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GAF Plays: Dragon Quest. All of it. In order. :)

I started doing this as soon as the North American release date for DQIV DS was announced, and played through DQI+II and III on the GBC as well. It was a lot of fun, and I was glad to finally play the GBC ones, because the carts had been sitting in a drawer in my house ever since I picked them up in Québec on my elementary school grad trip like 10 years ago. However, I too have hit the DQVI stumbling block. I have a real craving for DQVII and VIII, but with no release date for VI yet, I'm getting pretty impatient.

What sucks most for me is that I'm so OCD that I'll probably hold off on IX until I can play VI-VIII in order. Which is entirely illogical because I've already played them before and I know my enjoyment of IX will in no way be affected by not playing them first, but I started this whole thing in the hopes of playing through the franchise in order, and I'm too stubborn to back down. And since IX is apparently being released this summer and VI is nowhere to be seen, it might be quite a while before I get to enjoy the new game. Total bummer. Here's hoping we at least get a release date soon.
 
Good luck Carlisle. I did it but can't find the thread on it. No idea how long it took, but I had played every game at least once before, and some 10+ times, so don't worry about how long it takes you.

I still have the 'beat' pictures, and DW1 was 5/14/07, DW7 was 7/24/07, so a little longer than the 30 days being tossed around.
 
Ah, there it is. Could never find it. Yeah, DQ6 deleted when I was at the end of the game, but I finished that again a couple months ago. Error never did beat DW7 I don't think. And cvxfreak never winded up posting about his RE playthrough. :(
 
Amen to you, I so wish I had the time. I have completed or almost completed (II ,IV & IX are the only ones I have yet to finish. IV I'm waiting for US release on DS as well as IX) this series. I just completed a 170 hour play-through of VII on my PSP (took me 3 months) and can say it is easily my favorite in the series because of the sheer size and story was great to. VIII was close, grand in size but on a different scale mainly for the fully realized 3D world. From the bit I've put into IX, two things come to mind. One, I can't wait for the English release like something fierce and two, why did I open my Imported copy if I knew it was gonna be brought here and played by me eventually. Oh well, this whole series is my favorite console RPG series of all time only seconded by Ultima series for the PC.
 
jdevil99 said:
Amen to you, I so wish I had the time. I have completed or almost completed (II ,IV & IX are the only ones I have yet to finish. IV I'm waiting for US release on DS
Click to expand...

? 4 has been out on the DS for a couple years now. Or did Roman numerals strike again? Oh Roman numerals, why are you so silly.
 
DQ9's going to be out in English before DQ6 and I wouldn't hold my breath on DQ7 ever being on PSN, but I wish you good luck and a good journey. I'd love to join in but I can't in good conscience right now.
 
I've recently played 4,5, and 8, but I'll definitely replay 7. It is probably my second favorite behind 5. I really love the little different scenarios in Dragon Warrior 7, especially the bit with Loomin and Chibi :lol The game kind of reminded me of One Piece with different stories on different islands.

And I love some of the tracks, especially this one and this one.
 
Good luck with the play-through(s), I wish I could join, but I have Christmas shopping to do in 6 months and then do my taxes in another 2 months after that. ;-)

Seriously, I wish I had time to go through III again. One of biggest regrets was selling my mint/complete version of DWIII on eBay while in college. Ugh.
 
Red Scarlet said:
Maybe Error can beat 7 this time..and Ultima 4. *never forget*
Click to expand...

I can't believe he's never finished VII, I've seen him defend/praise it lots of times. Not that he can't enjoy what he played of it, but I'm still surprised.
 
Thanks for the support and advice guys! I'm really anxious to get to IV so I can switch from GBA to DS. Not to mention the huge graphical leap. Also looking forward to III as it seems to be a fan favorite. I'm playing II now while watching the Blackhawks game. I can't imagine a better way to spend a Friday night :D

MattyGrovesOrMe said:
Save battery in my GBC Dragon Warrior III is dead... and I never finished that one.
Click to expand...
Wow seriously? Now I'm worried about my DWIII. I've had it for years unplayed. I thought those batteries lasted half a lifetime :lol
 
Carlisle said:
Thanks for the support and advice guys! I'm really anxious to get to IV so I can switch from GBA to DS. Not to mention the huge graphical leap. Also looking forward to III as it seems to be a fan favorite. I'm playing II now while watching the Blackhawks game. I can't imagine a better way to spend a Friday night :D


Wow seriously? Now I'm worried about my DWIII. I've had it for years unplayed. I thought those batteries lasted half a lifetime :lol
Click to expand...

You may or may not know that
I-III are a trilogy storywise. IV-VI are loosely connected, and VII, VIII, and IX each stand on their own
(light overall story spoilers, wasn't sure if I should spoiler that or not). The first five DQs are all very high quality imo, people like to knock the first game nowadays because it's solo hero (and short) and the second game for reasons unknown to me (the jump from I to II is arguably the biggest one, II to III is pretty big too though).

