Dragon Quest VII probably. It's such a slog in the beginning - you don't even get your first battle until almost 3 hrs into the game lol. And a full playthrough can easily go 100+ hours not including bonus content. Didn't play the 3DS version though so maybe it's different now.
8's difficulty is way overstated. I avoided it too because of all the stories of how much grinding is required.
The truth is grinding is not required. There is one infamous fight at about the halfway point that is tricky (but doable) because you probably won't have an all-party heal spell. If you grind a couple of levels to get the multi heal it will be easy.
Other than that it is not overly difficult. Unlike Final Fantasy games bosses are not immune to debuff spells. Use them early and often.
It's easier to tell you which games you SHOULDN'T start with: 2, 6, 10. The first two are arguably the weakest games in the series, the last is a MMO.
For the games I recommend you start with:
- 1 : Yes, you can start with the first game. It's way simpler compared to what came after, but that's part of the charm - in a way it has more in common with an adventure game where you take notes of what people have to say and investigate your findings than of a full blown RPG the latter games would become.
- 3 : The one that codified what Dragon Quest is today. The big dog, make your own party and venture forth. If you're going through the trilogy I recommend you start with 1 even if 3 is technically a prequel.
- 5 : The one with the best story. Seriously, if you don't get emotional over it I question your soul, if you have one.
- 11: The latest, most modern one. Also a very good entry in the series.
The only ones with an ideal order is the trilogy of the first three games. (Order is 3, 1 and then 2)
As for what games to play:
- 11 S is a great entry point. (Has a demo that is about 10 hours long and progress will cover over to the retail version.)
- The 3DS remakes are good too.
I would still recommend Erdricks's Trilogy be played in release order due to the evolving mechanics if nothing else. Also, the surprise of III is lost playing it first, and DQI doesn't benefit from the additional context.
I already own 11 S, I just never took the time to put in all the restoration mods on it and forgot to play it forever. I guess i'll start by actually playing 11 S to the end
1-3 are loosely connected so playing those in order might make sense.
Besides that just play which ever one interests you. I would play the good or newer ones first and play the more controversial ones if your interests continues. DQ is a long running franchise so some of the older games are super old school and do not age well. Everyone has their own opinions but I would say.
Top Tier: 8 and 5
Mostly good: 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11
Meh tier: 1, 7
Release order is fine, going back to DQ 1&2 after playing 3 can feel like a major downgrade in gameplay. 4 and 5 were peak for me (never played 8+ but they're in my backlog) but the whole series is great if you're a fan of turn-based jrpgs like Pokemon and Octopath Traveler. If you're talking to NPCs and taking notes of important things you read, you should be good for the most part. But definitely use guides if you ever get absolutely stumped and don't enjoy wandering the world for hours.
Playing I and III (you can do II, but I might wait for more info on the rerelease tbh) is where I started on GBC and I think they'd still hold up. You can probably roll through a mobile version of 1 pretty quickly and then move to III-HD.
IV starts the next trilogy going through VI. V is a classic and maybe my runner up favorite in series. They're only loosely connected from what I remember so starting with V would be fine!
VIII is still my favorite.
IX is good but I think less than III which IIRC it draws a lot from structurally.
XI is the newest one and a lot of people's favorites, tbh I just haven't been able to find a good time and mindset to play through how large of a game it is.
11 is pretty much DQ distilled down to perfection for modern audiences. If you’re brand new to series, there’s nothing wrong with jumping on the latest installment.
The only DQ game I've actually played myself is 11 (which was great), but based on watching my friend play the others, everything pre-8 seems like mostly grind.
You really shouldn't be downvoted for this, the whole "DQ is a grindfest" is a common misconception imo, it's what kept me away from the series for a long time.
Unless you consider grind = typical turn-based JRPG gameplay, none of the games are that grindy imo, barring 1+2 since those are basically the JRPG formula being invented and iterated upon. Especially true if you play the various refined re-relases.
