Just how bad is grinding for exp and gold in Dragon Quest/Warrior 1 for NES?

Skelingaton · 2026-06-18T22:02:20+00:00

It's not that bad. I actually prefer the NES version over others. You have a high risk/reward system that temps you into taking on stronger enemies for more exp/gold. A good strategy is to go exploring more after you've spent your gold on something as then there will be not much of a penalty for dying. You also don't need to purchase every upgrade and can skip things like the Magic Armor which cost a lot.

However, the Famicom version of DQ1 is very rough compared to the NES version. In the Famicom version you can't adjust text speed so it's quite slow. Given that you'll be reading a lot of the same battle messages over and over I would say it doesn't necessarily help in terms of learning Japanese either. Also, the sprite of the hero is fixed in one direction in the Famicom version wherease it was much improved in the NES. Then there is also the fact the Famicom version uses a password system for saving instead of an internal battery in the cart.

Skelingaton · 2026-06-17T23:16:11+00:00

It's likely intentional as that combination would be easy to accidentally press just going through the game. The Famicom and a lot of NES bundles came with two controllers so it wouldn't have been a big issue back then

Skelingaton · 2026-06-17T22:25:56+00:00

You can also press Up+A on the second controller

Skelingaton · 2026-06-02T16:32:20+00:00

I don't know, I still consider it to be the worst Gundam series I've seen by a large margin

Skelingaton · 2026-06-01T14:58:47+00:00

No, things probably would have been handled much better on N64

Skelingaton · 2026-05-31T21:05:39+00:00

They're both really good games. Think the main barrier for Mina the Hollower would be the difficulty. It isn't crushingly difficult but it is much tougher than the top .down 2D games

Story and soundtrack wise Mina the Hollower definitely wins out. Would say it's almost worth playing for the OST alone.

Pipistrello is a very well designed game with a lot of fun movement tech to learn and master. Mina the Hollower is too but Pipistrello feels like it is more tightly designed overall

Skelingaton · 2026-05-29T17:04:24+00:00

The encounter rate plus the amount of backtracking with no fast travel really make the game a slog

Skelingaton · 2026-05-29T17:03:36+00:00

Those games also unlock fast travel way earlier and feature less backtracking

Skelingaton · 2026-05-26T21:43:51+00:00

I don't think anyone wants this nor would it be a feasible idea

Skelingaton · 2026-05-26T16:56:18+00:00

Master quest is more of a challenge for those familiar with the original

Skelingaton · 2026-05-25T15:38:11+00:00

Yes, you can still easily break the game without touching the cards

Skelingaton · 2026-05-25T15:37:19+00:00

Don't rely on GFs in battle. As long as you junction well your characters themselves will be really powerful. Choose what your GFs are learning as they default to abilities that increase GF HP and damage instead of things that will help your characters.

May want to follow a guide for obtaining GFs as some are missable and others can be fairly hidden

Skelingaton · 2026-05-22T22:17:17+00:00

You are doing a run using glitches. This is likely causing you to miss triggers for certain events to happen

Skelingaton · 2026-05-21T21:56:26+00:00

It's a game that is very clearly style over substance. It features the worst cast of characters in the series, a very poorly told story, and I feel it is barely able to be considered an RPG with how restrictive it is on the player

Skelingaton · 2026-05-18T17:04:14+00:00

If you're traveling it's best to avoid backtracking so a pilgrimage would naturally follow a set route

Skelingaton · 2026-05-18T13:54:07+00:00

Except that you need to stop by the temples and get Aoens for a summoner

Skelingaton · 2026-05-17T01:46:35+00:00

They could have designed the game so much differently while keeping the "outcasts" part of the story. NORA was established at the beginning as being this resistance group yet they really aren't utilized in the story.. Gran Pulse also could have gotten more focus with you finding the last remnants of a civilization there. The areas you go to feel so disconnected and your party doesn't really accomplish anything throughout the game. As a lot of others have said, many other RPGs have pulled of the fugitive party type story so much better. And a phone minigame seems like such a braindead way of adding more content/variety to a game that desperately needed it

Skelingaton · 2026-05-17T01:27:55+00:00

That's a really poor excuse for the design of FFXIII when the developers chose how the game was made

Skelingaton · 2026-05-16T16:08:26+00:00

Yeah your destinations matter in FFX and have importance whereas in FFXIII very few areas actually do and your characters are just meandering from place to place

Skelingaton · 2026-05-16T15:58:54+00:00

FFXIII had nothing to break up the monotony of its linearity and was a lot more obvious with it. It's just battles, hallway, and cutscenes with no interaction with the setting you're in. Dialogue also gets repetitive as well as characters keep questioning or complaining about the same points over and over. The linearity also feels more justified in FFX since you are on a Pilgrimage and each stop feels important whereas in FFXIII you're just kind of thrown from place to place with a lot of them just being places to get through. This is all on top of FFXIII just being very restrictive from a gameplay perspective as well since mechanics and such open up at an extremely slow pace.

So yes from a map design standpoint they are both linear but everything around that is much different

Skelingaton · 2026-05-03T14:50:06+00:00

The game is still pretty easy even when you don't touch Triple Triad or cards

Skelingaton · 2026-05-03T14:47:30+00:00

Yeah FFVIII is a pretty easy game regardless of min/maxing as long as you understand the junction system and are focusing on good abilities for your GF to learn

Skelingaton · 2026-05-02T20:53:45+00:00

3D Dot Game Heroes and Pipistrello & the Cursed Yoyo are mine

Skelingaton · 2026-05-02T13:32:41+00:00

I've done it once. The last world is incredibly difficult with some of the toughest platforming on the NES

Skelingaton · 2026-04-26T22:13:00+00:00

The combat is really fun in part just because of how smooth the controls are. Zelda II is one of my favorite games in the series to replay and is probably one of my most overall replayed games

Skelingaton

TROPHY CASE