MatthewTaranto

@BrazillianCara It reminds me of how some people just don't jive with Dragon Quest's episodic storytelling. I think many gamers prefer a longer-form serialized story than a collection of smaller stories for whatever reason. But I'm a big fan of both approaches.

I loved the first game so I'm sure I'll love this one too. I get the complaints about disjointedness, but I don't mind having to suspend my disbelief when it comes to the disconnect between story and gameplay. And honestly, I thought OT1 had a pretty good story and cast altogether. I found its story at least as satisfying as several other popular RPGs, like Xenoblade.

The main star of the show, in my eyes, is Yasunori Nishiki's incredible compositions. OT1 had one of my all-time favorite soundtracks, and judging from the demo, OT2 does not disappoint at all. The music in these games is both expertly arranged and melodically rich. It's gorgeous, hummable, and elevates the rest of the game(s) significantly.

Skies is just plain awesome. It's got a ridiculously lovable cast and a world that begs to be explored. The encounter rate and pacing of the combat (and ship combat) lead to some pretty pokey moments, but that's really my only complaint with this adventure.

Feels like the third choice should've been "savory" rather than "sour." Sour seems pretty niche, while savoriness is in as many foods as sweetness.

Team Spicy for sure!

I've been wondering about Sonic's eyes for a decade! http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/comic/soniceyes/

@Thief It's also a spinoff and not a mainline game. I long for the day when a Pokemon game looks as good as DQXI.

New tank character looks pretty cool.

Still no Moira nerf, eh?

@KateGray Thank you! Always so nice hearing from a fan.

@BrazillianCara Yep! I was involved with the original production and composed several of its songs. It ran pretty long though, so this version is a tightened-up take that would be much more manageable to perform onstage. Most of my songs are still here in some form though. The new team has done a great job ironing out the original version's wrinkles.

@Friendly I like it for the same reasons. It feels like the "real" beginning of the game in terms of getting upgrades, gradually piecing together an open-ended environment, etc. It's also very well-designed and appealing.

Amazing game, it was mind-blowing at the time. I am a little confused at how these environments break down in the list--I never considered the labs and Artifact Temple to be their own locations (rather, the boss of Tallon Overworld was Ridley, I thought).

Anyway, my top three would be Chozo Ruins > Tallon Overworld > Phendrana Drifts, which are all spectacular. Then I'd say Phazon Mines > Frigate Orpheon > Impact Crater > Magmoor Caverns. I still enjoy Magmoor but it's really missing a boss and its linear nature means I get tired of it sooner.

New Horizons took too many steps back, and by the time it had regained what it lost, I had moved on.

New Leaf pretty much had no issues at all for me except that clone glitch (and the lack of NES games, but that ship had long since sailed).

This game's pretty fun. Not every platform fighter has to be directly compared to Smash Bros just as not every action-adventure has to be directly compared to Super Metroid. Obviously the big-budget Nintendo games are going to have more content and polish, etc, but there's still space for smaller projects with lots of heart.

It's silly to get upset about this.

The game is free to play, and the rewards are cosmetic things that really don't matter. Yeah, it's fun to have your character stand out with cool costumes, but how many of those do you really need anyway? Just don't buy it, play normally and look at the unlockable aesthetic stuff as fun bonuses rather than anything you need to really worry about.

@whitemage Right place, right time at two different E3s! The first was at the end of E3 2006, when a bunch of Nintendo bigwigs were greeting fans and signing their stuff at the close of the show. I had nothing personal on me at the time, but I did have a free copy of that month's NP that was handed out in the booth that year, so I got the signatures of everyone possible on it. Only regret is no Reggie, but it was amazing meeting Shiggy and Iwata in particular.

I wanted to be prepared for more signatures, so I brought my NP #1 with me the next year. While I wasn't able to catch any of the previous guys that signed it, I did happen to stumble upon Takashi Tezuka (who was observing a Just Dance Wii demo, if I recall correctly) and asked him in the moment to sign it. He politely acquiesced and even drew a little heart flower doodle. He was very pleasant altogether!

