I got into the Dragon Quest series many years ago via the ArtePiazza remakes of Dragon Quest 4-6 on the DS, and they served as my gateway drug into handheld JRPG's. I would later play DQ9 on DS and Dragon Quest VIII on PS2, both of which I count among my favorite RPG's ever. Overall, I've always loved the distinctive trappings of the Dragon Quest series and how each game has this familiar, cozy JRPG feeling.
DQXI certainly looks the part, but actually playing it left me cold.
I was very much looking forward to DQXI's release and got it on Day 1, but I found myself just not enjoying it at all. In the end, I think I bounced off of it after seven or so hours and never returned. Keep in mind this was the vanilla release on PS4, and it was definitely hampered by the ear-gouging MIDI soundtrack among other things that have been partially rectified in subsequent re-releases, but my beefs with the game went way deeper than that.
As a mega-fan of DQ8, I thought for sure that I'd love DQXI just as much.
For the first time ever, the "classic JRPG" hallmarks of DQ just didn't work for me in DQXI. The silent protag, the fun/goofy monster designs, the re-use of DQ mainstay musical tracks throughout, the old-school dungeon designs, and the simple turn-based battle system all just felt tiresome and boring to me when I started my playthrough. Even if I don't hone in on specific design decisions that bothered me, I just felt bored and detached the entire time for some unknown reason, and honestly part of the impetus for this thread is wanting figure out whether my tastes have just changed or DQXI actually is distinct from its predecessors in this way.
I see mostly praise for DQXI around here, so I kind of feel like maybe the game caught me at a bad time back in 2018. I've considered double-dipping on the Switch version, as I tend to enjoy JRPG's more when I have the option of handheld play, but my distaste with the vanilla release has kept me from risking wasting money on another purchase.
To anyone who maybe felt similarly about DQXI, what do you think the differentiating factors were?
DQXI certainly looks the part, but actually playing it left me cold.
I was very much looking forward to DQXI's release and got it on Day 1, but I found myself just not enjoying it at all. In the end, I think I bounced off of it after seven or so hours and never returned. Keep in mind this was the vanilla release on PS4, and it was definitely hampered by the ear-gouging MIDI soundtrack among other things that have been partially rectified in subsequent re-releases, but my beefs with the game went way deeper than that.
As a mega-fan of DQ8, I thought for sure that I'd love DQXI just as much.
For the first time ever, the "classic JRPG" hallmarks of DQ just didn't work for me in DQXI. The silent protag, the fun/goofy monster designs, the re-use of DQ mainstay musical tracks throughout, the old-school dungeon designs, and the simple turn-based battle system all just felt tiresome and boring to me when I started my playthrough. Even if I don't hone in on specific design decisions that bothered me, I just felt bored and detached the entire time for some unknown reason, and honestly part of the impetus for this thread is wanting figure out whether my tastes have just changed or DQXI actually is distinct from its predecessors in this way.
I see mostly praise for DQXI around here, so I kind of feel like maybe the game caught me at a bad time back in 2018. I've considered double-dipping on the Switch version, as I tend to enjoy JRPG's more when I have the option of handheld play, but my distaste with the vanilla release has kept me from risking wasting money on another purchase.
To anyone who maybe felt similarly about DQXI, what do you think the differentiating factors were?