RPG Diary

Dragon Quest VI

Like the previous game, Dragon Quest VI was not originally released in the US so it's a lesser known title. Despite this, I've actually played this version before. That was a long time ago, so I don't remember much, but I do have some fond memories of it. I'm looking forward to playing this one again.

Title	Dragon Quest VI
Year	1995
System	SNES
Developer	Heart Beat
Publisher	Enix

Dragon Quest VI starts off very strong. I thought the "two worlds" plot device was done well and I was very interested in the mysteries introduced early in the game. Unfortunately, after about 12 hours (after defeating Mudo) the story falls apart. Much like Dragon Quest V, the game sort of devolves into just exploring the map without really advancing the main story. Major villains are basically just stumbled upon and immediately defeated without much foreshadowing or buildup. The plot does regain some focus at the end, but by that point I had lost interest.

The game starts off very simple. Like Dragon Quest IV, several characters join the party and gain abilities on level up. However, after about 12 hours, a job system is unlocked which really changes the game. Like Final Fantasy V, jobs are leveled independently of the character's level and leveling jobs grants new abilities. In addition to the 9 starting jobs, there are 7 more hybrid jobs that are unlocked by mastering other jobs. I really enjoyed this mechanic and unlocking hybrid jobs for my party.

Unfortunately, the jobs are not well balanced. Previously, Dragon Quest offered a choice between basic physical attacks and various magic attacks that could either be high damaging or hit multiple targets. Jobs in this game only grant abilities — they do not permanently affect stats. To compensate for this, a bunch of "skills" were added for physical jobs to unlock. Skills cost 0 MP and some are very strong or hit multiple targets. Basically, skills are just 0 MP spells, which is totally broken. Magical jobs have their moments here and there (Firevolt is very strong if you rush to it), but by the endgame I was using only physical jobs.

Monster catching returns from Dragon Quest V, though with an additional limitation — a party member must currently be in the Beastmaster job. This really sucks because the Beastmaster job is otherwise not very useful, so there is little incentive to use it. I recruited a few monsters early, but once my designated character mastered Beastmaster and changed jobs, I did not replace them. Given how the job system works, it's difficult to justify replacing a character who has progress in multiple jobs with a new monster anyway. On the plus side, monsters are able to learn jobs just like regular characters, so I do think it was worth it to recruit a few.

Ultimately, I was disappointed with Dragon Quest VI. Like Final Fantasy XII, I really enjoyed the game in the beginning, but the game drags on and I just wanted to get it over with. I think this game has some really good ideas but it does not execute them well.

After completing a game, I add it to my overall enjoyment ranking which orders the games I've completed from those I most enjoyed to those I least enjoyed. It's kind of a tossup for me between this and Dragon Quest V, but I think the latter was a little more consistent.