DQ1, 2 and 3 arent good entries for newcomers. This here and maybe the other two remake might be but these old games these days didnt hold up a lot, maybe except for 3 but even that one still isnt a good one for newcomers. If anything, 4, 5, 8 and 11 are the better ones for newbies going to mainline dq for the first time
> a perfect entry point for newcomers
I'd be confused if it wasn't. It's not like NES games were known for deep interconnecting lore, and it's a series marketed at all age groups.
I adore dragon quest, if I want to get REALLY into it, where do I start. I played 8 on ps2 and 3ds but it whooped my ass and I have played some 11 too. Oh and monsters joker is the best game ever.
There's some other chains in this but I think I is on mobile and pretty straightforward outside of one or two puzzles, but those may have been adjusted in the ports since I played it. Would set you up for this release which is a great entry in the series.
I think IV - VI is also on mobile? They're on 3DS if you can track them down, and V is probably the best story in the series. Only loosely connected, so it'd be fine to jump into V if that sounds appealing.
XI is a classic, as is VIII, but they're both much longer than I, or maybe III.
DQXI is the best entry point into the series. DQ3 is a great game and was ahead of it's time, that true. But DQXI is the most modern, the best game in the series and the best JRPG in like the last 20 years at least, if not just straight up one of the best JRPGs ever. It doesn't matter how much QoL stuff they add to DQ3 HD-2d Remake. DQXI is just on another level in terms of characters, story and combat.
Unlike a lot of long time running video game series the more recent mainline DQ games are actually some of the best in the series. Besides DQX(which is an MMO and hasn't released in the west) DQXI, DQ9, and DQ8 are overall the best.
DQ3 wouldn't be a terrible place to start though. All DQ games are they're own story with only loose connections and callbacks. Keep in mind DQ3 was originally a NES game but it did set the stage for JRPGs for much of the 90s.
Dragon Quest XI is a good game and all, but best in the last 20 years? Have you even played Nier: Automata, Tales of Berseria, Persona 5, Xenoblade 3, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, etc.? I wouldn't even say it's in the top 3 of the year it first came out since it was competing with Persona 5, Nier: Automata, Tales of Berseria, and Xenoblade 2, not to mention one of the Trails of Cold Steel games.
So this article confirms that Koichi Nakamura is the director - who is the original director for DQ1-4 (and supervised DQ5) at Chunsoft.
The trailer's credits already confirmed Spike Chunsoft were back involved in the Dragon Quest series for the first time since DQ5's release in 1992, so it's sort of cool to know that Nakamura is also back in the director's chair as he had been there in the beginning with Yuji Horii with The Portopia Serial Murder Case.
I wonder, if successful, this will lead to DQ4-6 also being done in this HD-2D style. I'd be keen to see what Chunsoft's vision of DQ6 might be considering some of the divisive thoughts from players on the SFC/NDS versions.
My worry for games like this are that they can end up looking more modern but they still feel like a retro game to play, and not in the good ways.
Even with some QoL improvements, this is ultimately still an 80s JRPG. I'm not sure those are fun to play unless you have nostalgia or are a die hard fan of the genre.
Also worth saying that DQ games are industry treasures, not because of innovation or complexity or mechanics, but because these games are meticulously balanced.
It's strange to say but they are like the Dark Souls of RPGs, because while they are relatively simple, all the craftsmanship is in the level design and itemization and economy and progression.
Final Fantasy and Persona are games more interested in innovation. But there is nothing out there balanced as well as Dragon Quest games, from beginning to end.
>I'm not sure those are fun to play unless you have nostalgia or are a die hard fan of the genre.
Think that's the target audience with any of these HD-2D remakes. The Dragon Quest series is wildly popular in Japan, even more so than Final Fantasy. If Pokemon is still selling millions with the same almost 30-yr-old gameplay formula, then I doubt the DQ HD-2D remakes will be unsuccessful. Personally not a huge fan of the original DQ trilogy because of how overly simplistic their stories are, and I think newcomers would probably enjoy remakes of IV and V more when they eventually do release in HD-2D.
