I left the last NPC practically the same in example B to illustrate that while in example A the NPC may come across as an ordinary drunk, the NPC in example B comes across as stubborn, but possibly threatening since the other NPC has filled us in about his strength. You can envision the waitress being frustrated with the man long after you've left. This is cool because the world feels more cohesive as a result. For one, the NPCs refer to one another, adding a level of believability, the 2nd is that the dialog uses something from the universe to help illustrate the scenario. It does everything the first example does, but gets some extra mileage out of the dialog. Man at the bar: Hic – Hic – What do you want? – Hic Man sitting at a table close to the bar: Ugh, last time I tried to pull that man away from the bar he hit me pretty hard. Waitress walking around: I wish that man wouldn't always be here, doesn't he have anywhere else to go? Look a drunk, obviously you're in a bar.ī) Tavern – Drunkard sitting at the bar in a Dragon Quest game: I guess it helps the Tavern feel like a bar. If you noticed though, the NPCs are providing the player with information not about the drunkard, but about the fact that there is a drunkard. This example isn't lifted from any game specifically, but I imagine most people can recall some RPG they played that plays out like this. Man at the bar: Hic – Hic – Hic, What do you want? Man sitting at a table close to the bar: The man at the bar is here every night, what a poor sight. Waitress walking around: If you're looking for a drink, head over to the bar, but you look a little young. They're strangely memorable.Ī) Tavern – Drunkard sitting at the bar in a typical RPG: I've spent a lot of time thinking about the NPCs in Dragon Quest games because they always help weave the fabric in which each town is built. I'm not sure if it's true, but it's said that Yuji Horii must approve the dialogue of every NPC in every main Dragon Quest entry and I believe it. Unlike most RPGs where the NPCs give the impression as though they were added to fill up space, or to force the feeling of believability, Dragon Quest NPCs have this weird sense of belonging. Not for an item or for an achievement, but because you genuinely have an interest in what that NPC has to say. It's really simple, but some people have this trait and others don't, it's that you have to like exploring, you have to be the kind of person that sees an NPC and actually wants to talk to them. It's rewarding to see what time has done to your legendary feats, have they been remembered, transformed, or completely forgotten?īefore I go on though, I should share a secret with you, the secret to enjoying Dragon Quest. Then after you save a village you unlock it's entrapment in the past and can access it in the present. From people turned to animals, to preventing human sacrifices, and exploring a kingdom filled with robots, this games has it all. You travel the world in the past and present and solve the problems of a variety of villagers. And that's what Dragon Quest VII is, an epic journey packed with stories. Once they had the basic foundation, it's simply a matter of using the setting to tell interesting stories. Enix/Heartbeat didn't need to invest in a development team that could make a cyberpunk reality real, they just needed artists to make sprites and 3D textures into things we're already familiar with – castles, farm animals, peasants, bunny girls, royalty, etc. Wut?! Dragon Warrior VII would have worked with Super Nintendo graphics, hell, it'd probably look better too, my point is that Dragon Quest's focus is always on the world and it's denizens. While Square focused on upping the ante visually, Dragon Warrior VII was great despite it's uglyness.ĭragon Warrior VII worked because it didn't need any visual improvements, the setting worked fine because Dragon Quest games are always in this strange medieval time where people live in castles and shacks, but occasionally fight robots. In the PlayStation era every RPG wanted to be like Final Fantasy VII (even VIII) and every PS2 RPG wanted to be Final Fantasy X. It's difficult because so much of what Dragon Quest does well it does to a degree better than it's rival and let's be honest, that's saying a lot. It's difficult to talk about Dragon Quest without comparing it to that other flagship series, you know the one I've already mentioned.
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