out what it does, though. i'm guessing characters with higher "charisma" are targeted less by enemies? anyway, i really shouldn't have started playing it, as i've become completely addicted to it.

Voltire · Post by **Voltire** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:27 pm

I actually tried playing the untranslated rom, but when I left town I was at a loss.

I played some more, and got the key you can buy in the 2nd town. Then I saved the man and I myself fell in the hole. Now I'm some sort of spirit in an underworld? Eh, I'll get back to it later.

mjohnson092088 · Post by **mjohnson092088** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:34 pm

Voltire wrote:I actually tried playing the untranslated rom, but when I left town I was at a loss.

I played some more, and got the key you can buy in the 2nd town. Then I saved the man and I myself fell in the hole. Now I'm some sort of spirit in an underworld? Eh, I'll get back to it later.

haha yeah, the game is confusing enough in a language you can understand. and you're not a spirit... you'll see. one word of advice: most of the random battles are pretty easy, especially if you're well equipped. now the bosses are another story, so remember fill yor bag full of herbs. you'll probably want to save your MP to heal and debuff during boss battles and use herbs after battles if you're hurt, since i don't think you can remove items from your bag during battle. also, the "identify" spell is quite useful. be sure to "identify" items that seem uncommon. sometimes they have special effects that can be used in battle. the spell also lets you see what's inside chests before you open them! nifty!

Voltire · Post by **Voltire** » Sat Feb 26, 2011 9:38 pm

mjohnson092088 wrote:one word of advice: most of the random battles are pretty easy, especially if you're well equipped. now the bosses are another story, so remember fill yor bag full of herbs. you'll probably want to save your MP to heal and debuff during boss battles and use herbs after battles if you're hurt, since i don't think you can remove items from your bag during battle.

Classic.

Feenicks · Post by **Feenicks** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 3:42 am

I've played a fair bit of the translated ROM myself (and got stuck after getting caught impersonating a prince), but I'm planning on getting the DS release, if only to get a better sense of what I'm actually supposed to do.
About the battles... aside from a few at the beginning (when I kept on getting beat up by those Onion enemies), yeah they're not all that bad.

msw188 · Post by **msw188** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 4:09 am

I played and beat the translated ROM, but I think I had to look online for one thing where the translation was, well, not really helpful at all. There's part of me that wishes that I had waited though. The first time I played I used and kind of abused save states, and it really hurt my enjoyment of the game.

I'm definitely planning on buying this game, but not immediately. I still have DQ 9 sitting unplayed, and my video game time is at a pretty significant low.

One thing about this game that I really hope survives the swap to the DS - the world is HUGE. Like, really huge. And getting a new vehicle is exciting because of it. Like getting the boat for the first time in DQ2-4 (this feeling was unfortunately gutted from 5). But for 4 and 5 they made the world feel smaller. I hope they don't for 6.

mjohnson092088 · Post by **mjohnson092088** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:16 am

Pheonix wrote:I've played a fair bit of the translated ROM myself (and got stuck after getting caught impersonating a prince), but I'm planning on getting the DS release, if only to get a better sense of what I'm actually supposed to do.
About the battles... aside from a few at the beginning (when I kept on getting beat up by those Onion enemies), yeah they're not all that bad.

about being lost: explore, explore, explore! yeah, i got stuck there for a second too. the game doesn't give you any direction after that. look for the town of Amor and you'll figure out the rest.

about the battles in the beginning: grind, grind, grind! levels, levels, levels! equipment, equipment, equipment! you'll want a decent weapon right off the bat, or all the best armor available. just pick one or the other. i noticed that becomes less important than strategy after the other characters join you.

msw188 wrote:One thing about this game that I really hope survives the swap to the DS - the world is HUGE. Like, really huge.

the world in DQ games are always huge. i wouldn't be surprised if the DS version is even huge...er. that's probably what i love so much about the DQ games. the size of the world really makes it feel like an adventure. sidequests sometimes take you to entire new continents, or parallel worlds. it's always impressive.

