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About Dragon Quest 8 and iOS/Android

F

friz898

Member
What does it say that I'm seriously considering buying a $500 iPad *just for Dragon Quest 8 portable?


Bonus: I eventually get DQ X streaming on it.


I really don't understand why it isn't on Vita. Would it really require that much effort to port it?



*I'll buy other games of course, but I don't currently own an ipad.
*PS2 Emulator is superior but I want in-house portable. Only other option is a Nvidia shield (which requires I upgrade my Geforce 570)
 
M

Megalosaro

Banned
It's not on Vita because the Vita isn't selling

Besides this is part of a larger campaign SE is having to release every Dragon Quest from ! to VIII on mobile.
 
G

gblues

Banned
Wario, my working theory is that they made the entire engine run at the same framerate as the character animations. This would explain why even the UI feels choppy.

The basis for this theory:

- The framerate doesn't get better when you put it on more powerful devices.
- The game doesn't kill battery life, which means it's not slow due to poor optimization.
- If you focus closely on your character while you're running around, the character's animation actually looks really good. The same applies to combat animations. In other words, if you actually study the characters, there's no dropped frames.

IMO the developers were rushed and didn't have a good enough handle on Unity to do it right, so they just locked the entire app's framerate and called it good.

So, OP, since the game's out on Android, if this is literally the only thing driving your purchase decision, I'd save yourself the $$$ and get a Nexus 7 for $199, which will give you an identical experience.
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
Why buy a $500 iPad when a $300 (or less) Android device will run it just fine?

I've been playing it on my Samsung S4 that's over a year old, and, aside from the obvious smaller screen size, performance-wise, it runs as expected.
 
Tizoc

Tizoc

Member
Megalosaro said:
It's not on Vita because the Vita isn't selling
Click to expand...

The Vita's selling fine, besides the Vita can't handle PS2 ports/remasters all that well.
Japan is very mobile gaming centric now hence why it was released for that platform

There a lot of good and interesting games on iOS/Android if you're interested in it.
 
F

Freedom = $1.05

Banned
Tizoc said:
The Vita's selling fine, besides the Vita can't handle PS2 ports/remasters all that well.
Japan is very mobile gaming centric now hence why it was released for that platform

There a lot of good and interesting games on iOS/Android if you're interested in it.
Click to expand...
FFXHD runs perfectly fine on the vita with visual upgrades. When games are ported well it shows.
 
J

jim-jam bongs

Member
friz898 said:
I really don't understand why it isn't on Vita. Would it really require that much effort to port it?
Click to expand...

Square is all in on their phone + tablet strategy, and considering that they have the cohones to launch games at 5x the average price for games on those systems (or even more) it must be doing well for them.
 
F

friz898

Member
Gattsu25 said:
OP, just know that the game runs like absolute shit on mobile. The framerate is embarrassing.
Click to expand...

Well I heard about the choppiness, I figured on the two a7 devices that wouldnt be the case. Is this an incorrect assumption?


To the person asking about the Mini 2, it's because I had a BB playbook for years, I'm familiar with 7inch gaming screen. Also my son has a first-gen mini, and I'm thinking I'll enjoy the bigger screen. Especially since ipads are pretty light.
 
M

M3d10n

Member
Do not buy a 10" iPad to play DQ8. It's not comfortable to hold for long stretches and even if you hold it while lying down on your back you'll get an "iPad love bite" on your tummy. Get the 7" mini instead, or a cheaper 7" Android tablet.

Wario64 said:
I think it's just the way the game is developed. It's on Unity as well if that matters
Click to expand...

I didn't know this. Porting a PS2 game to Unity sounds like a nightmare.
 
F

friz898

Member
M3d10n said:
Do not buy a 10" iPad to play DQ8. It's not comfortable to hold for long stretches and even if you hold it while lying down on your back you'll get an "iPad love bite" on your tummy. Get the 7" mini instead, or a cheaper 7" Android tablet.



I didn't know this. Porting a PS2 game to Unity sounds like a nightmare.
Click to expand...



