Dragon Quest 9 Official Japanese Thread - USE SPOILER TAGS (or we Kafrizzle yo ass)

[Barakov]

Just completed the Black Knight quest. Wow. Like others have said classic DQ stuff. I'm currnetly level 14. I have a martial artist, a priest and a magic user in my party. I've been alternating between whatever weapon I have equipped and whatever that particular character's specific class skill. Are there any skills I should use skill points for as opposed to others?

[kpop100]

Haven't seen one yet. I may go hunting for one unless someone know's exactly where one is near Osaka station.

If you are near Osaka station just go to Yodobashi camera, plenty of Wifi spots in and around.

[Shouta]

If you are near Osaka station just go to Yodobashi camera, plenty of Wifi spots in and around.

Hrm, ok. I checked Yodobashi yesterday and didn't really pick anything up but I wasn't there for very long. I'll have to give it another go later today.

[Freyjadour]

t may not be, but you have to admit that he has a point. If this was, say, Soma Bringer, where you might never see an English version, i say have at it.

Point or not, it wasn't exactly mind-blowingly pertinent information I would not have understood otherwise. I would think that one accepts these sort of things when they purchase a copy of a game in a language that they neither speak nor understand.

Regardless, a patch for which simple gameplay relevant text is translated in an efficient time frame would be nice to have for a game with no real announcement of a localization whatsoever...was the original context of my post. I haven't given up on SE localizing and will have a copy of it on day one, but for now I'm simply enjoying the copy of the game I do have.

Anyhow, done with this particular topic. More DQIX, less this.

[RevenantKioku]

Hrm, ok. I checked Yodobashi yesterday and didn't really pick anything up but I wasn't there for very long. I'll have to give it another go later today.

There are tons of McD's in Namba and towards Den-Den.

[Shouta]

Yeah, I kind of figure Nanba and Den-den would have them but I also have some work to finish tonight so I don't want to stray far from the hotel. I have a habit of going really far off when I stray around (although it hasn't been too bad this time) and I waste time just walking and looking around.

[kpop100]

Yeah, I kind of figure Nanba and Den-den would have them but I also have some work to finish tonight so I don't want to stray far from the hotel. I have a habit of going really far off when I stray around (although it hasn't been too bad this time) and I waste time just walking and looking around.

There are tons of McD around Osaka station. You don't need to go to Namba

On topic is it just me or are there not many shops that sell Ranger weapons?

[Shouta]

Early on? Not many. More is sold later though.

Oh and I found the wi-fi spot in the Yodobashi game's section. So many people were gathered, I quickly gathered 42 folks just standing there.

[RevenantKioku]

Early on? Not many. More is sold later though. Oh and I found the wi-fi spot in the Yodobashi game's section. So many people were gathered, I quickly gathered 42 folks just standing there.

Feck. Got no one in Nara. Stupid city.

[BudokaiMR2]

Here is my team as of 20 minutes ago.





Having a lot of fun so far, and I think I will keep this same party for a while except change my main to a Ranger when I get the job. Gonna try to finish that tonight.

Oh and I tried to have Kuwabara do bare-handed at first because of his namesake but changed my mind ;)

[sprsk]

My team, then and now:

Jasu (my Main)

THEN -- Entertainer



NOW -- Ranger (by way of Thief)



Maki (Fighter)

THEN


NOW


Lolo

THEN: Mage


NOW: Mage Knight


Ren (Priest)

THEN


NOW



As of today I've upgraded my hotel to the max (or I assume the max). I was really surprised to see all the people I got hanging out in my hotel. I even got some free treasure from the extra rooms.

[RevenantKioku]

Man, I'm finding myself way too addicted to the job system of this game. My hero is almost maxed out 100 points in Swords and I only recently started the Tso arc.

[Diseased Yak]

Hahaha! That Slime helmet is beyond awesome!

Once again I wish I could read Japanese. Ahhh well, just gotta wait... :|

[mattiewheels]

jeez, i don't get the ranger-unlocking quest.

it's the one where you talk to the guy outside the bitali mountain dungeon, and he wants 5 magichimera killed by poison from a poison-dagger move. i've killed much more than 5, and they've all died by the poison killing them, not from a killing blow of my party. what should i be doing instead?

[Shouta]

So you went into the mountain, hit them with poison dagger, dagger skill and left them alone to die?

[sprsk]

Yeah they have to die from poison damage, not from an attack.
I suggest using "dokubari" the weapon you buy at the nearby town that does 1 damage but sometimes kills in one hit.

