Mamba219

The only opening to a video game I really remember being blown away by was Final Fantasy IX. I didn't even like RPGs when I first played it, and only intended to test the game out after receiving it as a gift. I thought it was remarkably clever and set the stage for the four main characters extremely well.

And Xenogears has the best ending I can remember. I won't go into detail here but it's the closest I've come to crying at a video game (or any other piece of media, for that matter).

Doesn't seem that dumb to me. Play whatever you want, man. If this streak is something you're enjoying and having fun with, then keep it up. The moment it becomes a problem or a stressor or something you feel like you don't have control over, end it.

I've been maxing out every character in the classic Playstation 2 title, Dynasty Warriors 2. I play it for like an hour every day and that's all the gaming I do. If anyone's being stupid, it's me!

Either rename or alias this page: Xu Zhu to Xu Chu

Xu Zhu is a mistranslation of the Chinese name "Xu Chu" as seen here: Wikipedia. Total War Wiki.

It's a tricky one as he is consistently misnamed "Xu Zhu" in the Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi franchises, but he was a historical figure and known as "Xu Chu" across most media, including Total War: Three Kingdoms and the famous Three Kingdoms Drama.

Recommend renaming page to "Xu Chu" and putting "Xu Zhu" as an alias.

I went to North Korea two years later because of this video, so I'd say it inspired me. Most interesting trip of my life.

I'm reasonably sure they do foreshadow Harle being a dragon, but like many things in the game they are easy to miss and VERY easy to dismiss on a first playthrough.

She acts odd around the other dragons if she's in your party, she leaves your party before entering the Dead Sea , things like this. The only creatures they specifically say are not able to enter the Dead Sea are the dragons. Consistent but not that easy to see if you aren't looking for it.

@lapsariangiraff: The last few years I've come to realize - almost every game (99%+) is better with limited storytelling.

Maybe that's just getting older and experiencing lots of stories through television and books, but man, video game storytelling is usually pretty terrible and detracts from my enjoyment of them. Everything is so slow.

I don't want to start new games because I don't want to sit through a lengthy set of story sequences and cutscenes.

I don't want to read fluff dialogue.

I want to play your game. Make it easy.

Legit - I can only think of a few games where the story sequences were some of my favorite parts from them. Xenogears, Final Fantasy VI, Persona 4, God of War II...This not including visual novels like Phoenix Wright or 428: Shibuya and the like. It's been a staggering realization for me.

Star Fox 64 has some of my all-time favorite voice work.

Seems cool! What platforms does it support? I know the game is available on many, but I imagine the Translation Patch only works on one or two.

@imunbeatable80 said:

There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

By "monster-of-the-week" I didn't really mean literal monsters, I meant more in terms of structure. Usually Dragon Quest games have you visit a town and solve its weird, random issues before moving on to another town and doing the same. They don't feel particularly connected, is what I meant.

Recall, or perhaps imagine yourself as, the true target demographic: people living in Japan. They have stressful work lives that keeps them out at all hours. Most of the time they have to spend playing games is done in short, incremental play sessions on commutes or in the evenings. For this audience, the Dragon Quest formula makes perfect sense. The relaxing, cheerful, and upbeat music is calming and enveloping. The monster designs pop and are clear. The game is designed in such a way as to drag on for many play sessions, but each play session feels important because you are accomplishing small tasks.

That's because many people who play Dragon Quest aren't worried about the "climate" you discuss. They don't really care about all the games being released. They just want their one piece of comfort food to get them through the tedium of the day. To come home to something relaxing and enjoyable that isn't too taxing.

The best-selling games in the franchise in Japan are Dragon Quest III, Dragon Quest VII, and Dragon Quest IX. Just going to tell you now: Dragon Quest VII has far, far less direction than XI does. It is also probably the longest JRPG ever made. You think the 90 hours of Dragon Quest XI are a lot, you haven't seen anything - Dragon Quest VII is easily 150 hours at a normal pace. Yet it sold unbelievably well. IX is similar, and emphasizes multiplayer. Multiplayer! In an RPG! It's hard for many of us who view games as a mainstay of our lives to fathom why a game like this could have such wide appeal, but there it is. They are marathons, not sprints. It sounds like your initial experience with this game was actually pretty much as the developers intended.