Anzu said:
The only thing "different" from previous titles was that the battles weren't strictly in first-person. What else was different? The battle system? The random encounters? Nope.
I read in Famitsu that the reaction to DQ9 was "Is this really DQ?!?" in Japan.
There were different aspects of things throughout the series. The battle systems had varying differences, as well. Off the top of my head..
DQ1 was one character walking around and bumping into one enemy at a time. The player always attacked first every round.
DQ2 introduced 3 party members, multiple monsters present in encounters, and monsters or party members could go before or after the other, each side could get a free round on the other, spells and attacks if not used properly could waste turns, the status effects of poison and surrounded were added to silenced and sleep from the first game, monster drops were added, some items could be used in battle, and the ability to defend in battle. That in itself made a different battle system than 1's very simplistic 'player goes, enemy goes' style. Also added were different types of keys instead of one type that was used once then went away and the lottery (slot machine) game.
DQ3 added multiple character classes, class changes, the option to go with 1-4 party members, being able to attack your party members physically or with spells, a fight ring to bet money on, more status effects (paralyzed), a whole slew of new spells that became the general standard for the rest of the series including spells that reflect magic back at the caster and a spell to double attack power. Using different and/or less party members can make many battles different from the last. Day/Night cycles were added also.
DQ4 introduced the Chapter system to tell the story and forced AI in the last chapter, which really changes the battle system. Also added were casinos and small medals to trade in for prizes and temporary party members that are not under the player's control and the wagon, which let you switch party members out for a different one.
DQ5 introduced the 'generation' system, which was a variation of 4's Chapter system. It also introduced permanent monster party members to recruit and use, and they are not under the player's control until they have an Intelligence stat of 20. There were many possible party members and only 3 active slots, which is a change from previous battle systems.
DQ6 introduced the job system, which changed the battle system as a whole quite a bit. Characters learned different abilities and spells based on the job they were, allowing nearly complete customization of any character. Monster classes were also available and monsters could join again and also learn jobs. Also introduced was all monsters being animated in battle (a few monsters were animated in earlier entries, but very few; only Slimes changing into a King Slime and Death Pisaro/Necrosaro's physical changes in 4 were animated).
DQ7's battle system was pretty similar to 6's, except there were more monster classes and hybrid monster classes. Game-wise, 7's individual island scenario setup made the game play in a (debatable) more linear fashion than previous games in the series, mostly when compared to the first three. The ability to speak to fellow party members in and out of battle, and the monster encyclopedia were also introduced. Ever since 7, each remake (4,5) and new title has had this. 4 also added a stats page and 'player title', which was also in 8.
And to retort your original poor generalization of
What else was different? The battle system? The random encounters? Nope.
DQ8 introduced 'Tension' and the ability to scare off enemies you did not want to fight (made even easier by the fact that Holy Water/Fairy Water and the 'Repel' spell worked in dungeons), things never seen in the series before. The whole idea of Tension changed the core of battles in the game. Now everyone from the start had a way to power up physical attacks, attack spells, heal spells, and buff spells. Also added was the ability to summon monster teams, similar to a summon spell from the FF series. Since you could customize the members of the teams, this also changed the battle system from previous entries. Character attacks were animated, which was new as well. *All* recruitable monsters were visible on the overworld, which in only a couple of games one or two were (Dorango in 6 comes to mind). Other things were introduced as well, such as in-game dungeon maps and the alchemy pot, which changed game progression quite a bit if you knew how to make good mixes early on and throughout the game.
Square doesn't have anything to do with the Dragon Quests, the name of the company doesn't mean anything in that aspect. Just because they are Square-Enix does not mean the Square side develops DQ at all. Enix barely does, either. It's mainly Armor Project and an outside company (Chun Soft, Heart Beat, Level 5).
So please be quiet when making false accusations of things you don't know anything about. Thanks.
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