As eager as I am to get this game started, I'm going to refrain from pressing Start to begin for a few minutes and begin this post with some pregame thoughts. But first, information about DQIX!
| Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies | |
|---|---|
 North American boxart | |
| Developer(s) | Level-5 |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Akihiro Hino Jin Fujisawa |
| Producer(s) | Ryutaro Ichimura |
| Designer(s) | Yūji Horii Akihiro Hino |
| Artist(s) | Akira Toriyama |
| Composer(s) | Koichi Sugiyama |
| Series | Dragon Quest |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo DS |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Role-playing video game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | |
| Media/distribution | Nintendo DS Game Card |
Thanks to Wikipedia for this information.
Before I note any of the above information, I'll begin with a simple fact. I love the Dragon Quest series. Dragon Quest VII is one of my all time favorite games. (Actually, I'm not very biased against anything Square Enix has done.)
Okay. It's time to "Begin your adventure" (Press Start)
Character customization is a big plus in my book. One of the first things I've noticed is that more than half the available hairstyles for my new character could be ripped off from Dragonball Z (or any other anime for that matter.) Without much effort I could easily create Trunks (both adult and child), Android 17, Goku, Krillin, or Uub.
And, with just a few touches from my stylus, I've now got a guy who could win first place at a Cosplay event for being Super Sayain Goku. Entered my name, let's begin. (Little Goku sprouted angelic Wings and a halo. I'm starting off the game dead?)
A short introduction mentioned Celestrians, followed by a nice little community, and, could it be? Yes! It's Angel Krillin, here to show me the ropes!
Apparently Celestrians are pretty much guardian angels. Fair enough. I'll guard the town against these slime balls and a Cruelcumber.
Holy giant floating city topped with the World Tree! Anyways, it's the beginning of any game. The standard battle, control, and basic tutorials.
"You have earned a crystal of benevolessense? Go now, and offer up the crystal to the great World Tree atop the Observatory." (Translation: Since we don't have an elevator and you can't use those pearly white wings to fly here, walk up the thousand stair cases outside until you find a giant tree, all so you can offer up one tiny piece of crystal.)
On that note, why can't I fly? I've got the necessary equipment (a pair of wings), so why am I glued to the ground to take the stairs? Minutes later, my character flies back down to Earth to start patrolling the town he is charged with (Angel Falls). Oh, now I can hover, with my little wings flapping away happily. Time to do some good deeds and earn some benevolessense. It's the little things in an angel's life that make it worthwhile. Cleaning the horse manure out of a guy's stable whilst he naps, finding an old lady's long lost ring.
After a while of gathering these crystals, it is time to return to the Observatory to offer them to the Tree.
Of course, the time that the Celestrians have been waiting for over the last few thousand years is finally come! The Starflight Express will now take us to the realm of the Almighty where we will live forever in paradise! There's no way this could go wrong...
Oops. I spoke too soon.
Hmmm.. After a nice little cutscene featuring what appeared to be a swirling vortex of doom and an earthquake, my character comes to in Angel Falls... Minus a halo and wings. This can't be good. I'm suddenly mortal? Who is Erinn, and why is she acting so nicely? Do they realize that my name is the same as the name on the Guardian statue? Can they put two and two together? Can they even count? All these questions shall be answered next time.
Within the church, I find my first save point (or spoint, for short.) I'm going to utilize this spoint and call it a night there.
I know, it isn't the longest amount of time to be playing/blogging, but, obviously, it isn't this blog that is paying my bills, and I need to sleep before real life catches up with me tomorrow.
Like what you see? Hate what you see? Should I post all my thoughts, even if they include spoilers? Let me know in the comments below. Any feedback is better than none.
