Quick Review: Dragon Quest 9

[Note: This Quick Review is very long. It's a "Quick Review" not for the length of the review, but for the amount of time played. Quick Reviews are reviews of games that the reviewer has not yet finished, but has played enough to get a solid impression of the game. At the time of this writing, I had played Dragon Quest 9 for over 30 hours.]

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies is a very strange game. Dragon Quest has always been a series that follows a very specific set of rules and maintains a certain style and gameplay pattern, and DQ9 doesn't change that. However, it adds a very bizarre sense of humor and an alien, almost robotic narrative that, after over 30 hours in, I still can't tell if it's intentional.

Mechanically, this game is Dragon Quest. It's the same as Dragon Quest 3, 4, 5, 8, any game in the main series. Turn-based first-person JRPG combat, paint-by-numbers leveling and stat-building, and a full variety of quirky spells like Zing (Life),  Frizz (Fire), Crack (Ice), and Squelch (Antidote). If you've played a Dragon Quest game before, you already know how this goes.

DQ9 distinguishes itself with a few unique features to spice up the game: character classes, wardrobe customization, and the removal of random encounters. Instead of dedicated classes for each character, you can select from six different jobs (expandable to twelve after completing some quests). The progression is very similar to Final Fantasy 3 and 5, where each job has its own level and skill allocation, and while you can carry certain bonuses over between jobs you generally have to start from scratch when you switch. It adds a pleasant bit of variety, and gives you the opportunity to arrange your party and play the game on your terms. If you want nothing but bruisers, you can do that. If you want nothing but magic users, you can do that. If you want a balanced party of fighter, thief, white mage, and black mage, you can do that. It's very freeing in an old-school way.