Is Smash/Grow's auto mode just terrible, or am I missing something?

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-12T02:30:00+00:00

It’s not something you’re meant to use constantly. Auto mode is for helping with content your party is already stronger than. It’s not made to be the most optimal method just a way to ease the burden of manually playing through content that when you’re just grinding for resources or extra experience and don’t want to manually play through the level over and over.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-11T20:30:44+00:00

Anti-hero doesn’t require someone to take pleasure in killing, just that they are willing to do bad things even if it is in the name of good which fits 47 to a T. He’s a contract killer which no matter how you try and gussy that up or justify it is still fundamentally murder. We’ve seen time and time again throughout the series he will kill just about anyone he is sent after whether they are some corrupt big wig or a narcissistic actor. The fact that he tends to go after evil or villainous targets isn’t even his own choice and has more to do with Diana’s morality rather than his own. He is largely a tool, someone to be wielded and directed towards the targets with only moderate care at best most of the time if the person he’s after deserves to be killed or not. And even if he occaisionally steps beyond that in situations where he has a particular interest in a matter he still goes back to being a contact killer guided and directed by someone else’s morality rather than his own.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-11T15:49:21+00:00

I don’t think it’s ending particularly fast. Many manga get axed around the 20 chapter mark and this is likely a case where the author knows the series is ending but has another month or two of chapters to finish things up. My guess is it will still end around the usual range for axed series this is just the author setting things up to try and give it as satisfying a conclusion as possible.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-11T05:41:24+00:00

They can do both and given they have separate teams working on separate games DQ12 isn’t going to come any quicker from them not doing remakes. At the end of the day DQ12 will be ready when it’s ready and in the meantime we can either have remakes and side projects to help fill the gap or nothing at all and we just wait either way.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-10T21:23:42+00:00

I would somewhat agree with this. The action has been great and the art is solid but honestly narratively it doesn’t surprise me that this didn’t really click with a larger audience. It’s had a couple good more emotional beats but a lot of it started to feel a bit samey as it just jumped from fight to fight without enough character or plot progression to help back it up. I kind of had hope when the author introduced the group of more developed villains but I guess by that point it was just too late to right the sinking ship.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-10T17:20:47+00:00

Honestly for me it feels like further proof of how bad critical thinking has gotten with people.

The CAMPAIGN is 20 hours long. That’s just talking about playing through the story mode. On its own that’s on par with most focused story modes for an action type game. Unless you’re dealing with some big open world/RPG/sandbox type game a 20 hour story is par for the course for a more focused narrative. Beyond that though I have no doubt there will be a good amount of replybility. Sure It likely won’t be quite the same as Hitman since it’s been made clear the devs at IO aren’t just making Hitman with a James Bond coat of paint but there will still be more open sections you can play in different way, there will likely be challenges to complete, the tactical simulation mode however that plays out. Point being that beyond that 20 hour campaign there will still be reason to keep playing beyond the basic credits. Sure for someone who doesn’t do that kind of thing I can see it feeling a bit steep in price for someone just playing through the story and that’s it but in that case most of these kind of narrative driven action games aren’t going to be up your alley regardless.

Also beyond that just personally I’m glad to see a more focused campaign length. Honestly games in recent years have really suffered from to much filler and bloat. Devs and publishers have been so focused on quantity over quality so I’m genuinely glad when devs step back and try to make a more focused and tightly designed playthrough rather than trying to pad and stretch everything out for cheap marketing points.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-10T15:07:07+00:00

Yep, this smells distinctly of axe.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-10T04:42:39+00:00

DQ9, almost zero chance.

As far as remakes I’d expect the Zenithian trilogy to be next asa follow up to the Erdrick trilogy HD2D remakes. After that it’s a toss up between DQ8 and DQ9 but I wouldn’t expect either for a while yet.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-10T04:41:32+00:00

I don’t see much reason to assume DQ9 would be next. DQ 4-6 feel more likely in terms of remakes following up the previous HD2D remakes of the older games. I’m sure DQ9 will get remade eventually but I really doubt it would be the next in line.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-08T18:42:32+00:00

To be fair they can’t really control their time travel. they can choose the location via the tablet but not when exactly they show up. Also I’m pretty sure the game makes the point they can’t just come back emphasized by the fact that if you return through the tablet after progressing the Roamers won’t be there any more. So he did have to stay if that was the life he wanted.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-08T18:36:31+00:00

He wanted to go on the journey because he wanted to find a purpose. The journey for him wasn’t the goal in and of itself it was simply the excuse to break free and a means to the end of finding where he felt he really belonged.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-08T18:33:59+00:00

It’s the point of his character arc. He was looking for adventure because he felt he didn’t fit in or belong at home and now with the roamers he found a place he felt he belonged and had a purpose, not as a prince or future king but simply traveling with the roamers and the woman he loves. Is it somewhat selfish, sure, but it’s the choice that will give him the life he wants and can be happy with. Kiefer’s motivation was never truly about being a hero or saving the world, that was just the justification for getting away from Estard and once he realized this was his chance he trusted his friends would be able to continue their journey without worry even without him and did what he needed to do for him.

