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Life isn't all that exciting in quiet Border Town for our hero, who spends most days hanging out with his best friend Benjamin. Long expected to take over the mundane life of tending the family inn, our hero wistfully craves a life of adventure. An even bigger burn: Some prophet visited Border Town a long time ago, and foretold that Benjamin would grow into the legendary hero. Talk about living under someone's shadow!

And live under a "Shadow" they did: For stories have increased in recent days of a great dragon of the same name, Shadow, rising up and amassing an empire to take over the land. Monsters have increased in number and strength, and some cities have fallen. It is clear that something isn't quite right.

Back in Border Town, things are peaceful... for now. However, on the eve of the dubious ceremony celebrating our hero's new job, Benjamin goes missing. When the would-be-innkeeper goes to search for him, he gets wrapped up in all the adventure he could have ever dreamed of, as his little journey takes him on a vast quest across the world, to Shadow's doorstep, and beyond.

It is time for the unlikely innkeeper -- and you -- to Begin a New Quest.


This game features a fully new world and new characters but inspired by the Dragon Warrior series for the NES. On the quest, many familiar monsters, spells, equipment, graphics, and music will be encountered -- mixed in with some new creations of my own in all of these departments. The game features:

-30-40 hours of gameplay.
-Some original music and graphics along with many old favourites.
-A huge bestiary of over 300 monsters, each with a Monster Entry for the library at Elderwood hidden somewhere in the game.
-A carefully-balanced mix of open-world exploration and focused linearity.
-Various sidequests including the monster library, the alchemy pot, the lottery, optional dungeons, and more.
-Fully functioning features that any Dragon Warrior fan would expect, including the "Imperial Scrolls of Honour," losing half gold/keeping items and levels upon defeat in battle; individual items carried in battle; Houses of Healing; Outside, Return, Chance, Sacrifice, and Farewell spells; Battle Mechanics that have been carefully tinkered with to strongly feel balanced in the same way that Dragon Warrior games originally were.
-A branching story with multiple endings and substantial postgame material, including bonus characters and a challenge boss.
-A packed-in world map. :)

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  • Completed
  • Wonderslime
  • RPG Maker VX Ace
  • RPG
  • 01/06/2017 05:10 AM
  • 08/30/2023 01:50 AM
  • 05/01/2016
  • 140619
  • 21
  • 1811

Posts

Ha, amazing! Basically, you're so thoroughly finding things that have never been tested: I certainly never made it to 99 myself, but I'm not sure what to do about the overflow. Parsing the script I'm using for customized required exp levels, I can't find an easy fix. For now, consider it a most surprising and disappointing reward for having dedicated so much time in.

The Dire Goopi is totally an unintentional omission: Every battle group that has enemies which can "call for help" has a couple of commands that are (or should be) executed in the first line. I didn't reset a variable for that single battle that was meant to be reset.

Hexatona: I actually did use an 8-bit font originally, and tried a couple over time, but found that there were some major issues with automatic resizing and scaling that seemed very difficult to overcome without a lot of extra work. Ultimately, I cut my losses and used (what I consider to be) a nice meaty-lettered fun-looking font. Thanks for the feedback, though. :)

Also Animebryan: Sorry, yeah, I understand why you might be irked that I didn't look into it earlier. You know - when something happens once, it COULD just statistically be a quirk. I'm a math prof - back in February was mid-semester! So, really busy at the time, I only looked briefly into it, found that Common Event that I explained above I assumed I was using, and it didn't look like anything was wrong with it. So, I dropped it! But, repeated evidence makes it more likely that something is truly up. Since I have a bit more time at this point in the semester, I looked into the matter a little more thoroughly now and found the hidden issue - whoops. :)

Thanks again guys!
Thanks for the recent mention of taking Ramona around to open all the locked doors once you get her back. I managed to stumble on the Thunder Sword doing so ... talk about a Disc One Nuke, it's almost one-shotting everything in the dungeon I was supposed to go to next, and making exploration of other places I shouldn't be possible...
It's totally there on purpose! I don't like the idea of limiting the player by inconvenient road closures, etc, and I want the player to feel like they have the freedom to explore to level up if they like. Have fun with your nuke!
I'm glad I can help you to be surprised by your own game, Wonderslime. Apropos: What a great game until the end, I've really enjoyed it.

I'll check out soon what the post-game has to offer, but first things first: I need help with one missing Monster Library entry. After having found 323/324 entries, I really need to complete this. Material family, bookshelf in the upper left corner (the top of the three "stacked" bookshelves) - that's what's missing. If it wasn't too much trouble, could you please tell me where to find this entry, Wonderslime?

