Review: Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies

Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Nintendo

The Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy series have a sort of shared history between them. Both are RPGs, and both started their respective trajectories at the same time on the NES. Both gained popularity in Japan and then made their way to Stateside. Their respective companies, Enix and SquareSoft, eventually ended up merging together to form Square Enix.

However, while Final Fantasy had its breakthrough with Western audiences with Final Fantasy VII, Dragon Quest hasn't had that much of an impact here. Since Dragon Quest games are so huge in Japan, it’s odd that they're not quite as popular with Western audiences, as Dragon Quest games are always of extremely high quality.

The only real difference between the two series is that the rules in Final Fantasy games change from game to game. They don’t use the same battle systems, style of play, even the same art design from game to game. Someone who has only ever played Final Fantasy I will have to idea how to play Final Fantasy XIII. That allows for a lot of evolution from game to game.

By contrast, if you’ve only ever played the first Dragon Quest, the newest iteration, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies, will be immediately familiar. The same basic mechanics are there. It’s turn-based combat with spells, levelling up, and the like. The underpinning Dragon Quest-ness really hasn't changed after all these years.

This puts forth an interesting question: Is that a bad thing? Does a traditional JRPG like Dragon Quest need to evolve? Is there enough here to justify picking up Dragon Quest IX if you’ve already played a previous Dragon Quest title?

A Heavenly Quest

In Dragon Quest IX, you play the part of a Celestrian. Celestrians are guardian angels over the world, and you’ve been assigned to watch a quiet burg called Angel Falls. Shortly after receiving your commission, a large earthquake shakes the heavens and earth, casting you down to the world below without your halo or wings. You realize that you must help people in order to gain acceptance by the gods and get back what you’ve lost.

One of the first things you’ll notice is that the characters you use in your party are largely ciphers. They don’t have voices, dialogue, or any personality, and the main character is a silent protagonist. However, while your crew may not be very well-defined, the characters you meet in your travels are.

Within the first hour, you’ll meet a woman who didn’t know her father was a legendary innkeeper, a lazy young adult who finds a calling he didn’t know he had, a mayor who’s frustrated with that same lazy son, and your exacting teacher who has some doubts about your abilities but chooses not to voice them to you.

Along the way, you’ll be fixing all manner of problems, and in some cases there’s only so much you can do. You have to give these well-drawn characters the push in the right direction to fix their own problems, and the result is satisfying. For example, in one affecting setpiece, a neglectful husband's wife dies. It’s your job to teach him not to shut himself off from the world even though he’s grieving and become a better person as a result. It’s cases like these that make the world feel real.

Another cool touch: As mentioned before, Angel Falls gets shaken by the earthquake at the beginning of the game. Among other things, the church bell and town sign are broken. When I came back about ten hours later, the bell was fixed and the sign was back up. The characters even remark on how long it’s been since they saw you, and there are other significant changes to their dialogue as well. Things like that go a long way towards convincing you that the world is more than just a place full of monsters, but a living, breathing place.

Of course, though, this is a JRPG. Being a JRPG, there need to be battles, and they're exactly what you would expect from Dragon Quest. It's turn-based, you pick a command, and then your characters perform the attacks/spells/abilities that you’ve told them to do. There's not a whole ton of flash and dash to the battles, but there are a few tweaks.

One excellent tweak is the removal of random battles. Instead of random battles, you’ll see the enemies on the screen and can choose to approach or avoid them. In some cases, you can’t really avoid them, and sometimes they’ll either run at you or away from you if you’re more or less powerful. It’s pretty great because it gives you a good amount of control over how much battling you want to do. I sincerely hope that future Dragon Quest titles use this feature.

While your characters earn experience points in the traditional way, there’s another wrinkle in the combat that’s really quite fun. There are several classes that you pick from, like Gladiator, Minstrel, Martial Artist, and so on. When your characters earn XP, they earn XP specifically for that class. If you want to change classes, they drop back down to level 1 in the new class, but since there are no equipment restrictions, you can outfit that level 1 character in equipment normally used by a level 15 character and level up fast with the new skill.

You’ll want to change your classes up, since the ability point system from Dragon Quest VIII is back, and is much, much deeper. Every few levels, you gain ability points that can be used toward improving your skill with the several different classes of weapons or each individual classes’ special skills. For instance, the Martial Artist has a special move called “War Cry,” which can cause fear to a group of enemies. The Minstrel can use “Egg On,” which raises your fellow party members’ tension, making their next attack stronger, and so on. When you change classes, those special abilites you gained will move with you. It adds another layer of strategy to combat, and makes your team even more fun to use.

