I start a new game with the janky DS Emulation process, and I get to create a hero? No longer are we tied to a linear protag, so who do I want to play as? Not myself, but my beloved! I make my ideal Lucillia, and, when I finish, she grows a halo and wings. Hmm... We move on to a question? "Is anybody there?" Nothing is heard, but the questioner begins to wonder about the origin of a race called Celestrians.
We then cut to two angels flying over a small town. One is Lucillia, and the other is a man named
The battle system is very Dragon Questy, but we can actually see our characters perform their moves after we've selected it. One of the things that kept me away from DQ games in the past is the first person view of battle, but that's gone here, and it's so great! We're against basic mobs for this fight, and Aquila is strong, so this is a breeze. As the people we protected unknowingly pass by us, the girl, Erinn, offers a prayer to the guardian, Lucillia. Green glowy bits emanate from her and turn into a Crystal of Benevoessense. Aquila reminds us of our duty to offer those crystals to the world tree, and we both return to the Celestrian Home. We can wander around, talking to people to get our backstory, but we need to talk to the guy in charge, Apus Major. He gives us the go ahead to offer us the crystal to Yggdrasil as that is our goal. Once we've given enough to the tree, the Celestrians can transcend. And it looks like that time is almost upon us! After we're done that, we can return the Protectorate, the human world, and gather more. We're finally a full fledged Guardian, so we have to take it seriously.
We return in the middle of Angel Falls, right next to two boys talking about Erinn. It seems one of them, Ivor, has conflicted feeling about her, and his friend, Hugo, doesn't know what to do. Ivor seems to remember a time when Aquila was guardian, as stated on the statue in the back of time, but everyone else only knows us as their protector. Regardless, there are three people in town we need to help. One is an old woman in the church who's missing her dead husband's ring. We can find it behind the general store, and a dog can aid us. The second is the stable master. He's fallen asleep, so we have the inglorious task of picking up horse poop. We can egg on Ivor, at the behest of another kid, but we get nothing from it. After we've done the first two, night will descend on the town. Aquila will join us to offer one more piece of advice. We won't always be dealing with the living, and we'll sometimes need to help the souls of the dead transcend. One such ghost is right behind him. All we have to do here is let him know he's dead, and he'll, like the other two we've helped, offer a Crystal of Benevoessense. As we prepare to return home, a golden train will fly across the sky. We'll climb the stairs one more time to Yggdrasil and offer up our bounty. Much of the Celestrians are near here because they sense that this is about to end. Soon, Yggdrasil will bloom, and her fyggs will lead the way forward. Lucillia gives away the crystals, but then it all goes wrong.
The golden train flies overhead and lands beside us. As it does, a purple light will strike us from beneath us, blowing up the train. Apus Major and Aquila are shocked, but the horrors aren't over. More turmoil erupts, and we begin to rise into the sky. We're sucked off Home, unable to reach the hands of our teacher. We're flung into the sky, and light blows out from us onto the world. We begin to fall as humans look up at a shooting star. The opening credits roll for this, and the end when we make a big splash in the Angel Falls lake.
A few days later, Lucillia is at her statue, and Ivor and Hugo are grilling her about herself. They don't trust us and are suspicious that we're a mere traveling minstrel masquerading with a guardian's name. To be fair, the whole town is like this. Erinn breaks up the argument, and the boys walk away. Erinn is glad we're able to move again, and she's the one who found and nursed us back to health. She did an okay job, seeing as we can walk, but where'd our halo and wings go? She goes off to make supper, and we take a walk. We learn that Erinn is the most righteous person in the town, with the two people we helped being slightly behind her. Everyone else seems to have lost belief in the Celestrians, and no one likes us as a person. Explore, talk, and maybe buy a bandana, but we need to speak to the mayor, Ivor's dad. It's not much, but it triggers night to fall. We'll return to Erin's house, eat, and wake up the next morning.
When we awaken, Ivor is waiting for us. He's come to see us, but he can't say why in front of Erinn. We follow, and he fills us in that the path from Angel Falls to the rest of the world has been blocked. The night we fell from heaven, a great earthquake shook the world. It caused a landslide, which blocked the only escape from. It also triggered monsters to invade, so he's afraid to go out alone. That blocage has pretty ended Erinn's inn, which is what Vlad is upset about. He asks if us, the traveling mistral, can aid in his quest, as we agree to.
And I already like DQIV more than any other. Random encounters are gone! We now can initiate combat by running into monsters on the field, which replaces the World Map. We're off to a great start! But, after Hugo lets us leave the village, we can travel east, then north. I stayed around and enjoyed the battle system. It's as basic as can be right now, but that's how RPGs are. I got to level five and started getting Skill Points, which I put into my sword skills. I know this game has jobs, but I can't get to them yet, but I know Lucy is a swordswoman! And I want to find items and loot!
