So, I’ve beaten the main story in Dragon Quest IX, and I’ll probably be putting up the game for a while.  Some final thoughts.

How were the story and characters?  The story was … just there.  Characters?  What characters?

Dragon Quest games have never really struck me as having strong stories.  DQ9 has yet another silent, not-very-well-developed protagonist – with the additional problem of having a party that’s also silent and not-at-all-developed.  (Heck -your party just disappears and reappears by magic at some points in the game!)

Most of the plot involves doing odd jobs for NPCs in villages and towns – and collecting fruit, after which you beat up on the final bosses.  It’s underwhelming to say the least – and by the time you get to the ending, you’ve all but forgotten the NPCs you see as the credits roll.

Then why play the game at all?

Despite the story and characters being all-but-nonexistent, the game’s still quite a bit of fun.  There’s exploration of a decent-sized world, tons of sidequests (100+), the lure of literally designing your own party, item creation, and plenty of optional bosses.  If the gameplay didn’t work, this one would be on the scrap heap along with failures like Lunar: Dragon Song.