Final Fantasy 12 - PS2 (part 1)

Well, we all heard about the security breech on the Playstation Network of the past few weeks. Some guy hacked in, got access to about 80,000 credit cards, and now Sony's in a big mess. After a few days of trying to repair the network, they just said it wouldn't work, and are going to create a new one from scratch. Yeah, it seems like a Matrix movie plot, but no, it's real and a lot of people are upset. I think you can finally play multi-player games on it now, but I actually I was more worried about my trophies. A bit frustrated with it all, I just went back to Final Fantasy 12. Good ol PS2 gaming.

The thing about Final Fantasy 12 is that I never completed everything in that game. For the avid player, that's what FF games are about - you play it through once to get the feel about it, but you play it again to sweep up the nooks and crannies. The first time I finished it, I spent about 60 hours and made it past the boss with no problem. This was 2005? Bush was still in office. I remember not enjoying it much, but something rushed me. Then again, how can you tell someone you didn't like the game if you spent 60 hours on it? It's getting to the dessert portion of the meal and then telling your mate that, "well, this place kind of sucked". No, I like 12, and I like it a lot more this second time through.

So what did I miss? Pretty much everything. I didn't have the Zod spear; I didn't get the Genji gear; I finished the game with like four Espers. I finished about 20 Hunts, just to get by. It's interesting how little you have to do to complete a Final Fantasy game. I wish they remade this game for the PS3 and put in trophy pack. Hell, I wish they did that for every previous Final Fantasy game.

So starting over. Was it hard? Not really. Playing the game again was a bit odd for the eyes, as I had to go back to 480i, standard definition gaming. But I got used to it about three hours in. One thing that changed was that I got the Brady Guidebook this time, and well, I'm playing it as a cheater. Is it really cheating if you still have to DO the tasks? Sure I have access to maps, boss weaknesses, and just the general feel of the future, but I still had to play the game. Do I still die? Well, rarely. I think I got the game-over screen once. I took the wrong turn in the Fey Wood when my party had no reason to be there. Anyway, back to the game.

I really like this game. Sure it's the most different of the Final Fantasy series by far. It's engine and battle system is ported over from Final Fantasy 11, and the world of Ivalice is quite different from Spira or Gaea. So what's great about it? The characters and story. That's for another post. Right now, I'm 62 hours in, and walking through the city of Giruvegan.

Dragon Quest 9 - NDS (part 1)

When I write about Dragon Quest I know I'll be writing for more than just one part, so just for my own sake, I'm calling this part one. While the last Square Enix game took about 100 hours plus to completely attain all the achievements, and I didn't even get there, this game might take even more. I wasn't even sure if I was going to play this game. I mean, Dragon Quest? again? Why?

Well why not? I found myself starting this game in a hotel room in San Jose. Before long I wanted to play through the night. Playing through eight games, and the sound and feel of it has not changed a bit. From the opening score to the cheerful themed songs in the towns, I feel like I'm instantly transported to another world. Final Fantasy 13 took my breath away with it's 1080P graphics in a 30 gig blu-ray disc, but Dragon Quest 9 does the same on the NDS with just 250 megs!

But the game is not just all tradition, there are many new aspects about the game. To start, you not only can choose your hero's gender, but you can create his look. It's like playing the Sims to a small extent. Then you they expanded the inventory slots to more than just four, there there are seven items that a character can equip. Plus everything that you equip is displayed on the screen. It's just sad that you sometimes have to wear something uncouth like a tortoise's shell.
Next, there are no more random battles. Perhaps that bugs players that are learning about Dragon Quest, but I've lived through so many of it through the series and don't find it too much to complain. Although now with the ability to pick and choose which enemies to encounter, I find myself rushing to attack when I see a metal slime (or any of the metal family for that matter). Next there is the experience point splitting system. After the battle, the ones with higher levels will get more EXP. I guess this prevents you from power leveling a new person you create from level 1. And yes, most of the party members you get (at least from the beginning anyway) are those that you create and recruit yourself. I start with a priest (pole arms), martial artist (war fans), and theif (daggers). Another new development I notice is that when a character dies in battle, at least for boss battles, if the party wins, he still gets EXP. That's quite helpful as I tend to fight bosses under-leveled and I win by a hair many times. I don't like to "grind" much any more, so I tend to fight bosses before the recommended levels.

There are more game concepts that developed, but I'll have to reserve those for the second post.
For now, I'm trying to hack my way through the game. But life is busy at the moment. My game time has been reduced significantly. Until then, I'll be wearing slime earrings. Screenshots to come too.

