Way more enjoyable than what I was expecting.
When I first played DQ1, I did it for the “history lesson”, since it really was the foundation on which JRPGs would come to be built upon.
Now, I was playing DQ2 for the same purpose, getting into the game that presented the many different flavours that this formula can achieve.
Yes, it’s still a very archaic game (the first Final Fantasy game would be launched only a year later) in its plot, story elements, narrative, gameplay and level design, but presenting the JRPG player with party members for the first time was, in fact, revolutionary for this series’ and the whole genre. You would have to play both games in order to see this properly, but it was a COMPLETE game-changer.
Despite the charm of the first game’s simplicity, DQ2 didn’t refrain from innovating. Not only now you have two more playable characters to aid you in your quest, but more challenging battles that require more complex strategies and a fully open world once you acquire the ship. From the moment I started sailing, I was in awe that such an early game gave me complete freedom to do every step in the order I wanted, and was definitely one of the many tiny details that made DQ2 leave the status of a mere JRPG history lesson and become a truly enjoyable gaming experience for me.
Of course, you still have to take into consideration the timeframe in which this game was released in order to fully appreciate it’s gameplay nowadays, since you’ll be greeted by super high random encounter rate, confusing dungeon layouts and… some other little annoyances. But, much like the first one, it never really was a very difficult game, and the high encounter rate mitigates the issue of grinding. And if you, like myself, end up playing it on your phone, you’ll find it to be the perfect RPG to have on the go.
Not perfect, not as charming as the first one and not impactful as the third game, but a necessary step for the evolution of the series and the genre as a whole. The game being fun and cute was just a bonus. :)
When I first played DQ1, I did it for the “history lesson”, since it really was the foundation on which JRPGs would come to be built upon.
Now, I was playing DQ2 for the same purpose, getting into the game that presented the many different flavours that this formula can achieve.
Yes, it’s still a very archaic game (the first Final Fantasy game would be launched only a year later) in its plot, story elements, narrative, gameplay and level design, but presenting the JRPG player with party members for the first time was, in fact, revolutionary for this series’ and the whole genre. You would have to play both games in order to see this properly, but it was a COMPLETE game-changer.
Despite the charm of the first game’s simplicity, DQ2 didn’t refrain from innovating. Not only now you have two more playable characters to aid you in your quest, but more challenging battles that require more complex strategies and a fully open world once you acquire the ship. From the moment I started sailing, I was in awe that such an early game gave me complete freedom to do every step in the order I wanted, and was definitely one of the many tiny details that made DQ2 leave the status of a mere JRPG history lesson and become a truly enjoyable gaming experience for me.
Of course, you still have to take into consideration the timeframe in which this game was released in order to fully appreciate it’s gameplay nowadays, since you’ll be greeted by super high random encounter rate, confusing dungeon layouts and… some other little annoyances. But, much like the first one, it never really was a very difficult game, and the high encounter rate mitigates the issue of grinding. And if you, like myself, end up playing it on your phone, you’ll find it to be the perfect RPG to have on the go.
Not perfect, not as charming as the first one and not impactful as the third game, but a necessary step for the evolution of the series and the genre as a whole. The game being fun and cute was just a bonus. :)