I've never had a battery die in any cart, except an old DWII that wasn't mine to begin with, so I don't know what kind of neglect it endured prior to my owning it.
 
Carlisle said:
Thanks for the support and advice guys! I'm really anxious to get to IV so I can switch from GBA to DS. Not to mention the huge graphical leap. Also looking forward to III as it seems to be a fan favorite. I'm playing II now while watching the Blackhawks game. I can't imagine a better way to spend a Friday night :D
Click to expand...
You're probably going to be pretty shocked at the jump from DQ2 to DQ3. I sure was. :) Have fun!
 
Thanks I'm looking forward to it! And while I'm wandering the foothills in DQ2 I just have to say that this is the best world map music in written history.

Edit: Aww it changes when you get Fran :(. The new song is still awesome but the one before rocked my face off.
 
Carlisle said:
Thanks I'm looking forward to it! And while I'm wandering the foothills in DQ2 I just have to say that this is the best world map music in written history.

Edit: Aww it changes when you get Fran :(. The new song is still awesome but the one before rocked my face off.
Click to expand...

If a party member dies you get the old theme again, maybe if you do an easter egg later it reverts back too.
 
I only played DQ VIII back in the day ... of the other 8, if you had to pick one, which one would you recommend ?
 
I'm about 17 hours into DQ7. I just got owned by a boss where I underestimated the power of his sidekicks. Oh well, thankfully that dungeon wasn't a long one. I had to look ahead, and I'm just a chapter or two away from Dharma Island. Can't wait. :)

Monster animations in this game continue to be amazing!
 
In DQ2 I just went
back to Alefgard. OMG the nostalgia... hearing the old DQ1 world map and castle music again. It was so awesome. I had a stupid grin on my face the whole time. And the really dumb thing is I only just finished DQ1 a week earlier. God I love nostalgia.

Going through DQ2 pretty quick now I think. I'm playing more frequently and for longer spells than I played 1.
Looking for the 5 seals now
.

(I feel dumb spoiler tagging a 10-year-old port of a 25-year-old game, but I've never played this before and the thread was inspired by my overwhelming backlog... so there might be others in the same boat as I am.)
 
MattyGrovesOrMe said:
Save battery in my GBC Dragon Warrior III is dead... and I never finished that one.
Click to expand...
Carlisle said:
Wow seriously? Now I'm worried about my DWIII. I've had it for years unplayed. I thought those batteries lasted half a lifetime :lol
Click to expand...
Yup. Does not retain saves, even though it the save process appears to work at first. I've only had that problem with GBC games - my original copies of the Zelda games on NES, as well as FF1, all still retain their saves and are much older cartridges.

I should dig around and find a copy of DQIII, it's the only one I haven't finished (outside of VI and IX, of course).
 
Well, I beat 7 for the first time rather recently (as well as replaying 1, 3, 4, and 5), and am still waiting for 6 and 9 to come out in English... so I wouldn't want to join you. But you have plenty of awesome hours of game time ahead of you! Have fun!
 
Just got to what I think is the second CG cutscene in Dragon Quest VII (about 18 hours in...
the Jann & Layla scene
)... man, these have gotta be the worst CG works ever. It's like, why even bother? :( I'm still enjoying the game, although I'm a little sick of back-and-forth fetch quests at this point. Combat continues to be really fun, so I'm looking forward to what the rest of the game has to offer.
 
I'm in the same boat as Carlisle... I have never played a DQ game. I own DW1 on NES, IV and V on DS and VII and VIII. I am thinking about doing the same thing and play through all of them.

Seeing as I don't have II and III, which versions do you recommend? My local store has the NES versions of 2-4 for $25, $40 and $55 as well as DW1+2 and DW3 on GBC for $15 each. I also found a site that has the SNES remake in English in cart format for $45...

I was leaning towards the GBC versions since they are the cheapest. Is there anything that the other versions don't have that the GBC versions don't?
 
Big Papa Husker said:
I'm in the same boat as Carlisle... I have never played a DQ game. I own DW1 on NES, IV and V on DS and VII and VIII. I am thinking about doing the same thing and play through all of them.

Seeing as I don't have II and III, which versions do you recommend? My local store has the NES versions of 2-4 for $25, $40 and $55 as well as DW1+2 and DW3 on GBC for $15 each. I also found a site that has the SNES remake in English in cart format for $45...

I was leaning towards the GBC versions since they are the cheapest. Is there anything that the other versions don't have that the GBC versions don't?
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The GBC versions are ports of the Super Famicom remakes. I don't know of anything different gameplay-wise between 1 and 2 on GBC and SFC, but the GBC version of 3 has all the content the SFC version does as well as an extra dungeon and boss (from collecting medals from every monster in the game).
 
As Scarlet says, the GBC version of 3 is equivalent to the SFC version in most ways. The only big differences are in graphical and musical quality. I prefer the SFC version, but I would point out that the fan translation for 3 SFC is pretty crappy.
As for 2, it doesn't really matter. The differences are, again, only in graphical and musical quality, but the fan translation for 2 SFC is fine.
 