Alchemy also returns from Dragon Quest VIII, which enables you to mix ingredients together and create new weapons, armor, accessories and items. If you want the best equipment, you’ll need to get a handle on how alchemy works, but scattered throughout the world are various books which will give you recipes explaining what you need to make your fancy new cat-shaped shield.

On top of that, using Nintendo WFC, you can connect to DQVC, which is Dragon Quest’s “home shopping network.” On that service, you can find hard-to-find or rare pieces for alchemy. In some cases, you can find equipment that would normally be way out of your league as well. It’s a cool feature that I’ve used quite a bit so far.

The music is also excellent. It’s dramatic when it needs to be, chipper without being cloying, and generally easy to listen to. Some of the same sounds are repeated from prior Dragon Quest games, as well as some snippets of music, but not enough to totally distract you. It’s just enough nostalgia to be good.

Dragon Quest IX looks great for a DS game, and they’re some of the best the system has to offer. This doesn't come without a price, though. In some areas, you’ll see fairly significant slowdown. This usually happens when all four of your characters are on screen, but it’s still annoying. They’ve tried minimizing this by having a combination of fully-3D characters (usually your party and any important NPCs) and 2D sprites, but it still happens. It’s not enough to totally derail the game, as RPGs aren’t generally twitch-based games and it happens relatively rarely, but it’s still there.

There are other little complaints that could be raised about Dragon Quest IX. For one, if you don’t like traditional turn-based JRPG combat, you won’t like Dragon Quest IX's combat. Your mileage may vary.

Also, there are certain tasks that you can only do in certain cities. For instance, would you like to drop off one of your party members for a bit and do some solo adventuring? Go back to the inn at Stornway. Would you like to perform Alchemy? Go back to Stornway. Would you like to change classes? Go to Alltrades Abbey.

It’s not that it’s time-consuming, since you have a spell called Zoom that requires no experience points to use. It’s just that they could have made at least made some way to, say, access your bank account in more cities. I mean, banks have branches, don’t they? That would have fixed that problem. Since these games are steeped in magic, you could have very easily had some magic stone that would connect you to DQVC instead of making you traipse all the way back to the Stornway Inn to check it out, right?

However, one benefit of going back to previously-visited cities is seeing how things have changed. For instance, I would never have seen the changes to Angel Falls if I hadn’t gone there to find some crappy clothes to alchemize. I understand why they made you do it, but it would have been nice if it was more streamlined.

Good Quest

All that being said, Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies makes a really good argument that games don't necessarily need to evolve. It’s a very, very good JRPG and one of the best of the Dragon Quest series. I’m about 20 hours in so far, and I’m showing no signs of slowing down. It’s smart, touching, and deep. There’s so much to see and do, so many interesting scenarios that the game presents to you, and the same traditional gameplay that captivated gamers almost 25 years ago. While it may have a few flaws, they’re not gamebreakers.

In other words, if you have a passing interest in the Dragon Quest series, you need to play Dragon Quest IX. It’s not going to win any awards for originality, but in some cases, iteration is preferable to evolution.

E3 2010: Nintendo Reaches Out

Your reaction to 2010's E3 was probably one of two options:

1. Nintendo Ruled!
2. Meh.

Judging by a lot of magazines and online writers, the first reaction was the most common one.  This E3 was viewed as Nintendo's call to the core, where it came back to the games that "we" wanted to play and cool new tech to play with.  No Vitality Sensor, no Wii Fit Extra Plus, no Little Slinky Kitty Goes To Happytown.  Most everyone was happy with this.


The select few that weren't okay with what Nintendo did were left more unimpressed than anything.  Reaction to Kinect was fair to middling and Microsoft seemed more interested in showing that the 360 could do anything but games. Sony's press conference wasn't anything special.  Sure, they showed off some Move titles, but they looked like upgraded Wii titles that we've already played before.  There was no amazing new showstopping game that brought the house down, and nothing really jumped out at most gamers from them.

However, if Nintendo stole the show, why are some unimpressed?  There's a very good reason.

When we discuss "Core" audiences, who are we talking about?  Are we discussing males 18-35 who've played video games for 10 years?  There are certainly loyal female gamers as well.  Are they included in this group?  What about people who've played for five years?  What about preteens and teens who have more buying power than ever?  What about-

Et cetera, et cetera.

See, for most gamers, a "Core" gamer specifically means "Me."  Try reading blog posts and comments from disaffected "Core Gamers" and replace their words with personal pronouns.  It's eye-opening.

"Nintendo has to work to get core gamers back" becomes "Nintendo has to work to get me back."  "Sony and Microsoft's strategy to go after casual gaming will disenfranchise core gamers" becomes "Sony and Microsoft's strategy to go after casual gaming will disenfranchise me" and so on.

