Dragon

Finally put together my Dragon Quest VI review. As you guys may know, this game was quite a struggle for me. To finally virtually pen my review feels oh-so-good. Now I can move onto Pokemon Black for review! Another RPG for sure, but one a little less demanding. I’ll have that review in a few days, but for now I think I’m going to hit the hay! See you all in a few, short hours.

My dear lord, what an adventure this game has been. As many of you know, I do not regularly play RPGs. While I am familiar with the genre and mechanics, that’s completely different from actually plugging away at it on my own. I could have all the RPG knowledge in the world, but it wouldn’t matter one bit unless I’ve actually played a few of those titles. That’s why I knew I would be in big trouble with Dragon Quest VI. I’ve played a few Pokemon games as well as the Mario and Luigi/Paper Mario series, but I think we can all agree that those are somewhat RPG lite, or action-adventure RPGs. Dragon Quest VI is serious business, even for seasoned RPG gamers.

I want to make this clear from the get-go. I have yet to complete Dragon Quest VI. With that said, I have poured a ton of time into it. I’ve seen all the major mechanics, including the job class and many others. I am going to review Dragon Quest VI based on my experiences thus far, which include over 30 hours with the game. My saved game file doesn’t reflect that time, but only because I spent many hours playing/dying/restarting. I’d get quite far, only to lose it all in the blink of an eye. Rather than drop half my gold and spend cash to resurrect party members, I would just soft reset. I know this is frowned upon by the RPG crowd, but keep in mind that I’m pretty new to all of this! Eventually I learned how to handle things, dropped some cash into an in-game bank, and took my lumps for the rest of my journey.

Man, oh man…I have taken so many lumps. My experience with Dragon Quest VI thus far has indeed been a trial by fire. If you’re not a big RPG fan, you would think that you’d slowly introduce yourself into the genre. In my instance, a review needed to be done, so I had no choice but to push through. The closest thing to a traditional RPG I’ve played would have to be Final Fantasy VII, but that was done with a guide sitting next to me the entire time. I was so afraid of screwing up along the way that I had to have a security blanket. I still had a hell of a time getting through that game, but it’s a cakewalk compared to Dragon Quest VI.

From my understanding, Dragon Quest VI is a particularly grueling entry in the long-running series. That’s not to say that the entire franchise isn’t full of major hurdles for the player to jump, but Dragon Quest VI really tests your role-playing abilities. I didn’t learn that until my adventure had already started, but it’s not like I could turn back! With so little knowledge of the other entries in the Dragon Quest series, I actually felt kind of lucky to be starting with one of the tougher ones. If I could actually handle this game from start to finish, perhaps I will have opened a door to the entire genre for myself!

Needless to say, opening that door has been a mighty test of testicular fortitude. No matter when I play or how much I play, I’m always getting my ass handed to me. There’s not one single play session that doesn’t throw a major obstacle at me, which usually ends up besting me on the first few shots. Dragon Quest VI is definitely not a game that is very friendly for newcomers. On top of that, even veteran RPG players may have some trouble seeing this one through to the end. I honestly do not see how anyone unfamiliar with the genre would be able to jump in right here and have a blast. Without a doubt, this game is for Dragon Quest fans.

As we all know, those fans have been waiting long enough to get their hands on an officially translated version of the game! 15 long years have come and gone, but the stars finally aligned for the translation of Dragon Quest VI. Apparently, it was simply a matter of time and resources to get the project done. There just weren’t enough people to toil away on the translation, nor was there the free time at Nintendo or Square-Enix to make this thing happen. For whatever reasons, the two companies managed to pool their resources together to make this sore thumb tuck itself back into the series.

There’s no denying that Dragon Quest VI is a game that’s from a time gone by. Even though I haven’t played many RPGs, even I can see some of the gameplay relics at work here. We often hear that older gamers were much tougher due to their laser-focused customer base. Gaming wasn’t nearly as mainstream as it is now, which meant that developers didn’t have any trouble catering to the intensely core crowd. Decisions were made on a gameplay level that would work well with those that have been gaming for many years, and that’s all that mattered. Now that we have this time machine of a game stamped into a DS cartridge, we can see just how far gaming has come.

