being dragon quest it’s obviously a joy; that said though it really feels loose, to think about or to play — with a tight thematic focus like dqv this could easily be another masterpiece. outside of the light tragedy of the hero’s true identity the dream world concept doesn’t feel very fully utilized — e.g. terry and milly were my favorite part of the game but i can’t stop thinking that their story could have been much more with involvement of the dream world.
as the close to a trilogy, it works, but compared to 3 in that sense it feels both less foundational and less daring.

The least of the three DS Dragon Quest remakes, but by no means a bad game. We begin with our heroic party failing to defeat a big bad, who seals them in a realm of sleep and dreams. Obviously our main character manages to break free of the spell and begins a journey across both the real and dream worlds to reassemble his party. The overall story might not wow but the character writing is actually very strong and is used to explore the differences between the two worlds as characters and locations appear across them in different forms.

The world-hopping does lead to some awkward difficulties in tracking your quest though, especially if you put the game down for any length of time. Many major features - even the job system - don't become available until after 10-15 hours of play, and the fact that VI is the grindiest game in the series since II compounds the slow pacing. Not the JRPG to suddenly sell you on the genre, but a great example of it if you're already into them.

A introdução é longa e lenta ao ponto da letargia, mas a paciência do jogador recompensa.

O sistema de classes (aqui chamadas de Vocações) é legal e permite uma razoável quantidade de customização dos personagens, complementando muito bem o sistema de progressão padrão. Interessantemente, esse sistema tem embutido medidas para desincentivar o grinding: apenas monstros de nível maior ou igual ao dos personagens dão pontos para avançar as vocações, obrigando o jogador a continuar prosseguindo para novas áreas com inimigos mais fortes. Isso se integra muito bem ao excelente mapa, que é um dos melhores da série até o momento. Há dois mundos interconectados para se explorar (o real e o dos sonhos), com mais um (submarino) sendo introduzido depois.

Tão variada quanto a quantidade de mapas é a de veículos, que incluem uma ilha e uma cama voadora. Vários objetivos podem ser cumpridos na ordem que você quiser, o que inicialmente pode até causar uma sensação de desnorteamento. Felizmente a trama te motiva a continuar explorando mesmo quando perdido, seguindo a tradição de Dragon Quest fazer algo simples sem deixar de ser envolvente.

Among the 16-bit Dragon Quests, this one feels, just, impossibly enormous.

It also, I think, somewhat meanders and grows a bit long in the tooth, eventually. I think the narrative is weird and impressively ambitious, it just kinda goes off the rails a bit, here and there. I still liked it more than Dragon Quest V, although, I am a bit of a freak for that (see my review of that game if you want to know why).

If your favourite building in any Dragon Quest game in which it is present is the Alltrades Abbey, you'll have some fun with the character progression and party composition you can do. At some point, you will deserve having created a beastly, nigh-invincible party.

I played the Android version mainly because it was the easiest version to play while standing in a crowded subway. Do your own research and make your own choice about which version to play.

Unfortunately a corrupt save has set me back several hours on this one and I just don't want to do it again. Not a bad game in all, but feels like a huge step back after V, which has probably the most ambitious and fleshed out plot and cast of all the games up to this point (and even comparable to the major modern installments in the franchise). VI feels empty in many ways by comparison; long stretches with no forward momentum on the thin main plot, far less party chat dialogue, and only a couple characters that feel like more than very simple tropes.

The most noteworthy element of the game is the updated class system, which takes longer than expected to get access too, but does offer lots of customization, and massive injection of abilities over all the previous installments. This does kind of encourage a lot of grinding, of which it already feels like the game has a fair share of in a series that is known for it, but the freedom and potential for super versatile characters is neat nonetheless.

Visually the game is pretty in line with the previous DS remasters, though the quality of sprites feels closer to V's improvements over IV's. However, whether it's partly in the choice of remastering, or just a matter of the songs themselves, I found the score to be one of the least effective in the franchise. It felt like there was far less variety, and that many of the songs had a hollow vibe, like sparse sounds in empty spaces. It's kind of uncanny, and combined with my issues with the plot, really sealed this vaguely unfinished feeling I took from the game as a whole. I can only say I found it marginally more enjoyable (or perhaps just less frustrating) than IV.

Overall, a pretty standard and enjoyable entry in the Dragon Quest series. The story has some cool elements and ideas throughout, but is not quite focused on as much as I'd have liked. I think what they have is cool, I'd just like to see more of it (and more character growth too). The cast was cool and had some interesting moments throughout the game. I think this easily fixes most of my issues with the vocation system in DQ3, making it much easier and more rewarding to utilize throughout the game. I do find it to be too grindy just for that part though, and I wish they could've toned that down a bit to make progression through each vocation a bit faster. I like being able to customize the cast, and I'm happy it doesn't come at the cost of having actual characters with motivations and personalities like in 3. Physical vocations get some pretty cool skills this time, and overall the game does have some better balance towards various skills compared to prior entries in the series. While this game can be pretty basic and doesn't do much to stand out, I think it's a fun rpg that isn't all too long and has decent replay value with its vocation system.

Feels bad giving this game a low ranking because it has a lot of things going for it. The finished product though? Ehhhhhh

The worst thing is definitely its pacing and the handling of the Dream World/Real World switching. The novelty wore off halfway through the game, and I struggled to proceed at several points.

Alltrades Abbey is back but man.... it kinda blows. It takes foreeeeever to level up any classes, and I wish it was just tied to level instead. It seems like they really didn't know what they were doing once you finally defeat the first main villain, and the game just descends into this lackadaisical fetch quest from the second half onwards.

I couldn't bring myself to beat the final boss after losing to it once. I didn't wanna go back and grind. Time for DQ7.