[dq5] my main beef with this game so far is that it has the worst case of "What do I need to do to trigger the plot flag to advance" I've ever witnessed in a game
this is the first like, 'linear' dragon quest game as I understand it
and it is not as good at that as its contemporaries in Final Fantasy were
I've had to open a guide to figure out what to do to advance the plot like 150 times and I'm well under halfway through
at one point, you need to cross a bridge to the east
but if you try, the guard won't let you
what you have to do instead is
you go west, across several screens of wilderness, to a different town
and use the inn there
triggering a conversation with Henry during the night
then go back east to the bridge
and this time the guard recognizes Henry and lets you cross
good god
and that's just how plot advancement works in this game constantly
I just have a guide open at all times
and like it's not like I had no reason to go east! that was already my objective in the story!
but to do it I had to go to a different unmarked town because there was a conversation I hadn't had yet
it's not a lack of railroading but an active presence of antirailroading
you have not faffed about enough. go faff about or we won't let the plot happen
I'm not so sure about the new administration
wow the queen of Reinhardt is a wild character
so the country has two princes, Harry and Dale
Prince Harry was kidnapped and sent to his doom
and it's later revealed that the queen did it
because Harry is I think from the king's previous marriage
so she admits to attemping to murder the prince in part of a conspiracy to put Dale on the throne
and just says this about it
"That's just parenting!"
god forbid women do anything
here's the added layer of weirdness
in a classic DQ move, the queen was replaced by an evil monster clone
who is using the throne to do evil
but that happened
after the original had her stepson kidnapped and sold into slavery
so revealing the true evil queen doesn't undo the old queen's murder conspiracy charges