I cannot stress enough just how rough this game can be at times. First and foremost, the enemy encounter rate is absolutely through the roof. I honestly cannot believe how often random battles will pop up. You barely have a chance to catch your breath from one battle before the next is sprung upon you. I kid you not, there are times you’ll be hopping from random battle to random battle with 4 seconds or less in-between. Even when the game is being generous with breaks in-between battles, you’ll happen upon them every 7 seconds or so. You better make sure you know what you’re doing…and be ready for anything! That’s kind of hard to do when you can’t see your enemies as you step upon them.

More current RPGs have started to move away from enemies that cannot be seen. You’ll still have random encounters, but at least you know when you’re going into an engagement. Titles that keep the enemies invisible until engagement are still around today, but they’re surely not as prevalent as they used to be. Dragon Quest VI brings us back to the days when walking blindly into battle was the only true RPG mechanic. It was a design choice that I could never understand, and it still boggles my mind to this day. I know that it has its fans, and even though I can’t stand it, I understand that others enjoy it.

On of my main problems with this mechanic is just how wildly the enemies can range in strength and numbers. One round you’ll be taking on a row of three slimes, and the next you’ll have a pair of hulking monsters, two skeleton knights and a giant ox. The best part is, sometimes these guys will throw out an attack that devastates you, and you’re left fighting for every hit point. For example, not that long ago I had a boss encounter that actually went quite well. I stayed on top of my stats and played out the battle well. As I was making my way back to a town after that battle, I was hit with a few more random battles. One of those battles had a knight that I’ve never seen on the battlefield before, even though I had traveled this particular path numerous times. This knight threw out one attack that killed one of my members altogether. We’re talking about a character with over 350 HP and decent armor! It’s moments like these that always have you worried, and will make you rip your hair (beard) out.

It’s absolutely crucial that you stay on top of your party members. You need to know what spells they can cast, what weapons they have, the accuracy they can attack with, and all other sorts of statistics. Without good party management skills, you’re going to be absolutely lost. Earlier on in the game I used some preset battle plans for a few of my party members. When using these, it means certain party members will focus on certain things. Some can defend more, some will protect you, others will focus on healing. The further I got into the game, the more I realized that things just weren’t working. I couldn’t depend on the game to do what I needed it to, so I switched to personally handling everyone. This makes the gameplay a bit longer, but at least you have complete control of your own destiny.

This comes into play even more when you get the job class system. This gameplay mechanic doesn’t even show up until about 10 hours into the game. Here I thought I was finally getting things under control, and then the game wants me to start giving my characters jobs! These jobs will help you to hone your skills in battle, and should make for an easier experience as you gain higher levels. There are jobs that focus on healing, others that center around fighting with weapons or bare-hands, and much more. Choosing a job will realign your stats with that path, and will help you learn new spells/attacks that you couldn’t have gotten without the job classification. You can also switch jobs if you’d like, but you’ll also keep the skills you’ve learned along the way. This allows you to switch career paths when you’re looking to outfit a certain character with the ultimate move list.

Management is a theme that runs very deep in Dragon Quest VI. I almost feel like the act of walking around, advancing the story and fighting monsters is all secondary to the management skills you need to have. At all times, you absolutely have to be aware of what each party member is capable of. This management system is something you have to build in your own mind, and there will never be a time in the game where it’s not used. From start to finish, you’re going to need a razor-sharp focus on your party. If you don’t learn that early on, you’re not going to make it very far with the game at all.

