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So, I play a lot of rpgs...duh. Pretty sure we all do haha. The point of this post is to examine a game that I just beat a few days ago where I ask myself a few basic questions. I typically do this on my own when I beat a rpg so that I can learn from the experience as someone who wants to make great games for a living. This time, I figured I'd share. Hope this helps others like it helps me. Feel free to comment, critique, or duplicate this on your own experiences because I'd love to read them 
What did you like about dragon quest 3?
-Strength of bosses in boss battles (other than the God Dragon who was just a slight step up from Zoma.) Baramos was unexpectedly strong. Crazy how being able to act twice with a wide range of abilities would create such an unpredictably strong boss. Zoma was a buffed up version of Baramos but he had some pretty high damage dealing attacks + the buff remover beam of annoyance. There was no greater threat than double breath attacks from that guy...*shivers*
-The town of ghosts where Baramos killed them all but they thought they were all still alive. I felt like it could have been done better or used to a story effect that would make the hero have to make a tough decision. Ex. All of these people are dead and will soon become zombies that Baramos will use to attack all the nearby areas. Do you kill all these otherwise innocent people in order to save the lives of the surrounding cities? Or do you try to bet on the fact that you can destroy Baramos before they change? On the latter, you aren't sure doing this would even stop them from changing and rampaging...or wouldn't just kill them anyway...you'd likely be doing it by proxy. Moral of the story, I feel like there was a lot of potential in that town and I liked it.
-Artifacts like the darkness lamp, the thirsty pitcher, rainbow tear, and the gaia sword were pretty interesting despite the cliche' vibe. I liked that they did specific things that in some cases would change the face of the world.
-Items to find throughout the game like small medals + rewards for finding them along the way.
-I like how they split buffs between clerics and wizards. Made both have something to add in the first round of a boss fight.
-The ability to teleport to towns and leave dungeons given to you relatively early on through your characters' abilities.
-Powerhouses like Sages were nice to include and I like how they took longer to level to sort of offset that.
-Mini games like pachisi tracks (though the 5th track was lame and unnecessary...what good are items that I can't use since I've pretty much beaten the game?)
-Cliche but watching your father die in front of you at the end of the game. He was going on the same mission as you but he fails where you will succeed. The thing is, you have grown so much by the time you meet him that he doesn't even recognize you which is an interesting twist. Though I think they could have had you try to save him only to fail to do so in time. This way the father could actually see the strength of his son in action though he would never have known...something like that.
-Nostalgia from the other games. It built expectations and played off those expectations. Had I not already known that Zoma existed or the God Dragon, finding this out after beating Baramos would have been a game changer since it felt like the game was over. I know this was done in Dragon quest 2 but in that game you knew immediately that there was more since the god of destruction pokes fun at you after Hargon. In DQ3, you were at the castle with trumpets being blown and everything (like every DQ game up until this point) and then CRACKLE each soldier with a trumpet is slain by an unseen force and the face of Zoma is seen scaring the crap out of the King to the point where for the rest of the game he doesn't engage you and his chancellor must save your game for you. And then there is the Land of Darkness... Like....holy crap...this is the land from the first game! It all makes sense now! Fun experience despite the cliche vibe
-The existence of sage stones, life rings, and the goddess ring.
-Metal Slimes and Metabbles. Even in later levels, it was a treat to run into these guys and hope that I can kill them for that extra xp. These never felt like a grind and when you got one it was the happiest several moments of the experience lol
-Building your own town was a required part of the storyline. Made for an interesting experience finding out that your merchant character became a tyrant and was eventually overthrown.
What did you not like about dragon quest 3?
What can you hope to take from it as a lesson or something to implement in your own games?
What did you like about dragon quest 3?
-Strength of bosses in boss battles (other than the God Dragon who was just a slight step up from Zoma.) Baramos was unexpectedly strong. Crazy how being able to act twice with a wide range of abilities would create such an unpredictably strong boss. Zoma was a buffed up version of Baramos but he had some pretty high damage dealing attacks + the buff remover beam of annoyance. There was no greater threat than double breath attacks from that guy...*shivers*
-The town of ghosts where Baramos killed them all but they thought they were all still alive. I felt like it could have been done better or used to a story effect that would make the hero have to make a tough decision. Ex. All of these people are dead and will soon become zombies that Baramos will use to attack all the nearby areas. Do you kill all these otherwise innocent people in order to save the lives of the surrounding cities? Or do you try to bet on the fact that you can destroy Baramos before they change? On the latter, you aren't sure doing this would even stop them from changing and rampaging...or wouldn't just kill them anyway...you'd likely be doing it by proxy. Moral of the story, I feel like there was a lot of potential in that town and I liked it.
