Post by PandoraGreen on Nov 2, 2005 14:35:06 GMT -5
Remember Dragon Warrior on the Nintendo (NES)? This is the newest installment in that series. (Formerly known as Dragon Warrior in N.A., apparently it's always been called Dragon Quest in Japan.)
I sent away for a free demo a few weeks back. It finally arrived. We've played it. And here's the review:
Overall I enjoyed the demo. The game seems like a true "old school" roleplayer, but with beautiful, updated, graphics. (I'll define old school style roleplayer as one in which you need to stick around outside the town and fight random battles in order to be able to purchase better gear in order to be able to progress without dying horrible deaths.)
The cell-shading anime style was beautiful to look at. When I finally got out of town, I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that it didn't switch to a world map. The outside world was very pretty, and engaging. I definitely felt enticed to wander around. Making the idea of leveling up so much more appealing.
The monsters were great to look at and consistently amused me. The characters are amusing/engaging. The plot seems to be a pretty straight forward, lead you by the nose type, but that fits with the "old school" style game.
The menus were clean and easy to work with. I found the fact that the triangle button, and not circle) was cancel counter-intuitive, but I'm sure I'll adapt.
I thought the music was OK. The music in the demo is synth stuff. GB thought it sounded classic but outdated. Apparently in the full retail version all of the music is being updated to a symphonic version, which I look forward to hearing.
My one disappointment was in the voice acting. I thought it was horrible! Teeth grittingly horrible. I was particularly annoyed by the cheesy accents. Why is each speaking part a different nationality? (eg. French bartender, Russian fortune teller). The guying playing
your sidekick Yangus wasn't bad.. but why is he British? Overall, I felt they could have just left the
Japanese voice acting in place (with subtitles) and I would have been much much happier.
While on the subject of sound, GB was exceedingly annoyed by the classic" do-do-do" noises that happen as text goes by. Didn't bother me... but I think he was ready to rip a speaker out.
Graphics 8.5/10
Sound: Music 7.5/10, Sound Effects 7/10, Voice acting 4.5/10
Game play 8/10
Overall: 7.6
I sent away for a free demo a few weeks back. It finally arrived. We've played it. And here's the review:
Overall I enjoyed the demo. The game seems like a true "old school" roleplayer, but with beautiful, updated, graphics. (I'll define old school style roleplayer as one in which you need to stick around outside the town and fight random battles in order to be able to purchase better gear in order to be able to progress without dying horrible deaths.)
The cell-shading anime style was beautiful to look at. When I finally got out of town, I was pleasantly surprised at the fact that it didn't switch to a world map. The outside world was very pretty, and engaging. I definitely felt enticed to wander around. Making the idea of leveling up so much more appealing.
The monsters were great to look at and consistently amused me. The characters are amusing/engaging. The plot seems to be a pretty straight forward, lead you by the nose type, but that fits with the "old school" style game.
The menus were clean and easy to work with. I found the fact that the triangle button, and not circle) was cancel counter-intuitive, but I'm sure I'll adapt.
I thought the music was OK. The music in the demo is synth stuff. GB thought it sounded classic but outdated. Apparently in the full retail version all of the music is being updated to a symphonic version, which I look forward to hearing.
My one disappointment was in the voice acting. I thought it was horrible! Teeth grittingly horrible. I was particularly annoyed by the cheesy accents. Why is each speaking part a different nationality? (eg. French bartender, Russian fortune teller). The guying playing
your sidekick Yangus wasn't bad.. but why is he British? Overall, I felt they could have just left the
Japanese voice acting in place (with subtitles) and I would have been much much happier.
While on the subject of sound, GB was exceedingly annoyed by the classic" do-do-do" noises that happen as text goes by. Didn't bother me... but I think he was ready to rip a speaker out.
Graphics 8.5/10
Sound: Music 7.5/10, Sound Effects 7/10, Voice acting 4.5/10
Game play 8/10
Overall: 7.6