Liquid Metal Slimes debut in the Sea Cave. Wonder if these guys were at least slightly inspired by the T-1000?
The Sea Cave is a bit too challenging for our heroes as it is, and I need a few more levels. This is probably the second-hardest dungeon in the game after Rhone Cave, since the very last dungeon (Hargon's Castle) isn't that bad after the massive level-train you get in the area before it.
Our heroes sneak through the back door (tee hee) to surprise a merchant.
The best thing about this phone port is the new translation.
An almighty rotter? My God! Don't say something you can't take back!
Next stop is Osterfair to get a Crest. The women here swoon at the combat prowess of the Prince of Midenhall. They completely ignore the Prince of Cannock though.
The arena fight here is essentially a boss fight, but not really. It's fairly easily dispatched en route to...
...the Moon Sigil, a Crest no more. I kinda like "sigil", at least.
Trying the Sea Cave for real now, and...it has the boss I just fought as regular enemies. Way to kill the heat of that boss. It's like when you fight two Gremlins and then a half hour later fight four Gremlins.
This is the proper stairway...I think. The Sea Cave is a mess of stairs and lava. Compared to the Cave to Rhone it's nothing, yet when you compare it to every other dungeon in this game (or the first game) it's on another level.
Wait a minute, I didn't offer any flesh!
Another Whackolyte battle #jointhedarkorder and we get...
...the Exalted One? He was a statue ALL ALONG.
This guy isn't kidding about items tickling your fancy, because the items in question are...
...some of the best equipment in the game. The Power Shield used to be the Shield of Strength, and is most notable for A) Being Sigurd's best shield and B) Casting Healmore on the wielder in battle. It's good to get one for all three characters for MP-less heals. The Falcon Blade of course strikes twice, which makes it ideal for Metal Babble farming if you get one for both fighters. I generally skip it because the final plateau is a quicker way to level up than Metal Babble farming is.
This guy warns us about the Cave to Rhone. Gird thy loins, indeed. Horrors unlike any we've seen before await in this terrible cave. Only the nether regions of Ann Coulter have claimed more lives.
Soul Sigil. So far this is a lot less of a bloodbath than when Thanos was collecting stones.
The next one is locked in a cell, guarded by a semi-miniboss...
...Grimlins. These guys are formidable for a mid-level party.
Next I return to the island tower where I got defeated earlier.
So they're like the virtues that you collect in the Ultima games? Explains why they (thankfully) don't take up inventory space.
Hot. Once Maria gets the Water Flying Cloth, she shows us what she thinks about her second-best armor by throwing it on the GROUND.
A solid reference from a translation that continues to impress. Rhone Plateau has a lot in common with Mordor...except for the snow. It's surrounded by mountains and overrun with vile beasts.
Four Gremlin rematch. The party is a lot stronger than they were the first time around.
AOE spells absolutely murder these guys, like Kaboom (formerly Explodet). Trying to defeat them early in the game without group attacks (besides the puny Infernos) is rough.
That's the last one.
"Well played, guys. It's fitting that they named a sigil after me. When it comes down to it, I AM a star in the world of modeling."
Next stop: Getting the Princess' best weapon. Can't farm this for money like you could on the NES, but it's still worth having. There's also the comedy of fighting this guy in his cell.
This guy is probably the single toughest enemy outside of Rhone Cave/Plateau. He can decimate an underpowered group with Kaboom.
All sigils acquired. This game is fairly quick, and the sigil hunt took about an hour. It isn't as quick as the first game and it isn't as refined as the third, but it's still something I don't mind a quick run through every so often.
The Android version, for whatever reason, took the Life Sigil out of the Cave to Rhone. It's one less thing to worry about there. I believe the Soul Sigil is new / its replacement. It's easily acquired by talking to someone.
The Android version, for whatever reason, took the Life Sigil out of the Cave to Rhone. It's one less thing to worry about there. I believe the Soul Sigil is new / its replacement. It's easily acquired by talking to someone.
Cascade Shrine isn't a dungeon, but it's pretty unsettling. What exactly is holding all this water at bay?
Charm of Rubiss acquired. This is important to get before starting the final areas, because otherwise you'll end up unable to continue when you reach Hargon's Castle.
Watching over us always is a little creepy. I thought that was Richie's job.
Watching over us always is a little creepy. I thought that was Richie's job.
Our heroes head into the marsh and hold up the Exalted One to get into...
...Rhone Cave, the most challenging dungeon in the entire Dragon Quest series. At least, I'm hard-pressed to think of anything worse. It's an unending maze of floors/stairs/traps.
Check out this Complete Set. This stuff is all going on Ebay as soon as I find better stuff in the last couple areas, too.
Best weapon in the game for the Prince of Midenhall. This casts an AOE when used as an item, much like the Princess' best weapon. Your party has a lot of free nukes at this point...too bad Explodet/Kaboom is so much better and sorta obsoletes them.
This game is bigger and badder than the first, as evidenced by this fight with two Green Dragons. This is the only dragon type to appear in the game, though. No blue or red variants this time.
Finally we arrive at the plateau. Yeah, I skipped on talking about the horrors of Rhone Cave...for now.
The Metal Babbles predate the T-1000, so in this case, no.
ReplyDeleteSigurd's sisterling is a descendant of Erdrick too! ...Somewhat.
It's the new localizations that make me want to play the Switch version of these the most, even with the visual issues.
At least you've already got Kaboom at this point.
"Gird thy loins" has never been more appropriate.
I don't know, I think if you're flinging clothes around it's already pretty ceremonious.