Also: There's supposed to be a secret staircase in the throne room of Balghast's castle, but where is it? I'm pretty sure I pressed enter on every tile - to no avail.
The entry is for Dreadstaff, and it's in Balghast's Castle on the 3rd floor. Take the centre door (the one that heads toward the final boss's room) and look at the barriers on the east side of the room, once the room widens out. It will be inconspicuous, but it should be on the rightmost tile of the diagonal barriers.

In the final castle, there are two things you could call secrets: A hidden staircase in the southwest tower, in the northwest part of the 2F room (you can easily see a passageway on the west side of the room in the floor below that would appear to be inaccessible, but with stairs that lead to nowhere. Search where the "nowhere" would go above). There is also the "wall of darkness" in the courtyard, where there are two different exits to find.

There is nothing in the throne room at the end -- I don't remember where the reference to this is, off-hand, and it's honestly been awhile. :) It might have been that I intended it ironically, since there is always a "passageway behind the throne" in Dragon Quest games, but I couldn't tell you off-hand, to be brutally honest. If you can point me to where I inserted the reference, I could tell you if this was intentional or something that I forgot to remove. It might seem weird that I don't exactly remember, but there are just so many layers of dialogue, foreshadowing, lore that I inserted in waves (and a few things I removed or changed in terms of dialogue) over 2+ years of creating this game.

All in all, I'm really glad you've enjoyed it! I put a lot of love into this. Given how incredibly thorough you've been, I wouldn't doubt for a moment that you could stumble upon some interesting bugs in the less-tested postgame material. I don't feel so bad, though, after having Final Fantasy 15 bug out/soft lock on me more than once during my recent playthrough... I'm only one guy, and they're a ginormous team. ;)
Thanks for your help. This missing entry could have been anywhere, and I wasn't in the mood to scour the entire game (again) just that. As a matter of fact, it isn't just laziness on my part: I suffer severely from "final dungeon hastiness". When I reach the final dungeon in a RPG, I want to complete the game and become inobservant. I even forgot about the hidden staircase in the southwest tower of Balghast's castle until you mentioned it, though I did find the "wall of darkness" passage, as it had been hinted at by someone at the Sun Crest shrine. If I remember correctly, that's also the place where the secret staircase in the throne room is mentioned. When it comes to your game, making notes really pays off.

It's nearly impossible for one person to deliver a completely consistent gaming experience, so the least people like me - who are able to play your game for free - can do is to point out the irks and quirks they encounter. Speaking of that, I already found one post-game "inaccuracy". Obvious story spoiler ahead:

After having revived Ramona with Rubiss' help, Ramona's mum still wonders where Ramona has gone, even though Ramona stands just a few meters away (as an inactive party member). Dialogue is adjusted, though, in case Ramona's in the active party when talking to her mum.


To my mind, you masterfully hinted at this post-game activity. Animebryan obviously didn't talk to the healer during the playable epilogue, which is totally understable, given that the healers usually don't have much to contribute in terms of story and gameplay. :D

If you allow me to bother you with another question: Can the various treasure chests, jars and so on behind the counters at some vendors be accessed somehow or are they just for show? There's even one abandoned stall in Balghast's castle, featuring a few jars, so I can't help but think this might be another "scheme".
Ahh, no kidding. That's an easy fix too, so thanks!!

It's really funny you ask that question, because this thought crossed my mind for a moment. No, generally these kinds of pots and chests aren't accessible. The thing is that in the postgame, Hammy the dwarf is recruitable, and I originally had fleeting ideas to allow him to gain field abilities to do things like steal from NPCs and get into shops. But a) I was pretty done with RPG Making at that point; b) I was worried that very few people would bother to pick him up, so the effort wouldn't be worth it; and c) then I was worried that it was getting away from a traditional Dragon Warrior feel. So I quickly put the thoughts away and gave him some fun unique battle abilities instead. :)
I totally understand your reasoning. Tool-based gameplay (with real-time battle system) should be limited to Zelda-like games.

For now I'm done "tampering" with the post-game, and I'm ready to move on, unless I missed an important optional dungeon or boss (it would be great if I did, because that would mean another opportunity to
parade the awesome goddess' equipment).
Although I didn't search the entire game world again, I managed to recruit seven new party members. It would have been helpful if
Wonder
could have been recruited before the post-game. :D

Thanks again for a great game. RPGs that entertain me for weeks are rare these days.

