It's still March...

So it's still Dragon Quest month!

I hoped to start playing this a few weeks ago, but I let Crowns of Power take priority. I'm back into development, so it still might. But I'm gonna try to get some game time with Dragon Quest VII!

DQVII was actually the first DQ game I ever played. I only messed around for a few hours because something else came up, and I hated the menu system. Even after becoming a DQ veteran, the menu in VII is clunky. But that's later... I don't remember when I tried, but I'm gonna give it a legitimate go now. I've heard nothing but good (and long) things, so let's see if the hype is real.

I boot up the game and name my character. The wiki says our hero's name is a misspelled variant of Oyster, Auster, so that's what I call him. I regret it! The PS1 localization doesn't have the seafood based puns. Should have went with Arus... A cinematic scene begins by hovering over a small island. The camera cuts through a castle town on a peninsula, a foggy forest, a small village, a foggy cemetery, and probably a couple of other places. Lotta fog... We hover over a marble gravestone and begin to hear a voice. They're nervous, and one doesn't want their dad to find out. They push the grave marker, and a gloved hand shoots out from the hole.

We cut to the in-engine scene. It's the middle of the night, and two kids are sitting on the beach with their village behind them. The girl, Maribele, asks if Arus will ever tell her where he sneaks off to. I reply, "Yes," but it doesn't elicit a meaningful response. But it's late, and Mari is worried her parents will find out she sneaked out and runs home. We have an important event tomorrow, so we should get along, too. I find my house, crawl into bed, and get woken up by dear old mom. She's mad we, the son of a famed fisherman, slept in. And in the morning of the Amitt Harvest, when the men in the village go out for a grand fishing trip. Arus is sixteen and able to join this year! Mom tells us to run along but stops us to give us our dad's fish sub.

Rather than b line it or the docks, I gotta Link it up. There are so many barrels, pots, and wardrobes to seek out and raid. Who doesn't love a good old person panty raid? I found a good amount of gold and an excessive amount of herbs. Eventually, though, I talked to my dad at the ship. He's furious I'm late, but mom's fish sub tides him over. He's more interested in a new fishing spot, so he sends us to clean the cabin. While there, I see that Maribele has snuck aboard. She's a strong willed tomboy and wants to join us on the expedition. The cook finds her and demands she leave, and she compiles. We end up having to leave as well, and our dad calls us a piece of garbage and tells us we can't go on the harvest. So we're kicked off the boat.

A soldier from the castle walks up to us, informing us we've been summoned to the castle. We're friends with the prince, Kiefer, so this isn't out of the ordinary. Maribele heard the summons, too, so she came with us. She wants to go shopping! We make our way to the world map and stumble upon a dude in the forest talking to animals. He warns us of a man named Handara. He sucks. But the castle town is north.

Maribele runs off to buy a new dress, and we raid the town again. We find Handara, who's our uncle, drunk and in debt. Maybe I should stop breaking everyone's pots? But the castle is up next, and we'll do that...

Ya know, whenever.

I don't know how I'm going to detail this. Writing all this took a while, and I quickly reminded myself why I was burnt out. Maybe I'll write weekly, maybe just when something happens. First impressions: I don't like Maribele. She's conceited and annoying. But we've got 109 more hours to go...