Dragon Questing Part Seventeen: I Came, I Saw, I Beat Some Ass.

Back in September of 2008, I had the pleasure of playing my first proper Dragon Quest game with "Chapters of the Chosen" for the DS. After completing it, I couldn't help but wonder why I had never played a game in this series before. I'm always complaining about the gimmicks thrown into many modern games and how I'd want nothing more than to just play a modern RPG that stripped away all the nonsense and took things back to basics.

Well, Dragon Quest has been sitting right under my nose since I was in diapers. Not content to stop at the fourth game in the series, I've set out to acquire and play through every localized Dragon Quest title right up until I replay the fourth entry ... on the NES. I've spent months lurking around eBay, and I've amassed a complete collection that now only needs me to experience it.

If you've played any of the games I'll be talking about, I'd appreciate your comments as I don't know anyone locally who I can talk to about this wonderful series.

Part Seventeen:

Dragon Quest VII: Warriors of Eden... continued





So, hey, you wanna hear something crazy? You ready for this?






That’s right. After almost eighteen months and three different home addresses, Dragon Quest VII is officially just another notch in my DQ belt. It’s almost hard to believe; the index for the walkthrough alone was so long and daunting I didn’t think I’d ever make it out alive. But here we are…

Yesterday, I’d attempted for the first time to take on Orgodemir, and failed. It was a battle of attrition, and he just had the resources to outlast me. No matter though, I took a look at my party’s strengths and weaknesses, put together a loose strategy, and made a second attempt.



Orgodemir has four different phases, each on more deadly than the last. He means business from the very beginning, but by the third phase, he’s dishing out attacks that take upwards of 150 HP from each teammate. My strategy was as follows:

- Have Ben cast Twin Hits (a spell that doubles attack power) on Gabo, Aira, and himself in that order.

- Have Gabo cast Magic Wall on the party, then start wailing on the boss.

- Have Melvin cast Heal Us on every single turn, unless no one is missing more than 100 HP. In that case, just attack.

- Have Aira sing War Song twice (a song that raises the party’s defense considerably), then start wailing on the boss.

- After Ben casts Twin Hits three times, start wailing on the boss.

And, really, this worked like a charm for the first three phases. He was dishing out heavy attacks, but couldn’t keep up with Melvin’s healing spells. And when thing got really heavy, I just had Ben stop attacking and join in with Melvin to heal.

The fourth phase is when thing really got good. I had been saving all of Gabo’s MP for this part, and I just unloaded on him with five back-to-back Ultra Hits, which took a total of 2500 HP. Orgodemir didn’t stand a chance. Gabo’s Ultra Hits combined with the rest of the team using normal attacks brought Orgodemir to his knees in no time at all. At first I was a little shocked at how easy it was, but no wonder: I was at level 51.

In case you’re curious, here are my team’s ending stats:



With Orgodemir dead, I was transported to the Sky Fane, and then watched an ending that would rival that of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King’s. Seriously, this last part was almost an hour long. I guess it makes sense though; what better way to end a 100+ hour game?

The ending had me flying around in my weird egg-shaped ship again, stopping off at all the towns I’d saved. It was a good refresher course, as it reacquainted me with all the various townsfolk throughout the world. When that was done, Ben returned to his hometown to rest for the night.

The next day, Ben sets out on his first voyage with his father, Borkano, and the credits begin rolling. The whole time, I’m wondering what the hell ever happened to Kiefer, but at the very end, as Borkano pulls of a net of fish, a stone shard with some writing on it falls out:

Dear Ben,

I'm still traveling with Layla and the Dejan tribe.

I don't even know how long it has been since you and I went our separate ways. Jann has yet to return.

As the guardian of tribe, the honor of marrying Layla fell to me.

If you find this, I want you to let my father know that his son finally found his way in this world.

And, Ben, I want you to know that we are friends no matter how far we are from each other.

Your friend,
Kiefer

I couldn’t have asked for a better ending to this game.

And thus draws to a close the longest game I’ve ever played, by a long-shot.

So, what’s next? There’s less than a month to go before Dragon Quest IX comes out, so if I play another DQ game beforehand, it would definitely have to be a spin-off.

I have two games in mind: Dragon Quest Swords for Wii, or Torneko: The Last Hope for the PS1. Suggestions?

As always, thanks for reading!

Ben

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Total elapsed time across entire Dragon Quest series: ~275 hours -

IV DS - ~30 hours
VIII - ~70 hours
I NES - ~20 hours
DQM:J - ~20 hours
V DS - ~30 hours
VII - ~105 hours

Total amount of money spent on Dragon Quest Series: $259.00 (IV, VIII twice, slime controller, I, I & II GBA, Joker, V DS, V SFAM, VII)


For the past Dragon Questing blogs, click the links below:


:::::::::: From Dragon Quest VII:

Dragon Questing Part Sixteen: Running Scared with My Tail Between My Legs

Dragon Questing Part Fifteen: Poopsockin' it Through Eden

Dragon Questing Part Fourteen: Groundhog Day

Dragon Questing Part Thirteen: I am 100% Addicted to the Dharma Temple

Restoring the Planet: Dragon Questing, Part Twelve

Meet the Warriors of Eden: Dragon Questing, Part Eleven

:::::::::: From Dragon Quest V:

No Wonder Everyone Loves This Game: Dragon Questing, Part Ten

Coming to America Sans Eddie Murphy: Dragon Questing, Part Nine

:::::::::: From Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker:

I Guess They Can't All Be Gold: Dragon Questing, Part Eight

:::::::::: From Dragon Quest I:

Returning the Ball of Light: Dragon Questing, Part Seven

Getting a Grip on a Classic: Dragon Questing, Part Six

Going Back in Time: Dragon Questing, Part Five

:::::::::: From Dragon Quest VIII:

The conclusion of an Epic: Dragon Questing, Part Four

Discovering the Monster Arena: Dragon Questing, Part Three

How to Give a Boy a Heart: Dragon Questing, Part Two

Meeting the Cursed King: Dragon Questing, Part One

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