Final Fantasy 13 - PS3

Like every other RPG fan in March, I took time out of my schedule to play Final Fantasy 13. Scoreless screen shots and reviews have been written on the game and I might as well try to write one also. I'm not going to lie, this isn't a game for everyone. It's not much of a RPG game, but it is a very beautifully crafted cinematic piece of work. I'm about 26 hours in and I'm not sure if I would class this as an interactive movie or a really linear episode of Final Fantasy.

The story begins with a band of outcasts are being chased down by the local government of Coccoon. They are seen as diseased elements and all those that come in contact with them are to be "purged"; they are the L'Cie. It's not long that you realize that Lightning, a former captain of the military is the main character. Snow, the young leader of the resistance group, NORA (No obligations or Authority?), gets sucked into the mess because he's trying to save his fiancee. His wife-to-be has already been changed from L'Cie to Crystal because she had fulfilled her "focus". This will inevitably happen to all L'Cie. The other three characters that get dragged into this are Sahz, Vanille, and a boy named Hope. They later meet a fighting woman named Fang, who is in search of Vanille; she plans to rescue her.

These six characters are in search of an author. No, not really, but they are in search of some answers as to what is the connection between Coccoon and Pulse, legendary city outside of their world. They're also wondering if it's better to fulfill their focus and become crystal, or run away. They've already tried running. So they decided to take up a third alternative and rush towards the highest office of the Coccoon order, the Sanctum, and ask for answers.

So if I had to guess what happened at the game designer's table at Square-Enix, I'd have to say they were trying to concentrate all the "good" stuff in Final Fantasy and take out all the "bad" stuff. The players love the feeling of beating a boss, so let's make it so that all the battles are pretty similar to boss battles. Players loved the seeing Cloud, Squall, or Tidus slashing monsters in the air, so why not make it so that you'd get to see that in every battle?! Sounds great so far. People love cinematics, lets give them more than they've ever seen before; how about one after every chapter! Now to the bad stuff. Players didn't like talk to people in towns, let's just take out towns. Let's take out weapon shops, item shops, magic shops, and inns and put them all neatly in a save-point. Let's take out that tedious aspect of healing yourself after the battle also. Well you get the point. It's evolution, sort of. I'm not saying I don't like the game, but it sure is a different approach to Final Fantasy.

For the best, longest, and funniest review of Final Fantasy 13, please see Action Button.net's review. It's 18,000 words, and pure entertainment.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - PS3

I played this through in about 10 sessions, and each of them got more and more difficult as the levels got increasingly tedious. I played the first two Call of Duty games on the PC and really enjoyed it. I think the mouse made it a bit easier to control because of my experience from Unreal Tournament. I told myself to try the COD4 because it's one of the games that made the current generation systems legit. People bought their Xbox 360 and PS3's for this title and it deserved the 20 or so odd hours I put on it.

(image: battle in the night) The game is good. The game is a bit too realistic in the fact that you can die easily, like actual warfare. I'll expound on this. The next thing is the graphics. Even though all games on the PS3 are HD, most of them are 720p - not many extend to the 1080p graphics which maximizes your television's limits. You can see specs of dust from your rifle and every demolished building is rendered to the closest detail. Lastly the story is actually engaging. Pieces of it must be from actual stories from the soldiers; I recognized the Black Hawk Down episode. I mean it actually moves like a movie, using the soundless slow-motion sequences and everything.

(Image: completing the game)I have to say that the worst part about the game is that I went from playing Resistance 2 to Call of Duty and the way you play is totally changed. I'm used to being a hero and gunning down grims with a shield on or camping in far off tower trying to mow down a giant alien behemoth. But now you're doing tasks that are done in a way that if you don't do it right, you will die and start over. And there are so many ways to die: bullets, rockets, grenades, exploding cars, and even getting mauled by a dog. I guess I wanted a God-mode through it all, but hell, it probably would have made the victories less satisfying. And this game does give you some sort of warrior's satisfaction. I mean, anybody that's done mission where you're fending the farm town from four tanks and you take them down one at a time with the javelin rocket will know that when it's over, you just can't help but smile. Or the level where you're playing Price when he was a greenhorn and you had to pull your mentor to safety as you snipe down scores of enemy combatants, it goes to say that when it's done and over, you just wonder if the game changed you into a gun-wielding crazy. It feels good to kill, and if the reason is because you're doing it out of self-preservation and the bad guy is truly a bad guy, it feels even better. I'm sure the game-makers at Infinity Ward knows this. They know that there is a dormant violent spirit within us, and they're just giving it a little push with their games.