[RevenantKioku]

Woohoo! Finished my tweaking around Dharma Temple! Now to go onto Tso's story.

Yes, that is a level 1 mage wielding a sword.

Zerrick - Mage/1 | Eriko - Soldier/26
Lin Lin - Thief/20 | Shotaro - Priest/20

WAAAAIT a minute. Skill points carry over between jobs?

[sprsk]

Yeah, weapon skills only though.

[RevenantKioku]

Yeah, weapon skills only though.

Obviously. That's not at all what I meant though, sorry.
I had 3 unused points left over from Soldier and my Mage had 3 to use. I could have sworn someone said they were only usable for the class they were earned on.

[mattiewheels]

Yeah they have to die from poison damage, not from an attack. I suggest using "dokubari" the weapon you buy at the nearby town that does 1 damage but sometimes kills in one hit.

yeah, they die from poisoning every time, not from a hit.

can they never be hit? i even just swiped just once with my poison dagger skill, and let them die, and it doesn't count that.

[Drkirby]

Woohoo! Finished my tweaking around Dharma Temple! Now to go onto Tso's story. Yes, that is a level 1 mage wielding a sword. WAAAAIT a minute. Skill points carry over between jobs?

Whats the class of the guy on the bottom right, Slime Summoner

[RevenantKioku]

Whats the class of the guy on the bottom right, Slime Summoner

Whoops, didn't actually type everyone up. That's just a priest, haha.

[sprsk]

yeah, they die from poisoning every time, not from a hit. can they never be hit? i even just swiped just once with my poison dagger skill, and let them die, and it doesn't count that.

They can be hit, are you sure you're killing the right mob?
Are you sure you haven't already completed the quest?

[Jinko]

LOL that triple slime suit is awesome XD

[RevenantKioku]

LOL that triple slime suit is awesome XD

Just to note, it is actually a helmet and upper body armor, not one piece of armor.

[Shouta]

I haven't gotten that yet myself. I kind of want it, hah.

[RevenantKioku]

Online shopping is awesome! Finally got some. . . cat sand? Made some cat ears, which aren't too shabby stat-wise. But all my lady characters are warriors, not spell casters. Oh well, I can dock one point of defense for adorableness.

[ubiblu]

There is a guy dissecting all the weekly quest data, and there is some serious bonus content to come. Spoilers obviously, but follow his progress at http://ds666.blogspot.com/

There are 25 treasure map bosses, 12 of which are old dq bosses: all of these bosses start at lv1, and level up as you beat them, making the next encounter harder than the previous one...awesome! It is also possible to recreate all of the past game heroes, as well as the main characters in this game with downloadable quests and ultra rare drops.

I'm starting to think this game is going to take thousands of hours to completely finish.

Btw, i'm not particularly far into the game myself (mucking around before Tso arc), but i still haven't come across any treasure maps. Do you guys know if they are random drops, or all quest related?

For the record, i live in Canberra (Australia) so chances of meeting anyone with surechigai is a near impossibility.

[Doctor_No]

Btw, i'm not particularly far into the game myself (mucking around before Tso arc), but i still haven't come across any treasure maps. Do you guys know if they are random drops, or all quest related? For the record, i live in Canberra (Australia) so chances of meeting anyone with surechigai is a near impossibility.

You can get a treasure map from Quest 015 atop Bitali mountain, due south of the point you warp into the Stone Village. There's a guy laying on the ground and asks that asks for a 特やくそう which can be easily concocted via alchemy. If you beat that map you'll get another map.

[souvlakispacestation]

First few dozen reviews are up at mk2, for those who can read Japanese:

http://ndsmk2.net/title.php?title=1580

Average rank so far: D.

[Segata Sanshiro]

First few dozen reviews are up at mk2, for those who can read Japanese: http://ndsmk2.net/title.php?title=1580 Average rank so far: D.

Shit. Guess that's it everyone, stop having fun. A bunch of socially retarded weiners don't like the game.

[Koren]

Haven't seen one yet. I may go hunting for one unless someone know's exactly where one is near Osaka station.

IIRC (and in case you're still interested), there's several Mc Donalds restaurants in the Umeda Shopping Mall, which is really really close to Osaka Station (take central exit... I think I remember one being in the alley just under the street in front of the station).

[Doctor_No]

Finished the single-player portion of the game. 41 hours total at around lv 45 (I've leveled up most of the other classes for each character to around ~Lv20). I actually got to the last boss around 32 hours, but spent an exorbitant amount of time doing the Lv.40 class quests - which can take forever.