I have a Nintendo Power issue (New Super Mario Bros on the cover) signed by Shigeru Miyamoto, Charles Martinet, Perrin Kaplan, and the late great Satoru Iwata. It's more or less tied with my NP #1 signed by Takashi Tezuka. Game-wise, probably my complete-in-box Super Metroid or my EarthBound cartridge. My CIB OoT is one of my most sentimental ones as well since it was my original 1998 copy and box and one of the only N64 boxes I bothered keeping (wish I was as careful with my other Nintendo acquisitions during the 90s).

Looking forward to DQ Treasures. The Dragon Quest series has yet to really let me down and I'm happy to support it!

Looks like an action-adventure game with optional monster allies and treasure-hunting. It's pretty modest visually, but Dragon Quest has yet to let me down, so count me in! With any luck, it'll be as charming and engaging as Builders.

I'm not obsessed with visuals, but it's nice to see a farm sim with modern presentation values. The last time I got one of those, it was Rune Factory Frontier (which I loved!). Will have to keep my eye on this.

Anyone know which team in Square-Enix is handling this?

@ModdedInkling
Not only that, but a mainline game in the second-most-beloved JRPG series in the world.

I'm also not wild about the chibi style but I would buy this day 1 regardless. The rest of the DQ mainline games have all ranged from good to some of the best RPGs ever.

It's because the mine cart moves forward automatically, with the challenge coming from getting enough coins to make a profit (the mini game costs a certain amount of money to play) or going for good time records by using the speed boosts properly, not just in completing the section. Pretty much any game with auto-acceleration (like Kirby Air Ride) would apply as well.

Glad to see Tetris Effect get a physical release. Doom Eternal is a neat choice too, but I hear pretty mixed things about the game compared to Doom '16.

Awesome group image--so many great characters!

@Pat_trick
To be fair, Spirit of Justice has a big role for Apollo, and I think it's a better game for him than AA4 was.

I feel like Nintendo's kind of been phoning it in these last two years. That said, I did enjoy Metroid Dread and Famicom Detective Club 1&2 were a great pair of surprises. Pokemon Snap was pretty polished as well. WarioWare didn't have a lot for me to return to it and Mario Golf and Diamond/Pearl were disappointing. Gonna have to go with 5/10.

@CharlieGirl
But the original voice of Garfield (Lorenzo Music) died 20 years ago. And besides, Chris Pratt IS a voice actor--he did a solid job with Emmet in The Lego Movie.

@Wesker This is about SCARIEST games, not GREATEST.

@SlowPokemon Nice writeup! I'm a pianist myself so I had to poke out the notes of the Elegy on my piano to see how it fit together.

That said, the devil's interval story, while a lot of fun, is just an urban legend. Might've got passed around due to the uneasy nature of the chord, but there doesn't seem to be any history in Catholicism of it being banned. https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/did-the-vatican-outlaw-the-devil-in-music

This game is absolutely delightful, possibly in the top 10 of the system! Very charming, well-designed, and endearing from top to bottom. The final boss is incredibly challenging though, so watch out.

It sure is beautiful (much better-looking than that other Metal Slug sequel coming) and I love the IP. I just hope the gameplay is good.

I told them that I love the series and don't want them to change it too heavily.

Nintendo's approval process can be frustratingly bureaucratic.

Physical Great Ace Attorney already preordered!

I'm going to go against the grain here and disagree with the claim that random battles and fewer save points are "archaic." I think when handled properly, these design choices can make an RPG satisfyingly challenging, and in turn, get players to make decisions with more care and higher stakes.

With random battles and finite save points, there's a risk/reward element to pushing yourself further in dungeons and long stretches, and that can add a thrilling element to the proceedings. It ultimately comes down to execution, but I don't think it's entirely fair to write them off as flawed concepts at their core.

I enjoyed this game's demo well enough. Cool concept and lovely visual style.

@B238ben I respect that and I have similar feelings about emulation.