The ending, when Price tosses you the side-arm and you know what you gotta do, it's nothing but pure satisfaction.

• Game Time: 20 Hrs
• Completed the game once on normal difficulty

Dragon Quest 4: Chapters of the Chosen - NDS (part 2)

Without a doubt, this game took less time than I thought it would. I completed most of the first four quests in about 15 hours and began playing the final chapter in November. It took awhile to get back into it, but it was actually really enjoyable to play even for a game this old. I'm glad they brought it back to life with the DS remake and I think if I had more time I would play through the extras.

The game began to unfold as they described the story of Psaro the Man Slayer. He's the one behind all the evildoings in the game. Well, I guess he's the big thing that the demons have tried resurrecting. The story is that he did a lot of bad things because they imprisoned his girl, Rosa. Or was it that they killed that girl. I stopped paying attention at one point.

(My equipment for the last fight, don't forget to bring the Baron's horn so you can call your party before the boss) The fight with the final boss is tough, but not that tough. I went in there at level 36 with my crew of adventurers one or two levels below that. The boss is a golden guy, that you fight and he slowly disintegrates into a green gob with no arms or head. Fear not, he will regenerate into something more hideous and engaging. The most important thing here is remember to use the spell Oomph. It'd make your life easier. I started the part as the Hero, Alana, the Cleric, and the Black Mage. The first few forms of his body is hardly adversarial. Just keep "Kabuff" on and putting on "Oomph" on your characters. If you run into problems, don't forget that the Hero has "Omniheal", which fully recovers your entire party for 20 MP. As He starts to become whole again, in his final form, he'll start doing more fire spells so it's safe to say you'll need "insulate". But as long as you keep your Oomph up and attack him at least twice a turn, you'll be fine.

The ending is pretty much the same as the NES version. You visit all the towns of your party members and then you make a trek back to the home town, where you were raised by your foster parents. The place is burned down, but upon your return you find that young girl that saved your life by turning into your decoy. Finally you two can be together, and I guess it's speechless, but I hope you live happily ever after.

But wait! There's more. Because it's the NDS version, there's a added Chapter 6. I'm going to save that for another time. Until then, I might as well start on Dragon Quest 5.

The following are a lot of pictures I took along the way.

Persona 3: FES - PS2

Persona 3: FES is the first Persona game I've ever played. I played Digital Devil Saga and got to the end, but got defeated by the boss and never got around to complete it. Another game that I played from the SMT series seems was from the Super Famicon and I can't even remember the title. But regardless of the background of this demonic series, I am thoroughly enjoying Persona 3.  

The story revolves around six high school kids from Gekkokan High, somewhere in Japan. They go to school, meet up with friends, live in a boarding house, and fight demons. Yes, they fight demons with conjured spirits called Personas. 

The game's protagonist goes to school and makes social links with his friends, which in turn powers up his Personas. He studies, plays sports, goes on dates, and gets picked on by teachers to answer test questions. He gains academic points by studying, charisma points by doing well in front of his peers, and courage points by taking on dares. In a sense, he's not like your regular RPG protagonist at all - and I'm loving these aspects!

The game revolves around a calendar and the phases of the moon. While every day you'll have to go to school and find clues amongst the students, nights are made for dungeon crawling. The only dungeon so far in the game is Tartarus. I've only gone up to the 50th floor, but it seems to extend towards infinity. Sundays are days where you're free, but you should go hang out with your friends to boost social links. Then there are the days with the full moons; these are days with boss battles. With that in mind, every day can be used to effect, or wasted if you're not careful. It took me awhile to get used to this format of playing, but once I did, I felt something I haven't felt in video-games for awhile. I get totally absorbed. 

Another aspect is the Rated-M parts of the game. I haven't played an RPG that's rated-M since Digital Devil Saga, and it does make a difference. They can say harsher words and use a lot more blood. Even bosses expose a bit more sexual innuendo than before. But all in all, I think everyone should give this game a try. I know I'll be rushing to defeat it. Hopefully Persona 4 will be just as good.  The following pictures are of the main characters: Mitsuru, Junpei, Akihiko, and Yukari. 

