Smashing Evil Yet Again

Hello!


I managed to pull off a glorious victory in Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of The Cursed King, and finally can put that game to rest for a while.  The final boss battle was actually quest fun, staying just tense enough to keep me on my toes (most turn-based games suck at this, being heavily in my favor or that of the boss).  The ending itself was fairly satisfying, and had the added bonus of being playable, letting the hero tear around a bit and revel in accolades and a bit of daring-do. 


Now that we've reached the end of the main game (there's some serious post-game content, but I'm staying away for now), I have some final thoughts to share.


The Alchemy Pot mechanic is horribly flawed; I know I've been beating this poor mummified horse, but in the end this mechanic stretched what have been a 60 or so hour game into just shy of 90.  Thirty hours devoted to grinding and keeping the equipment up to snuff.  I'm grateful that they fixed it in the remake.


The Monster Arena is far more enjoyable, letting my collect a few critters and conquering other critters.  The final rank was very enjoyable, with some fun cameos, spectacle, and a very tense final battle (with Hackzilla the dinosaur lumberjack snatching victory in desperate combat for my team, all hail Vanguard Critters).  This was a side-game done right!


Speaking of which, the monsters themselves were an absolute blast, with just the right combination of ebullient silliness and danger to keep things fresh.  They were part and parcel of how this game and the series advocates that video games should be fun.  Fun fact: Most of the spells are funky onomatopoeia, and there's an explosive elemental set (!) named Bang, Boom, and Kaboom.  Yes we have a game where you can spam Kaboom to harvest your foes if you so wish (or you can Fizzle, Sizzle, Crackle, Zap, Woosh, or Whack them).  And you can summon a swarm of angry geezers to trample your foes!


In any case, it was an absolute blast; The Harvest Has Triumphed once again.  I'm staying away for overwrought angst-fest RPGs for a little while longer, and playing Atelier Iris 2: The Azoth of Destiny once again.  Bring on the crafting!