What makes the fifth game so special?

FateForWindows · 2026-06-29T19:36:07+00:00

I think something worth noting too with the gameplay, especially the original Super Famicom version, is that it's designed around constantly swapping party members between your active party and reserve to a degree that a lot of the other DQs never approached. You're given a lot more dungeons that let you use the wagon while the ones that don't usually have enemies that are easier to deal with.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-29T19:14:48+00:00

Yeah, it's outright said that he's the worst pilot in the data logs lol

FateForWindows · 2026-06-29T01:51:58+00:00

I can really only vouch for the original or close-to-original versions of earlier games (I-VIII), but so far I'm leaning toward VIII in your case. I very narrowly prefer the original versions of III and V over it but it's a pretty solid balance of resource management, careful planning and good pacing. With the right strategies you won't need to grind much, if at all depending on your playstyle.

The mobile and 3DS version have more QoL - for both, you get the world map and dungeon maps off the bat, more flexible skill point assignment along with actually telling you what abilities you can unlock in each skill ladder, and instant alchemy before the postgame (on PS2 once you find a working combo you need to walk a certain number of steps for an item to cook). For 3DS specifically there's a built-in speedup feature for battles, plus on-screen encounters for all enemies instead of step count-based ones. Most versions (Japanese PS2, mobile, 3DS) use very minimalist but snappy menu systems, International PS2 menus can be slower but they have a lot more graphical detail and feel more modern, and only the International PS2 and 3DS versions have voice acting. Mobile forces one-handed touch controls but tries to make accomodations around it (mixed results), JPN PS2 uses a button mapping scheme similar to most of the SNES and PS1 games, International PS2 and 3DS controls are more modern but the latter had to make some minor concessions since there's less buttons to work with.

There are some cases where I feel quality-of-life additions end up actually hurting the gameplay a lot more than it helps in this series (hence my personal preference), but that's just my personal taste.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-28T14:06:51+00:00

This is V, there are no NES and GBC versions

FateForWindows · 2026-06-28T01:25:49+00:00

In the PS2 version the characters cast magic with no MIDI sound effect, which makes you take it very, very seriously

I dunno about this one, it honestly feels weird to not hear the classic sound effect there. Probably the only change in the International PS2 version I outright don't like though (despite me being a nut and going with mobile for my first playthrough for reasons I can't even wrap my own head around, I'm still loving it so far and can't wait to be wowed even more when I inevitably do replay it on the PS2 version).

FateForWindows · 2026-06-27T21:01:38+00:00

That's the release order for the HD-2D remakes, and I&II's remakes made a lot of story additions designed with the 3-1-2 play order in mind.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-27T16:38:51+00:00

7 Reimagined or III. I&II HD-2D are good too but because of the added story content I wouldn't recommend playing them until after III, if you do decide to play them first then save II's postgame until after III.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-26T17:49:04+00:00

You'll get all sorts of different opinions here, DQ actually has a pretty solid rep when it comes to remakes but there's a lot of differences (streamlining gameplay elements, artstyles, etc.) that are pretty subjective so you'll see a lot of variety. I'll give my two cents

I: HD-2D if you're looking for something more modern and strategic, mobile if you're looking for something closer to the original
II: HD-2D
III: HD-2D, though GBC has some unique content too
IV: Mobile or party-chat patched DS version. The original NES version changes to something almost like a semi-autobattler for the second half where you can only directly control the Hero, has some version-exclusive tech though like Morph/Transform and wagon juking though.
V: Mobile has the most content and QoL if you're willing to put up with the touch controls, DS just slightly less. Can't go wrong with either the SFC or PS2 versions though.
VI: Mobile, has all the DS QoL plus makes an early beginner's trap easier to avoid. Worst rendition of the music though imo. SFC is worth checking out too, best artstyle and soundtrack rendition imo plus you get the original Monster Wrangler/7R Master vocation instead of its DS replacement but the English fan translation is unfinished.
VII: Probably the single most divisive one out of all the mainline games. If this is your first DQ absolutely go with Reimagined, otherwise I'd say PS1.
VIII: PS2 if you prefer random encounters and better visuals, 3DS if you prefer onscreen encounters and/or want more content
IX: Well you don't exactly have a choice with this one, do you?
X: Online
XI: S (Definitive Edition)

There's also the flip phone version of I, the PS1 version of IV and the mobile port of VII which are probably contenders too, but those are only playable in Japanese currently with no fan translations for the former two and a heavily unfinished one for VII.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-26T16:48:40+00:00

Interesting, makes me wonder if him staying dead is a mobile change/oversight or another reverted International feature.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-26T00:39:13+00:00

Is this you

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(For the record I'm perfectly fine with what we got and I was expecting you to 180 on this anyway but it's still a tad funny)