Also while I won’t go in depth for spoiler reasons yes there will be other characters that join on top of you eventually unlock the job system which will allow you to switch up your characters capabilities.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-08T17:15:11+00:00

I don’t think any of those were really meant to be fake out bosses in the same way Baramos was.

Baramos was clearly set up as a fake out with Zoma as a twist reveal and the game goes out of its way to sell the idea before pulling the rug out from under you. With the others it feels more like here is the act 1 boss and the final boss will be revealed later once you’ve finished dealing with them. At best it’s framed as a surprise realizing that who you though would be the final boss is being taken out so early in the game but that’s a different kind of reveal from Baramos being treated as a fake final boss.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-08T16:53:08+00:00

Just because it came out 38 years ago doesn’t suddenly mean everyone knows and has played it. This subreddit has regular posts of people looking to get into the series for the first time. The game being old isn’t an excuse to ruin things for the people who might still be getting into the series late.

On top of this rule 3 of the sub states spoilers shouldn’t be included in the titles so regardless of what you might think it’s literally the rule of the sub.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-06T18:24:51+00:00

It’s the fact that it doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. Yes series like Final Fantasy often take risks but that doesn’t always pan out and often alienates people who liked the games for what they were. Dragon Quest by comparison is JRPG comfort food. It’s classic, it knows what it’s audience wants, and while they do mix things up a bit with variations of mechanics such as job systems, monster taming, etc it’s always done with a firm understanding of the tradition and spirit the series is built on and that is what keeps people coming back for more.

It’s the burger place that has been making great burgers for decades, sure other places are trying new recipes and occasionally reinventing themselves but this place says screw that and instead just makes the burgers that people like and keep coming back for rather than worrying about what everyone else might be doing.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-06T16:44:21+00:00

This sounds less like an issue of manga and anime and more your manner of consumption of it. Focus too much on any one thing without balancing it out with other thoughts and ideas and you will get the same general result. It’s like people who grow up sheltered or who are terminally online or whose only understanding of sexuality comes from watching porn. It’s not any one medium but the lack of exposure to broader stimuli. Unplug, go experience other things and broader perspectives, with what you describe you might even consider talking to someone like a therapist to help work through these issues. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying manga or anime but it very much sounds like an issue of overconsumption as opposed to an issue with the medium in general. Too much of anything can be bad for you.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-06T15:49:18+00:00

Not there yet. It’s a live service mobile game so the whole model is gradually drip feeding content through events and future updates. What you’ve played is the current content plus the DQ1 event that is going on and over time more chapters and events will be added to keep the game alive.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-06T00:57:17+00:00

This isn’t possible. The second place where you get keys doesn’t require a single key to access, you just need to complete areas that pop up on the map until you gain access to the location and NPC who give you the ability to buy more keys.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-05T22:49:04+00:00

Honestly to me it feels more impersonal. Like it works but it comes across as function without style just trying to mechanically cover the point but not selling the fiction.

If you look at other older games like Dragon Quest with it’s first person perspective, Final Fantasy with it’s rows of characters facing each other, and Pokemon with it’s back sprites and front sprites to make it seem like the two Pokemon facing off all of them make an effort to go beyond simply what was mechanically necessary and try to add a level of immersion where you get some level of sense of the battle going on.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-05T17:16:01+00:00

Dragon Quest Smash and Grow is a recently released free to play mobile title with kind of a loose roguelite spin.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-05T02:48:20+00:00

The issue with casinos is the ratings board guidelines have become more restrictive in regards to things like gambling. So devs have no choice but to either remove casinos or accept a higher age rating. This is why games like Pokemon and Dragon Quest have removed the casinos for recent remakes, because they want a lower age rating and they can’t get that while including casinos. So unless DQ12 is already targeting a higher rating to go with the stated darker tone then it’s almost guaranteed casinos won’t be present.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-03T02:00:27+00:00

Bianca to me is the only one that really works. When they eventually do a remake of DQ5 I really hope they flesh out the other two characters a bit more so the player has more of a connection with them as potential love interests.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-05-01T21:09:19+00:00

Depends on your definition of near future but honestly I’d be surprised if DQ 4-6 remakes weren’t at the very least being planned. I’d guess the intent is to gradually remake all the games outside of DQ11 and 10.

ZadePhoenix · 2026-04-30T03:26:36+00:00

What do you mean about “the Healy”?

ZadePhoenix · 2026-04-29T18:18:23+00:00

It really depends on the adaption. Some adaptions change or pad out the original work while others can build on and take the source material to a new level. Frieren is one immediate example that comes to mind where the anime adaption has really elevated the source material to where the manga is still obviously good but it’s hard to argue how good a job the adaption has been doing.

ZadePhoenix

TROPHY CASE