Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

I like the bit where the big-breasted fairy gives your character a blow-job when you collect 100 shiny belts and zippers.

... Sorry, should that have been spoilered?

I like the bit where the big-breasted fairy gives your character a blow-job when you collect 100 shiny belts and zippers.

 

... Sorry, should that have been spoilered?

Maybe... that part was particularly awesome though so can't really blame you for wanting to share, have you seen what she does after 200? Oh boy... I'd post a pic of it here but I don't want to get banned so I'll refrain :p it sounds like you're pretty far in though so I'm sure you'll find out for yourself soon enough.

Anyway, enjoy!

Here's a little interview with Yuji Horii: http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/110/1105212p1.html

By the way, could someone answer a couple of questions I have please? Do you create all four characters at once? And do you have all four from the beginning of the game?

The reason I ask is because I like No.1 to be the Hero, No.2 to be the man-at-arms, No.3 to be a mage and No.4 to be a healer.

Here's a little interview with Yuji Horii: http://uk.ds.ign.com/articles/110/1105212p1.html

 

By the way, could someone answer a couple of questions I have please? Do you create all four characters at once? And do you have all four from the beginning of the game?

 

The reason I ask is because I like No.1 to be the Hero, No.2 to be the man-at-arms, No.3 to be a mage and No.4 to be a healer.

The option is opened to you to create/recruit your other party members fairly early on, and yes, you can create all three straight away if you choose.

But exp battles is split between all party members. I actually slogged it alone for a while until it got very, very hard, then created two other party members. So I have my main hero at a very high level, and my other 2 at about 10 levels below.

I recruited three party members right away when they were required for what at the time was supposedly a tough quest and I then levelled them up a bit beforehand, I'm now level 20 with my main character and my three sub-characters are only 2 or 3 levels behind.

It really does help having a full party from the earliest opportunity and in fact it's a near necessity, especially if you decide to do part of the story out of suggested order like I did... >.>

So far I'm now about twenty hours in and I'm still absolutely loving it!

The option is opened to you to create/recruit your other party members fairly early on, and yes, you can create all three straight away if you choose.

 

But exp battles is split between all party members. I actually slogged it alone for a while until it got very, very hard, then created two other party members. So I have my main hero at a very high level, and my other 2 at about 10 levels below.

Oh, that's very interesting. Thanks very much (and to S.C.G.) Here's 1Up's review of it, which I found a good read: http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3180316

And here's an interview with the producer, Ryutaro Ichimura:http://www.1up.com/do/blogEntry?bId=9036664

Apparently Dragon Quest VIII did well in the US, but not the remakes of IV and V (shame, as the latter in particular was excellent). Here's hoping IX does well - I'm suddenly getting very, very excited for it!

Well I picked it up about 7 hours ago today...still haven"t had a chance to play yet though.

I shall start shortly.

Apparently Dragon Quest VIII did well in the US, but not the remakes of IV and V (shame, as the latter in particular was excellent). Here's hoping IX does well - I'm suddenly getting very, very excited for it!

Dragon Quest VIII sold well only because of the aspect that if you bought the first shipped copy you would get the Final Fantasy XII demo which people really wanted to they basically bought the game played the XII demo and then ignored the actual game they had and let it collect dust.

And Dragon Quest IV and V sold like shit because Square-Enix and their infamous wisdom decided to not advertise the game, so instead you got 2 games that sold like shit and the rest of the people just downloading the game to play.

That's a lot of assumptions.

That's a lot of assumptions.

Well it's true on my side of things, lots of people I know bought it and I asked them what they thought of DQVIII which they just said 'Oh...we havn't played it yet.'

One of the main reasons which I find funny as to why people won't even bother giving this game a try is because it looks like 'Goku or Trunks lol copy cats they are'

It's sad but true.

And I know more people who have downloaded DQIV then bought the game.

All I can say is, thank fuck they decided to give it the advertising push that it so deserves this time around because if they hadn't and it ended up selling poorly then that'd be a travesty because this game deserves to sell by the bucketload!

I overestimated how long I'd been playing this game, only coming up for eighteen hours so far but still that's not bad since having the game from Thursday afternoon onwards I feel.

I'm loving the fact that there are loads of sidequests to do involving you defeating monsters in a specific way and whatnot as it really keeps you playing, I mean there's plenty to do in the main story as it is but the extra quests just help to further flesh it out. ^^

So I just discovered that there aren't any random battles in this game and that you can see the enemies on screen and choose if you want to attack them, or not.

Also really liking the customization element and the general visual style this game has.

Seems like it could be quite funny too, is there much humour in the game?

Wow, what's going on... why am I suddenly becoming interested in an RPG?

So I just discovered that there aren't any random battles in this game and that you can see the enemies on screen and choose if you want to attack them, or not.

This is true and the game is better for it.

Also really liking the customization element and the general visual style this game has.

There is literally loads of customisation which really helps to bring the game to life even more, if that's even possible! And the visual style is breathtaking in places.