JSH357 · Post by **JSH357** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 6:40 am

mjohnson092088 wrote:
Pheonix wrote:I've played a fair bit of the translated ROM myself (and got stuck after getting caught impersonating a prince), but I'm planning on getting the DS release, if only to get a better sense of what I'm actually supposed to do.
About the battles... aside from a few at the beginning (when I kept on getting beat up by those Onion enemies), yeah they're not all that bad.
about being lost: explore, explore, explore! yeah, i got stuck there for a second too. the game doesn't give you any direction after that. look for the town of Amor and you'll figure out the rest.

about the battles in the beginning: grind, grind, grind! levels, levels, levels! equipment, equipment, equipment! you'll want a decent weapon right off the bat, or all the best armor available. just pick one or the other. i noticed that becomes less important than strategy after the other characters join you.

msw188 wrote:One thing about this game that I really hope survives the swap to the DS - the world is HUGE. Like, really huge.
the world in DQ games are always huge. i wouldn't be surprised if the DS version is even huge...er. that's probably what i love so much about the DQ games. the size of the world really makes it feel like an adventure. sidequests sometimes take you to entire new continents, or parallel worlds. it's always impressive.

I have never grinded in a DQ game past the second one. The philosophy that this is necessary really confuses me, and grinding sucks a lot of fun out of the games in general. Just fight battles on the way to your destinations and you will get through them. The NES games were more tedious, yeah, but they were also made in the 80s.

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:06 am

I disagree with the idea that grinding is inherently a bad thing because the whole point of an RPG is to develop characters to become stronger. Not to say that 16-bit era RPGs geared to let you level up as you go on are wrong but neither are NES games, and can be enjoyable in a different way.

I also disagree with the idea that games made in the 80's inherently suck.

Voltire · Post by **Voltire** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:24 am

...Technically, he just said they were tedious, and I think JSH was referring to DQ games in the 80's.

And of course all games in the 80's don't suck. We all know Mario, right?

mjohnson092088 · Post by **mjohnson092088** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:31 am

JSH357 wrote:I have never grinded in a DQ game past the second one. The philosophy that this is necessary really confuses me, and grinding sucks a lot of fun out of the games in general. Just fight battles on the way to your destinations and you will get through them. The NES games were more tedious, yeah, but they were also made in the 80s.

the enemies in the beginning aren't balanced well. you can rip through party after party of fat slimes and fur rats, and then have your arse handed to you by a pair of onions. i believe it is definitely in your best interest to at least acquire suitable armor before heading forward. since then, i have not bothered to grind. it's not neccesary after you are fully equipped. it's not neccesary either way, but in the veeeery beginning, it helps a lot. the only game i bothered to grind through was DQ1 because, like the beginning of many DQ games, you are a single character.

Newbie Newtype · Post by **Newbie Newtype** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:36 am

Voltire wrote:...Technically, he just said they were tedious

I know, but I feel that word carries some negative connotation to it. I find that if I need to level up even for a little bit in a game it feels rewarding.

And also we've had a debate about this before over FF1, a game I consider 10/10.

mjohnson092088 · Post by **mjohnson092088** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 7:40 am

Newbie Newtype wrote:I find that if I need to level up even for a little bit in a game it feels rewarding.

agreed. excessive grinding takes away from a game, especially like DQ1 where there's not much else to do. i find i can't play that game for more than an hour or two. but, in most games, i like to at least be prepared for whatever may come, so i'll fight a few battles in the beginning and become well-equipped. after that, i try to avoid excessive battles and leveling, and try to get to the end at the lowest level possible, if only to see how difficult the game can be.

Voltire · Post by **Voltire** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 8:50 am

Grinding only takes away from a game if the battles aren't fun. No one wants to sit around for hours fighting the same enemies for experiance just to be able to beat that boss, find that you're too weak for the next boss, and grind some more. No, for grinding to be fun, battles have to be interesting.

And I see no point in trying to beat the game at a incredibly low level because if you did/could, it would:

a) not be as enjoyable because it is clearly easy, or
b) be for an odd reason you must have inside of you.

I, personally, will never do that.