I think some levels of innovation work for this series. 2 adding multiple party members, 3 with the class customization, and 8 with the 3D world for instance. But there are two things I really don't want them to ever change with DQ, being the tone, and the turn-based combat.

For the former, the fun character designs and comedic writing are a huge part of the appeal. And while the darker, tearjerker moments stand out more because of it, I'd hate for the game to take itself too seriously or go in a gritty direction. Ironically, I feel like games like FF7 skew too YOUNG for me now, as they come across as teen anime storylines rather than something more broad and timeless.

For the second part, I just don't like action-RPGs that much. I find them pretty sloppy even when I like the game overall (like Trials of Mana or Ys VIII). I want to be able to choose my characters' abilities and strategize. It's a completely different style of game and I think changing a turn-based JRPG to an action-based one would be a huge mistake. Especially since there are so few true turn-based major games these days left.

DQXI was a masterpiece. I wouldn't mind every DQ just being more of that, really.

Yes please! I just finished the second game last night and am ready for more.

But make it physical...!

@kupocake Well done!

I’m okay with this since it’s an extra mode.

However, I do agree with the comments lamenting the general trend of fewer single-console “couch” multiplayer experiences. Online is not a replacement for local multi.

Man, if DQ aiming to reinvent the wheel each time means it'd be like whatever the heck Final Fantasy has become, then no thank you.

The fact is, there are barely any classic turn-based RPGs these days, and the DQ devs still understand exactly what makes those types of games fun. DQXI was a highly-polished, well-written and utterly charming modern RPG that didn't lose any of the sense of adventure from the best games of the 16-bit days. Those things alone make it stand out from all the pseudo-action RPGs and self-insert dating simulators that have flooded the genre as of late.

Leave experimentation to other series and let Dragon Quest be Dragon Quest.

As for the announcement, still hoping for DQX in English, but I'd also be excited to see Builders 3 or even Theatrhythm.

@mjhopkins81 Yeah, DQVIII's overworld theme is excellent and greatly contributes to the game's atmosphere. I used it throughout Act 1 of DQXI and I think it worked better in that context than DQXI's own overworld theme (which always felt just a tad too bombastic to me. Guess they were going for a DQIII feel).

I think III got really underrated but not a bad list otherwise. DQ11 reminded me why I love JRPGs so much.

I like both of these a lot, but Toriyama's art style matches the game better, so I'm going with Japan.

@KayFiOS DQII isn't exactly hated, but it's one of the least-popular games in the mainline series since it's fairly dated yet doesn't have the groundbreaking appeal and simplicity that the original does.

While there are lots of things I still like about it (such as pioneering the way multi-character parties work in a JRPG), I found it to be overtly difficult, with very low EXP for very difficult enemies, especially in the absolutely brutal last chunk of the game.

Hah, you want to talk a list being dominated by nostalgia? None of my favorite five came out this millennium!

5. Ocarina of Time
4. Super Mario Bros
3. The Legend of Zelda
2. Final Fantasy III/VI
1. Super Metroid

So...1998? The latest game to crack my top ten though is Breath of the Wild.

Sometimes I really miss Iwata.

@Isaix It's really a shame what Square-Enix did with the DQ Switch ports, because you're right--they're hard to look at with the mishmashed art styles and choppy visuals.

I'm kind of a diehard DQ fan and didn't even buy more than the first game on Switch. I would've much, much rather had a straight port of the 3 NES games. I'm worried these shoddy mobile ports are going to hurt the brand in newcomers' eyes.

I love this whole series. But if I had to rank them...

10) II
9) VII
8) VI
7) IX
6) I
5) IV
4) V
3) III
2) VIII
1) XI

This is very cool, but I've got no Sega Genesis to play it on! Would've loved it on Switch or SNES or something.

I'd also like to see more rare/lost games like this get physical reprints (especially for markets they haven't released in), such as Terranigma and Dragon Quest V SFC.

The cutest Zelda!

@Bizaster Oh yeah, I would kill for a new (localized, Switch) Fortune Street! I'm skeptical that they'd announce something like that at a DQ show but it would be great.