The latest DQ game has a few new tricks but for the most part retains its unique style and fun game play.
• Characters are customizable.
• NPC's are fun and interesting.
• Combat is turn based and straight forward.
• No more random encounters, monsters are viewable on the world screen.
• Less pointless combat that just wastes time.
• Beautiful graphics that enhance the gameplay experience.
• Lots of side quests.
• More fleshed out story then in previous DQ games.
• Characters appearance changes when armor and weapons are changed.
• Tons of different monsters and equipment.
• Improved AI.
• Don't lose experience if your party gets wiped out.
Cons:
• Common actions in town like saving at the church and banking still have too much dialog.
• Combat is too easy and lacks challenge.
• Getting key items for the alchemy pot takes up too much time and is boring.
• Unlocking some of the classes requires completing annoying side quests.
• Most of the side quests are boring and are a waste of time.
• All of the playable characters are created by you and have no background or personalities.
The gameplay is standard like most turn based rpg's, you control a party of characters and you save the world with them by undergoing many quests that lead up to defeating powerful foes.
The graphics are very good for an ds game, they look and feel like an early ps2 game
The story is much more fleshed out for a DQ game compared to previous DQ games.
DQ 9 is packed with value. I spent 68 hours playing the main story and some of the side quests, but there are a lot of extra side quests that I didn't do. It's not unreasonable to believe it could take 100 hours or more to play all the content in this game.
GAMEPLAY: 7/10
GRAPHICS: 9/10
STORY: 8/10
VALUE: 8/10
OVERALL: 8/10