As
you all know by now, Dragon Quest IV is now available where
fine Nintendo DS titles are sold! It's not without some controversy,
though. Sure, the dialects have had mixed reactions, but the big
issue has been the removal of the party chat. A feature first introduced
in DQ VII, the party chat allowed you to speak with your party members
to get to know them a little better or get their reactions to people
and events.
When the early English
build was discovered in the Japanese version last November, much
of the party chat was completed and accessible. The incomplete party
chat is actually still in the US rom, just disabled. So it's quite
puzzling as to why they chose to nix it and take nearly a year to
do it. The removal also prompted a change in the menu. The cursor
now defaults to Items, making the Talk command practically useless.
If SEI decides to nix party chat from V and VI, I suggest removing
Talk as well as Search to even things out. That way it takes out
the extra navigation to get to Spell, and lets face it, nobody's
used the Search command since DQ V introduced the shortcut button!
Wait, all hope is not
lost! The fine folks working hard on the DQ V PS2 translation are
now working on a party chat insertion project! Translation and
localization for chapters five and six still need to be done, but
all the fans longing for this missing element, should be satisfied
soon.
And if you're out there
SEI, why do you guys feel the need to change so much? You don't
need to. They're fine just the way they are!
And
if that wasn't enough good news, there's yet another new version
of Capo's Dragon Quest VIII Savestate Editor! This version
has a major bug fix that prevented it from working on some systems
due to its regional setting. It also features a nifty monster team
editor. It's got all the monster names, groups, and attributes,
plus how to duplicate them! All that good stuff with a new error
reporting and recovery mechanism. Now how can you pass all that
up? Download
'n enjoy!
-The
Dwaine
Guess
what all you DQ VIII fans? Now you can join in on all the fun the
PAL users have been having! A new version of Capo's DQ VIII Savestate
Editor has been released. Now it fully supports NTSC files! What're
you waiting for? Download
'n enjoy!
-The
Dwaine
Remember
Zenithian from Slime Knights? Well, he's got a new business that all
of you 8-bit and 16-bit fans and collectors will be interested in!
We all love our old games, but those lithium coin cell batteries used
to save all those hard-earned hours eventually run out of juice. So
what's a fan to do? Simple - just send them to Zenithian!
Applying his background
as an electrical assembly technician, he'll revive your favorite titles
and then some! More than just a simple battery replacement, he's developed
a new solution that won't damage your game in any way and makes future
replacements easy!
Here's a quick rundown
of the process - games with a failed battery undergo a professional,
Class-3 electronics standard retrofit on the affected circuit board.
This retrofit not only replaces your old battery with a fresh, new
one, but so allows you to replace them at anytime in the future by
picking up a Phillips-head screwdriver and sliding in a new battery.
Combining this retrofit with proper care and storage, your battery
backed games can conceivably last as long as you do!
He has all the skills and
tools necessary to do a professional job. The cost is $6 per game
plus shipping for quantities less than 10. Lower rates are available
on a sliding scale for bulk orders (contact for details). He'll take
care of the return shipping for you, and if that wasn't enough, he'll
even perform a professional cleaning of the game board and gold-plated
contacts at no additional cost, further extending lifespan and reliability!
He uses a special product that he personally researched and tested
to remove all those built up contaminates and impurities - even some
types that rubbing alcohol can't take out. If you'd just like to have
your game professionally cleaned, this service is $2 per game. All
parts and labor related to the retrofit are guaranteed for one year.
For more details, including
payment options and shipping information, just
contact Zenithian. Happy retro gaming!
-The
Dwaine
Who
wants some good stuff? You want some good stuff? OK, here we go! First
up, here are two rare and out of print guide books from the
good 'ol 8-bit days. Thanks to the always sexy PlatKing for scanning
and assembling them and Zenithia.com for hosting 'um!
As
I type this, E3's is well underway in LA and Square Enix is showing
Dragon Quest IV off.. All the major news sites have been giving
their impressions on the game. They all seem to mirror the fan reactions.
Love the game. The dialects? Not so much. Here are a few links to
keep you entertained!
Wait, that's not all! Square
Enix Members finally got around to adding a features section for
DQ IV. Not much there yet, but they're offering a couple translated
4Komas. Check back every week for a new one. You can also check out
the new DQ IV trailer, but most of the links above offer it too.
Dragon
Quest V for the DS has recently been unleashed on Japan. Played
a smidge of it, so I can give you folks some impressions. It's pretty
much what I was expecting. Better than the SNES, but not quite up
to par with the 2004's PS2 remake. Does that mean it's bad? Oh, heavens
no!
