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Dragon Quest VI
This is the sixth installment of the extremely popular Dragon Quest series, and the last for the Super Famicom. It ends the Tenku (heaven) trilogy composed of DQ 4,5 &6. It has several improvements from the previous games and is definitely lives up to the Dragon Quest name.
Gameplay: 10/10
This is what the game is all about. The interface is nice easy to use, although it would have been handy to have equip on the main menu rather than on a submenu, but that doesn't really detract from the otherwise easy to use interface. The gameplay is similar to the previous Dragon Quests (and most every other RPG for that matter); you wander around going through dungeons fighting monsters.
Battles are done in the same manner as the earlier games, where you see a background with all the monsters you're fighting on it. One large change, though, is that the monsters are now animated, a very nice touch. Overall the battles are simple, and don't bog you down in long animations.
The best point of this game's gameplay is the job system. After a certain point in the game you gain the ability to assign a job to each character. As you fight battles each character gains abilities from their jobs. Once you master some jobs by acquiring all the abilities, you gain access to hybrid jobs that have some very nice (and powerful) abilities. There are even two secret jobs that you can get. Some of the jobs are a real interesting, like the dancer or the merchant.
Another fun point of the game is the mamono tsukai (monster user) job. With this job you can get monsters to join your party. It's really fun having a Hoimi Slime, or better yet a Hagure Metal, in your party. Some of the monsters can be very powerful, and they all have their own unique abilities to add to your party.
In addition there are some minigames in Dragon Quest 6, such as the slime arena, casinos, and best dresser contest. The best dresser contest is particularly interesting. Every piece of equipment has a Kakkoyosa (stylishness) rating. More powerful equipment isn't necessarily better. In order to win this contest, and gain many valuable prizes, you'll need to find just the right combination of equipment.
Difficulty: 8/10
Overall, this game can be quite challenging, but in a good way. It's not so challenging as to be frustrating, but the bosses certainly are no pushovers. Some of the bosses such as Miralgo, or Maou Mudo can be quite challenging. The boss of the bonus dungeon can very hard if you're not prepared.
Replayability: 9/10
This game definitely has enough secrets that it's worth playing again. You can try to find all the small medals, or get all the monsters to join your group. Of course finding and beating the bonus dungeon is definitely worth trying as well.
Story: 10/10
This game has an excellent story. You join the game with your hero, and two other mysterious characters invading the castle of Maou Mudo. But when you get there he turns everyone to stone, and you wake up in Lifecod village. This is where the story really begins. Each character has their own personality, and as the game progresses you get to find out about their true origins. There is also an interesting story to go along with the two different worlds you explore in the game. It's really fun how doing something in one world can have an affect on the other world.
Graphics: 8/10
Very nice graphics. While not quite as good as the graphics in the Dragon Quest 3 remix, they are very good none the less. You'll get a definite nostalgic feeling from some of the monsters, and, as previously mentioned, the monsters are animated. Some of the battle animations for your abilities look pretty nice too.
Sound: 8/10
Dragon Quest 6 has some very nice music, but it needs more. The music is reused a little too much for my tastes. I also think the overland music for the two games should be more different, they are basically remixes of each other. But still very nice music overall.
Overall Rating: 10/10
In the end this is an excellent game. If you can find this game definitely get it. It's one the best Super Famicom games available.
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