Topic: Dragon Quest - What's the Appeal?

@StarBoy91: I see. I'd advise the person who bought it to not shop wherever they got it from, or if it's a used game retailer, to report the game to them.

Where did you get your copy?

The only one I've played is the original, (Dragon Warrior) and I still own it, and that game was enough to convince me not to buy its sequels. There's really nothing else to it but grinding.

For me Dragon Quest represents the truest form of traditional old-school RPG. It doesn't take itself too seriously either. I love the humor in these games. They are loaded with clever jokes and puns that make the experience very light-hearted and amusing. While the series has not gone through the drastic changes that the Final Fantasy franchise has, it has evolved just enough while still retaining many of the classic elements that make the series so charming in the first place. I really like the monsters and character designs. I can attribute this to my admiration of the artwork of Akira Toriyama. I've been a fan of his work since Chrono Trigger. I have always found the music to be quite excellent as well. The gameplay for me has always been addictive. I don't mind the traditional formula of turn based grinding especially when the enemies can be silly and humorous while still being quite deadly if you're not careful. This is one of the few games that actually puts a smile on my face when I play it. My first experience with the series was Dragon Warrior on the NES so that also makes it my very first RPG. I can't say that I loved the game at first but after a while I warmed up to it and grew to enjoy it. I can't say that I have played all the Dragon Quest games nor do I like every game out there. The ones that I really enjoyed are Dragon Quest V, Dragon Quest VIII and Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. Dragon Quest IV was good but nowhere near as good as V. I am currently enjoying DQ IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies but I will admit that I am not quite as impressed by it as I thought that I would be. It is still a really good game but for me it feels like a step backwards from Dragon Quest VIII. I really liked the characters in VIII and the voice acting in that game was top-notch. I miss the gorgeous cell-shaded graphics of VIII but couldn't really expect the DS to rival the horsepower of the PS2. Hopefully, the tenth installment on Wii will be a proper step up in the right direction. It has the potential to be fantastic. Perhaps Square Enix should consider doing a remake of part VII on the 3DS as well. I didn't really care too much for Dragon Quest Wars or Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker but the main games in the series are usually very entertaining. Some people prefer Dragon Quest while others prefer Final Fantasy or you may even enjoy both. I fall into the latter category but I admit that I do prefer Dragon Quest over Final Fantasy.

I find that I'm a Final Fantasy fan, not because of the changes it's gone through, but almost in spite of them. I'm not a big fan of the direction they've gone since FFXI; it hardly feels like Final Fantasy anymore. That's one thing I admire about Dragon Quest. I do like FFXII a lot, but it just doesn't feel like Final Fantasy anymore.

In the NES days they were fairly interesting since then I haven't at all been interested. They are really simple and the graphics stayed archaic while other RPG's started to shine.

Well I much prefer simpler RPGs with an interesting universe, cast of rouges, and setting to something like the more recent FFs. I played Guadia Quest on Retro Game Challenge and enjoyed it much more than, say, Pokemon. My favorite RPGs are the M&L ones and Paper Mario. Never played Dragon Quest and have no intention of ever doing so.

@Odnetnin: If you enjoyed playing Guadia Quest on Retro Game Challenge then I would highly recommend giving the Dragon Quest series a try. Guadia Quest is very similar to the early Dragon Warrior(Quest) games so you might actually enjoy them.

I started on FF back when it hit the NES and morphed over to admiring the DQ series in the end. FF sans#9 took a downward slide since the day it hit the playstation, and no it wasn't so much the 3D at all or the unskippable scenes, it was their change in overall gameplay mechanics, and the stupid cheap way bosses went from strategy to a memory match game that if you remember a step wrong your party is iced. DQ has been consistent, but a new story with moderate upgrades each time makes it stay pure and fun. I didn't get into the series at all until I did DQ1 on the NES back in the mid/late 1990s, yeah took me that long to get around to it. My best friend dared me to finish it in one sitting, and if I did I could keep the cart, so from around 12:30pm until around 6 I whacked away at it until it was done...my most 'hardcore' RPG run ever. I still like to fire it up now and again, and the GBC 1+2 remake was a nice upgrade as was #3. DQ5 I couldn't get into, not sure why, but I really loved the bite sized setup of chapters DQ4 used. I'm piddling around with DQ9 and it still feels like the older stuff, but now you can see your enemies pop up on screen and a few other minor changes. It really does just work better.

Never Played them but it is an RPG and I love RPGS

Hah! That's a great story, JK. I assume he went through with his end of the deal and let you keep it? I wish I'd had a friend like that, haha.

Yeah he did. It was one hell of a run for sure.

Really? Interesting. From previews in Nintendo Power FF 4 Heroes of Light sounds much more like Guadia Quest than DQ IX, but what do they know? I'll have to look into the latter game more, thanks.

@Odentin
Yeah, Guadia Quest is absolutely a DQ1 homage. And from what i've read on Heroes of Light, it too seems to be very traditional more akin to the DQ series. First FF franchise game i've been looking forward to in a long time (though also i still want to replay FFIV and then finally pick up The After Years).

@WolfRamHeart

Ah, I knew I was missing something! DQ's Humor and charm is something even I can appreciate, though I tend to overlook it if I don't like the core gameplay. I still don't think I'll ever like Dragon Quest, but at least now I can respect it. Thanks for your help.

Also, just as a note, I don't think I've ever experienced an RPG series that has changed so little over the years, though I suppose that in itself does make DQ special in its own way, if that's your thing. I guess I can understand why people would like something familiar. That's why I like shooters and fighting games - so long as it involves shooting things and avoiding stuff, I'll enjoy it if it's a shooter, and if it's a fighter I'll like it if it has someone who can shoot a fireball using a quarter-circle-forward punch movement. Maybe that's my problem: I just don't enjoy RPGs at their base enough to be able to appreciate a game as basic as Dragon Quest.