Many gameplay elements
were kept. I was expecting the same speed as IV, but on the fastest
setting, the battles come close to the speed of the PS2. The monsters
also retain their wonderful animation, and even have a few new moves.
The weasels and minks are farting again! The drakees still squish
as they bite you. It would've been nice if the defeated animation
had been kept, especially when you do a critical hit that sends them
flying. New monsters like the Jailcats have been added, which adds
more variety to the random encounters.
The areas are smaller than
the PS2 version, which means fewer steps and battles. With nearly
the entire map displayed, you'll quickly breeze through a dungeon.
I got to Alcapa in less than 30 minutes! Some architectural details
like Lenoule's spiral staircase have been replaced with a simple ladder.
Unfortunately, DQ V doesn't sport an embedded English build, so we
don't know what SEI has in store for us.
But hey, it's DQ V on the
go. Can't go wrong there! So, if you feel the SNES version is too
slow and dated, or if the PS2 version is out of your grasp, this is
the perfect version for you! Here, have some screen shots.
That's all for now. There's
always more to come. We're far from dead!
-The
Dwaine
Hey boys 'n girls! No,
this isn't the new design. It's just a temporary one. I just needed
a spot to cram all the latest news while I'm grinding away at the
new site. Kinda like the DQNN and the DraQue Star. Why is it taking
so long? I'm updating everything! Know what I need the
most? Maps! Not only do I want to replace the old map scans circa
'98, but I want to have screen shot maps for every game. So if you
can help out, I'd really appreciate it! If you can make them, great.
If you know how and just want to share the info, that's great too!
Just toss an e-mail my way.
Oh, and yeah, the message
board has vanished. No idea why! Over the years, it's either vanished
or gone down for months. I want you guys to have a reliable forum,
so I'm looking into putting a board on this server.
Ok, to the news!
DQM:
Caravan Heart is now fully translated! A huge thanks to KaioShin
and everyone involved who helped bring us the "lost" DQM
title! Here are a few shots and you can snatch the patch right
here!
There's
a new DQ related link out on the internets! Dragon
Quest World has info on the games, a growing fan fiction library...
and mentions the Dragon's Den on every page. What's not to like? Visit
today!
Speaking
of links, these are on the new design, but I'd hate for them
to feel neglected. Did you hear? Zenithia.com's
back and has an
unofficial Dragon Warrior 20th Anniversary Calendar for you. While
you're at it, why don't you take a minute and take Zenithian's
DQ Survey? It's quick 'n it's good.
I'd also like
to remind you to visit Dragon-Quest.org
and contribute to the DQ
Dictionary/Encyclopedia.
Remember Slime
Knights 2.0? The portal is being reworked, but the forums are
still alive and well.
The
US version of Square Enix
Members made its debut two months ago and I'd like to congratulate
them on their fourth mention of Dragon Quest! Here's something interesting.
Remember back on Slime Knights when the decision to bring Young
Yangus' Mysterious Dungeon was discussed? Not only was it was
a unanimous, "NO!!", but not a single licensee was interested
either. What do I see on SE Members? Chocobo's Dungeon. Same
core gameplay, but with a bland mascot instead of colorful characters
like Yangus and Morrie. No unique lookin' cinema scenes, monster catchin'
and monster matin' either.
Pretty hypocritical,
if you ask me. Sure, the chocobo is higher profile character. I think
when given the choice, it's best for long term success to release
the better product rather than one with just a popular name. If you
believe in the product, make darn sure everyone knows about it! This
year alone we're getting more Final Fantasy games by July than DQ
has received since the merger. When's it going to be DQ's turn to
shine? Kinda tough to pull something out of a niche market when you
don't give it the opportunity.
| And
now for the big news! Remember back in NOVEMBER when a nearly
complete English build of Dragon Quest IV for the DS was
discovered? Well, after fans unearthed retailer listings, registered
trademarks, and the ESRB rating a month ago, SEI finally announced
it soon after the official web site was stumbled upon. Get ready
for some screen shots! Blast that infernal battle shot for this
uneven alignment! |
|
Not only has
DQ IV been announced, but DQ V and VI for the DS have been
announced too. DQ V strikes Japan in July, but no US dates for V or
VI yet. Here kids, have some logos. Small now. Big 'uns later.
Still not
enough? Fine, head to the
DQ IV web site! You really should since it's a darn fine site,
even though it only has one section as of this writing. Or if you
want to stare at logos, give
the portal site a visit.
That it? We
done? Whew! That was a bunch. Till next time!
-The
Dwaine