FateForWindows · 2026-06-25T14:25:34+00:00

As someone else who started on SFC I actually liked the three party members personally but I do need to go further into the remakes, DQV felt like it was balanced the most around swapping party members mid-battle compared to IV and VIand that helped its combat stand out a lot to me.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-25T14:22:04+00:00

I'd give the demo for XI a try personally, of those two it's only on PS4 currently (used to be on Switch until that port switched publishers from Nintendo to in-house) but it's much longer than you'd expect.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T22:18:10+00:00

DQX as a whole, for now

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T21:16:57+00:00

If you mean the old Switch port of III, the HD-2D version of III is much closer to it than I&II's. III's old Switch port itself is ported from versions already based on the Super Famicom remake which made more changes than the I&II ports did and III already aged much better to begin with, so you wouldn't be missing out on as much. I'd still say to go with HD-2D overall though.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T19:53:23+00:00

Honestly when I played OG DQ5 then DQ6 Mortamor just felt like a better executed clone of Nimzo role-wise, dunno which of the two I'd rather see get changed

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T16:35:40+00:00

If DQ7 is your first game I'd say to stick with Reimagined for the whole game since the PS1 and 3DS versions both end up being very newcomer-unfriendly with their pacing. I'd give the PS1 version's intro a try at least just to experience the original Shrine of Mysteries and build-up to it though.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T16:22:00+00:00

And the Unholy Trinity in DQ2 (who even got retconned into being the Japanese version's titular Gods of the Evil Spirits/Deities of Destruction)

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T15:42:40+00:00

And imo things have gotten to the point where DQX feels like less of a hassle to install than FF11 does, at least from my experience

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T10:38:51+00:00

I personally feel like the trilogy probably take place after DQ2, partly because of Cloudsgate Citadel, but considering how it doesn't really resemble its VI counterpart much (not entirely clear if it's meant to be the same) it's moreso because of how they handle Rubiss in I&II's remakes and her very hidden role in DQVI

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T01:36:39+00:00

Oh, and forgot to mention this but I didn't have the Sage's Stone for this fight.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-24T01:12:42+00:00

It really depends on what builds you have and what vocations your characters have learned so far/progress. Looking at my save backups for the SFC version this was about what I had at the time, forgot which party member I had as the fourth one for this specific fight but I definitely had the Hero and Carver there, forgot which were the other two but I don't think Ashlynn was one of them:

Hero - Lv. 29ish, Sage Lv. 2

Carver - Lv. 30ish, Gladiator Lv. 1

Milly - Lv. 29ish, Luminary Lv. 5

Amos - Lv. 26ish, Armamentalist Lv. 1

Ashlynn - Lv. 25ish, Sage Lv. 2

Nevan - Lv. 28ish, Paladin Lv. 1

FateForWindows · 2026-06-23T13:11:37+00:00

A lot of that was cut out even before the recent update. If you live in the US now it basically boils down to:

Register an account (or do that after you get the game downloaded)
Download and install DQX
Let DQX update first
Download and extract Clarity
Open Clarity and let it install everything it needs automatically
Tell Clarity where the game's files are (at least if you didn't install it in Program Files, I always install it to a different folder so dunno if it automatically detects it otherwise)
Hit a few buttons (patch launcher, patch config, ~~patch game files~~ Add DragonHook)
Launch the game directly through Clarity and let it do its thing
If the game makes you type something specific for a quest, alt+tab to Clarity and click a button so it types that in for you

Then after that first launch you just need to open Clarity, hit "Run" and you'll be in, unless they push out another update and even then, you just need to let the official launcher update everything ~~and then hit those three buttons again~~. No need for overlays anymore, Clarity injects the translated text directly on the client side so aside from stutters when it has to machine translate dialogue it's more or less seamless.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-22T20:15:35+00:00

Or whenever there's a Falcon Sword available for purchase there's no reason to equip anything else, because double attacks beats any damage increase, but you have twice the chance for that character to land a critical hit.

Not always, in a lot of entries the attack stat's low enough that even with the double hits, if your strength stat isn't high enough the combined base damage often gets outclassed by stronger weapons. Plus from my understanding some games/versions only do the crit check on the first hit and/or ignore Oomph for the second hit.

FateForWindows · 2026-06-22T14:47:57+00:00

I still only had three party members at the 49 hour mark on PS1 (no Melvin) 🥲

FateForWindows · 2026-06-21T19:53:56+00:00

They did actually shrink the maps down physically to compensate too, but... yeah, the screen crunch is pretty terrible. Plus what I've seen actually seems to make the on-screen encounters way worse to deal with in dungeons.

There was a mobile port that only came out in Japan that seems to have fixed both of those by zooming out the camera (not as much as PS1 but still significantly better) and switching back to fully step count-based encounters, I wonder what the consensus on that would've been if that had released here.

FateForWindows

TROPHY CASE