PullusPardus said:
well whatever you wrote, i can understand :] whats the link? |
Well, I dunno, it's there in a thousand different threads. Since you're so eager to read it, I might as well write my essay again.
There are four things that, for me, are wrong with DQ8. Sadly, those four things are 90% of the game, because they are characters, story, gameplay and art direction. Let's start with the less problematic one, art direction. It's not a secret that I hate Akira Toriyama and his designs, so it's no wonder that I hate his work in DQ8 since it looks exactly like all his other works. But I know people love him, and since I liked CT even with his hideous work, it's not too important and it wouldn't have bothered me if it weren't for the others
But, story and characters are very important for me in a JRPG, and sadly in DQ8 both are horrible. There is simply not a story there. As I said before, it's a mash of fetch quests stringed together for a greater goal that's to catch a jester. The story can be easily summed as "find out where the jester went, reach the city, find out who has the problem there, go to a dungeon, find the item that will fix the problem, get info, continue to next city" and looping infinitely. That's not a story for me, there are simply no twists at all! Where's the interest that the story is supposed to generate? On top of that, if the characters were actually good, it may have been saved, but the characters are the most cliched and plain you could ever find. The womanizer is there, the woman who wants to see the world is there, the main character with no personality is there (I don't mind him being silent, there are silent heroes who have shown great personality and involvement with the story, like Suikoden V and Persona 4), the annoying, stupid and motive-less enemy is there... I mean, seriously, I'm chasing a jester?? That put up a curse? How...original
And to make things worse, the gameplay is as unflexible, dated, boring and plain as it could be. It's dated, because it's annoying to have the save, healer and revival places separate. Why not together? I don't enjoy walking one minute just to do both. It's unflexible, because it doesn't allow any customization apart from the weapon points. I like my RPGs to feature a lot of customization, and simply not being allowed to choose the party is a bummer. What's worse is that the roles are already determined. Jessica is the spellcaster, Yangus is the tank, and so on. Then, what can I do? It's all set! What's the strategy then? That's plain. So, to beat a boss, you only have one chance, because you can't plan anything, you'll always end up doing the same. So, that means if you are in the right level with the right equipment, you'll beat the boss, since you can only take one path. Which only leads to grinding to reach that level and that equipment. Lots of grinding. Lots of boring grinding.
That's why I hated the game
Rant over
