Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride

[abigsmurf]

Arrived at the weekend, I'm about 80 minutes in. So far it's incredibly similar to IV. Outside of the differing characters, you'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between the two in screenshots. There's still the annoyingly misjudged gap between the screens which is only a few pixels and spoils the effect.


Has a typical dragon quest start that requires you to grind and die a bit before you can stand a chance in the early dungeons and there's been a couple of times where you're wandering around trying to figure out what to do next (having to look for a semi-invisible NPC at one point was evil).

The party talk is in this time and was much needed, should help actually give your party members a personality. You don't need to go to the menu to speak to them, just press a button which makes it nice and quick to do.

[boxhead]

i am completely smitten with this game. I have always loved the dragon quest games but this one takes it to the next level. I love the vibrant 3d visuals and the characters that you meet are all so likeable and even hilarious at times. certainly a breath of fresh air compared to the souless, cliche'd characters you meet in most modern RPG's.
I've been playing it for nearly 30 hours now and i really don't want it to end. The premise of the rpg is also wonderful. starting off being born, growing up, getting married, having kids! It's just a joy and the plot never gets old.
I've played a lot of RPG's but for me, this is what its really all about. oh yeah, and the dungeons, like most dq games are brilliant, excellent level design and brilliantly varied. I might have to replay DQ7 after this.

[Briareos]

Been playing this over the weekend, great fun and I'm loving having a couple of slimes in my party! I'm a bit frustrated that everyone i use seeds on (strength/wisdom etc) seem to bugger off sooner or later, should I just use all seeds on the hero and be done with it?

Also I've been trying to rename some of my monsters but when I talk to Monty all i get is the option to rename my bag?

[abigsmurf]

Be careful putting too much effort into grinding monsters as some of them stop improving after a while (not the cat you get first though). I'd use most of the seeds on the hero, especially in the early stages as your party changes a lot.

I only ended up with a single monster in my final party, king cureslime. Excellent healing spells and an insane amount of mp make him almost gamebreakingly useful towards the end.

[Briareos]

Been playing a bit more with the monsters and have maxed out my wagon. Will no more monster offer to join while my wagon is full or will they offer and then I'll get the chance to send one back?

Also am I only able to rename monsters that are in Monty's care?

[abigsmurf]

I believe you get the option to let a monster go if your wagon is full. Not entirely sure though.

[Briareos]

Found out during a big playfest over the weekend. For those that also want to know you can have a full wagon and monsters will still offer to join. Once they offer you can choose who to send back. On the renaming front you can only rename monsters that have been left with Monty.


After getting the big book of beasts I spotted that the Metal Slime was recruitable, and so spent a good few hours trying to get one to join. I've killed 35 of the blighters now but still no luck

[abigsmurf]

I did lots of Metal Slime grinding and never had one available to recruit. Still recommend the King cureslimes though.

[cutmymilk]

I want the Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Around my nuts please.

[Briareos]

I want the Hand of the Heavenly Bride. Around my nuts please.

Ah you must mean the seeds of resilience


Stayed up late last night as I found the second casino that has poker. I'm desperate to wins tokens for those sweet items but it's tough to make any kind of profit in those places, let alone the tens of thousands you need to get the goodies! My plan was to win on poker and then increase the paltry ten token prize with the double or quits higher lower game. I lost all my cash of course!

[Briareos]

Played this so much over the weekend that my eyes are giving me trouble on my office screen today! I spent most of my time going mad while watching the fruit machines in Fortuna casino hoping to get three or more lucky sevens. After an age I managed to save up enough to claim the metal king sword for my hero, thinking it would do more damage to metal slimes; alas I was wrong in my assumption and it's just a powerful sword. Has anyone purchased the whip from the casino that's five times the price of the metal king sword? Is it worth the cash?

When it comes to trading in Medals, do they get used up or do you unlock items as you reach they 10, 20, 30 mark?

[abigsmurf]

In 5 they get used up which is pretty annoying. I believe the metal king sword is more likely to hit and occasionally does 2 damage against metal slimes.

[Briareos]

In 5 they get used up which is pretty annoying. I believe the metal king sword is more likely to hit and occasionally does 2 damage against metal slimes.

Ah it's ok I've found out that some enemy types drop them so technically there aren't a finite amount which makes it not so bad. I see Dominicus has a Metal King Sheild for sale, I'm quite tempted to kit my hero out with all of that gear, assuming there is armour and helmet too.