-Artifacts like the darkness lamp, the thirsty pitcher, rainbow tear, and the gaia sword were pretty interesting despite the cliche' vibe. I liked that they did specific things that in some cases would change the face of the world.
-Items to find throughout the game like small medals + rewards for finding them along the way.
-I like how they split buffs between clerics and wizards. Made both have something to add in the first round of a boss fight.
-The ability to teleport to towns and leave dungeons given to you relatively early on through your characters' abilities.
-Powerhouses like Sages were nice to include and I like how they took longer to level to sort of offset that.
-Mini games like pachisi tracks (though the 5th track was lame and unnecessary...what good are items that I can't use since I've pretty much beaten the game?)
-Cliche but watching your father die in front of you at the end of the game. He was going on the same mission as you but he fails where you will succeed. The thing is, you have grown so much by the time you meet him that he doesn't even recognize you which is an interesting twist. Though I think they could have had you try to save him only to fail to do so in time. This way the father could actually see the strength of his son in action though he would never have known...something like that.
-Nostalgia from the other games. It built expectations and played off those expectations. Had I not already known that Zoma existed or the God Dragon, finding this out after beating Baramos would have been a game changer since it felt like the game was over. I know this was done in Dragon quest 2 but in that game you knew immediately that there was more since the god of destruction pokes fun at you after Hargon. In DQ3, you were at the castle with trumpets being blown and everything (like every DQ game up until this point) and then CRACKLE each soldier with a trumpet is slain by an unseen force and the face of Zoma is seen scaring the crap out of the King to the point where for the rest of the game he doesn't engage you and his chancellor must save your game for you. And then there is the Land of Darkness... Like....holy crap...this is the land from the first game! It all makes sense now! Fun experience despite the cliche vibe
-The existence of sage stones, life rings, and the goddess ring.
-Metal Slimes and Metabbles. Even in later levels, it was a treat to run into these guys and hope that I can kill them for that extra xp. These never felt like a grind and when you got one it was the happiest several moments of the experience lol
-Building your own town was a required part of the storyline. Made for an interesting experience finding out that your merchant character became a tyrant and was eventually overthrown.
What did you not like about dragon quest 3?
-Encounter rate...holy crap. This game is in the same league as breath of fire 1.
-Getting access to items after they are no longer necessary...like pachisi track 5 items, naughty book, and in the gbc game the goddess sword that casts thordain. It would have been better to unlock these via hidden dungeons or side quests. Especially the naughty book. Make it like finding the zen book was. It's own tower but more perverted lol
-Having to go to the king to save and check experience points...I mean come on...you still have to go to an outside source to do these basic things even in DQ4 (which I just started). How many games is it going to take for them to add the "next level in X exp points" to the status page and a save function on the main map or menu?
-The grind to recover from class changing. There needed to be some kind of buff to experience for those characters to level up faster b/c I had to kill way too many enemies in Zoma's castle than is healthy for a sane individual...just saying. Also, f those mages and their revive ability <.<
-The Phoenix was a positive for opening up the world more...but it's about as fast as a glacier and don't get me started on landing or turning. Why would you make the flying vehicle move without you telling it to move in that direction? It was almost a mini game in itself just trying to land at the Dragon Queen's castle and the hole to the Land of Darkness.
-Zero story build up of Zoma's "generals". Not even a "Zoma is said to have three powerful creatures at his disposal that are by his side at all times. No one can even get close to Zoma with those three around...I do not envy what you have to go through, hero." Something! Nope...just btw here are three random encounters with decent mini bosses you have to beat Elite 4 style before you can get to Zoma. Could have been better imo.
-The God Dragon not having any special moves of his own other than the ability to put one of your party to sleep. Everything else was taken from Zoma. Just felt anti-climatic. Though the wish being granted if you win was a nice/interesting touch.
-Vivify should not exist...just saying. One time it took me 10 tries to actually bring one of my characters back to life. If you use an ability it should do what you expect of it, unless it's free & this is supposed to be a random chance thing.