Continued on Part 2

Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn - Nintendo Wii

Have you ever played a game that took so long, that life invariably gets in the way? When I first started playing this game for the Wii, I was planning a vacation and my company was going through some of the hottest summer days with work spewing out by the truckload. Now, 3 months later, I have already returned from my vacation, the DOW has lost another 1500 points, and I have found little time to pick up my wii-mote. Fire Emblem takes a long time, so don't go off buying it and expect to complete it in a week to return it to your local game store. 

t's the 5th of the series I believe, and it continues off of the Game Cube instalment, Path of Radiance. The DS version, Shadow Dragon is a remake of the first one, not sequential to Radiant Dawn. What makes it new is that it's the FIRST time I'm playing a Fire Emblem game, and I am liking it. It does make you whimper though, or as some reviewers say, "makes you cry like a little girl". Yes, the maps are difficult. Your guys are not superior to the enemy. Death occurs and there is no revivication. Death is death. It's part of the appeal of the game, the relentless difficulty of it. I've seen the Game Over sign countless times and it really makes me want to buy the guide. 

The game is like a rubix cube and a crossword puzzle; it makes you think, try new things, and build of answers for a complete solution. Well, you'd have to if you want your guys to survive.  You have to fiddle with it. Play through maps again and again until you realize your party's strengths and weaknesses.  You have to attack the maps from different perspectives. Once one segment is solved, other parts of the map is revealed. It's really a patient man's game. Whether it makes you patient or it's meant for patient people is a different story. 

The story is about a small group of rebels that are fighting back against a ruthless empire in the medieval times. Magic, might, and mayhem are all parts of the game. But there's also a big paper-rock-scissors. Lance takes swords, swords take axes, and axes take lances - I guess thats how it always have been in the series? What I find new is the "CARRY" command. I have played Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics, but never came across a game that lets you carry a person. I guess there's a a bit of that in Super Robot Wars as you can go back to the main carrier ship, but in this game, you have to use every command to your advantage. 

For now, I'm still learning the ropes as I play this in between Shining Force Neo and God of War.

Here's a video (set of videos) of a guy doing this game on a "speedrun". The blinking makes my eyes hurt, and I didn't watch anymore after the first video to prevent spoiling the game. I read that you can cut out animations only after you beat the game once, what an interesting reward:

Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen - SNES

When I first played this game, it was the only game of it's type in 1997, and well, twelve years later, I still feel like it's the only game of it's type. Ogre Battle is a RPG game that acts more like a strategy game. You control parties instead of individual characters and you send them all out from your base to defeat the enemy parties. Your characters have HP, MP, levels, and character class. Naturally there are special characters that have unique abilities. The "new" concept of the game is that you don't actually control your parties in battle, you have to learn their tendencies and just hope that the outcome goes in your favor. It was truly novelle at the time; I consider it like Final Fantasy 12 of today. It also has a great soundtrack with memorable tunes perfect for battle. The way the game is set up and the rich story of how you're the last bastion of light rebelling a giant empire (cliche nowadays?) made it an awesome game for 1997. 

I spent that summer in the 11th grade playing it for the first time. I got through it begrudgingly at snails pace and missed out a LOT of characters. It was also the first game that had good, evil, and neutral meters that reflected your actions in battle. Using your sense of morality, you can dominate over the weak or using weak characters to overcome adversity; creating a good alignment for your campaign. It had like 13 endings and I played it four times. The fourth time, with the help of a FAQ, I finally got it right, the uber ending.

Why did I bring this back up? Because I read this morning from 1up.com that this game is coming back, yes to the Wii as a Wiiware for like $8.00. Great deal for a game that is limited to 25,000 copies in North America. Ebay was selling this for at least $50.00, thankfully most of these games belonged to RPG lovers in the first place so they were kept in good condition. Ogre Battle, celebrated as an "A+" game, has finally made it's way back to our homes. 

I've included a video I found on youtube that shows how some of the battles go. I say don't go watch the ending videos, it spoils the game... even though it's 12 years old. 

Completion: Collected all characters and received rarest ending.

First Run: 35 hrs

2nd Run: 30 hrs

3rd Run: 60 hrs

4th Run: 80 hrs 

Hours Spent: approx. 205 hrs

God of War - PS2

God of War is one of those games that are so hyped these days that I find myself at odds with playing it for the first time in 2009. I did not have a chance for it when it just came out, as I was in Japan at the time, and it didn't really appeal to me. "Another slasher with cinematics?" I thought. But as I started playing it, I realize there was more to it. There was a great story.