Although it's very close (I do have a good android phone that i never use for gaming) ... isn't it safe to say that iOS will continue (for the forseeable future) to get the SquareEnix ports and other major games first and possibly only?

As in, if I'm buying a tablet strictly for gaming and not for the other stuff they can do... wouldnt iOS be best?
 
F

Faustek

Member
OP just buy the European version, rip it and Emulate it. Better experience than the crap they try to sell us on iOS/Android :(

Anyone know why the Orchestral music wasn't in the mobile release?


Oh yeah and stop being stupid people. Vita can handle PS2 ports just fine.
 
B

Black Door

Banned
The choppy framerate and goofy control scheme (why not allow gamepads?) make the mobile version unplayable. Better to buy a copy of the PS2 version from Amazon and download PCSX2, it looks the same, plays better, AND you get the benefit of the US version's enhancements
 
old

old

Member
I was thinking of buying this game today. Never finished it on PS2. Read reviews and they said it is stuck in portrait mode and lacks the original soundtrack and voice tracks. Made me gunshy.
 
D

Deleted member 20920

Unconfirmed Member
Faustek said:
OP just buy the European version, rip it and Emulate it. Better experience than the crap they try to sell us on iOS/Android :(

Anyone know why the Orchestral music wasn't in the mobile release?


Oh yeah and stop being stupid people. Vita can handle PS2 ports just fine.
Click to expand...

It's a port of the Japanese version and not the western version. They added in orchestral music, voices and spiffy but slow to load menus to the western release. Japan never got these changes.
 
F

Faustek

Member
entrydenied said:
It's a port of the Japanese version and not the western version. They added in orchestral music, voices and spiffy but slow to load menus to the western release. Japan never got these changes.
Click to expand...

Oho? That sucks ass.

Gattsu25 said:
My only experience with this was FFX (great port) and the Jak and Daxter collection (which ran poorly)

So that's a 50/50 for me.
Click to expand...

Don't like calling devs lazy/sloppy but..

Fake Edit: should add that I believe their priorities lay elsewhere on Jak and GoW.

Shizuka said:
More like the developers were doing a sloppy job.
Click to expand...
_____________________________________________________________________________________

The mobile versions really screams cash grabs :/ cynical me thinks the reason why it isn't on Vita/PS3 is that we Would never have accepted such a sub par port. Logical me...well fuck him, I killed him ha!
 
M

M3d10n

Member
friz898 said:
Although it's very close (I do have a good android phone that i never use for gaming) ... isn't it safe to say that iOS will continue (for the forseeable future) to get the SquareEnix ports and other major games first and possibly only?

As in, if I'm buying a tablet strictly for gaming and not for the other stuff they can do... wouldnt iOS be best?
Click to expand...

Even if that's the case, I strongly recommend going 7" over 10". It's far more comfortable and you still have a nice real state advantage over a phone.
 
G

Grief.exe

Member
paolo11 said:
How does DQ 8 play on Samsung Note 3?
Click to expand...

Might as well just ask how it plays on Android in general. You have one of the newest smartphones available.

animlboogy said:
I appreciate the existence of DQ on iOS. But PCSX2 is a much better use of your money if playing DQVIII in high res is your goal.

If you have a bunch of other mobile games to play, be my guest, but if you can't think of at least 10 then maybe it isn't a good buy.

RPGs have a very strong presence on iOS, as well as strategy games and board/card games. These are games that rival the best on any platform. But DQVIII being your main goal will lead to disappointment. It isn't a great port, it doesn't live up to what a proper iOS version of that game could have been. Passable, nowhere near great.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I'm still looking for the PS2 version, but it is expensive.
 
F

friz898

Member
animlboogy said:
I appreciate the existence of DQ on iOS. But PCSX2 is a much better use of your money if playing DQVIII in high res is your goal.

If you have a bunch of other mobile games to play, be my guest, but if you can't think of at least 10 then maybe it isn't a good buy.

