[Ginkasa]

Dragon Quest VI was originally released in Japan for the Super Famicom in 1995 and, like DQV before it, was not released in NA. A DS remake was released in Japan in 2010 and for a while it looked like NA would be skipped for this release as well. Presumably the sales for the DS remakes of IV and V were not strong enough to keep Square Enix interested in bringing the series over consistently potentially resulting in the loss of a US release of not only this remake of VI but also the new game Dragon Quest IX also for the Nintendo. Fortunately, Nintendo stepped in and opted to publish both games in NA. Dragon Quest VI finally saw a western release in 2011.

Dragon Quests IV-VI represent a second loose trilogy in the series. I-III were the Erdrick (or Loto or Roto depending on who you ask) Trilogy following the genealogy of the legendary hero Erdrick/Loto/Roto. IV-VI are the Zenithian Trilogy more loosely revolving around a floating castle in the sky. What really jumped out at me with this playthrough (I think the first time I've really played the series back to back like this) is how much VI kind of mirrors III, almost like a spiritual remake. You can maybe see IV and V mirror I and II if you squint real hard and get comfortable with free association, but VI really lines up as an expanded version of III.

Like III, VI has multiple worlds - one of which you originally enter by falling down a massive hole.

Like III, after fighting the presumed final boss you actually have a lot more game left identifying and finding the actual main threat.

Like III, VI has a job system that allows you to customize your characters.

Like III, VI is positioned as a surprise prequel to the other two games in the trilogy.

VI and V also were a little experimental in the way they were designed and pace - broken up into chapters and generations respectively. This perhaps helped increase the impact of their stories but in some ways the games also felt a little more on rails and, like I stated before for IV, it also resulted in a strong start and stop and start again feel. VI conversely feels much more open and like a larger, continued story.

I really appreciate the job system in VI. Unlike III, characters are defined by personalities and histories rather than just their job. You pick them up in the story rather than creating them at the outset. They have no job, just their own default stats and abilities they learn based on their character. Once you reach Alltrades Abbey, you can assign them a job. With that job, their stats are modified to fit the role better and they will learn new spells and skills as the job ranks up. Any character can be any job, but clearly each character is better suited for certain jobs over others. Jobs also advance on their own rather than being tied to the character's overall experience, as in III. Jobs advance based solely on how many battles are fought. When you switch jobs you keep all skills and spells learned although your stats will change based on the new job's modifiers. You also have the basic jobs and then more advanced jobs that require two basic jobs to be mastered before you can unlock them.

Its an intuitive system, I think, and there aren't really any wrong answers. There are no penalties for trying different jobs out. I really like it.

Overall, I think VI is the strongest game of the Zenithian trilogy. Following VI, the series breaks out of the trilogy format and opts instead to allow each game to stand on its own (well, mostly). VII is interested because it takes the job system and openness of VI, but combines it with even more episodic storytelling. We'll get there when we get there, but I probably won't start playing VII until later. It is an incredibly long game and I definitely won't be able to get through before the Mass Effect Trilogy comes out.