Questing for Dragons and Pokemons
I’ve been playing more JRPGs, mostly Dragon Quest games and I love it. So far I beat:
- Dragon Quest I 2D-HD Remake
- Dragon Quest VII Reimagined
- Dragon Quest II 2D-HD Remake
- Dragon Quest III 2D-HD Remake
- Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade
The biggest reason I love Dragon Quest is playing with my daughter. She didn’t play that much with me but I like being able to comfortably include her. The whole series is really charming, the stories are basically “get ready goofball, we’re going on an adventure” and the next thing you know you’re saving the world from evil. I think VII Reimagined was probably my favorite in-terms of whimsy and therefore joy. A lot of little things add up like how the wolf boy rubs his wolf buddy’s belly after you win, how you can do a funny dance to make monsters “laugh uncontrollably” (and lose their turn of attacking you), and of course the pun-filled monster names. The tone of the series is just great and fun.
I really enjoyed Part I because being a party of one made progression and growth really simple. Part II has you being a party of four and you have to think more about who is going to be good at what, and then Part III layers on more systems like recruiting new members and switching occupations. It was interesting to see how each game added more elements.
When I was a kid I had a neighbor who was into these games, he played Dragon Warrior (the US name for Dragon Quest I) and the original Final Fantasy on NES. He got hype about beating them, but they just seemed boring to me. Which is funny because I was very much into Sierra Quest games (King’s Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, etc) and there’s something about these that tickles the same part of my brain those Sierra games did. Funny they’re also a QUEST games…
I also beat “Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade” and that was ok but just not for me. Cloud Strife is annoying and whiny and the other characters also have overblown, unrelatable personalities. Or at least the parts of me that do relate to them I don’t want to acknowledge or oblidge. The combat also isn’t turned based, so it doesn’t have the relaxing vibes I crave and it’s too visually noisy and button mashy. I think the biggest downside though is that can’t play it with my daughter because of the more adult themes and (unnecessary, over-the-top) profanity. I do like the references to LOVELESS though.
Now, my daughter is into Pokemon. Like, hella into Pokemon. So and so is a grass and fairy type and they evolve into so and so and I want to get a leaf stone and evolve them and dad can you tell me how to catch Gouging Fire? It’s wonderful. I bought a Switch 2 and we’ve been playing Pokemon Scarlet. We’ve pretty much gone through the whole game and DLCs and she pretty much did it on her own. There were a couple of times I needed to point her in the right direction but she figured it out. Kids! She would sneak upstairs on a Saturday morning and undock the Switch and start playing, then accomplish something and yell “DAD! DAD! I BEAT THE ELITE FOUR!” and so on.
Currently I’ve started a few games and am trying to figure out what to play next. Octopath Traveler is probably what I’ll go with. I started “Live-a-Live” and it was ok but I didn’t love the combat. I also started “Trails in the Sky Chapter 1” which is a remake and is too advanced for me as I’ve been getting my ass kicked real early on. I might need to research the system a little more. So for now: Octopath Traveler!