Nineties Metal Roosters

Well, things really have been cooking along rather well with Dragon Quest VIII.  I've actually managed to take out the ostensible big boss of the game, and surprise surprise, he was being controlled by the real big bad boss of the game.  To be fair, he still put up quite a fight, even managed my only party wipe thus far.


I must say, DQ8 is still coming across more like something from the 16-bit era; I'm still a bit on the fence about whether or not that's a good thing.  It's slow-paced and very grind-y, but the exploration and combat is actually very fine-tuned and enjoyable.  I can say that so far, I've been having a lot of fun, and it actually feels like I'm going through a vast land on a big adventure.


My characters have progressed well enough along to be a competent and deadly team.  Even the moves and spells most RPGs like this would consider pedestrian have a flair, flash, and practicality to them that shows that the traditional turn-based formula still belongs with the big boys.  I do have something of a heads-up on how to build everybody (forewarned is forearmed, and the skill system in place can leave you gimped in a hurry), but even so there's still a bit of discovery to be had for the experienced player.  Even the 'joke' moves can be worthwhile; watching a grim-looking bandit like Yangus hop around and dance using boxer shorts like pompoms is something to see, freaking out the baddos and shocking them into paralysis just makes it better.


The crafting system is finally coming into its own.  The one big negative (at least for me) so far for DQ8 is that it's pretty stingy with the gold drops, and the item drops tend to be very hit-and-miss.  The upside is that when the RNG decides to be in a good mood, you can gets lots of materials to make fairly expensive goodies for resale, and the game has no qualms letting you buy lots of cheap curatives to make better ones, either for your own needs or to fatten your wallet.  It has worked out pretty well so far, but even with this in your favor we have a pretty big case of RPG Economy Type 1 on our hands (Type 1--formerly known as Capcom RPG Economy Syndrome, is characterized by leaving a party impoverished after purchasing two-thirds or less of a given towns equipment upgrades without excessive grinding).  On the other hand, the crafting system can give you great upgrades without loads of cash farming.


And the monsters are still loads of fun.  Aside from the dinosaur lumberjacks of doom, we've got killer Zeus statues, freaky dog samurai that kill you with chain-chakram things, metal head roosters, evil beetle Mighty Mouse wannabes, and crazy Muppet marauders.  And their miss animations can be hilarious.  Watching some monstrosity slip and fall right on their butt is great for morale.


Well, I must be wandering off.  The Harvest Never Rests!

Dinosaur Lumberjacks

Well, the Dork Side has led me onto a new and interesting path.  For once I followed through on my gaming schedule, and after beating Tales of Vesperia again I went ahead and popped in Dragon Quest VIII for the Playstation 2.


Hoo boy; I've heard it said a few times that the PS2 is the JRPG console, and they weren't kidding.  I've tried out Dragon Quest I, II, and VI at random, and never really got hooked.  A guide for VII appeared in a lot I acquired a year or so ago, but I can't make myself get the game itself for some reason.  Then I stumbled upon VIII during a traipse through TV Tropes.  I tell you, it does not disappoint. 


I should hate the thing, it's a grindfest with only four playable characters (yes there's six the remake), a fairly linear storyline, combat is pretty by-the-book turn-based fare, saving your game requires going to a chapel or abbey, attrition can wreck your party in a hurry, it goes on.  And it's awesome.  It's like Squeenix just grabbed an 8- or 16-bit from their archive, and just updated the hell out of it without using the pervasive modern trends.  No freaky emo-warriors. The world does not suck to live in.  The tragic backstories are tastefully understated and don't overshadow the narrative.  Nobody's dressed like they went the Carousel Boutique while the proprietor was watching J-Pop videos and guzzling Nyquil.


And the monsters are fun, too!  They're mostly cartoony, goofy critters, like a bunch of background Muppets decided to get together and become medieval marauders.  And they're still pretty badass.  We've got stuff like angry anthro roosters that can slice the crap out of you, Jawa archers that can rain pointy doom, and freakin' firebreathing dinosaur lumberjacks!  FIREBREATHING DINOSAUR LUMBERJACKS!  And to sweeten the deal, you can recruit certain monsters for kickass arena battles.  And you can eventually let them loose to assist you in unleashing doom upon the forces of badness.


Throw in a nifty, understated crafting system, fun party members (all hail Yangus and his best frienemy King Trode), and a magic/skill system that actually makes you think tactically, and it's no surprise.  The Harvest Never Rests!