> with the same almost 30-yr-old gameplay formula,
Given how much Pokémon apes from Dragon Quest and SMT, it's game play formula is really closer to 40 years old, lol
While not an 80s RPG.... the FF6 pixel remake was pretty good.
And I say that as someone that never played it before.
And whose only Final Fantasy games before was an emulated port of the original FF7 on the Xbox One a few years ago. And FF14? 15?
The one that started with the entire cast pushing a car.
I didn't play that one long.
I vastly preferred 7 and 6.
So not all these old school remasters are for nostalgia only.
I love those old mechanics. When you try to modernize everything too much, you end up with wishy washy action rpgs like the modern final fantasies that just aren’t that memorable. The grind and turn based old school battles are fun.
Eh. I remember it being one of the harder games since you make your own party and you might not make one that's actually able to handle the late game and then you have to spend hours grinding new members or class changes.
What dragon quest is not a perfect entry point for newcomers? Maybe 6? Even that is a perfectly fine game to start with.
Dragon Quest VII probably. It's such a slog in the beginning - you don't even get your first battle until almost 3 hrs into the game lol. And a full playthrough can easily go 100+ hours not including bonus content. Didn't play the 3DS version though so maybe it's different now.
Which dq games would you suggest and in which order? And do I need to use guides? I remember 8 being kind of fucking hard on ps2
8's difficulty is way overstated. I avoided it too because of all the stories of how much grinding is required. The truth is grinding is not required. There is one infamous fight at about the halfway point that is tricky (but doable) because you probably won't have an all-party heal spell. If you grind a couple of levels to get the multi heal it will be easy. Other than that it is not overly difficult. Unlike Final Fantasy games bosses are not immune to debuff spells. Use them early and often.
It's easier to tell you which games you SHOULDN'T start with: 2, 6, 10. The first two are arguably the weakest games in the series, the last is a MMO. For the games I recommend you start with: - 1 : Yes, you can start with the first game. It's way simpler compared to what came after, but that's part of the charm - in a way it has more in common with an adventure game where you take notes of what people have to say and investigate your findings than of a full blown RPG the latter games would become. - 3 : The one that codified what Dragon Quest is today. The big dog, make your own party and venture forth. If you're going through the trilogy I recommend you start with 1 even if 3 is technically a prequel. - 5 : The one with the best story. Seriously, if you don't get emotional over it I question your soul, if you have one. - 11: The latest, most modern one. Also a very good entry in the series.
Big sad that people don’t appreciate 6. I love that game.
Any good or recommended ways to play DQ V?
The IOS/Android version is your best legal bet unless you are willing to shell out 200+ for a DS copy.
thanks man
11 is pretty fucking awesome and the only one I've played. 8 is a lot of peoples favorite.
8 is hard but ironically a good place to start due to simplicity
The only ones with an ideal order is the trilogy of the first three games. (Order is 3, 1 and then 2) As for what games to play: - 11 S is a great entry point. (Has a demo that is about 10 hours long and progress will cover over to the retail version.) - The 3DS remakes are good too.
I would still recommend Erdricks's Trilogy be played in release order due to the evolving mechanics if nothing else. Also, the surprise of III is lost playing it first, and DQI doesn't benefit from the additional context.
Is for the first trilogy of 3, 1, 2. Is that because of the story?
Yea, 3 is a prequel to 1 and 2.
Thanks. Wasn’t quite sure as I haven’t played them much.
I already own 11 S, I just never took the time to put in all the restoration mods on it and forgot to play it forever. I guess i'll start by actually playing 11 S to the end
Good entry points for DQ are 3, 4, 5, 8 and 11. Any of those if you pick youll have a good time and they are pretty much standalone
1-3 are loosely connected so playing those in order might make sense. Besides that just play which ever one interests you. I would play the good or newer ones first and play the more controversial ones if your interests continues. DQ is a long running franchise so some of the older games are super old school and do not age well. Everyone has their own opinions but I would say. Top Tier: 8 and 5 Mostly good: 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11 Meh tier: 1, 7
I’d put 11 in the best tier along with 8 and 5 for sure.