Once I've gotten on with the plot, we'll come to a clearing. But there's something odd because it looks like the golden train has crashed here! Ivor can't see it, though, so he just thinks we're crazy. He goes ahead, and I try to open the door, which I can't. When we walk away, a purple light will fall, and we'll hear it be shocked that we could, maybe, see The Starlight Express. Further on the path is the blockage, but it's a lot worse than Ivor thought. We can't do anything, but we hear voices on the otherside. It's four soldiers who've come to clear the rubble for us. With them doing the job, Ivor is bummed we came here for no reason. As we're about to leave, the soldiers ask us to find a woman named Patty. Apparently, she's come to town but got lost. She may have taken the old path through the Hexagon, a monster laden dungeon that's been blocked off for decades. But we return home.
Ivor is getting yelled at by his dad as we listen on. When that's done, Ivor asks about Patty, which is when Erinn joins the group. She knows who Patty is from when she lived in the capital with her dad. She becomes worried, but there's nothing we can do about it now. Erinn, morosely, returns home, and we do too. She starts to ask us to save Patty but knows we were hurt a few days ago, so that'd be dumb.
But guess what? After I rest up, I head for the Hexagon. It's to the east of Angel Falls, and you'll see purple water outside of it. Don't go near the water since it's poisoned. As we descend into it, we'll quickly notice it's a dead end. Reading the inscription, though, makes a ghost show up. It guides us to a statue in the west, which has a button on the back of it. This moves a wall, letting us go deeper into the dungeon.
The mobs here are pretty weak but give great EXP and gold. At level five and a Soldier's Sword, I could kill everyone in one or two hits. The layout is pretty straightforward, especially with the map on screen. Every dead end is a treasure, which reminds me: Don't buy a shield before going down here. I now have two of them... After a few floors of fighting, looting, and leveling up, we'll stumble on a woman trapped by falling ceiling. This is Patty, and she warns us that's she's being chased. Before we can lift off the debris, the ground starts shaking again. A massive bull emerges, and this is what chased patty.
Our first boss fight is again Hexagoon. I didn't see anything of note but heal when you get under ten HP. I was faster than it, and it lacks any surprise attacks that can disable you. It's a straight out brawl, so you'll be fine. In the commotion, Patty got free. She thanks you for saving her, and the two of you leave the dungeon. She goes on ahead to Angel Falls.
Patty is talking to Erin at the inn she runs, and the two of them do know each other. Patty and Erinn's dad, Edwinn, go way back. Patty has come to town to see him, but Erinn reveals he died two years ago. Patty then tried to convince Erinn to run her inn in Storwell and follow her dad's footsteps. But Erinn doesn't believe her dad was the world renowned "Inntertaining Innkeeper," so she runs back home in a state of confusion. Patty thanks us again for helping her and asks us to bring Erinn to her side. When we go to her house, we'll see the ghost from the Hexagon peeping in at her. Not only that, but that purple light from before attacks us. It transforms into a fairy named Stella, and she's the conductor of the Starlight Express! After some back and forth, the ghost reveals himself as Edwinn, unable to go to the afterlife because something is holding him back. We get a clue he hid something behind the inn. When we dig it up, we find an "Inny"! The king himself recognized Edwinn's innkeeping abilities that he gave him a giant trophy. Taking this to Erinn changes her mind, but only after Grandpa reveals the truth. Edwinn and Erinn moved to Angel Falls after her mother died. She was always a fragile and sickly woman, but coming here was her dream. It was probably because of the Angel Tears Water that the town is known for. It's said to heal all wounds and ailments, including the bad genes that Erinn's mom passed onto her. It was the water in town that's let Erinn live as long as she has despite her DNA. With that knowledge dropped, Erinn agrees to take over Patty's Inn in Storwall. We see Edwinn just outside his daughter's room, and he can finally rest in peace. He disappears, but we see no Crystal of Beneloessence. We can't, but Stella can...
We wake up a few days later, after the path has been cleared, and the two girls set off. We're not going with them, but I suspect we'll be following after them. Erinn asks Ivor to fill in for her, which the boy does with some mental gymnastics. He's happy, his dad's happy he has a job, and Erinn's happy her inn is still a thing. And I'm happy because my journey begins! Apparently, I'm supposed to find my home town? Before leaving, talk to a new girl outside the church. Questelle begins the side quests, "Quests." I'm sure they're fun and important, but I'll see more about them, and the rest of Dragon Quest IX,...
...tomorrow.
I had a lot to type, and we've just set the clock forwards, so I have no time. But, so far, I already like this game more than any other in the franchise, including V. With a visual combat style, no random fights, and an idea of what's to come, I think I'm gonna be happy I'm here. Assuming it all works with my computer...
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