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An incredible masterpiece of a remake.
Honestly, there's no reason to even bother going back and playing any other version of the game, this is the definitive edition.
Game looks amazing, plays smooth and the music is just incredibly immersive. Huge QOL improvements, definitely stream lined the game for more casual players but still, Dragon Quest shouldn't be inaccessible. The only reason this game suffered is because of hardware limitations at the time.
The NES version feels like a forgotten relic from the past after having only stepped in to this breathtaking rendition of the game for merely a few hours. I couldn't be happier with it honestly. They added some Monster Wrangling class in the game and it almost seems forced that you have one for the majority of the game but it is what it is... it's an optional addition and not at all necessary for you to enjoy the game like you remember.
People are complaining about a lot of the DEI stuff like removing Male / Female from the character choice and instead having type A and B... but meh... If you're worrying about these small hang ups, then there's definitely a more deep rooted underlying issue with why you don't want to buy the game. On a more positive note, anyone can be a Vamp now, including males or type A characters, so that's a huge plus as you no longer need to have a harem of female party members to get the most out of your stat gains.
Unfortunately, there are other issues under the hood that need to be addressed with the use of mods. These include, but aren't limited to, increasing the speed of the ship / bird and how often you get in to random battles. It's nice SE allowed us to even mod the game so easily, you just grab a mod file and throw it in the mod folder in your steam directory and boom, there you go... no real convoluted 3rd party programs required.
The predatory pre-order chest is an annoyance because it will forever taunt you in the character recruitment center but again, you can install a mod to open it and receive all the OP broken items on the start of a new adventure.
There's really no reason to hate on this version of the game other than your own personal hang ups about DEI stuff. Everything else is still in tact like you remember it and they even added difficulty settings for the more hardcore fan who would enjoy a true DQ slog experience.
Personally I'm just playing on normal mode and having a blast, as it's just the right level of balance for me. The QOL updates are a huge welcome addition, they make for a much more streamlined and smooth adventure instead of grinding XP until your brain rots.
I definitely wouldn't pay full pop for it though, as much effort as they put in to this, $90 CAD for this is just insane... I bought it on sale at -25% off... I would wait for at least a 50% sale... especially with the other two games in the series coming out in October. They'll probably do a brack Friday bunduru and package them all together for a huge discount at some point.
I feel like this game is going to be the one that shines the brightest because DQ I and II are much simpler in scope by comparison. It'll be nice to see the first DQ game in all it's HD-2D glory once again.
Great game! Legendary franchise!
Oh a jester badge? Thanks for the free points, we all know who the real clown is though. :)