minna ni naisho dayo

Stage 4: Dragon Questing

I spent a good chunk of my free game-playing time these past few weeks storming my way through the PS2 remake of Dragon Quest V, despite having newer, more pressing games sitting here begging to be played. Metal Gear Solid 3 and Resident Evil 4 especially have been glaring at me from their perch next to my rig, most likely wondering why the hell I've been spending all this time playing a remake of a 12-year-old RPG that I already finished twice back in the day when I could be sneaking through Cold War-era Soviet jungles in an alligator hat or decapitating psychotic villagers with a shotgun somewhere in Europe.

Alas, it is because I have been once again bitten by the Dragon Quest bug. It's no secret I'm a huge fan of this series; I've purchased and played every DQ game since its inception, Japanese and English, and yet I've never gotten tired of it. Every now and then I get an urge to play, and with Dragon Quest VIII finally in stores, I felt it was a good time to make my way through the previous PS2 game (the remake of V) before heading on to the immensely beautiful world of DQVIII.

I finally finished the game last week, and I enjoyed it very much. Aside from having an entirely new 3D engine and a four-character battle party instead of three, it was a very faithful remake, with only a few slight story variations (one in particular near the end that was pleasantly surprising) and a couple of gameplay tweaks to make the game feel more modern. It took me around 50 hours to finish, and then I spent a few more hours leveling up and working my way through the bonus dungeon to get all the extra items and take on the additional boss. My party was pretty strong by this point; I could take on any enemy in the game without much trouble, and the final boss posed almost no threat whatsoever to my team. Then I challenged the extra boss and had my entire crew handily dismantled in a matter of seconds.

Needless to say, that about wrapped up my experience with DQV. I did enjoy the game immensely but I'm not about to spend another 10-15 hours building levels just to have a chance at beating this guy. Maybe I'll level up a short bit here and there and try again in like a year or so; if I do, I'll be sure to post the results.

Next on the agenda: I'll try to get started with either RE4 or MGS3 before moving on to Dragon Quest VIII. I'm kind of interested in the PC version of PSO Blue Burst, too, now that Episode IV is about to be released. I've also got books to read (Kafka on the Shore, more Vagabond and Sandman), DVDs to watch (Shane brought me the original Gundam trilogy from the US this week) and an awful lot of work to do. We just started a new project this week that's going to keep us busy for a couple of months, so free time is definitely going to be at a premium.

I'd also like to mention that I had an incredible evening last night, though I unfortunately won't be able to talk about why for a couple of months, as it's related to a world-exclusive cover story on a very highly-anticipated game that many of you will be looking forward to playing. Keep your eyes on EGM in the coming months for more on that one.

Well, it's about time for me to get back to work. One quick question before I go, though: What are your thoughts about Dragon Quest VIII and its inevitable release in America? Are you planning to buy it and play it? Have you played any of the previous games in the series? I'm just curious what the anticipation is like for this game and whether or not anyone is going to care when it finally makes its way across the shores. It'll be an interesting title to watch, that's for sure.

Posted by john tv at February 2, 2005 07:47 PM