I used to be in the Dragon Quest community. Actually met some close friends there. And for some reason, this game was really contentious there. Like people were debating about if this game was good or not all the time. And, fuck it, I'm just going to say it. This is one of the best RPGs I've ever played. It's just paced so well, the difficulty curve is perfect, the characters are a lot of fun, the world is a blast to explore. Sure, Act III is a bit of a drag, but at that point, you'd had 80 hours of some of the most fun RPGs ever. This is the RPG I'd recommend to someone who doesn't play RPGs. It's just comfortable.