I went into this expecting an old school throwback turn-based JRPG because I've never played Dragon Quest beforehand, but what I got was a deceptively simple yet incredibly polished and wonderfully charming game that starts knocking those expectations away throughout its lengthy playtime. It’s refreshing to play a JRPG that very sincerely sticks to its guns about its own tropes and tradition in a landscape where games have started to become a bit self-aware about them and loses out on some of that magic. It’s not really reinventing the wheel so much as it’s finding new things to do with that wheel and perfecting them. Like, the game design is pretty straightforward and simple by today’s standards but it manages to still feel really engaging and plays to its strength for that. The combat never feels too broken and finds a good general balance that makes boss fights and random encounters feel as fair as possible to the player while still offering a challenge. Except for the third act which is almost like a post-game, with bosses that really push you to strategize and experiment with your party members, but also feeling way more important to the overall story than you thought. It’s not quite as good as the first two acts, mostly because it felt lacking in narrative momentum due to its gameplay structure, but it redeems itself by revealing a bunch of story stuff that makes this feel that much essential to the entire experience.

You can also feel how much more fun Toriyama had with designing characters for this franchise than everything since Beerus and Whis in Dragon Ball rn

Reviewed on Jan 25, 2022


5 Comments


8 months ago

This game is one that I keep on picking up and playing for a bit, then put it down until I try again about 5 months later. Last thing I remember is reaching Hotto and meeting Veronica. She hasn't joined the team yet. When would you say the game starts picking up? It's a game I've wanted to enjoy for some time since so many people like it, but the pace is killing me so far.

8 months ago

@shys Funnily enough the moment you pick up Veronica on your party is when it started to go from "this is kinda okay i guess" to "okay, things are starting to get better" for me. What locked everything into place for me is when you reach Sylvando which isn't too long after you finish up business in Hotto.

8 months ago

Damn, I guess I just gotta push through until then. I remember being god awful at the forging mechanic. Did you mostly play it in 3D or 2D? I'd love to play in 2D but I got the basic copy before I knew there was a definitive edition. Lemme just play until Sylvando joins and see how I feel afterwards.

8 months ago

@shys I tried switching to 2D mode but I didn't like how it had to rollback some of the story progress I made back to a certain point/chapter.

7 months ago

That sounds like a pain. I hate losing progress in games. I'll give it another go. Thanks, bro!