(www.plasticpals.com) Square-Enix sent shock waves through the worldwide gaming community when it announced that the latest chapter in its long running role-playing game series Dragon Quest was being developed for the Nintendo DS. Each new game in the franchise had always been developed for the most successful game console of its day, but back in 2006 (with no clear indication of what the future console wars might bring) Square-Enix broke series tradition and went with the popular portable. The previous game had been made for the much more powerful PlayStation 2, so immediately many fans were worried. Alas, their fears can be put to rest as Dragon Quest 9 retains the series' charm and adds a few new ideas that take advantage of the DS's portability for good measure.
The main character is a Celestrian, an angelic guardian who begins the game as an apprentice taking on the duties of watching over a small village called Angel Falls. Up in the Observatory, from which the Celestrians monitor the mortal realm, is the sacred tree Yggdrasil.
Similar to its sibling Final Fantasy, every other game in the Dragon Quest series has implemented a "job system" that allows the player to customize their characters with a selection of vocations. Creating entirely unique heroes from scratch has its strengths (you can make them male or female, each with 10 unique hair styles, faces, skin colour, and body type), but character development is not one of them. Dragon Quest 9 is not immune to this problem, as only the primary player character (the Celestrian) is given a proper back story. For the first few hours this character will be a minstrel, which is a well-rounded jack-of-all-trades type of job. Soon you can create companions (three can join at a time), and eventually everyone will be able to change their job freely.
As usual, you can choose a number of auto-fight options for your party members to speed up the many battles. You can have a character conserve MP until needed, or have characters heal when necessary, and so on without explicitly entering commands. Some battles will require precise strategies but there are many instances where you'll want to let the computer take over, and the system is very reliable.
Unlike many of Square-Enix's previously released games, this one makes full use of the Nintendo DS touchscreen. You can play through the whole game without pressing any buttons if you want to. I found that using the stylus to direct my characters, and then using the traditional buttons to navigate menus during battles, worked best for me. When approaching characters, a speech bubble pops up above their heads, which can be tapped to initiate the conversation. Likewise, an exclamation point pops up above the player character's head to interact with an item in the environment (such as reading a bookshelf or smashing a barrel). As a righty, I could comfortably hold the DS system in my left hand while holding the stylus with my right hand to play the game. It's a really great addition that made the game much more comfortable for me to play compared to other DS games.
Dragon Quest 9 makes excellent use of the DS's limited graphical capabilities, and is technically one of the best looking titles to hit the platform. The designers have had to cut corners in some cases, for example most townspeople are 2D sprites rather than 3D models in order to keep the game running smoothly. That said, all of the important side characters are 3D and look just as detailed as the player characters and the story sequences have been carefully crafted with good camera direction to show them off. Each of the areas and towns have their own unique look and feel, which helps to make them memorable. A few CG movies peppered throughout the game highlight the most important plot points.
The enhanced battle sequences are more exciting and involved compared to previous entries in the series, but are something of a double-edged sword. While they're certainly more fun to watch, the battles take longer to play out as a result of all the action. I would have liked the option of turning off the animations, but ultimately it's a trade-off that is worth it since earlier Dragon Quest titles only showed the monsters on screen.
Dragon Quest 9 extends its shelf life even further with an unprecedented amount of free downloadable content, available each week for a year after the game's release date! These special grottoes contain unique bosses, like the main villains from previous Dragon Quest games, so they're a real treat.
What more can I say? Dragon Quest 9 offers at least 40 solid hours of engaging, story-driven content and many, many more if you choose to take on the optional side quests. My current play time is hovering around the 90 hours mark, and I feel like I have a lot left to do. Add to that the free weekly downloads and the potential for multi-player co-op, and you have an unbelievable value for your money. If you're a gamer on a budget, or simply want a great game with heart, you can't go wrong with Dragon Quest 9. It is definitely an early contender for Game of the Year 2010.
The main character is a Celestrian, an angelic guardian who begins the game as an apprentice taking on the duties of watching over a small village called Angel Falls. Up in the Observatory, from which the Celestrians monitor the mortal realm, is the sacred tree Yggdrasil.
Similar to its sibling Final Fantasy, every other game in the Dragon Quest series has implemented a "job system" that allows the player to customize their characters with a selection of vocations. Creating entirely unique heroes from scratch has its strengths (you can make them male or female, each with 10 unique hair styles, faces, skin colour, and body type), but character development is not one of them. Dragon Quest 9 is not immune to this problem, as only the primary player character (the Celestrian) is given a proper back story. For the first few hours this character will be a minstrel, which is a well-rounded jack-of-all-trades type of job. Soon you can create companions (three can join at a time), and eventually everyone will be able to change their job freely.
As usual, you can choose a number of auto-fight options for your party members to speed up the many battles. You can have a character conserve MP until needed, or have characters heal when necessary, and so on without explicitly entering commands. Some battles will require precise strategies but there are many instances where you'll want to let the computer take over, and the system is very reliable.
Unlike many of Square-Enix's previously released games, this one makes full use of the Nintendo DS touchscreen. You can play through the whole game without pressing any buttons if you want to. I found that using the stylus to direct my characters, and then using the traditional buttons to navigate menus during battles, worked best for me. When approaching characters, a speech bubble pops up above their heads, which can be tapped to initiate the conversation. Likewise, an exclamation point pops up above the player character's head to interact with an item in the environment (such as reading a bookshelf or smashing a barrel). As a righty, I could comfortably hold the DS system in my left hand while holding the stylus with my right hand to play the game. It's a really great addition that made the game much more comfortable for me to play compared to other DS games.
Dragon Quest 9 makes excellent use of the DS's limited graphical capabilities, and is technically one of the best looking titles to hit the platform. The designers have had to cut corners in some cases, for example most townspeople are 2D sprites rather than 3D models in order to keep the game running smoothly. That said, all of the important side characters are 3D and look just as detailed as the player characters and the story sequences have been carefully crafted with good camera direction to show them off. Each of the areas and towns have their own unique look and feel, which helps to make them memorable. A few CG movies peppered throughout the game highlight the most important plot points.
The enhanced battle sequences are more exciting and involved compared to previous entries in the series, but are something of a double-edged sword. While they're certainly more fun to watch, the battles take longer to play out as a result of all the action. I would have liked the option of turning off the animations, but ultimately it's a trade-off that is worth it since earlier Dragon Quest titles only showed the monsters on screen.
Dragon Quest 9 extends its shelf life even further with an unprecedented amount of free downloadable content, available each week for a year after the game's release date! These special grottoes contain unique bosses, like the main villains from previous Dragon Quest games, so they're a real treat.
What more can I say? Dragon Quest 9 offers at least 40 solid hours of engaging, story-driven content and many, many more if you choose to take on the optional side quests. My current play time is hovering around the 90 hours mark, and I feel like I have a lot left to do. Add to that the free weekly downloads and the potential for multi-player co-op, and you have an unbelievable value for your money. If you're a gamer on a budget, or simply want a great game with heart, you can't go wrong with Dragon Quest 9. It is definitely an early contender for Game of the Year 2010.
