Dragon Quest IX Review

[Sabin]

For those suitably bored.

I am also working on a Policenauts review, if there's any interest in that.

[cyborc]

Nice review. I haven't played IX yet so I can't say whether or not I agree with you. I would definitely read your policenauts review if you posted one.

Also, your blog post about the USPS made me laugh out loud. I've had my share of experiences waiting in line behind some asshole with five million packages myself.

[Sabin]

Ha, thanks. It turns out everyone disagrees with me, but that's fine. I'm not personally going to remember anything noteworthy from this game ten years from now, but different strokes for different folks.

I'll post a thread when Policenauts is up...it's certainly worth playing if you're thinking about it. Just don't lose the chart!

http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/1381 ... milies.jpg

[toadhall]

That's okay if no one agrees with your opinion. I didn't agree with you either, but I still enjoyed reading your review.

[k.vlaros]

Yo, thanks for the review. In retrospect I think I let the massive acclaim for DQ IX warm my own opinion on the game. Item crafting has never moved me and I agree with you it is a savvy inclusion for [the many] players deriving a "surge of dopamine at the acquisition of rare virtual trinkets".

For some reason or another I didn't mind that each of the stories were somewhere between trite and twee (a doll coming to life??), but with my introduction to gaming being Tetris or Super Mario I guess I've never looked to the medium for storytelling.

Your item management issues could extend to the whole interface. I actually like that they've retained the old sound effects and believe they do so out of honor and nostalgia. But they've kept the old interface, too! Golden Sun's interface, while not perfect, had a lot of great ideas (I'd almost say cribbed from Apple) and as a player with little sentimental attachment to previous DQs, IX's interface was bizarrely mixed (to expand; some sections like the bestiary or especially the dressing room were great, but item swapping and the combat stuff? Hmmm. From videos, Ni No Kuni may have the slickest JRPG interface yet. So I think Level 5 is not at fault).

But the world felt big in IX, the graphics were excellent, I named and loosely modeled my party after highschool crushes, and overall it felt like a PS1 JRPG in a teacup-- a good thing! So I give it an 8 but agree with most of your comments.

[Sabin]

But the world felt big in IX, the graphics were excellent

Agreed. It's a shame they didn't do more of the animated movie clips outside of the 2 or 3 they had in there, those were very cool.

[chuckbanzai]

Thanks for the review!

As for my opinion...I will let my 200+ hours in the game speak for themselves.