There's this odd sense of entitlement in gaming culture.  For instance, we demand a sequel to Beyond Good & Evil, but it sold very poorly.  Why do they absolutely need to make one?  We demand that Nintendo return to their roots, but Nintendo is making more money than ever.  We demand that Sony and Microsoft stick to making games that please us, but they're both hemorrhaging money from their gaming divisions.  Why should they work to please us?

Nintendo made overtures to their longest-running audience, which is people who grew up playing Nintendo games.  Some of those people fell away in time and started playing other systems, while other people stayed on as die-hards and gritted their teeth through the Gamecube years only to be ignored during the Wii years.  Others still stand by Nintendo and keep on playing regardless.

Nintendo reached out to all of those audiences by offering games for everyone.  "You want the little-known and little-played Kid Icarus series back?  Here you go.  You want more of Donkey Kong Country?  Enjoy.  Hey, a new Metroid game is out in a month, even though no one buys Metroid games."

There are many who still aren't satisfied by this.  Even though Nintendo is specifically saying, "Hey, we made ourselves some money and created some new fans by making ourselves more family-friendly.  Come on back," many gamers now sniff at Nintendo's offerings like spurned lovers.

Lighten up, guys!  Nintendo is a company.  They're not your buddies, they're not your parents, and they only exist to make money.  However, the fact that they're even trying to reach out to you should tell you something about how important you are to them.

If I spent a lot of time talking about Nintendo in this review, it's because Nintendo was clearly the winner in this E3.  There's now a buzz about Nintendo's products that didn't exist beforehand, while Microsoft and Sony look a little lost, like they're trying to co-opt Nintendo's ideas about three years too late.  We'll cover more of their problems in a later article.

My Most Played Wii Games (June 2010)

I just thought I'd throw these up here.  Don't worry...my E3 stuff is coming very, very shortly.




1. Super Mario Galaxy - 72 Hrs. 12 Mins. (E)
2. Super Smash Bros. Brawl - 54 Hrs. 42 Mins. (+.5 Hrs)
3. Wii Sports - 42 Hrs. 28 Mins. (E)
4. MLB Power Pros 2008 - 41 Hrs. 5 Mins. (E)
5. Mario Kart Wii - 40 Hrs. 27 Mins. (+2.5 Hrs)
6. Beatles: Rock Band - 34 Hrs. 40 Mins. (+2.5 Hrs)
7. Metroid Prime Trilogy - 27 Hrs. 40 Mins. (+.5 Hrs)
8. Rock Band 2 - 23 Hrs. 35 Mins. (+2.5 Hours)
9. Little King's Story - 20 Hrs. 33 Mins (New)
10. Wii Fit Plus - 20 Hrs. 31 Mins (New)

I blame my wife for the Wii Fit Plus reading.  If it wasn't for her, Super Mario Galaxy 2 and Monster Hunter Tri would be vying for the next spot.

Top 5 Downloadable Games (Excluding Channels):

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - 14 Hrs. 8 Mins. (E)
2. Super Mario RPG -  11 Hrs. 49 Mins (New)
3. Super Mario World - 6 Hrs. 10 Mins (+1.5 Hours)
4. Dr. Mario Online RX - 5 Hrs. 37 Mins. (E)
5. Cave Story - 5 Hrs. 14 Mins (E)

Back From Break

You knew I had to weigh in on E3, right?  We'll have some thoughts posted later.

Opinions In Brief

Opinion 1: Activision Vs. Infinity Ward

First of all, Activision says that Infinity Ward heads West and Zampella were getting a little too big for their britches.  I can see this happening.  Not that I know West and Zampella (I don't), but sometimes people in a newly-minted successful position start making demands that they're not entitled to make.


That being said, the way that Activision mishandled the situation was outrageous. If Infinity Ward is to be believed, they withheld money, which is really the whole point of making a game.  You can make the "games are art, man!" argument all day, but the point of all of it is to do something you love and get paid for it.  If Activision withheld that monetary benefit, they negated the entire point of Infinity Ward's work.

Watch yourself, Bungie.  That's all I'm saying.

Opinion 2: The 3DS

Most of the objections to the 3DS are about a few things:  The price and the feeling that it's a bandwagon product.

First, no one knows the price yet.  Knowing Nintendo, they're not going to price this out of the hands of their consumers.  That's not their style.  Look at the Wii.  Instead of making a $300+ system with HD, their focus was on affordability.  50 million Wiis later, and it's safe to say they learned that lesson in a big way.  So, can we stop whining about the price?