Here are my final improvement suggestions:

- I can understand the old-school charm of something like the Golden Claw, but it really gets the player into a dilemma: He/she can either suffer from an atrocious random encounter rate or sell a unique item with a potential future use. It would be better to reconfigure the Golden Claw as an item that can be used to increase the random encounter rate for grinding purposes, or to let it only effect the random encounter rate when equipped as a weapon. The Golden Claw, as it is now, nearly made me quit playing - it's that bad. Alternatively, the player could be warned or given a choice before picking it up. At least I could leave the Golden Claw near the end with one of the characters that can be recruited during the post-game. Doing this immediately alleviated my burden, so at least the Golden Claw works as intended.

- There are some people who, when talked to, mention Hammy. At least one person (I believe in Matarona
- in its original state -
in the hideout, lower left corner, and people in Anville) should react differently when Hammy's in the party and the player talks to her (considering the time during which he first joins the party). Story spoilers from here on:
People in Anville don't react at all when Ulster's revived, no matter if he's in the active party or not. The same applies to the revived Josephine in Matarona, the revived Owen when visiting Velmont and the revived Shadow in Evandusk. Also, when I replaced Owen in my party, I got the message that Benjamin headed home (it was still Owen who headed home, though).


- I don't see any reason why the "return spell" shouldn't work in Anville.

- When the player has to decide
which one is going to be the final party member, new choice B should join at the same level as old choice A.
Also, if the boss fight leading to this choice can't be avoided after all, it shouldn't be possible to ignore/bypass it temporarily. After the fight, it still isn't possible to use the "outside spell" until exiting and reentering Balghast's castle. In general, I prefer new party members joining with a level based on the average level of all party members, not with a set level. This is especially important considering the post-game, as there isn't much incentive to level up new party members from scratch. I really wanted to confront the final bosses with a totally different party to see whether you implemented additional/different dialogue, but I couldn't bring myself to grind again just for this. Though I was almost tempted to level up
Wonder
because of his Gigaslash ability. Gigaslash and my carelessness were the reason why
I lost the first fight with my level 99 party against Malghast ("he doesn't seem to hit that hard, I don't need to keep all party members at full health").


- Does the Demonite Prodigy (Monster Library Demon family optional boss) drop something at all? If so, does the Demonite Prodigy drop it taking account of the intended drop rate? Maybe I was just unlucky that it didn't drop anything after a dozen battles.

- The explosion magic nullifying effect of
Rubiss' armour doesn't work against Rubiss' explosion magic (divine cross) of all things. Could be intended, though: goddess' perfidy so to say.


- When the party defeats the final story bosses again, the protagonist's name is displayed as Miles (in the first dialogue box only) even when the player has renamed him.

- After the playable epilogue, the player has to leave town to get the menu to work again.

- It would be convenient if it was possible to still achieve all endings when beating the final bosses again during the post-game, but for whatever reason the last boss doesn't feature any choices anymore. Isn't that odd,
considering that beating the final bosses for the first time is supposed to have been a dream?


Of course, this is merely nitpicking. I mean: Your game is the only one of those that I played on this site that didn't force me at least once to restart/reload because of some bug. :)
Thank you so much for this huge list of helpful suggestions and amazing catches. "Miles" as the default for the post-game rematch... is a pretty insanely particular detail for you to notice. I appreciate your patience!

Some last adjustments and information for you:

You're the second person to have issues with the Golden Claw. One of my best friends and first playtesters wandered the world with a terrible encounter rate for hours without at all realizing why - and this wasn't really my intent at all. Looking at it now, I agree that it's too easy to stumble upon the Claw without having read the one book in the world that warns you against it. The Golden Claw is found on a pedestal in the Dark Cave, and I've inserted an automatic message when you approach it for the first time:

"Ye who would take this treasure of olde, be
forewarned. Monsters crave the item within and
shall be drawn to whomever would dare to
remove it from this place.

To wander the world, forever to fight, never
an end to this plight until the moment it is
finally given up. Such is the curse of the
Golden Claw."

This seems like at least a reasonable compromise and serves as a heads-up, at least.


I have updated the dialogue for a couple of characters, based on what you noticed about Hammy! That girl now hints that Hammy finds items more effectively after battle, and then also hints that the special monsters at Elderwood may drop rare items.