I just went with the portable versions of all of them. This way, with a homebrew capable PSP, you can play all of then except VIII on the go and aren't tied down to a home and TV. It has really allowed me to play a lot more often than anything else I have.

I'm still on DQ2. I haven't had much chance to play the last 1.5 weeks unfortunately. I'd probably be halfway through IV by now if I were doing this in the winter. I don't think I have much left in 2 though so I'm really hoping I can knock it out this weekend. I'm having a blast with it.
 
I played through I-IV on my NES as a kid, but back then it was pretty much my friend and I as our only resource, in the dark days before the internet.

I played the translations of V and VI on ZSNES eight to ten years ago, and VII when it came out. By the time VIII hit I was playing WoW, and so I actually missed a lot of games in that period.

Hope you have a lot of time on your hands. I'm looking forward to the US release of IX.
 
So I'm finishing up DQ2 (still!). Definitely aiming to have it done and a healthy start into 3 with the long weekend. But wtf at the difficulty jump?! I was coasting the whole game, but in the cave to Rhone I die in two rounds fighting 3 fire breathing dragons. Completely out of the blue. My levels are 23, 21, and 18. What's the general consenus for endgame levels? I have a feeling I'm nowhere near where I should be. I don't have the increase spell yet, which I'm sure will help, though.
 
IIRC, I'm usually around level 30 at the end? Getting through Rhrone would be easier if you had the revive spell (25 I think).
 
Cave to Rhone is awesome. I love the danger there. From this point on you can die even at max level from the badguys, play carefully!
 
Okay, got passed the cave but ho-ly crap at the new world map monsters! I'm really learning to to take advantage of buffs and debuffs here. I can see what you mean by treading carefully.

Level 30 feels so far away but I've realized I'm getting as much as 2k exp for some these fights. With about 14k to the next level, it really doesn't take long. Just gotta do a bit of grinding... at least till I get revive so I can stop having to worry about that stupid world leaf.

Gonna level up a little more and go for the final push in the morning!
 
Finally finished DQ2! Good lord was the last area a massive difficulty boost. Probably the worst case of unbalance I've ever seen. I coasted through the whole game, but once I got to Rhone I had to grind from level 23 to 35. Yes, yes I know DQs are perfectly balanced and if I ever have to grind then I'm doing it wrong. But seriously. I was drastically underleveled for the end. But I persevered and put an end to Hargon
and Sidoh
for good.

Started DQ3 a little as well. Holy shit at the difference. Huge graphical upgrade and it's still on GBC. The characters move a lot faster, and the towns are MUCH larger and more detailed. The medal collection and reward system is introduced as well. It's also the first appearance of that NPC design with the gimp mask + horns.

As far as the series progression so far, it really feels like DQ1 was only establishing the new genre of interactive role-playing games; DQ2 fleshed it out considerably; and DQ3 is where the series realizes its identity, finds and revels what sets it apart from other series, and really begins its path towards the modern DQ game. It finally actually feels like I'm playing Dragon Quest now.

Not to mention the much stronger start to the story. I feel like I'm really gonna love this one. Not that I didn't love the last two, but I mean really love it.
 
DQ3 is where the series really hit it big with everyone, so now you know how it feels! DQ3 was the game that caused the Japanese diet to recommend Enix sell the games on Saturdays in the future, because so many people skipped work/school to get it.
 
Would love to do this, but no longer have DW I-III anymore in any form. I hope SE remakes them for the DS/3DS.
 
Carlisle said:
Finally finished DQ2! Good lord was the last area a massive difficulty boost. Probably the worst case of unbalance I've ever seen. I coasted through the whole game, but once I got to Rhone I had to grind from level 23 to 35. Yes, yes I know DQs are perfectly balanced and if I ever have to grind then I'm doing it wrong. But seriously. I was drastically underleveled for the end. But I persevered and put an end to Hargon
and Sidoh
for good.

Started DQ3 a little as well. Holy shit at the difference. Huge graphical upgrade and it's still on GBC. The characters move a lot faster, and the towns are MUCH larger and more detailed. The medal collection and reward system is introduced as well. It's also the first appearance of that NPC design with the gimp mask + horns.

As far as the series progression so far, it really feels like DQ1 was only establishing the new genre of interactive role-playing games; DQ2 fleshed it out considerably; and DQ3 is where the series realizes its identity, finds and revels what sets it apart from other series, and really begins its path towards the modern DQ game. It finally actually feels like I'm playing Dragon Quest now.

Not to mention the much stronger start to the story. I feel like I'm really gonna love this one. Not that I didn't love the last two, but I mean really love it.
Click to expand...

Wheeeee! Enjoy. III is one of my top DQs, despite its age.
It's also got some great mind-fuck moments, especially considering when the scenario was originally written!
 
DQ3 is indeed super sweet. I really wish I had more time so I could play through all the games in the series, so far it's just 3 and 4, currently playing 5 and 9.
 
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