After the first scenario, the Aegean sea where you fought the Hydra, you realize that there were more to just hack and slash. You'd have to think to defeat the bosses or fulfill the scene's objectives. So it became a puzzle game for me. I did get lost in the buttons for awhile (and am still learning the plethora of moves for Kratos), but I could get by with the Square, Square, Triangle combo. Just like Dynasty Warriors right? Perhaps. 

From there I learned more about Kratos's love-hate relationship with the Gods and his Spartan history. Rushing through the Temple of Athena, he defeats goblins, minatours, and medusas. I did hate medusas, as they could stone you and destroy you with one hit afterwards. I acquired their ability to solidify people, and started my way through the sewers. There was a lot of work involved but I found it relatively enjoyable. I didn't really start liking the game until I got the Sword of Artemis (shouldn't it be the bow?). But anyway, yes, I felt that the blades that Kratos used were a bit weak against the monsters, but the Sword of Artemis really got the job done. 

There was a time when I was really into Greek mythology, but I had forgotten it as school went by. Somehow my favorite was the story of Arachnid, the story of the spider woman. Or was it the story about how Zeus turned into a swan to court (or rape) the girl. Ahh, the Gods are crazy. 

From here I am walking through the maze known  as the Temple of Pandora. More medusas awaits!  

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift - NDS

After the initial 9 hours into this game, I realize I am hooked. The game is not much different from Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSX nor Disgaea for PS2. You control a small group of vagrant doing quests from one place to another while gaining levels and items for the big central quest, which is in this case to get back home. With that out of the way, I have to say that if you like leveling up, this game is a treat!

There are three major things you level up, your character's level, your characters abilities, and your clan's levels. With six races of characters, one of them being Hume of course, and dozens of job classes, there are a lot of possibilities. As you acquire more loot items, you can bring them to the bazaar where they forge new weapons and armor. These new items have abilities embedded into them, where you gain the abilities by wearing them. Now as you gain more abilities, you can change into different jobs. With new jobs, you get to defeat stronger enemies which drop higher level loot - as I said a very addictive cycle if you like leveling up. 

For now I have the Thief, Warrior, White/Black/Red/Blue Mages, Fighter, Soldier, Dragoon, Assasin, Archer, and Hunter. Hopefully I'll get more the next time I write. 

Puzzle Quest DS - NDS

Last played - January, 2008

Let's face it, when you're playing the DS, you usually want just a quick game of something to kill the time before you get back to what you're doing. I usually find it that way, and the best games to play on it are puzzle games. I am a firm believer that Tetris DS is a must have for the DS owner. So of all the puzzle games that are available to the DS, one really that I find highly addictive is Puzzle Quest.

Puzzle Quest is an RPG where the battles are done in puzzles. You choose a hero and fight monsters and mages with weapons and armor - all this done with puzzle games. The game itself is a cross between Bejewelled and columns. Match things and you can unleash skills.

Somehow this game got me through 50 hours of boredom spread out workdays and outings. Too bad my save was erased not too long after I defeated Bane. It was the journey that counted.

Completion: Beat the game.
Hours Spent: 50 Hrs

Rogue Galaxy - PS2

Rogue Galaxy is a great action RPG from the guys at Level-5 Video Games. Think of it as a FF12 that includes button mashing and cell-shaded graphics that are are similar to Dark Cloud 2 and Dragonquest 8.

My first impressions of it are positive. I like the cartoon-like characters as well as it's battle system. Not much different from your usual Square-soft Game. The learning curve isn't that difficult and after an hour into it you'll become accustomed to the menus and controls.

The game itself involves eight playable characters: Jasper, Kisala, Zegram, Simon, Steve, Jupis, Deego, and Lilika. Each has a moderately intriguing back story, with Deego being the most tragic. My favorite character seems to be Jupis, with his love for coffee and wacky break-dance moves.

The REVELATION power-up system is not different from the liscence system in Final Fantasy 12 nor is it too different from the sphere grid in Final Fantasy 10. You take common items found through-out the game and place it in designated grids to reveal new skills for your characters. Not too difficult to figure out, and the ease of use makes the game quite addictive for the first 20 hours. There's a bit of a sticky point when you start running out of high level items.

Graphically, this game is quite impressive for a PS2 title. One of my favorite cut-scenes is when you see Jasper try to solve the puzzle of the ancients. As a giant pile of digital bricks swirl in algorithmic motions, the hero tries to re-construct something out of it with his hands and mind. Quite a trip, even for a PS2 hooked to a 720p HD screen with component cables.

