Nostalgia Warrior
So I’ve been doing this thing. Every time I go to EB or wherever to browse through games, I pick up the DS remake of Dragon Warrior IV. Then I put it down. Then I pick it up, then I put it down. I just can’t decide if I should get it or not.
Dragon Warrior IV was one of my favourite NES games when I was a kid, and I have a lot of fond memories of playing it. My copy got swiped by a friend many years ago, so it’s been a long time since I’ve played it, and I end up thinking "oh, hey, I should get that." But then I evaluate the game rationally, and I just don’t know that I’d have the patience for it these days.
See, the thing is, when I actually look straight at it and try to remember how it plays, it occurs to me that Dragon Warrior IV was one of the all-time great grinding games. It’s in five chapters, and each chapter starts you with different characters, and all the characters start at level 1. So you immediately buy a damn copper sword or club or whatever and go grind on slimes for a while. Then you’ll go up a few levels and you can grind red slimes or prank gophers instead. Sooner or later you grind high enough to complete your quest, and then it’s back down to level 1, since it’s time for the next chapter. And, lest we forget, chapter 3 ends with the epic grind of, what is it, like twenty thousand gold to buy Talloon a damn storefront?
On the other hand, I remember really enjoying it when I was a kid, and that’ll probably win out eventually.