Second, it's not like Nintendo just crapped out the 3DS after watching Avatar.  Their hardware process is a long and arduous route.  They spent a lot of money in R&D trying to determine whether or not this was a good way to go, and I think it'll succeed amazingly.

My major problem with 3D is always the glasses.  3D without glasses and hopefully at a proper price point?  I'm in.

--

I can't think of any other news that jumps out at me right now, but if I think of anything else, it'll get a mention here for sure.

Where Have You Been?

Yeah, I know, I know.  It's been a while since I posted.  A few things conspired against me:

1)  I'm writing for Gaming Trend again.  So far I've thrown together reviews for New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Little King's Story, Zelda: Spirit Tracks, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Cave Story, and Rage of the Gladiator.  That would explain that.

2)  I'm starting a writing firm called Word Forge to do some freelance copywriting.  It's exciting stuff, but very time-consuming.

3)  We took a trip to Mexico.  A lot of fun.  I didn't burn at all.

4)  My job sucks and is stressful, so therefore you have reason #2.

I'll post some opinions soon.  I haven't died, just vanished for a bit.

Also, happy 4th anniversary, blog!  Here's to many more.

Review: Rage of the Gladiator

Developer: Gamelion Studios
Publisher: Gamelion Studios

Anybody up for another action-based puzzle-strategy beat-em-up? It's not exactly a crowded genre, with only the Punch-Out games filling the gap. Enter Rage of the Gladiator.

The best way to describe Rage of the Gladiator is this: Punch-Out!! with mythical creatures and a skill tree. You play from a first-person perspective and face off in an arena against an opponent.

The controls are very tight. That's a necessity for any Punch-Out clone, and Gamelion Studios nails it. Just like Punch-Out!!, you can dodge left, right, or block head-on attacks. Unlike Punch-Out!!, you can also jump, kick to the left or the right, and call down special attacks that rain destruction from the heavens.
Your opponents look great, with lots of detail and great animation. Just like Punch-Out!!, your opponents will tip their punches with subtle (and not-so-subtle) tics, and the sound work does its job with that too.

Also, having a skill tree in this sort of game is a really neat idea, and I hope Nintendo is taking notes. Here's how it works: After every victory, you get to allocate skill points toward different disciplines: Offense, Defense or Magic. Offensive skills will increase your power incrementally or reward you with more powerful special attacks. Defensive skills will improve your ability to withstand a beating and give you defensive skills that can negate enemy damage. Magic skills will allow you to build up your special meter faster and will open up other skills that can, for instance, transform you into a giant. Figuring out which ones you want is great, and since they're all pretty useful, you can’t really go wrong when selecting them.

There's one part of Rage of the Gladiator that I would really like to single out in particular as worthy of praise: The difficulty curve. This is a clinic in difficulty curves. While you do get a tutorial at the beginning, Rage of the Gladiator doesn't expect you to remember all of your various moves right off the bat. It starts you out with just remembering how to dodge and when, then gives you an opponent that requires that you jump, then gives you an opponent that requires that you block, then hands you another opponent that requires that you kick. After a while, you're using all of these moves in tandem without noticing. That takes serious planning and skill on the part of the developers, and it's worth mentioning.

There are a few negatives to Rage of the Gladiator. First, if you've played Punch-Out!!, you mostly know what you're getting. Aside from the skill tree, there's not a lot of new ground broken here. Considering the paucity of Punch-Out!! clones it's not a huge issue, but be warned: If you don't like Punch-Out!!, you won't like Rage of the Gladiator.

Second, there's only one arena in the game, and you only see the part directly in front of you. I know they did this to limit the size of the game so that they could fit it on WiiWare while still giving the opponents the detail they deserve, but it still feels kind of cheap.

Third, Rage of the Gladiator is presented with an overly-serious narrative. It's obvious that someone spent a whole lot of time on this story, but it just doesn't fit with the tone of the rest of the game. You're playing a fighting game where one of the special moves allows you to repeatedly kick an Archdevil in the crotch. I don't want the fun interrupted every few minutes for another tale of death and revenge from a narrator who sounds like he just drank two jack-and-Cokes and smoked a pack of Pall Malls. Rage of the Gladiator didn't need a story, but oh well. It's there.

Finally, some of your special moves take a while. Some of them take about ten to twenty seconds for the whole animation to play. Don't get me wrong, the animations look great the first time. The third, fourth, fifth and sixth times? Eh.

However, taking the package as a whole, Rage of the Gladiator is good fun. It's another great WiiWare game that will give you about 5-7 hours of playtime, and as long as you're a fan of Punch-Out or even like it in passing, you'll enjoy Rage of the Gladiator.