For those of you familiar with my gaming post, y’all know that I don’t play games in chronological order. I kind of approach games how I look for new books. I’ll see if the cover art catches my eye. Then, I check the back cover for game play details. If they pass this screening, I’ll give it a chance. From there I’ll decide whether to go forward or back in the series. Now that’s only when a game comes from a series. That’s how I found Dragon Quest Builders 2. Although, I’ve beat it twice (by finishing the main storyline), I haven’t completed everything. The game has play value beyond the main story, which I appreciate.
A few weeks ago, I was in the mood to play Builders 2. I didn’t want to start over and I wasn’t in the mood to complete some post game tasks. Then I thought, I wonder if I can find the first Builder game. Fortunately, I was in luck. I got a used copy from Gamestop and got to work [Side Note: I spend extra on warranty just incase the game is corrupted. It’s only happened a few times and it’s not expensive]. Almost immediately, I realized the first Buileder was harder than the 2nd for unexpected reasons.
So It’s Rags To Riches?
Tell me how our character starts off starving in a tomb. I thought being a prisoner on a monster pirate ship was bad. At least I already had my adventure gear on. Not in the first Builder, you’re in the prison garb that you don’t see till your 2/3rds into Builders 2 main story line. It kind of reminds me of Breath of The Wild Link waking up under ground. Because you need certain materials to craft clothes in Dragong Quest Builders, you’re stuck in rags for a while. As you find more material, you’ll make stronger clothes, shields, and weapons. If I had to compare the two, you’ve to put more work into crafting clothes in this game than the sequal.
Does Everything Have To Break
Your weapons, garments, and shields have a damage meter. When their blue meter is empty, your equipment will break, which is very inconvenient in battle. If you’re not careful, you’ll be down to your skivies mid-fight. Your equipment storage is separate from your pocket and treasure boxes. So, you’ll need the colossal treasure box to store excess tools. There are a few exceptions. The rake, pail, and fishing poles don’t have damage meters, because you can carry them like regular items.
Food Doesn’t Heal Me?!
In the first game, food only refuels your hunger gage, which looks like 5 loaves of bread. You have to heal your HP with ointment, which is a typical green bar. If you don’t keep your character from starving your actions will start eating away at your HP. This probably isn’t difficult for Sims players, cause they have to micromanage their characters to keep them alive. This isn’t always a feature in adventure and Builder games. So, I had to be extra aware and considerate of my Builder.
You’re A Lone Warrior
You don’t have an equivalent friend like Malroth’s in Dragon Quest Builder. No combo attacks or assistance gathering material either. Nor can you directly arm your villagers. In Builders 2, you can directly hand combative villagers upgraded weapons. In this game, all your weapons go to your Equipment tab. This means you cant hand weapons to villagers like an item. Also, they can’t help in the final boss battle. Mind you, I’m in the middle of fighting Hades the second boss bottle in Dragon Quest Builders. So, I could be wrong. During my game play, the villagers are warped out before the boss battle starts. So it’s just me, the boss and his minions.
Final Thoughts
This might sound like a list of complaints, but I’m enjoying this. I can appreciate the chnages developers made on Dragon Quest Builders 2. I like that they aren’t carbon copies of each other. I get to enjoy a new-to-me storyline with game play that is familiar to me. It’s not a drastic change like Rune Factory 4 and 5’s asthetics and mechanics. That’s a big reason why I went backwards instead of Forward with Dragon Quest. I wasnt interested in Dragon Quest Treasures. So, I bought the first Builder game instead. You see, I like developing territories and helping residents flourish. If you haven’t tried either Builder game, I recommend both. Since they aren’t brand new games they’re affordable and available on multiple consoles. Do what you will with that information.
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