I've only completed around a dozen of the treasure maps and there are some of the harder Lv 40 quests I still haven't finished so there is a LOT left to do; I feel far removed from the feeling of completion of this game.

Some general impressions:
>>While I love this game, I can understand the divisiveness of DQ9; there are a lot of departures from tradition. I recall the general scorn of FF12 when it was released and believe there is some familiarity with the negativity that this game has received from its hardcore fans. Personally, after all these remakes and re-releases that DQ has endured, I feel this game really is a necessary evolution of series.

>>I love the quests and MP aspects of this game. They are the right level of difficulty and there is a lot of satisfaction completing them. More important, the rewards are well suited to the effort required; you really do get unique skills, weapons, and abilities that is worth the effort regardless of the level of the character. For the vast majority of quests, even later on, your efforts aren't wasted. You don't spend hours killing metal slimes the right way for it to be useless once you get to a higher level. This includes the Lv.40 quests which give you books that have incredibly useful skills and abilities to any character that have it in their inventory.

>>As far as the story- it never really clicked with me. I really got into the whole 'guardian angel' thing at first, but they really never took it anywhere. All of it felt ancillary to the main character- which may have been on purpose. There are some cute twists, but the entire story arc lacks any real continuity from the beginning of the game to the end. The final story is no more unique or heart-felt then the Black Knight story you encounter in the beginning.

>>The new job and leveling system of this game is great. Its less omnipotent, more challenging, and at the same time less tedious. It has obvious consideration for the MP aspect, but even for the single player aspect it skews the end-point. You really do have to strategize the character to a stat perspective rather then a skill perspective. Also, the skill points you receive seems to peak at around Lv. 40, after which you start receiving less skill points per level

>> There also seems to be room left for expandability in this game. There is no 勇者 (hero) class in this game, as far as I know, and there are some missing skills and classes compared to the the other DQ games; maybe its to balance the game out for MP (since you don't want everyone to merely be a 勇者, but maybe SE has some bigger upgrades to this game

Regardless, I feel I have I lot left to play of this game even after seeing the ending credits- which is the whole point. I probably have another 40 hours until I even get remotely bored of DQ9.

[Freyjadour]

Finished the single-player portion of the game. 41 hours total at around lv 45 (I've leveled up most of the other classes for each character to around ~Lv20). I actually got to the last boss around 32 hours, but spent an exorbitant amount of time doing the Lv.40 class quests - which can take forever. I've only completed around a dozen of the treasure maps and there are some of the harder Lv 40 quests I still haven't finished so there is a LOT left to do; I feel far removed from the feeling of completion of this game. Some general impressions: >>While I love this game, I can understand the divisiveness of DQ9; there are a lot of departures from tradition. I recall the general scorn of FF12 when it was released and believe there is some familiarity with the negativity that this game has received from its hardcore fans. Personally, after all these remakes and re-releases that DQ has endured, I feel this game really is a necessary evolution of series. >>I love the quests and MP aspects of this game. They are the right level of difficulty and there is a lot of satisfaction completing them. More important, the rewards are well suited to the effort required; you really do get unique skills, weapons, and abilities that is worth the effort regardless of the level of the character. For the vast majority of quests, even later on, your efforts aren't wasted. You don't spend hours killing metal slimes the right way for it to be useless once you get to a higher level. This includes the Lv.40 quests which give you books that have incredibly useful skills and abilities to any character that have it in their inventory. >>As far as the story- it never really clicked with me. I really got into the whole 'guardian angel' thing at first, but they really never took it anywhere. All of it felt ancillary to the main character- which may have been on purpose. There are some cute twists, but the entire story arc lacks any real continuity from the beginning of the game to the end. The final story is no more unique or heart-felt then the Black Knight story you encounter in the beginning. >>The new job and leveling system of this game is great. Its less omnipotent, more challenging, and at the same time less tedious. It has obvious consideration for the MP aspect, but even for the single player aspect it skews the end-point. You really do have to strategize the character to a stat perspective rather then a skill perspective. Also, the skill points you receive seems to peak at around Lv. 40, after which you start receiving less skill points per level >> There also seems to be room left for expandability in this game. There is no 勇者 (hero) class in this game, as far as I know, and there are some missing skills and classes compared to the the other DQ games; maybe its to balance the game out for MP (since you don't want everyone to merely be a 勇者, but maybe SE has some bigger upgrades to this game Regardless, I feel I have I lot left to play of this game even after seeing the ending credits- which is the whole point. I probably have another 40 hours until I even get remotely bored of DQ9.