-Getting access to items after they are no longer necessary...like pachisi track 5 items, naughty book, and in the gbc game the goddess sword that casts thordain. It would have been better to unlock these via hidden dungeons or side quests. Especially the naughty book. Make it like finding the zen book was. It's own tower but more perverted lol
-Having to go to the king to save and check experience points...I mean come on...you still have to go to an outside source to do these basic things even in DQ4 (which I just started). How many games is it going to take for them to add the "next level in X exp points" to the status page and a save function on the main map or menu?
-The grind to recover from class changing. There needed to be some kind of buff to experience for those characters to level up faster b/c I had to kill way too many enemies in Zoma's castle than is healthy for a sane individual...just saying. Also, f those mages and their revive ability <.<
-The Phoenix was a positive for opening up the world more...but it's about as fast as a glacier and don't get me started on landing or turning. Why would you make the flying vehicle move without you telling it to move in that direction? It was almost a mini game in itself just trying to land at the Dragon Queen's castle and the hole to the Land of Darkness.
-Zero story build up of Zoma's "generals". Not even a "Zoma is said to have three powerful creatures at his disposal that are by his side at all times. No one can even get close to Zoma with those three around...I do not envy what you have to go through, hero." Something! Nope...just btw here are three random encounters with decent mini bosses you have to beat Elite 4 style before you can get to Zoma. Could have been better imo.
-The God Dragon not having any special moves of his own other than the ability to put one of your party to sleep. Everything else was taken from Zoma. Just felt anti-climatic. Though the wish being granted if you win was a nice/interesting touch.
-Vivify should not exist...just saying. One time it took me 10 tries to actually bring one of my characters back to life. If you use an ability it should do what you expect of it, unless it's free & this is supposed to be a random chance thing.
What can you hope to take from it as a lesson or something to implement in your own games?
-Artifacts are a neat idea, though there is a danger of them just being keys to enter the next area...which might seem lame. I guess if I can design them with multiple uses throughout the game or even leading up to the final battle, that might be interesting. Results of your journey and what not. "He has the thirty pitcher! My water based attacks are useless!" might be fun haha.
-Playing through this series, and games like it, I am noticing why random encounters are the bane of rpg gamer's existence. It tends to take away from an otherwise interesting dungeon or puzzle. Exploration is a chore. And then there is the need to grind. Some people like to grind but I feel like there should be a better way to deal with it. Personally, I tend to lean toward the way the Earthbound did it's encounter system. All out in the open, instant kill if you blow them out of the water strength wise, and pacing where a grind wasn't entirely necessary unless you just wanted to for new psi abilities.
-If I ever include a flying vehicle, allow the player to have full control of it's movement. I thought this was a no-brainer...but there you go.
-Hidden items can be fun, especially if rewards for collecting them are nice. (never did find out what the gold pass did...)
-Bonus dungeons are a good idea but make sure that the final boss is actually a fun experience, not just a slight step up from the "final boss".
-Make sure that items, weapons, and armor have purpose. Passive abilities are nice to add in, so are being able to use the object in battle to cast a free spell or something. Don't be afraid to make these available through side quests or hidden dungeons only.
-On the above, make sure that you have these objects available to the players when it is appropriate for them to have access to them. Meaning, don't give the player the ultimate weapon and ultimate armor after they have already beaten the final challenge in your game. Seems kind of empty unless you are a 100% completionist.
-Have challenging boss battles. Baramos and Zoma were actually some of the best boss battles that I have had in awhile. For some reason I felt more engaged with them and it didn't feel too much like a battle of attrition like say...Breath of Fire 1's final encounter. They were actually difficult, worthy of being destructive forces trying to rule the world. Crazy how just allowing them to act twice changed things for me.
-It's default in RM, but experience + the ability to save whenever is great to have for players that only get to play here and there. I feel that the days of save points/going to outside sources to save or find out how much experience you have until you gain a level are over and my game projects should reflect that.
-If I were going to have a character like the thief, I think I would make all of his abilities passives. He walks onto the map and you hear the beep or he has an animation that suggests that his spidey senses are tingling lol. At a certain level (perhaps max), allow him to see them on the map. I could never quite figure out magic map, and I might have been doing it wrong...but I would have expected that it would do what I just described seeing as you leveled the character up pretty much for this purpose. In sort, if you are going to do classes and have them for a specific purpose, make sure that by the time they are maxed out that they are masters at their expertise and finding hidden items on the screen would be a no brainer. Reward your players for leveling up their special non-combat characters!
