Characters outside of story and core gameplay, good. Story, abysmal. Music, fine until you realize every level theme is the engage theme in a different rendition. Engaging, cool in concept but felt like it shouldn’t have been as vital as it was even on normal difficulty. The game was a solid 3/5 until I hit the big Alear reveal that I won’t mention, but the game spiraled so hard from that point forward that a point was lost in all that nonsense both story and level design wise.

In short, apologize to Fates now.

Fire Emblem owes so much of its identity and gameplay to this excellent title. This is the most engaging story in the series and characters really pop despite having so few conversations. They make up for it by having most of those conversations matter a lot both in story exposition and conveying personalities and feelings. A shorter chapter count isn’t even an issue because every mission is so dense with content that you’ll be there for hours. The challenge of each mission makes great pop-offs when things work out. Promotions are very strong and well worth the effort invested into each and every character. The skill system was a bit finnicky as a first attempt but still very fun to play around with. I’m stunned this game was born so early in the series lifespan. It’s nothing short of a masterpiece.

If I were to name downsides, one would be maps so expansive that units without horses struggle to keep up with the ebb and flow of your army, enemy armies and changes in the battlefield. This isn’t as bad in generation 2 where pairings are more of an afterthought, but in generation 1 this results in leaving certain units out of the fight until their pairing is done; further crippling your offensive and defensive capabilities. The other main issue I encountered was boss balance varying wildly, namely the ones with holy weapons. Their stat leaps are far stronger than your own to the point almost every unit you have is guaranteed to die without some major luck involved.

Dragon Quest 8 marked a large leap for the series in a lot of ways. Among those changes are doing away with the vocations of 6 & 7 in favor of learning spells via level like usual and introducing "skill trees" that are mostly tied to your weapon of preference. This restructures the many attack skills introduced in 6 & 7 into a more permanent and simplified form that also creates lots of replayability. The music is once again fantastic, the final boss theme being my favorite in the series to date. Party member dialogue was another major shift, moving from party chat being your main method of learning about your team to organic dialogue throughout story scenes to further flesh out your companions. Lastly, the overworld became vastly larger.

Now while all of these sound like major boons for the series, I can't say much of it wowed me the way it seemed to do for many others. I found the overworld far too big for its own good with a lot of wasted open space that makes travel an agonizing experience. Skill trees are fun but some are far stronger than others, and if you happen to realize too late that you don't like the pathway you picked, there's no fixing it or respec-ing without modding or restarting your entire save. Our cast has been given strong backstories that give you a reason to care and a good reason to join your journey, but I felt that as soon as they joined their character development stopped there and then. There's occasional banter and jokes that make for good laughs but outside of that, I felt this was one of the flattest groups in the series. An unfortunate downgrade from the joy I experienced getting to know the casts of 6 & 7.

Overall I had a good time and the improvements are objectively good for the series moving forward, but I'd be lying if I said this was the pinnacle of the series like it's often heralded to be. Oh, and the plot is kinda barebones on account of how much important lore is hidden away in random bookshelves that would've benefited greatly from being included more organically.

7.5/10

A very comfortable rpg with two fairly good new characters. I loved the presentation and how different yet familiar everyone was with chibi models and portraits. If you liked Strikers, I can’t say this game holds up to that bar due to the story focusing heavily on the new characters and bringing little to the returning cast outside of banter. But if that doesn’t deter you, I implore that you give Tactica a chance. The dlc story was also solid but would only recommend it on a sale as the dlc characters are only usable in ng+

Dragon Quest can often feel like a lengthy series, from grinding out experience and cash to solving every town’s problems again and again and again. DQ7 will test your endurance more than any other in the franchise, but I promise it’s so worth it.

The cast is one of the strongest I’ve experienced despite only two party members carrying plot relevant reasons to endure the journey. Gameplay progression systems from DQ6 return with far more balance and updated use, making them welcome additions this time around.

The story really relies on your thirst for adventure in the first 15-20 hours or so as you begin to feel out your companions and you all start to see the effects your actions enable. It’s built mostly on what would be considered small subplots for over half the game before you’re hit with point blank narrative relevance. Despite the lull of story beats, each subplot is more interesting than the last and the myriad of themes presented throughout each are a treat each time.

Unfortunately I can’t praise the game’s finer points without major spoilers, but in conclusion DQ7 is well worth the time for those with some patience and a hunger for the unknown

Excellent title for people who enjoy a good monster battler. The level of detail in the environments is an impressive reimagining of the gameboy color original. Monsters have been added in from other DQM titles and gameplay borrowed from later titles go a long way to revitalize the experience for new and returning players. And having recently finished DQ6, this was a nice supplementary journey to see unfold for the game’s most tragic characters. I enjoyed my time with this game and am looking forward to trying 2, Joker series, and Dark Prince soon

This game is a lot of wasted potential, but even among that I found a lot to love. I can’t forgive the level cap system being poorly implemented and the evident plot details missing. Content bloat is also a constant issue due to the lack of coherent plot and character side plots, resulting in consistent tedium during a lot of the latter half of the game. I understand the prevalent mentality behind skipping 6 and after playing it I kinda agree. I had a great time but this is certainly a hard title to suggest unless you’re in the thick of DQ as a franchise and need to assuage your curiosity.

What else can I say other than brutal? DQ3 tried to deliver on a jrpg adventure that felt personal, with the supposed death of your father kicking off your journey as his replacement and living up to his legacy. In my opinion, DQ5 completely destroyed DQ3 in that department. I won’t get into too much detail to keep things fresh for those to come, but the journey immediately feels personal from the intro alone, leading into your own birth and then giving you the reins as a 6 year old boy exploring the world with your father Pankraz. Everything that comes after is a mix of wonder, joy, adventure, cruelty, hatred, and depression.

DQ5 also introduces us to the monster taming mechanic, allowing for numerous team possibilities. The fresh ost was a welcome addition and having party chat built in both enhance the experience so much. And last but not least, I said I wouldn’t get into spoilers but man I can’t get over how the journey and the realizations you come to are scripted. Every DQ looks to both outdo its predecessor and maintain a unique identity, and in my eyes there won’t be a game later down this series life that can outdo or replace the place this game has taken in my heart.