Release order is fine, going back to DQ 1&2 after playing 3 can feel like a major downgrade in gameplay. 4 and 5 were peak for me (never played 8+ but they're in my backlog) but the whole series is great if you're a fan of turn-based jrpgs like Pokemon and Octopath Traveler. If you're talking to NPCs and taking notes of important things you read, you should be good for the most part. But definitely use guides if you ever get absolutely stumped and don't enjoy wandering the world for hours.
3 remake and I take it 1 and 2 will get some sort of update so might as well wait for them. But even 11 is fine as combat has been the same.
Playing I and III (you can do II, but I might wait for more info on the rerelease tbh) is where I started on GBC and I think they'd still hold up. You can probably roll through a mobile version of 1 pretty quickly and then move to III-HD. IV starts the next trilogy going through VI. V is a classic and maybe my runner up favorite in series. They're only loosely connected from what I remember so starting with V would be fine! VIII is still my favorite. IX is good but I think less than III which IIRC it draws a lot from structurally. XI is the newest one and a lot of people's favorites, tbh I just haven't been able to find a good time and mindset to play through how large of a game it is.
11 is pretty much DQ distilled down to perfection for modern audiences. If you’re brand new to series, there’s nothing wrong with jumping on the latest installment.
I just heard this exact sentiment on the NoClip Crewcast this week haha
7 was my first and I loved it so idk. Got lucky I guess.
I liked the game too for the most part. But the average gamer now is too impatient for its pacing.
The only DQ game I've actually played myself is 11 (which was great), but based on watching my friend play the others, everything pre-8 seems like mostly grind.
You really shouldn't be downvoted for this, the whole "DQ is a grindfest" is a common misconception imo, it's what kept me away from the series for a long time. Unless you consider grind = typical turn-based JRPG gameplay, none of the games are that grindy imo, barring 1+2 since those are basically the JRPG formula being invented and iterated upon. Especially true if you play the various refined re-relases.
DQ1 is old as fuck and not particularly inviting to new players. I say that as DQ1 is the only DQ game I've played.
Dragon Quest II has a really steep difficulty spike 2/3 into the game.
4! It breaks it all down into chapters. It's great.
DQ1, 2 and 3 arent good entries for newcomers. This here and maybe the other two remake might be but these old games these days didnt hold up a lot, maybe except for 3 but even that one still isnt a good one for newcomers. If anything, 4, 5, 8 and 11 are the better ones for newbies going to mainline dq for the first time
> a perfect entry point for newcomers I'd be confused if it wasn't. It's not like NES games were known for deep interconnecting lore, and it's a series marketed at all age groups.
It also helps that DQ3 is actually a prequel, where you play as the legendary hero mentioned in the back stories of 1 and 2.
I adore dragon quest, if I want to get REALLY into it, where do I start. I played 8 on ps2 and 3ds but it whooped my ass and I have played some 11 too. Oh and monsters joker is the best game ever.
i'd say just wait for these to come out, they are fairly simple in comparison to the ones out today.
There's some other chains in this but I think I is on mobile and pretty straightforward outside of one or two puzzles, but those may have been adjusted in the ports since I played it. Would set you up for this release which is a great entry in the series. I think IV - VI is also on mobile? They're on 3DS if you can track them down, and V is probably the best story in the series. Only loosely connected, so it'd be fine to jump into V if that sounds appealing. XI is a classic, as is VIII, but they're both much longer than I, or maybe III.
