Does Dragon Quest have any unique elements that make it a valuable

>>4063073
I can't think of many games that focuses into the world as DQ does. Travelling to new towns is actually fun instead of 'plot required'.

>>4063073
You're only here to start a fight.

Back in the day it was very groundbreaking, but today it's nothing special. It doesn't help that the latest 4 or 5 entries make a point of being as nostalgic and classical as possible. Its overall contribution to the genre is insane though.

IV does some interesting things with narrative that I haven't seen replicated before.

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No they're good games.
DQ III, the one you posted, is IMO the best one.
Completely open world, and the DQIII world is similar to the real world in geographical terms so that's pretty cool. 100% customizable party, rewarding equipment and gold system, enemies that require strategy, fast-paced menu browsing, no loading times whatsoever (really, JRPGs benefit a lot from not having loading times, it's why I never liked 5th gen JRPGs that much compared to older ones).
It's just one grand journey, anyone who likes videogames should try DQIII at least once, it's the quintessential JRPGs. If you don't like this game, then fair, JRPGs aren't for you.
Some people might like other DQ more than III; those who enjoy a story-focused game more, games like DQIV and V for example, those are good too, but I think DQIII is the top.

One of my favorite things about Dragon Quest is how seamlessly it dresses up Japanese and Chinese mythology and folklore in western fantasy clothing. I've been a fan since I was a child but it's something I only noticed recently.

3, 4, and 5 aren't just good for their time; their solid design is still readily apparent today, and to the extent that a lot of RPGs have moved deep into the "cinematic" realm (not necessarily a bad thing, just a different paradigm), they actually provide an experience that's harder to come by these days, especially one that's delivered in such a well-polished package. Like >>4063076 points out, they fit into a kind of fantasy storytelling that's more focused on the world and the myth than on the tale, if that makes sense.

>>4063192
I loved the whole Orochi/Queen Himiko part in Jipang, I played DQIII after Okami so I was familiar with the legend.
I also felt Lamia, its egg and the 2 fairies that protect it are a reference to some old myth. It's definitely identical to the Mothra story, but maybe Mothra is also based in old japanese/asian folklore.

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>>4063073
Each game has generally thecsame gameplay but differences in mechanics. Each game has a unique aspect or expands on a previous game's mechanics.
DQI: First game, not much to say but you can't really fault it.

DQII: Now have a party of characters, each of the three characters play differently.

DQIII: Party size increased to four. Players can make custom parties as well as change character's classes. More nonlinear design.

DQIV: Greater emphasis on individual character's stories. Now have eight party mbers meaning you have to manage all eight characters.

DQV: Even greater emphasis on story as well as monster collecting.

DQVI: Job system allowing chatacters to perform different roles in battle.

DQVII: Job system refined and improved as well a larger emphasis on each island's story.

DQVIII: Tension system and alchemy pot (personally I find this the least important change ever made in a mainline DQ).

DQIX: Return to custom parties like III as well as online functions such as multiplayer.

DQX: Completely different genre, now a MMO.

>>4063073
>"it was good for the time?"
A person like you must not be able to enjoy anything.

I wish I knew why they made basically fucking everything in the midgame, tons of stuff in the lategame, and every major boss resistant to magic. A 3 caster party isn't even fucking overpowered compared to a mixed party.

>>4063390
VIII also greatly revamped the world map and how you explore it.

>>4063445
Original point of magic in III was that it hits multiple enemies while weapons could only hit one at a time, but then in the remakes (SFC, GBC, phone) they added multi-target hitting weapons (boomerangs, whips) and magic attacks became underwhelming.

>>4063559
This is why remakes are always worse.

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>>4063565
The SFC remakes are actually good. They add a bunch of vibrancy to the world.

Also here's some cute art

>>4063571
I can't fucking understand what's going on in this comic

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>>4063493
You are correct, my mistake.
>>4063565
Nah, the sfc version of DQIII is by far the best version.

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>>4063575
The sage girl has a crush on the hero and when he turns and passes her she blushes. The way it is suppose to be read is like a 4coma.

>>4063575
Your party members trail behind you as you walk around. If you turn around they all make the turn and pass by you. The Sage in the comic has a crush on the hero, and whenever he passes her, she gets all flustered.

>>4063073
I'd say this game along with ff4 are my platonic ideals of 80's-early 90's jrpgs

>>4063559
Sure, and it also pierces through high defense like crabs. Too bad that doesn't fucking matter and is worse than just focusing enemies down one at a time with melee or debuffing and letting them clean up because your spells don't even work more than half of the time. Case in point: Tortragons.

It's one of the only games that get leveling right. Later weeb rpgs suck at this consistently which makes them boring slogs for the most part.

>equipment actually matters and isn't an automatic upgrade, you gotta make choices since you're not gonna have a million gold after 2 hours
>you can't breeze through half the game, gotta stay around and gain a level or two in new locations
>battles are FAST and don't make me want to kill myself watching cutscenes for the millionth time
>you don't get saddled with an infinite supply of health / mana potions you never use, mana potions are rare in general
>buffs are worth bothering with

Basically the games do all the minor things right which get ignored by other rpgs and are balanced.
A word of caution though, don't play the remakes since they're often casualized shit.

>>4063896
>you can't breeze through half the game, gotta stay around and gain a level or two in new locations

This is something that I like about old RPGs that I feel like all modern devs have dismissed as too "old-school" or not player friendly enough. I liked getting the lay of the land in a new area, spending some time learning the various types of monsters and saving up for the new town's equipment. I'd like to put that sort of thing in a game I make. But modern/mainstream players just see it as an inconvenience and "not having to grind" as seen as a huge selling point nowadays. Pisses me off.

>>4063076
That's pretty much Ultima staple.

>>4063909
Because it's not as interesting as you make it out to be and forced grinding or fuck you has serious consequences on replays. Even as early as DQ3 they did their damndest to cut the kind of grinding that defined DQ1. You should be getting all the levels you need just from exploring, even on replays.

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It's a good lawnmower simulator with a sense of humor and nice music.
It's a bit of a shame though that the series became less open and more linear with each title.

3 is the best, like >>4063169 said.

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DQ3 lets me make a fantasy party out of my friends/family, then leads me in imagininig hundreds of scenarios. It's everything I loved about Oregon Trail but with medicinal herbs and lightning magic. I actually replayed it last year and still had a blast. Portable, colorful, cute. It Rocks.

>>4064869
Also there's a ton of content, it's crazy. After a moderately linear opening dozen or so hours, the game opens up and has six or seven fully fledged sidequests that can each take a few hours to knock out.

And then after all that you go to a different world which easily takes another 5+
to beat. Tons of interesting stuff too: founding the village is a particular favorite of mine.

It's also great to mess around in. I've done gimmick parties (all goof offs, solo games with only the hero) and they work well because the game is robust enough. It's a fantastic game.

>>4063575
You read the 4 right panels first then the 4 left panels.