BaD #3: A Day with Dragon Quest

On 02/03/2017 at 04:36 PM by daftman

I don't normally play many meaty games on iOS but when I saw the original Dragon Quest on sale I decided to nab it. I've never played any of the mainline DQ games—heck, the only game in the whole series I've ever played is Rocket Slime on the DS (which is awesome, btw)—but I'm hoping to rememdy that this year and figured I'd start with the first one before jumping to IV. Shouldn't take that long, right?

Dragon Quest on iOS seems like a pretty good port. It looks very SNES-y, which I consider a plus, and runs really well. It plays in portrait mode and is a breeze to control with one hand. One of my favorite aspects is just how fast battles take place. When you get into a random battle, a picture-in-picture kind of window pops up in the middle of the screen with the enemy and you duke it out in a matter of seconds. Even tougher enemies probably don't take more than 20 seconds total. Grinding, as I did at the beginning to buy better gear, is a piece of cake.

I've played for maybe two hours and have been enjoying myself so far. Hopefully this is the start of a DQ-heavy year for me

mothman

02/03/2017 at 04:47 PM

DQ, DQ, Yaaaaay DQ! I'm playing DQ VIII right now.

daftman

02/03/2017 at 10:37 PM

I definitely want to get DQ VII on the 3DS before it becomes scarce but I'm not sure about VIII. I have a copy for the PS2. I guess the portability would be nice...

Matt Snee Staff Writer

02/03/2017 at 05:12 PM

I had this for NES. Couldn't handle it. Love them now though!

Super Step Contributing Writer

02/03/2017 at 05:55 PM

Deeee Quuuueeee THAT's what I love about Teeeeexas!

Wrong franchise, sorry.

Mmmmm chicken finger basket.

02/03/2017 at 10:38 PM

Hot eats, cool treats!

jgusw

02/03/2017 at 06:45 PM

The first DQ I played was DQ8 (PS2). I didn't finished it and thought it was too long. That was many years ago. I enjoy rpgs a lot more these days. The first DQ game I played, enjoyed, and finished was DQ9 (DS). Then I started collecting the other DS games. I finished DQ6, then DQ4, and the DQ5. I enjoyed them all. Now, I'm playing DQ7 (3DS). I'm almost finished with it and then I start DQ8 (3DS).

Never played Rocket Slime, but I remembering it looking cool. Isn't there a sequel to that game?

02/03/2017 at 10:41 PM

There are three games in the Slime series and Rocket Slime is the one in the middle. It's the only one that ever made it out of Japan

ThatKidOverThere

02/03/2017 at 06:47 PM

I have DQ1 for mobile as well, but on Android. It's a real tight game. At times it's incredibly vague and frustrating, and I had to look at a guide a bunch, but I really loved it.

Cary Woodham

02/03/2017 at 07:04 PM

I've been playing Dragon Quest Builders and Dragon Quest Heroes lately on my PS4 so I've been on a bit of a DQ kick. My favorite DQ game is still Rocket Slime. I still wish we got the 3DS sequel.

02/03/2017 at 10:43 PM

Once I get more experience with the series, I'd be interested in getting DQ Heroes. I know a big part of those games is familiarity and nostagia.

Ranger1

02/04/2017 at 06:54 PM

They must have toned down the difficulty level from the original NES game, because that game was brutally tough. I have all the DQ games through IX, but I haven't played II or II yet. I have them for the NES, and I need to hook up my old CRT TV to play them.

I loved that game, though, even with the insane difficulty. It seemed like I spent all my time grinding for money to buy better equipment and then having to start all over again every time I moved to a different area.

02/05/2017 at 08:26 AM

This is definitely more forgiving, though the ono-on-one nature of the battles has still led to a number of frustrating wipes. And it's super vague, of course, but I'm enjoying it so far. Being able to save anywhere allows for progress in tiny chunks, which is nice.

KnightDriver

02/27/2017 at 11:40 PM

Boy that looks nice on iOS. I'll grab it in a second once I get a good phone.

PixlBit