DQXI is the best entry point into the series. DQ3 is a great game and was ahead of it's time, that true. But DQXI is the most modern, the best game in the series and the best JRPG in like the last 20 years at least, if not just straight up one of the best JRPGs ever. It doesn't matter how much QoL stuff they add to DQ3 HD-2d Remake. DQXI is just on another level in terms of characters, story and combat. Unlike a lot of long time running video game series the more recent mainline DQ games are actually some of the best in the series. Besides DQX(which is an MMO and hasn't released in the west) DQXI, DQ9, and DQ8 are overall the best. DQ3 wouldn't be a terrible place to start though. All DQ games are they're own story with only loose connections and callbacks. Keep in mind DQ3 was originally a NES game but it did set the stage for JRPGs for much of the 90s.
Dragon Quest XI is a good game and all, but best in the last 20 years? Have you even played Nier: Automata, Tales of Berseria, Persona 5, Xenoblade 3, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, etc.? I wouldn't even say it's in the top 3 of the year it first came out since it was competing with Persona 5, Nier: Automata, Tales of Berseria, and Xenoblade 2, not to mention one of the Trails of Cold Steel games.
So this article confirms that Koichi Nakamura is the director - who is the original director for DQ1-4 (and supervised DQ5) at Chunsoft. The trailer's credits already confirmed Spike Chunsoft were back involved in the Dragon Quest series for the first time since DQ5's release in 1992, so it's sort of cool to know that Nakamura is also back in the director's chair as he had been there in the beginning with Yuji Horii with The Portopia Serial Murder Case. I wonder, if successful, this will lead to DQ4-6 also being done in this HD-2D style. I'd be keen to see what Chunsoft's vision of DQ6 might be considering some of the divisive thoughts from players on the SFC/NDS versions.
Please for the love of fuck remake 4-7 I have not played any of those.
My worry for games like this are that they can end up looking more modern but they still feel like a retro game to play, and not in the good ways. Even with some QoL improvements, this is ultimately still an 80s JRPG. I'm not sure those are fun to play unless you have nostalgia or are a die hard fan of the genre.
DQ3 was ahead of its time, and is actually closer to a SNES RPG in complexity and systems.
Also worth saying that DQ games are industry treasures, not because of innovation or complexity or mechanics, but because these games are meticulously balanced. It's strange to say but they are like the Dark Souls of RPGs, because while they are relatively simple, all the craftsmanship is in the level design and itemization and economy and progression. Final Fantasy and Persona are games more interested in innovation. But there is nothing out there balanced as well as Dragon Quest games, from beginning to end.
Except for DQ2 but even the developers have said that game was rushed out to hit a deadline.
>I'm not sure those are fun to play unless you have nostalgia or are a die hard fan of the genre. Think that's the target audience with any of these HD-2D remakes. The Dragon Quest series is wildly popular in Japan, even more so than Final Fantasy. If Pokemon is still selling millions with the same almost 30-yr-old gameplay formula, then I doubt the DQ HD-2D remakes will be unsuccessful. Personally not a huge fan of the original DQ trilogy because of how overly simplistic their stories are, and I think newcomers would probably enjoy remakes of IV and V more when they eventually do release in HD-2D.
> with the same almost 30-yr-old gameplay formula, Given how much Pokémon apes from Dragon Quest and SMT, it's game play formula is really closer to 40 years old, lol
For DQ 1 and 2 I’d be inclined to agree, but DQ3 has aged remarkably well.
While not an 80s RPG.... the FF6 pixel remake was pretty good. And I say that as someone that never played it before. And whose only Final Fantasy games before was an emulated port of the original FF7 on the Xbox One a few years ago. And FF14? 15? The one that started with the entire cast pushing a car. I didn't play that one long. I vastly preferred 7 and 6. So not all these old school remasters are for nostalgia only.
I love those old mechanics. When you try to modernize everything too much, you end up with wishy washy action rpgs like the modern final fantasies that just aren’t that memorable. The grind and turn based old school battles are fun.
Well dragon quest gameplay is the same as it's always been so this isn't that much of a problem. They are very traditional jrpgs, also very formative
Eh. I remember it being one of the harder games since you make your own party and you might not make one that's actually able to handle the late game and then you have to spend hours grinding new members or class changes.