Thanks for the impressions, very nice to have some completed opinions.

I'm not sure if I'd agree with the FFXII part though, and I do not want to start any sort of argument about the game, but I did not dislike FFXII because it was a departure from Final Fantasy, I disliked FFXII because I did not think it was a very good game.

As far as changes to DQ go though, the best way to describe it is it feels like home. It's something comfortable and no matter how many times you go back there, you know what's waiting for you. I can understand animosity about changes to that.

[Max]

How import friendly is this game?

[Doctor_No]

I'm not sure if I'd agree with the FFXII part though, and I do not want to start any sort of argument about the game, but I did not dislike FFXII because it was a departure from Final Fantasy, I disliked FFXII because I did not think it was a very good game. As far as changes to DQ go though, the best way to describe it is it feels like home. It's something comfortable and no matter how many times you go back there, you know what's waiting for you. I can understand animosity about changes to that.

My point isn't that DQ9 is similar to FF12, my point is that DQ9 is polarizing much like FF12 was. Personally I love both games, but I know people who absolutely hate them. While I don't agree with much of the criticism towards this game, but I do understand their perspective. I do believe that the registered opinions across the internet are legitimately representative; many people do think this isn't a good game; much less a good DQ game. There is a very vocal fanbase that abhors this latest creation. I'm not saying their opinions are not legitimate; I'm saying that this game does have its unique charms.

Its a very thin line, there really isn't many games that captures the average Japanese public like DQ, from casual to hardcore; any alteration of that formula is a serious fiscal gambit. The game isn't without its flaws, but after spending 40 hours with this game, I still want to spend 40 hours more.

[Doctor_No]

How import friendly is this game?

Not very.

[Black_Mamba]

I'm playing DQV now and I'm really enjoying it. First DQ that I'm liking (played a few hours of DQVII and a lot of DQVIII before giving up). Now for the DQIX part... how does it compare to DQV overall? Considering I've found VIII very long and boring, am I going to like DQIX?

[g0atcheese]

Damn this game is looking more and more like a single-player DS MMO...and that it awesome.

[Freyjadour]

My point isn't that DQ9 is similar to FF12, my point is that DQ9 is polarizing much like FF12 was. Personally I love both games, but I know people who absolutely hate them. While I don't agree with much of the criticism towards this game, but I do understand their perspective. I do believe that the registered opinions across the internet are legitimately representative; many people do think this isn't a good game; much less a good DQ game. There is a very vocal fanbase that abhors this latest creation. I'm not saying their opinions are not legitimate; I'm saying that this game does have its unique charms. Its a very thin line, there really isn't many games that captures the average Japanese public like DQ, from casual to hardcore; any alteration of that formula is a serious fiscal gambit. The game isn't without its flaws, but after spending 40 hours with this game, I still want to spend 40 hours more.

I understood that, was just making a point that this could be more polarizing as a departure from DQ, whereas FFXII, at least amongst the people I talk regularly with, was more polarizing as a standalone game.

What I've seen of DQIX thus far hasn't given me the impression that the game formula has changed to any incredibly significant degree (as the ARPG switch would have), but more just taken on new features. To me it's much the same as DQIII, VI, and VII's changes to formula using the Job System (and the changes to that system with VI introducing skills and VII's more complicated tiers).

[Synth_floyd]

What's the deal with the friggin black knight? I talked to the king and the princess at the castle and then go to the BK's castle and he's not there. What do I have to do to make him appear

Also, the main thing that makes this not that great of an RPG for me is that it's all too similar to the previous games in the series. Same monsters, same gameplay mechanics, same types of characters and speaking styles, same equipment, same spells, same type of world, etc. Familiarity is good but the DQ series takes it a bit too far. I just played DQ4 before this and I felt like I was basically playing the same game, but starting from level 1 again and with a different "go kill this evil bad guy" quest.

[Freyjadour]

What's the deal with the friggin black knight? I talked to the king and the princess at the castle and then go to the BK's castle and he's not there. What do I have to do to make him appear Also, the main thing that makes this not that great of an RPG for me is that it's all too similar to the previous games in the series. Same monsters, same gameplay mechanics, same types of characters and speaking styles, same equipment, same spells, same type of world, etc. Familiarity is good but the DQ series takes it a bit too far. I just played DQ4 before this and I felt like I was basically playing the same game, but starting from level 1 again and with a different "go kill this evil bad guy" quest.