It's a good point about that choice you mentioned above and the level thing might be a preference: Originally, one choice was really meant to be a "challenge" route over the "canon" route of forging on with the more familiar party.
That being said, it genuinely surprised me how many of my playtesters took his final request to heart. (That is, EVERY ONE of my playtesters except for one, decided to go with Ramona, which I found astonishing.)
I will consider this going forward. I also modified that room so that the Outside spell automatically re-enables when you leave through either door, neither of which you can access until "That Scene" is through.

I just verified - Demonite Prodigy has a 1/8 chance of dropping a Brimstone Marble, which by that point is only really useful for selling. It also has a 1/8 chance of dropping Mystic Acorns. It is likely that you were unlucky here, unless I'm missing something obvious (which is quite possible).

Great catch on Rubiss' explosive attack, which is now classified as an Explosive attack rather than a non-elemental attack. This was certainly not intended to be non-elemental.


Fantastic. On top of all of this, I have a couple of tweaks that I made to the Return spell, which I modified and then accidentally broke (and I think I've repaired now). I'm sort of in the midst of a final playthrough to catch anything else, and will probably release a Version 1.01 sometime in the spring, updating the download link. I've been so impressed by your feedback and suggestions that I will be mentioning you in my updated credits. Thank you so much.

In the end, I'm really glad that you enjoyed it! It's just a collection of DW-inspired ideas but it means a lot that you took so much time. Even one person enjoying it thoroughly makes the effort worth it. Certainly, feel free to share it with friends and consider writing a review!
Thanks for the intended mention in the credits. You don't have to do that, but I would appreciate it. :)

When I opened that treasure chest deep down in the cave west of Seaview, I immediately knew what I brought upon myself. As I didn't want to lose progress by restarting and still could use the Golden Claw for grinding purposes, I endured it. Maybe I'm just hampered by "modern age" RPGs. On the other hand, I like it even less when the player has total control over the encouter rate (e.g. Bravely Default). Thus, I also think that your solution's a good compromise, even though deliberately not opening a treasure chest feels too much like Final Fantasy XII (Zodiac Spear). ;)

My hunch about the Demonite Prodigy was correct in such a way that it features less advantageous drop rates. I'm glad there wasn't an oversight, but it felt to be worth verifying.

Considering the improvements you'll implement (or already have implemented), I'm sure that future players will - all the more - have an enjoyable experience with "Dragon Warrior: Begin a New Quest" similar to the one I've had. Thank you for a fantastic game and the interesting insight into your development processes.

Finally, I would like to share some tips, based on my playthrough notes, that new players might find helpful. Use at your own risk, as these tips might make the game too easy.

Before killing Josephine in Matarona (the nunnery), visit Ramona's mother in Polona and talk to her. She gives you the Glass Flower. Now travel to Anville and "give" the Glass Flower to Ramona (it will be put beside her). After having killed Josephine, talk to the guy in the Anville inn to receive one of the elusive Sanctuary Stones. Another one will be available by making progress in the alchemy side quest.

In the "short" period during which you have Hammy in your party (he won't leave if you don't enter his home in Anville), take your time and let him gain a few levels. He then learns the spell "Profiteer", a spell that enables the party to earn more money from battles (Miles won't learn this skill until much later). This way, you can earn a lot of money early in the game. The only problem might be to keep Hammy alive.

The puzzle in the ruins east of Carnelia is easier to solve than it seems. Make notes which switch lights up and erases which areas. To light up all areas, using the default setting, you only need to press two certain switches.

There are different ways to obtain lottery tickets, but you won't get many by only relying on treasure chests and monster drops. The quickest way is buying them from the guy in the lower right-hand corner in Nazrah (he'll only make you this offer if you buy two monster library entries from him for 5.000 and 10.000 gold pieces), but 1.500 gold pieces per ticket is really expensive. It's tremendously cheaper to exploit the tool shop gift mechanic. Every time you buy something at a tool store, you have a chance of getting a lottery ticket as a bonus. To exploit this, just buy one Medical Herb, exit the menu completely and repeat this until you have 99 lottery tickets. Use these tickets (and reload if you run out of them or repeat the previous process) until you get all five numbers correct and win the Golden Ticket (I recommend doing this in Seaview, enabling you to also get Orichalcum for four correct numbers in the process; alternatively, you can win a lot of Lifeforce Nuts for three correct numbers in Carnelia, which isn't possible anymore after having won the Golden Ticket). As a holder of the Golden Ticket, you can play as much as you want and don't have to worry anymore about getting more lottery tickets (or reloading). Another perk of the Golden Ticket: Fourth prizes for two correct numbers now consist of Magic Waters. Don't forget that all lottery prizes can be obtained in another way (treasure chests, monster drops, Small Medal trades). Thus, it isn't worth to aim for the Brimstone Marble, as you can find one in Balghast's castle (and you only need one for the alchemy sidequest). The same applies to the Garnet of BeDragon (that lets the user transform into a dragon): One copy can be found in Balghast's castle. Although the Garnet of BeDragon, being an item, can be equipped and used by all party members, it isn't that important, but it may be your saving grace during a particular optional boss fight.