As the game progresses, we find more about the evil forces that are trying to profit from the warring planets, and the mysteries of the planet Eden. As the story begins revealing the background of Jaster's parents and Kisala's origins, we begin to see why the game is titled "Rogue Galaxy".

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI - PC

Yet another year passes and another Romance of the Three Kingdoms is released, this time for the PC. I finally got a copy of this last week and I started playing with a fury. I must have been deprived of it since the big skip from RTK6. 

The game is about 1.2 gigabites and runs quite smooth on my old computer. As I turn it on and select my character I realize the interface has changed a lot. I owned RTK10 for awhile but didn't like it much. I don't like playing officers in another person's army. This one goes back to the idea of being a warlord in the warring states of China. I picked Sun Jian, my usual pick for my first go around. Of the three big warlords, I usually pick him because he has so much room to expand and you basically can just take empty cities in the south and south east. 

Now during the city months there is much to do. They have Action Points for every action and Technique Points that are rewarded to you once you complete a deed. For every 1000 TP you can upgrade your weapons on the tech-tree. Development of farms and markets are similar to development of land plots in Civilization 4. I totally like the new idea. It's different, but you can actually see the farms next to your cities. Additionally, you can destroy enemy farms and barracks before ever attacking the main city itself. Another thing you do besides raise troops, build infrastructure, and employ new officers is that you have to perserve "order" in the city. This needs to be done by inspecting the town, a new feature. Cities with low order will lose moral and troops will leave monthly.

The battles are not on a different screen but happening on the world map. I hesitate, but it's one of the most enjoyable battle systems so far. All the old tricks are put into play: attacks, tactics, and strategy. Some tactics from Dynasty Warriors: Tactics (PS2) are used here as you can do  class-specific attacks like Rake and Onslaught. You can confuse armies with your advisors and also do co-ordinated attacks by adjacent armies with the "surround" command. 

The Emperial ranking system is still in play. This limits your use of huge armies. It also makes use for characters with lower stats like Yuan Shu and Liu Biao - if it weren't for their ranks, I would have sent them to my rear towns long ago. I haven't dealt much with the system as of yet, but the "auto-set" feature is quite handy. I'll trust it for now.

Lastly, and most hilarious of the game is the intellect duals that have been added on. Characters sometimes enter "debates" where they battle each other with facts and ponderings which seems like life or death verbal volleys. I think it's just so funny! Here's a screenshot:

I have much more work to do in this game, but for now it's eaten about 10 hours of my time.

Dragon Quest VIII - PS2

Last Played: October 2008.

For the first Playstation 2 Dragonquest game, it will be remembered as the most traditional RPG in the console. It's odd to pack the playable trailer of Final Fantasy 12 on this game because they share very little in common. I think this is one of those games that will linger in your mind for days to come after finishing it, but finishing it, well that's not an easy task.

The odd thing about my playing of Dragonquest VIII is the three month hiatus that I took inbetween the 40th hour of game time. Life gets in the way of video-games.

It's odd how many hours I spent on leveling up here. Compared to the previous Dragonquests, this one wasn't that bad at all. Fly to the plateau north west of Empryea. Walk around at night, and you'll find metal babbles. Have all your guys on "follow orders" for tactics. Have the hero do metal slash, Yangis to attack regularly (hoping for a critical hit), Angelo do metal slash, and Jessica to cast the Accelerate spell. Keep up this pattern until it's your third turn, by then your speed is so high, even Jessica should be attack (for the chance of a critical hit). Somehow with this strategy I was able to gain six levels for each of my guys. I totally over leveled for Rhapthorne, and I found that it was the easiest Dragon Quest boss I ever fought.

The two shots shows my winning team in the monster arena. The rival team uses a metal babble, so you better get lucky with those critical hits. In the end you get a nice piece of clothing. But anyway, I just like taking screen-shots.

All in all, I really liked this game. From the British accents to the cell-shaded graphics, the game really brought you back to the Dragon Quest franchise. I found myself not wanting it to end, but it had to finish somehow. I know that there is a New Game Plus for a second quest, but I don't think I will have enough time for it. The ending contains one of the funniest surprises in recent RPG gaming; the true guise of King Trode. I laughed, and I gave myself a pat on the back.

Spoiler Picture of King Trode below!

Completion: Beat the game's first run. Obtained S-Rank for the Monster Arena.
Hours Spent: 86 Hrs. 18 mins.

1UP's Review