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Today on DQII - Lots of sea travel, as I talk to the Maharaja of Medals, mermaids, mermen, and get things generally sorted out. Oh yeah, and start the game over on an entirely new system.
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In the Switch 2 version of the game, I left off with 9 medals, 20 hours on the clock, and everyone at level 30. It's pretty far along, but unfortunately I ran into some technical issues with the system and was unable to continue. I decided to take the opportunity to restart on the PS5 version, which wasn't necessary but I realized I'd prefer that version due to having trophies to keep track of accomplishments.
Yep, here we go, starting over on Part 7. The PS5 is currently in "PS2 theme" mode, which looks pretty cool. Changes the sound effects on the menus, but not the startup sound (otherwise I'd be using the PS1 theme, as I really want THAT startup sound)
Starting over on PS5 and having a platinum to get breathes new life into the game. I made sure to quickly blast through DQ1 again to get that part of the plat done. Took 9 hours or so to do everything.
Most of DQ1's trophies are obtained from a normal run-through of the story. Only things to watch out for are Mini Medals (need all 40), spell scrolls (gotta catch 'em all), and making sure to craft items (I think the Kol Blacksmith does that, just need to make one of everything and by the end of the game I had more than enough materials for that).
Here I am at the end. "Collect 150 types of items" is another thing that largely happens on its own from diligent playing.
Zero game overs, when there's a trophy for getting a game over... that one could be a problem, lol. WHEN WILL I LOSE?
The last scroll I obtained in DQ1 to finish that game. Not sure how anybody was supposed to find this without a list/guide. It's literally on a nondescript part of the landscape in Damdara, one of the many pieces of debris laying about.
DQ2 is going to be significantly more work, probably in the neighborhood of four times the runtime of DQ1. It looks like there are now multiple optional superbosses, along with a postgame above the normal ending. Mini Medal count for this one is 80 so I'll need to be even more on the ball with those.
Since I was never happy with Caradoc's name, I'm taking the opportunity to change it.
Now he's just Cannock. So we've got Cannock and Moonbrooke.
Erdrick IX and Sasha are keeping their names, since Erdrick IX is the more direct heir and Sasha is still the sassiest name I could think of for the sassiest character.
The PS5 version looks prettier than the Switch 2 version, to a noticeable degree, which is surprising given that it's a 2D game and not exactly cutting edge on tech. But yeah, really liking this. The colors pop in this version, especially greens and reds.
Not only are the visuals prettier, the resolution is higher, and carpets look particularly awesome. Can see the fibers on the castle carpets in the PS5 version in a way I couldn't in the previous playthrough.
Now Moonbrooke is taking a turn with the Magical Skirt. How magical are we talking, here?
This magical?
Or perhaps this magical?
Running through this a second time is a pretty quick jaunt, in a fraction of the time, and this time I'm more thorough to boot. And now, we rejoin the story where I left off, with the Party of Four finally assembled and the world entirely open.
This time I followed a list. Turning on "display treasure chests on map" was a HUGE benefit this time around that helped me not miss anything. Wish I'd known about that from the get go.
Note: This feature isn't in DQ3 HD2D and it's sorely missed there now.
Upon reaching the same point as before, I've got:
-7 hours on the clock
-Level 24
-40 Medals
As a reminder, on the previous run I had 20 hours, level 30, and 9 medals. So aside from losing quite a bit of grinding time, I made up all of my story progress along with far more collecting done, in a third of the time.
Burrowell is a town I didn't talk about before. It's an underground fortress-town at the foot of Rhone Plateau, Hargon's realm, where the people live in bunker-like hiding.
Going to Rhone Plateau is a Very Bad Idea, and requires going through the legendary Cave to Rhone. AKA the hardest dungeon in any of the four NES Dragon Warrior games. It's basically like trying to sneak into Mordor.
Moonbrooke starts throwing around genocide talk. She wants to eradicate everybody from Rhone!
I should probably stop calling it Rhone, because it's "Rendarak" now.
We get a new bit of story with fiends attacking Burrowell. They've been able to repel Hargon's attacks for a while due to their underground fortifications...at least until Hargon develops a terminator.
New boss fight! The first big challenge for our foursome. Wonder how easy this would have been with everyone at level 30 before. At 24 now, it's a tough fight.
At this point we apprehend Black Sanguini, another Hargon goon. He's fuzzy and adorable, but Moonbrooke gives zero F's! She'll kill him right now! Cooler heads prevail, and we decide to throw him in the county lockup.
With Burrowell defended again, I can use this as a base of operations to try and storm Rendarak. But first, I need to collect the Sigils.
We visit Black Sanguini in jail so Moonbrooke can speak. Yeah, he had nothing to do with the Sacking of Moonbrooke, he just happens to be on the same side.
And now seeing how decent humans are, he realizes the other monsters were lying about their treacherousness. ...maybe not? Maybe their only encounters were with vicious humans? Humans, like Monsterkind I assume, run the spectrum.
Burrowell has some very good (and expensive) new equipment, and I spend some time grinding to get all of the upgrades for Midenhall before continuing. And now I'm officially penniless and destitute. We don't even have enough money TO SLEEP!
Next stop is this distant quaint fishing village on the outskirts of nowhere. It's the place where all the men went out fishing and never returned.
Prince Cannock: "So you're sayin...everyone in this town is a single female?"
There's one guy left. He's like the member of the Dyatlov Pass group that got sick and stayed behind, avoiding whatever the hell happened there.
The people here have heard tales of vicious, bloodthirsty mermaids at sea that eat people.
Cannock is aroused by the idea of mermaids, and thinks the cousins over there are more intimidating than any mermaid could be.
He's right.
Back at sea, the mermaids attack!
But wait! These are no mermaids! These are merMEN!
After taking out all the vicious mermen (so that's what caused all the rumors), we find the actual mermaids, and they're succulent perky-breasted women. That's more like it!
They tell the story of how they saved one of the sailors by administering mouth-to-mouth and then tag-teaming him for hours.
They then gaze at each other longingly. Dammit! We told Yuji Horii there'd be no more lesbianism!
Don't say that, Moonbrooke! They'll rope you into their sex island!
The guy they rescued...completely forgot about his wife and kids while being tag-teamed by luscious mermaids. Not too surprising.
Our heroes haul him back to the village, and it's safe to say the mermaids absolutely ruined sex for him forever. His homely wife doesn't have a chance now. All he can talk about is getting back to mermaidville ASAP.
But wait! The mermaids don't want him back. Not after finding out about his wife and kids. He should have been honest!
This leads to more Hargon goons, trying to steal the local treasure, a hot statue of a mermaid. That hot statue belongs on my shelves, not in Hargon's loot hoard!
...for some reason they think the statue is holding a sigil. So, they know of the sigils, and are after them too.
This leads to another new boss fight. All of the new boss fights are with weird-ass monsters, and they tend to be in pairs for some reason. Also usually one boss is wirey and the other is robust. Somebody on the design team was really into Ornstein and Smough.
Our heroes visit the mermaids one more time, looking for a lead on the sigils. Instead...
...Moonbrooke just starts getting cozy with one of the mermaids, and they disappear for a while. Dammit! Square-Enix made all the characters in this game related to each other specifically to keep Yuji Horii from giving them any sex scenes!
He can't keep getting away with it!
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