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Dragon Quest IX

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So, sitting here while Hurricane Bawbag howls around Dow Folly. The power keeps dropping out and, as I’ve had to work from home due to the extreme weather warning, I’m thankful, for once, that I have an ipad.

So, with the house shaking all round me, what better time to post a quick update on DQ9.

I played through the preamble and found that my little angelic character has been punted to earth as a mortal. She’s dashed around a lot doing good deeds, killed roaming monsters, and cleared a couple of rather lovely dungeons.

Now at level 19, I’ve just clambered back up to my angelic home only to discover all is not well.

This is a lovely little rpg with a great combat system (and particularly good companion ai if you don’t want to micromanage), all the stats in the world, and stupendous writing.

Dragon Quest IX

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DragonQuestIXBoxArtJP

So, it’s been a while since I got my teeth into a lengthy RPG on the DS – largely because I haven’t actually owned a DS for a couple of years. My recent acquisition, however, of a shiny new blue 3DS means that I have a huge backlog of JRPGs to catch up on. It seemed fitting that a Square Enix one was first.

Recently, most of my gaming time has been spent on either the brutal-tastic Dark Souls on the 360 or beta testing The Old Republic on the PC. It’s problematic doing this at the weekend due to both my boys nurturing an unhealthy Skyrim obsession – Matts on the PC and Tristan on the 360. So, handheld gaming is where it’s at.

So, while this is a game diary entry, I have to come clean and say that I’ve done nothing more than stick the cart in the 3DS. I will create a character today, and it will be a little girly called Bague (because it’s tradition, dontcha-know) but it’s likely to be tomorrow before I actually start playing. Here’s to the next hundred or so hours of slime-bashing!

Also (whispers) I should probably confess that this is my first Dragon Quest game!

Dark Souls (360)

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It’s not very often that I get obsessive about a game – usually about once in a generation. In the n64/ps1 generation it was Ocarina of Time; in the xbox/ps2/gamecube generation it was Final Fantasy X.

 

It’s been a while since something struck me as being generation defining, but Dark Souls is it. By all accounts, I’ve barely started it, having played for a mere eight hours, but its richness, depth and sheer brutal difficulty has already made its mark.

In terms of difficulty, it reminds me a lot of Williams’ Defender. For the first dozen hours of that game, the accomplished player will have concentrated on learning how to fly the damn ship. Shooting aliens comes later. In Dark Souls, the wise gamer will perfect his fighting techniques. The bosses are tough – really tough – but pale into insignificance next to the almost casually brutal ‘general mobs’ that roam around the areas.

Entering a new area involves being mercilessly beaten to death by a few new enemy types. You spend an obscene amount of time making incremental progress through the area, punctuated by frequent messy deaths. Then you get to the boss. And die. Back to the start. Wash rinse repeat.

But it NEVER gets dull and it NEVER gets frustrating. Every time you die, it’s your own fault and you know EXACTLY what you did to get yourself killed. By the time you’re skilled enough (and I’m talking playing skills here, not Mary-Sue equipment) to handle the boss, you’re flying through that previously ‘impossible’ area with all the destructive grace of a ballet-dancing ninja. And then, when against all odds, you take down that boss without taking a scratch – well, that’s the surge of satisfaction that gaming is all about.

Brutally difficult, horrible punishing, and never unfair. This is easily the game of the generation for me.

So, advocacy done, I’ll let you know where I am. I just *finally* killed the Taurus Demon in the first area (after numerous deaths) by using a combination of plunge attacks and well-time axe-blows to the bollocks. Next up, I have a nasty knight on top of a tower to take care of…

 

Ocarina of Time (3DS)

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Well, that’s the forest temple done now – Ghost Ganon is a fun boss, I reckon – and one of the easier ones. Now it’s back to the Temple of Time to see what I’m up to next.

Ocarina of Time (3DS)

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I’m all growed up now! I finally finished trawling through Jabu Jabu’s Belly after getting myself totally confused because I had it in my mind it was different. The miniboss gave me some trouble too as I have a tendency to lean to the side when I’m running in a circle and this, of course, wreaks havoc with the 3D display. Anyway, I got it all done and then scampered off to the Temple of Time where I was made all growed up :)

Then it was off to Kakariko village, shortly followed by HOOKSHOT GET!  and WALLET GET!

Navigated the eternally annoying Lost Woods, ganked the irritating spear-wielding thingies, and gained access to the Forest Temple. Time for some crate puzzles.