When trading Small Medals at the Medal King palace for useful stuff, the Rattle of War doesn't seem that impressive at first glance. Get at least two of them nonetheless - if you intend to power-level. The Rattle of War's critical up ability is - despite the chance of a(n) (immediate) cooldown - by far the best method (even much better than Metal Swords) to kill King Metals, each one of them worth 30.000 experience points. It's possible to kill King Metals without critical hits by constantly dealing damage with Metal Swords (and by being lucky that those cowards don't flee), and a Metal Sword will deal a critical hit to them from time to time, but trying this is a far less reliable method. Therefore, charge up your Rattles of War and unleash critical hits. There are several places in which King Metals can be encountered, but the best place to find them (and other slimes) is Slime Island (or whatever you want to call it). To reach Slime Island, you have to take the portal in Rubiss' Shrine, which requires all five crests. You'll find yourself in another part of the Underworld. The eastern path leads to the place where Rubiss is sealed, but take the narrow passage in the north instead and you'll reach Slime Island. Here, you shouldn't go only for Metal Kings, but also for Metal Babbles. The latter ones can drop Orichalcum, Meteorite Armbands (agility boost) and - most importantly - Hats of Happiness (125 % experience gain per battle instead of 100 %!). Conveniently, the King Metals can also drop Orichalcum and Hats of Happiness.

About spending Small Medals: Aside from Rattles of War (see above), four Rubber Hats for certain boss fights would be convenient. The Shield of Divine Justice isn't that impressive, especially when compared to the Metal King Shield, but it has a very helpful special ability, and even better: It's one of the two only decent shields that Catherine can also equip (the other one can only be obtained from a post-game boss)! Sage Focus, though, aren't worth the costs to my mind (they cost 15 Small Medals, but only decrease MP costs by 1/3, and can be won on the lottery), for the two accessory slots are better used by increasing agility and instant death protection.

During the post-game, you can recruit new party members. Just revisit some towns and talk to the citizens. And you really should visit Rubiss (once again).
When the update is out I will write an walkthrough for this game if you give me the permit. Just finished one for FF Legend of Balance.
Thanks for the tipps, Euphoniac.
I was too busy betatesting new games I had to drop this.
Firefly, you are absolutely welcome to write a Walkthrough - you'd be doing me a huge favour, really. If you need any information to help in the process (for example, enemy stats, drops, Monster Entry locations, or really anything else), don't hesitate to ask.
Just tell me, when the update is out.
I will ask when I need it.
Cool, perfect. The next version won't be up until May or June, likely, so don't expect anything for at least a little while. Exams and end-of-semester details to deal with first! I appreciate it, Firefly. :)
I sold my Assassin's Knife early on and now I need one for crafting, but they're not sold anywhere. Is there anywhere I can get another one?
Hello, is there a problem? I can not find a secret way for Clarissa. Who knows enough?
Hey Moocow, that really sucks. They DO come as enemy drops, late in the game: Winged Demons, Dark Mages, and Barogs all drop them (infrequently), but those are options for you. I might have hid another one in a treasure chest too, but I doubt it. BUT, it is still possible for you to progress if you're lucky.

Bahamut: If you head to the top floor of Clarissa's mansion, a slime there will give you a hint. You have to "talk" to the bookshelves in the basement from left to right, and a secret way should open. Good luck!
author=Wonderslime
Cool, perfect. The next version won't be up until May or June, likely, so don't expect anything for at least a little while. Exams and end-of-semester details to deal with first! I appreciate it, Firefly. :)

So I started again. At least it will be slow going.
Bahamut: If you head to the top floor of Clarissa's mansion, a slime there will give you a hint. You have to "talk" to the bookshelves in the basement from left to right, and a secret way should open. Good luck!

Thank you so much ^^ I like this game very much.
author=bahamutkai
Thank you so much ^^ I like this game very much.


Oh, my pleasure. I'm glad you're enjoying it! Let me know if you're having trouble with anything else and I'll do my best to help you out. Good luck! :)