In that sense, Dragon Quest VI is a game that greatly rewards patience. Yes, there are going to be times where there’s nothing you can do but lose a battle. You’ll wander into a bad situation and get wiped out before you can even blink, but that’s the nature of the game. You’ll have to dust yourself off and get back on the horse. If you find yourself getting too angry or frustrated with losing battles, then this game is not going to be for you. There’s never going to be a point in the game where you feel like things are too easy. You’ll always be just scraping by, with death looming at your back. It’s a feeling that can make you quite uncomfortable at first, but then you realize that it’s the major driving force in this title.

While you can’t make things super easy for yourself, you can lessen the pain with a bit of grinding. Again, this is an RPG mechanic that I cannot stand. Walking around in the same area to just farm experience points is simply not fun for me. I don’t know why people enjoy this, or why devs feel this is a worthy addition to RPGs. From time to time, you’ll notice that spending an hour or two grinding is going to make the road ahead a little easier to travel. Even I have set aside time just to grind, in order to get one more level and learn one more attack. I have taken my DS to a few parties where I could just keep the thing on my lap and press the A button a million times over, just to gain some XP. You have to make sure you’re in an area that provides reasonable gains, but without much threat of death. Good luck on finding those, but be prepared to hunt them out a few times over.

If you aren’t a big fan of RPGs, I’m sure most of this review has made Dragon Quest VI sound like a chore instead of a way to enjoy your free time. Indeed, much of the game is a test of all sorts of virtues, but somehow these mechanics manage to come together into a compelling overall experience. While I still do not enjoy any of these mechanics on their own, I have to admit that I have definitely been enjoying the overall game itself. When everything comes together and I get a handle on what I should be doing, I feel quite proud of myself for moving forward. Every boss battle I best and every new spell I learn helps me to realize that I’m actually conquering a major RPG. This feeling of accomplishment is something I get from time to time with other game genres, but I don’t know that it’s as satisfying as the feeling I get from Dragon Quest VI. I think it has something to do with fighting every element of the game so hard. When you’re putting so much virtual work into something and you finally see some positive results, you can’t help but smile.

It’s the traditional gameplay that’s going to keep you moving through this game, so long as you manage to get through the early hours of the game. You’re going to get pelted ridiculously hard, but there’s definitely some smoother sailing ahead. Unfortunately, the game’s storyline isn’t going to help motivate you all that much. While there’s definitely an interesting yarn being spun as you push forward, the actual telling of that story is a bit heavy-handed. Dragon Quest VI was notable for the lengths it went to tell its story, and became quite a watershed moment for storytelling in RPGs back in the day. You can see where that praise is coming from, but 15 years removed from the original release also shows us just how far gaming has come. Some of the story here is quite convoluted, and not in the Metal Gear Solid way that manages to entertain at the same time.

As I said earlier on, Dragon Quest VI is not a game for those that lack patience. It’s also not a game for those that don’t have copious amounts of free time. You’re not going to really accomplish much in Dragon Quest VI unless you plan on spending 40-60 hours moving deeper into the game. That’s a lot to ask of a gamer, especially when you’re throwing brutal difficulty at them as well. Over those hours, you’ll come to know every nook and cranny of gameplay there is to offer. You’ll navigate menus by memory, hum every single note in each song, and grow strangely addicted to/angry with the battle theme. I don’t know that I’ve ever played a game that was so demanding of its player. If you’re planning on playing Dragon Quest VI, get ready to shelve every other game for the next month or so. This title is going to need your complete focus, and if you don’t give it, you’re going to get beaten down.

As far as I know, this is what RPG fans love. They want demanding experiences that tug at their gaming fibers. They want a game that they can truly sink their teeth into. Dragon Quest VI is indeed that game, even if it’s showing its age. While some of the old-school mentality at play can drive you absolutely insane, it’ll also put a smirk on your face to see how things used to be. For me, playing Dragon Quest VI is an experience that I’ve never gotten from another game. I don’t know if that’s due to the series itself, the serious RPG elements or the nature of how it all comes together into something unique. All I know is, in some ways, Dragon Quest VI has opened my mind to the RPG genre altogether. One thing’s for sure, though. If I do head back to the realm of RPGs, I’m going with an easier game!

GoNintendo

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