Seems like it could be quite funny too, is there much humour in the game?

Plenty of humour, some genuine 'lol' moments in it too.

Wow, what's going on... why am I suddenly becoming interested in an RPG?

You too will succumb to Dragon Quest... go on... you know you want to and trust me you won't regret it. ^^

Plenty of humour, some genuine 'lol' moments in it too.

You too will succumb to Dragon Quest... go on... you know you want to and trust me you won't regret it. ^^

Well it's true on my side of things, lots of people I know bought it and I asked them what they thought of DQVIII which they just said 'Oh...we havn't played it yet.'

 

.....

 

And I know more people who have downloaded DQIV then bought the game.

Never, never, never use a few of your friends to try to justify your point of view about the general public. It never works.

I've been having a whirl of this and it's awesome. Although I was never happy that this came to DS rather than something like the PS3, it's still pretty good looking on the DS. It still has that DQVIII charm which I really like.

Speaking of advertising, I saw an advert for the game on TV this morning!

Japan got the final piece of DLC yesterday, funny how the English version is released almost exactly a year after the Japanese release.

So I just discovered that there aren't any random battles in this game and that you can see the enemies on screen and choose if you want to attack them, or not.

Also really liking the customization element and the general visual style this game has.

Seems like it could be quite funny too, is there much humour in the game?

 

Wow, what's going on... why am I suddenly becoming interested in an RPG?

From how I saw your love for the Mario RPG's as well as even me seeing that you have played and enjoyed Final Fantasy IV I knew that moment I had to try and get you right into the Dragon Quest series, it's very well done and still has yet to lose it's touch. Please for all of us sake...play this game xD

Never, never, never use a few of your friends to try to justify your point of view about the general public. It never works.

I usually do for the simple reason is that these are the same people that go uber hype shit for games like Final Fantasy, and Call Of Duty. Or are you telling me that they aren't put of the bowl of the whole public?

I usually do for the simple reason is that these are the same people that go uber hype shit for games like Final Fantasy, and Call Of Duty. Or are you telling me that they aren't put of the bowl of the whole public?

I am saying you can't make assumptions about the whole population from a small group of friends...

I am saying you can't make assumptions about the whole population from a small group of friends...

While what you say is true, some of my friends did the same thing. Bought DQVIII for the FFXII demo, and while they did at least play DQVIII I don't think they finished it and said they didn't really like it.

It's reasonable to assume that there are other groups of people that did the same, although to assume that they never played or never enjoyed the game isn't reasonable but still possible.

Lets not derail the thread now please... :/ it's easier to accept that even though it's advertised well this time the game will still be overlooked by many, but for the people who actually decide to buy it'll most likely be one of the best purchases they'll make this year.

Well a few of my friends think FFXII is a pile of horseshit, and I'm inclined to agree, and had no inclination to get hold of the demo. A lot of them loved DQVIII, citing it as one of their fave PS2 RPGs. And we're talking about a lot of FF lovers here.

Point is that unless some sort of survey is conducted it's pointless to bring in your friends to try and make statements about the public. You just don't know how representitive of the public your friends really are.

Some of my friends were wondering where you guys imported DQ IX from?

videogamesplus.ca is fast and cheap and they write a low value on the package to avoid customs. I always order my import games from there.

Although it's fast, I didn't get mine today. Should get it tomorrow or else I will be worried it might have been caught in the customs. Very seldom they do a random check to see if there's a purchace receipt with it that confirms what's on the package.

How long is the game? I think I spent 80 hours on DQVIII before I beat the final boss.

I'm sorry to continue the off topic discussion but I want to say my two cents as well. I bought DQVIII for the demo but ended up spending well over 100 hours on both(the full game of course), probably 250 or something combined. They are both great games.

How long is the game?

400+ hours.

Wow, what's going on... why am I suddenly becoming interested in an RPG?

The way I see Dragon Quest is the quintessential Japanese RPG in its purest form. They had this brilliant idea, and they're constantly trying to refine it with every game. That's why I disagree with calls (mainly from American games journalists, it must be said) for radical change in the combat and settings. Turn-based combat, grassy fields and forests just work, as do the visual and musical style. It wouldn't be Dragon Quest without them! I don't want "different", just "better" each time.

That's not to knock other RPGs, it's just that nothing else feels quite as "pure RPG" as Dragon Quest.

I've been having a whirl of this and it's awesome. Although I was never happy that this came to DS rather than something like the PS3, it's still pretty good looking on the DS. It still has that DQVIII charm which I really like.

That's good to hear, as I too would have much preferred this on the PS3.

Oh, I was pleased to see a free-standing Dragon Quest IX advert in ASDA tonight, it even had a joke on it - the words "Take a good look at this face... (picture of a Slime) ...it's about to become very familiar!"

Hopefully this will be well advertised all round. Personally, I'm so hyped for this, I've gone back to play Dragon Quest Monsters, which I never finished, but am now really in the mood for.