RolStoppable said:
If DQ XI really has a third act, then I'll have to revise my projected judgment to "it's getting really bad." There are two definitions for grind: 1. Having to spend a long time in the same spot to rack up EXP and/or gold to be properly prepared for what comes next. 2. A game feeling repetitive and tedious, and that's what Dragon Quest is regularly guilty of, already outlined in my previous post. The number of battles needed to gain a level up sharply increases in Dragon Quest past level 20, so the lack of progress makes the games feel like a grind. When you are in the current story area and do the maths that you have to fight 30 battles for a single level up, then the fun gets soaked out of the game. XI's skill system doesn't help matters. Early on in the game it's already clear that you don't need to look at skill trees every time you get a level up, because you have to collect points of three or more level ups to get something done on the tree. Once the pace of level ups slows down, you have stretches of 5+ hours where you never open the skill menu because it's pointless to do so. An EXP and skill progression that keeps the motivation high is what Dragon Quest needs, otherwise the series does just one Bravely Default after another, meaning players like what they play for the first half, but then end up never finishing the game because it sucks too much. Likewise, the metascore doesn't mean anything because many reviewers aren't above projecting a score for long games. Other things that would help DQ are quality of life improvements. It's not necessary that every action in battle gets commented with text that slows the pace down. It's not necessary to use comments when healing outside of battle. You also get comments on every item/equipment transfer in the menu, plus the separate bags are such a dated element that they should be done away with. I mean, what's the point of them? "It's unrealistic for a character to carry such a huge amount of items with them." - Well, sure; but then you have the unlimited general bag where everything is stored. The cumbersome traditions of DQ won't be missed if they are gone; I can't imagine that they are features that people like about the games. |
Huh...okay. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions I guess. I don't find a couple of the issues you've brought up as distractions or tedious... but to each his own. I've played the game 3 times so far and never felt the need to grind. DQXI for me was a lot like Chrono Trigger. If you grind in this game, you probably just need to change up your strategy. I mean, battles in XI are quick, in and out encounters for a traditional JRPG. They've added fast forward, auto battle, etc. I never really needed to grind Gold either as I just use the weapon crafting system to make all my armor, accessories, weapons, etc. I can't say that I visited shops often in either of my playthroughs. I think maybe we just play the games differently, I never played through the game anticipating my next level...they just happened as I played. In the final act, you will grind but it's for an extra final boss.
I can see how maybe the skills are slow to come, that was an issue I had especially with spells but for some reason in the third act you get more spells and abilities quicker. Because the game takes place over 3 acts, they probably didn't skew the growth correctly. But things like battle comments, item menus...that's a bit nitpicky for me.
But yeah to each his own, at least you found time to give the game a shot.
