2019 for me, that year also had Final Fantasy 7's debut on a Nintendo console, after 22 years of waiting.
Add in Witcher 3, and this year is by far my most played year for third party games. I still have yet to play Dragon Quest 11, but I will (I already own it).
Gonna go on a tangent, I wanted to write about Dragon Quest anyway, and may as well write it here rather than digging up the Dragon Quest Remaster thread.
It's a franchise I tend to like the original games more (1-5) than the later games on (6 onward). Dragon Quest 9 was loads of fun in its time, but it's kind of like Monster Hunter games (individually), it's a game of its era, and that won't be repeated (unless it gets re-released) to the same degree as there's like one person I know who can play that one with me these days, whereas at the time there were about a dozen or more.
Dragon Quest 1 to 5 is like playing a history of game design:
- Dragon Quest 1, while the most advanced RPG of its time (updating commands to more streamlined turn-based menu selection, integrated story, third person view, etc...), it was still rather primitive basic features for an RPG. it featured just a single character.
- Dragon Quest 2 added in more of everything, including more characters, two allies.
- Dragon Quest 3 had a massive twist, a proper party system, and an absolutely massive map with lots of towns, and way more story than ever before.
- Dragon Quest 4 added in multiple very well developed characters and villains, chapters, and again had a major twist.
- Dragon Quest 5 went more in depth than any story had done by its time, and probably the best story until Final Fantasy 6 or Chrono Trigger. Having the main character starting as a child, then growing up, getting into a romance with one of 2 (or 3, depending on the version) women, getting married, and having kids, and going off and fighting with your kids and wife. This, to me, was the series peak.
- This is just a personal thing, as I know Dragon Quest 6-8 have fans, but these games just weren't my thing. Dragon Quest 6, to me, felt like a failed experiment that got pushed out before it was fully baked, and the concept of the two parallel worlds was cool, but Zelda already did it, and the story just didn't really hold up to DQ5. Dragon Quest 7 and 8 were both cosmetically appealing games, but felt other contemporary games beat both these two at that. Toriyama's art style didn't scale in 3D as well as other art forms, some people don't like Kunihiko Tanaka's, but I found Xenosaga Episode 1 (and 3 which mimicked it) and Xenoblade Chronicles X both looked much more pleasing, but that's me; others like it too, others claim they hate it. Dragon Quest 9 hit gold with the world building and multiplayer, I really enjoyed this experience - and this game was easily my favourite experience on Nintendo DS. But, I respect anyone's opinion if they love Dragon Quest 6-8, or any of the games therein, any fan of the series is cool with me.
I describe myself as a little dose of toxic masculinity.