RPGs have a very strong presence on iOS, as well as strategy games and board/card games. These are games that rival the best on any platform. But DQVIII being your main goal will lead to disappointment. It isn't a great port, it doesn't live up to what a proper iOS version of that game could have been. Passable, nowhere near great.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Read it all. This thread has pushed me away from an ipad (for now) but man..the time is coming.

(Poor Vita)
 
G

Gattsu25

Banned
Also, for people that are interested in a tablet just for gaming the larger the screen the better, especially if you like RPGs.

I would also absolutely recommend iOS over Android if you are interested in games, though that situation looks like it may be changing in the future.

There are some great games out there like Avadon I and II; Avernum; Baldur's Gate I and II; Final Fantasy III, IV, and XI; FTL; Super Hexagon; Elder Sign Omens; Ridiculous Fishing; God of Blades; and XCOM Enemy Unknown.

Browse through the "Reviews" sections of pocket tactics (specifically the 2013/2014 review indexes) to build a list of games to check out...this is probably the only mobile-oriented gaming site that I really trust: http://www.pockettactics.com/


Also, wherever possible look for ways to save yourself some money... do yourself and favor and save some money by avoiding the "Free" sections of these app stores.

That means try your fucking hardest to avoid free to play games like the fucking plague.

"Free" games are designed to ramp up the roadblocks to enjoyment until you are 'forced' to pay more money to continue. And unlike pay games, where you pay some money up front and play the game until completion, free to play games will keep taking more and more and more and more of your money. They are actively designed to start off fun and then suck the fucking life out of you until you pay them some money so the game can maybe be fun again. And then you get trapped because you invested money in the game and want to continue progress repeating the fucking cycle.

Filter your experiences up front. Find a reviewer or site you trust and have them filter out the good from the fucking utter shite. Pay up front for your experiences only after someone has already done the "if this game worth it" legwork for you. And even if that trusted reviewer or site says that a "free" game is worth it...it isn't.

The ONLY exception to this are free games with one time in-app purchases (more common on Android than iOS) or the rare example of a free game without any in app purchases.
 
J

jeremy1456

Junior Member
Back to the topic at hand.

No. This port is absolutely not worth getting an iPad for. There are tons of other games you could get for the platform that in the end make it worth getting.

Just don't get it for one shoddy port though.
 
J

JoeyJungle

Banned
I actually wish I had it on a phone. The tablet is too big and heavy for the way the UI is made. I think it really encourages being played with one hand, which is something that's not enjoyable to do for extended periods of time with a tablet. I really wish it had a landscape mode, too, because your vision is just SO narrow which I think is more annoying on a tablet than it would be on a phone.
 
J

Jotamide

Unconfirmed Member
This app is $30 in Canada. It is criminal to charge so much for a port with shoddy frame rate. Fuck Square Enix.
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
jeremy1456 said:
Every time the Vita sells good for one week in Japan people suddenly become irrational and start saying the oddest things about it.
Click to expand...

Well, it's selling better than consoles in Japan.

But, selling better than something which is doing absolutely horrible doesn't mean too much.
 
R

realalbedo

Banned
DQ8 on android is my first Dragon Quest game ever, and even though framerate is shitty, i loved game and spent 60 hours on it. I hope they'll translate other DQ ports
 
T

TheFLYINGManga_Ka

Member
Nirolak said:
I assume it's framerate limited within the program itself, perhaps to save on battery consumption.
Click to expand...
Really unnecessary, in my opinion, if that's the case.

Makes the game feel half-baked and rushed out the door, or shows great disrespect for this classic.

For $19.99, it's also disappointing.
 
terrisus

terrisus

Member
Tizoc said:
The Vita's selling fine
Click to expand...

jeremy1456 said:
Every time the Vita sells good for one week in Japan people suddenly become irrational and start saying the oddest things about it.
Click to expand...

And for some further context on this...

creamsugar said:
Vita ~ 15k
Click to expand...

(For the entire month of June in the US. Compare to 150k for the 3DS).

So, yeah... The Vita is not "selling fine"



Nirolak said:
I assume it's framerate limited within the program itself, perhaps to save on battery consumption.
Click to expand...

Could they have not given it a "Performance"/"Power Saving" option?
 
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