That's what makes DQ DQ :P. Was IV the first DQ you played?

[Synth_floyd]

Ok I found out where the Black knight was hiding the whole time and finished the whole quest. Man, what a lame quest. I have to say I'm really starting to lose interest in this game. The plot is really cookie-cutter fantasy/RPG so far. Do the quests get any more interesting later on or is it just help these random people with their melodramatic problems so that you can continue to the next area? I thought the game was supposed to be more open ended. The only reason I did that quest was because the bridge was blocked and obviously you know that once you finish the quest they'll unblock the bridge, even though they don't say it.

[duckroll]

You know, your complains are starting to get really painful to read, because firstly it seems you like to presume a lot and complain about stuff which seems to largely stem from your inability to read the language you're playing the game in. If you can understand the dialogue in the game, you wouldn't be bitching about half the stuff you're bitching about. Saying the only reason you did the "quest" was because the bridge was out and you wanted to "progress" shows that you know nothing about what the scenario involves right now, which I'm sure would limit the amount of enjoyment you get out of a *gasp* story driven game!

[speedpop]

It also smells like a shitty stealth troll.

[Segata Sanshiro]

Ok I found out where the Black knight was hiding the whole time and finished the whole quest. Man, what a lame quest. I have to say I'm really starting to lose interest in this game. The plot is really cookie-cutter fantasy/RPG so far. Do the quests get any more interesting later on or is it just help these random people with their melodramatic problems so that you can continue to the next area? I thought the game was supposed to be more open ended. The only reason I did that quest was because the bridge was blocked and obviously you know that once you finish the quest they'll unblock the bridge, even though they don't say it.

If you aren't interested in helping random people with their "melodramatic problems", you should probably shut off the power, remove the cartridge, sell it, and never play another DQ game again.

Helping random people with their (generally unrelated to the overall quest) problems is the heart of Dragon Quest.

[Synth_floyd]

Eh, I guess I'm not explaining my gripe properly but it appears that the game doesn't significantly change from this point on. And anyone who has a dissenting opinion about the game is a troll? Sheesh.

And my point about the bridge was that I know the story about the Knight and his past and the king and everything but there was a blocked bridge and a quest that had to be fulfilled for no apparently obvious reason to the player. Hypothetically if I didn't give a rat's ass about the knight I'm still forced to do the quest because I need to cross the bridge and even though at no point in the game does anyone say "you will be able to cross the bridge after you complete the quest" it was painfully obvious from the beginning. Though to be honest this is more of a general RPG thing than a DQ thing. I guess I've just tired of the genre conventions.

[colinp]

Yay, finally found one at my local GEO Amusement Developer.

Was there someone else from JapanGAF that was having trouble finding one? I picked mine up for 1200 yen and there was another if you'd like me to grab it for you. Dunno how much shipping might be but surely not too much...?

[Segata Sanshiro]

Eh, I guess I'm not explaining my gripe properly but it appears that the game doesn't significantly change from this point on. And anyone who has a dissenting opinion about the game is a troll? Sheesh. And my point about the bridge was that I know the story about the Knight and his past and the king and everything but there was a blocked bridge and a quest that had to be fulfilled for no apparently obvious reason to the player. Hypothetically if I didn't give a rat's ass about the knight I'm still forced to do the quest because I need to cross the bridge and even though at no point in the game does anyone say "you will be able to cross the bridge after you complete the quest" it was painfully obvious from the beginning. Though to be honest this is more of a general RPG thing than a DQ thing. I guess I've just tired of the genre conventions.

Well, games sometimes have weird logic, but it wouldn't be too hard to fill in the gap on this one. Perhaps that bridge is usually blocked from civilian use (for homeland security purposes, you understand), but once you've done the King a solid, he lets you bend the rules by giving you access?

You don't have to care about the knight if you don't want to, but sometimes to get ahead, even in the real world, you've gotta do favours for the movers and shakers.

Anyway, my advice stands. If the Black Knight thing bothered you, stop now. The game never stops doing that kind of scenario, at least as far as I've played. It's a DQ thing.

[speedpop]

And anyone who has a dissenting opinion about the game is a troll? Sheesh.

It is when the things you are complaining about are the fundamentals of Dragon Quest. If you are disliking this now within the first 2 hours of the game, I'm trying to comprehend how you fared during DQ4.