I’ve been playing lots of Dragon Quest IX lately. I bought it a while ago, but never really got into it until recently. It’s the first game in a long time that I’ve been able to really immerse myself in for hours at a time. Whether I’m collecting materials to alchemize items, progressing through the main story (I’m still not done at 60 hours in), or collecting maps and exploring grottos, I always enjoy the time I spend playing DQIX. 

I really feel like I’ve hardly even scratched the surface of this game. I accidentally skipped the Alltrades Abbey Fygg mission, so I only recently opened up the ability to change jobs. I changed from a Minstrel with a fan proficiency to a Thief with a knife proficiency. I’m excited to try out the other classes, as well as max out the ones I’ve started. 

I also only recently explored my first Grotto, the boss of which apparently drops a new treasure map every time it’s defeated, so I’ve gone through that dungeon a handful of times to collect some maps. I’m currently making my way through a level 3 grotto, and I’m excited to see what’s at the end of it. 

Dragon Quest IX really has a ton of depth to it, and I feel like I will never be able to finish it. The nice thing is, I don’t see myself getting tired of the game either. Most games that I spend so much time with, I end up getting burnt out on, but DQIX has so much to do, that I can constantly jump around between tasks and never get bored.

Dragon Quest IX might take the role of my favorite DS game ever, a title I’ve usually devoted to the magnificent puzzle game Meteos. That’s a big achievement.