DQ8: Hit Trodain, a bit earlier than expected, but mostly just because I had to go there before getting the ship, as opposed to getting the ship and then hightailing it over there. Haven't fully explored, but I do like how they seem to have made a mention of the fact that Guv is immune to curses (which is a nice little touch to gameplay that I've found to be quite enjoyable) and I'm looking forward to seeing if there's any more diary mentions of him.
Also of note, the monster arena is unlocked! On being told to pick a fearsome name, I chose the thing that I know i should always fear. Hence, the Psychic Cats have already mastered the two lower divisions.
Rondo of Swords: People care about this plot? It's a bit of a pity that this is going to be so generic given that you do have the twist of not being the real prince. Of course, they also tell you about this at the end of the prologue, so it's not actually like there's any spoilers involved there. Is it done so that there's less squick involved when the prince's sister lusts after him? I don't know, but I do know that I am curious if they'll ever actually have her say anything that isn't horribly generic! I'm also curious if the ladies man will ever get the chance to hit on some lass that hasn't had hot lustings for someone inappropriate since age 6!
But.... yeah, enough of that and on to gameplay, which is the only thing that matters here. It's an interesting system, though at present I can't tell if mages are over balanced or not with the fact that they get weighed down with MP costs, extreme frailty, and the inability to use their magic after moving. Which means that they're only useful when you're in a defensive position, and most of the time, when you do use them, you had better hope you take out everything that's within range, or else they are deader than disco. Of course, to make up for this, they have AoE, which means they can hit about as many people as Sedric on a good day (for the mage, not Sedric) and they don't need to worry about needlessly exposing themselves. Feels like they're only really useful once you've learned to properly exploit the AI.
Archers are sweet. The ability to move then attack at range while at the same time not over exposing yourself is vital. Granted, they will never, ever, hit more than one target at a time, but that is a trade off I can live with. Swordmasters are frail, which is a bit of a pity, and not that strong either, which is, again, mildly annoying. But what're you going to do. Kay, meanwhile, is busy giving cavaliers a good name with his 8 move and Atk buffing skill, which let's him leave a train of ruin behind him, easy for a swordmaster of Serdic to follow and finish off.
Finally, there's the tank, which comes with the much needed Zone of Control skill, letting him actually pretend he's in another SRPG and prevent people from running through him. Sure, there's folks with the ability to ignore all that, but with his insane defense, good HP, and ZOC he actually lets me control vital spots and give my army some protection from rushes.