-Animations help a game stick out. Originally I was going to play this game on android but heard that they took out the battle animations...feeling jipped I decided to emulate and I am glad that I did because watching Baramos and Zoma use their powerful attacks made me feel like I was apart of an almost dragon ball kind of fight. (yes yes, I know Akira Toriyama was involved with these games AND THE ANIMATIONS REALLY SHOW IT!). I am not talking just attack effect either, I mean battler movement. Make them feel real. It made a big difference and helped me enjoy the battles a bit more as well.
-Abilities that have 50% chance to work should not exist unless this is your player taking a risk for a high gain. Buffs, debuffs, attack spells, and healing spells. They either work every time or don't due to the rules of the battle (immunity, healing is prohibited in this fight, etc). Missing on a standard ability is not fun, especially when you "miss" 10 times in a row trying to revive your healer character when it's supposed to be a 50% chance!
-Playing through this series, and games like it, I am noticing why random encounters are the bane of rpg gamer's existence. It tends to take away from an otherwise interesting dungeon or puzzle. Exploration is a chore. And then there is the need to grind. Some people like to grind but I feel like there should be a better way to deal with it. Personally, I tend to lean toward the way the Earthbound did it's encounter system. All out in the open, instant kill if you blow them out of the water strength wise, and pacing where a grind wasn't entirely necessary unless you just wanted to for new psi abilities.
-If I ever include a flying vehicle, allow the player to have full control of it's movement. I thought this was a no-brainer...but there you go.
-Hidden items can be fun, especially if rewards for collecting them are nice. (never did find out what the gold pass did...)
-Bonus dungeons are a good idea but make sure that the final boss is actually a fun experience, not just a slight step up from the "final boss".
-Make sure that items, weapons, and armor have purpose. Passive abilities are nice to add in, so are being able to use the object in battle to cast a free spell or something. Don't be afraid to make these available through side quests or hidden dungeons only.
-On the above, make sure that you have these objects available to the players when it is appropriate for them to have access to them. Meaning, don't give the player the ultimate weapon and ultimate armor after they have already beaten the final challenge in your game. Seems kind of empty unless you are a 100% completionist.
-Have challenging boss battles. Baramos and Zoma were actually some of the best boss battles that I have had in awhile. For some reason I felt more engaged with them and it didn't feel too much like a battle of attrition like say...Breath of Fire 1's final encounter. They were actually difficult, worthy of being destructive forces trying to rule the world. Crazy how just allowing them to act twice changed things for me.
-It's default in RM, but experience + the ability to save whenever is great to have for players that only get to play here and there. I feel that the days of save points/going to outside sources to save or find out how much experience you have until you gain a level are over and my game projects should reflect that.
-If I were going to have a character like the thief, I think I would make all of his abilities passives. He walks onto the map and you hear the beep or he has an animation that suggests that his spidey senses are tingling lol. At a certain level (perhaps max), allow him to see them on the map. I could never quite figure out magic map, and I might have been doing it wrong...but I would have expected that it would do what I just described seeing as you leveled the character up pretty much for this purpose. In sort, if you are going to do classes and have them for a specific purpose, make sure that by the time they are maxed out that they are masters at their expertise and finding hidden items on the screen would be a no brainer. Reward your players for leveling up their special non-combat characters!
-Animations help a game stick out. Originally I was going to play this game on android but heard that they took out the battle animations...feeling jipped I decided to emulate and I am glad that I did because watching Baramos and Zoma use their powerful attacks made me feel like I was apart of an almost dragon ball kind of fight. (yes yes, I know Akira Toriyama was involved with these games AND THE ANIMATIONS REALLY SHOW IT!). I am not talking just attack effect either, I mean battler movement. Make them feel real. It made a big difference and helped me enjoy the battles a bit more as well.
-Abilities that have 50% chance to work should not exist unless this is your player taking a risk for a high gain. Buffs, debuffs, attack spells, and healing spells. They either work every time or don't due to the rules of the battle (immunity, healing is prohibited in this fight, etc). Missing on a standard ability is not fun, especially when you "miss" 10 times in a row trying to revive your healer character when it's supposed to be a 50% chance!
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one bad plugin combo later and one of my followers is moonwalking off the screen on his own... I didn't even more yet on the new map lol.
