This is a post of endearment and not of resentment, mind. Also, the term “classic-style” means to me that the RPG follows the format of older RPG video games, like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior).

1. You do not have a quest tracker or ingame journal. The gods help you should you take a break without writing down your current objective.
2. You can’t see the enemy’s hp level. Shouldn’t the goblin be dead by now?
3. You must grind to level up before reaching the next area. You better save before venturing forth two screens up, lest you be bested by a slime!
4. You can’t save just anywhere. So, I really need to go to an inn or church to record my progress? Can’t I just scribble a note on the back of my map?
5. You must traipse through dungeons basically having only one thing you need.  You: “Hello?” Echo: “Hello! Come find good loot guarded by mean monsters!” Echo 2: “Well, you might not find any loot worth writing home about, but there are mean monsters!”

All of this came about by my recent journey in Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride on the Nintendo DS. I seemingly lost my little pack of favorite DS games that included the re-remake of Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 and um, Pokemon Platinum. So, I rummaged around in my “out of rotation” collection of DS games, which are filled with various types of RPG games that I couldn’t get into.

Dragon Quest V was one such game back when I bought it. I couldn’t get past the prologue, not because it was hard (which it isn’t since all you have to do is walk around), but because I just wasn’t in the mood. Now, with my favorites missing and a RPG itch forming, I needed something. I tried a few other games and even bought a new one called Sands of Destruction. It lasted for roughly a week. There was something missing from the game. Although, it had horrible voice acting and whacky boss fights to make up for what it lacked.

So, with very little choice left, I popped in Dragon Quest V. Once out in the world on my own, I remembered the five things I listed above, yet instead of frustration and annoyance, which is what I felt years ago with games like this, I actually enjoyed it. Having to grind levels to progress seems archaic, and it is but it wasn’t all torture. In these older style games, you have to take your time. Sometimes it sucks and feels like it’s just filler content, but in Dragon Quest V, it doesn’t. To me at least. This is so mainly because of the day/night cycle where certain things/people are available at different times and to pass the time you have to wander out in the world. Also, my very first RPG video game was Dragon Warrior so the user interface and combat was familiar and brought back many fond memories.

This entry was posted on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 4:28 pm and is filed under Gaming. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.