Holy moly, this was a fun ride. The Dragonlord is defeated, and the light has returned to Alefgard. Completed Chapters 2, 3, and 4 respectively. Chapter 1 and 2 are the only ones where you gotta worry about the final boss destroying your base.
Chapter 4(the final chapter) is the most unique of them all.
Chapter 3 was probably my favorite(outside of Chapter 1), yet also hated chapter at the same time. It had a real love/hate relationship with me.
I loved how it wasn’t in a depressing-looking bog (and it felt resources were more plentiful), and how the NPCs “talk lik’ ’tis wiv their words. Cor Blimey!”. But what made me angered was the AI pathing of the villagers (who can assist you for the first time). They constantly got in the way of placing blocks to get up a cliff wall, or when they weren’t in the way…they couldn’t figure out how to follow the Builder (and kept getting into areas I was forced to make a path for their retard pathing to follow me).
..No, actually the thing that was worse, is Glutimus. I like his character, but the fact he’s such a coward…my base got 95% destroyed by an ogre during one of those ‘defend the base’ quests. I was..FURIOUS with him, because with him running around, the ogre was smashing up my base trying to get to him. Though I was more furious with the Ogre, as I had Obsidian walls(strongest block available in Story mode) all around my base, and it knocked them down.
Lastly, I found out cannons as base defense, is pointless (as they destroy blocks). They’re better used for mining, and carrying around when you need to say “**** you” to a group of monsters chasing you.
But possibly the best thing to come out of Chapter 3, is the ‘Bashmobile’. A rocket car with two spikes on the front. It takes some time to get used to it’s controls (it’s constantly moving and hard to steer, and only stops if you run into a wall or something), but it can do between 100-105 damage upon every successful bash.
Now unfortunately it’s time for spoilers (but I’ll have something under it for people against reading them). Once again, don’t click if you haven’t gotten this far into the game.
Chapter 4 is when the story finally ties itself together, just intime for the final fight. But the message that was delivered before it, brought me to tears of just how beautiful the delivery was. Perhaps I’m being overly dramatic when I say that, but allow me to explain.
This has to do with the hero who was supposed to slay the Dragonlord, instead sided with him. No one knows why he betrayed humankind to claim half of the world, or even morbidly wondering why the Dragonlord, with his dark powers, didn’t just wipe out the human race (instead of taking away their power of creation).
For the Hero (and the player), it was all about ‘choice’..and also ‘curiosity’. Before the credits roll, one of the NPCs believes the Hero was simply curious of what would happen if he owned half the world. But just as real life, some choices can and occasionally do have dire consequences. Clearly, this was a reference to players who reload a save, just to see what they would see if they chose the other option.
As for the player character (the Builder), s/he felt of all the monsters (and bosses) they slew, surely they could do more than just make the future hero look good. The Builder kept on being reminded by Rubiss; “You are not a hero.”.. yet on Chapter 4, when all of his friends from the previous three chapters came to visit in order to deliver each artifact that was used to bring the light back to that chapter… these friends felt the Builder had the power to defeat the Dragonlord.
The Builder really wanted to be the hero, but s/he knew they couldn’t as both the Seer and Rubiss forbidded it. But when told the real hero may not show up for ten, fifty….or even hundreds of years in the future (and The Princess literally begging him to try), the Builder was given a choice; go against Rubiss’ wishes, or never be able to live long enough to see the darkness restored…
I really felt sorry for the Builder I created. I was even saying “Why, Rubiss.. why?! WHY won’t you let me be the hero?! My friends are counting on me! Don’t DO THIS!!”, and when I finally had the option….I was in tears. I was so happy. But this wasn’t when the message was delivered.
Though by going against the Goddess, she got pissed off and no longer watched over the Builder, leaving them in a weakened state. I’ll explain about this in detail later.
After the three increasing difficulty ‘defend the base’ quests (with the last one having a dragon being the leader of the monsters), it was finally time to take the fight to the Dragonlord.
The Dragonlord’s ‘mini-boss fight’ was pretty easy. With the strongest gear in the game equipped (‘Aurora Armor’, ‘Hero’s Shield’, and ‘Blade of Kings’), his defeat was guaranteed. But then he did a surprise move.
Before the Dragonlord showed his true form to the player, he offers the same option he gave to the hero. Except he promises the player’s half of the world, would not be bathed in darkness (if he sides with him); that it would be what the Builder wants, which is to build and not have to fight the monsters.
You can’t help but wonder if you as the player said “yes”, just like the hero did. He didn’t want half the world, he was just curious.
Also, a bit of a side note. Fighting the Fallen Hero was a complete joke. Of all of the monsters and bosses I faced and defeated, this guy was the most pathetic “boss” I ever did see. Sure, you gotta dodge his attacks, but if you used the Bashmobile on him, you know this guy is laughable (as you’re pretty much immune to damage unless you hit something).
His attacks are easily dodged, and he spawns only one monster to aid him (which goes down in a few hits with the Blade of Kings). And when “defeated”, he runs away like a pussy never to be seen again! Though I had assumed this wouldn’t be the last time I would deal with this guy (felt the Dragonlord would empower him and make him a worthy boss)..instead, Rubiss is all “you vanquished him”. And I’m all… “WAT?! THAT’S IT?!”.
Now back to the Dragonlord (sorry, but I just had to mention what a joke of a fight the Fallen Hero is). This guy (purple dragon who actually has wings, yet is too fat to use them) is definitely a worthy boss. His model was pretty damn cool, and the animation he does when he casts his dark magic is pretty cool(which is typically a breath attack, either ranged or sweeping).
The battle itself, though it wasn’t as intense like I fought in other games, it really made sure you knew everything you learned to dodge attacks and strike. Also, the power of friendship knows no bounds as occasionally, your friends would teleport in and give you items (as the Dragonlord destroys everything you own (except for your gear).
One time I had 1 HP left. I don’t know HOW in the hell I survived that, but I was able to heal myself in the nick of time.
Defeated him on the first try! 😀
The player character is a Builder, nothing more. Yet, he became a Hero this day. The message, is you don’t need to be born from the bloodline of a strong warrior to be a hero. A real hero is one who helps out the unfortunate, in this case by rebuilding towns (and friendships), the Builder’s creations (and friendship) helped defeat the king of monsters.
It was the player’s choice to rebuild. This whole game, was all based on choices. Everytime the player was given a Yes/No option, if the campaign continues or not depends on it.
That is a pretty powerful message to deliver, and I absolutely love the way they did it. It wasn’t a sappy “let’s hug it out” message, but a message we all can relate to. But another thing that really made me feel the feels, is watching the Builder building the Orb of Light (using all four animations from every crafting station in the game), then releasing it, and watching the darkness burn away.
The light coming back to Alefgard, and seeing a rainbow… **** man. That gets me in the feels!
This decision defeated the Dragonlord, but by trying to be the hero, the Builder is now dying(yep, typical “player character dies happily at the end” cliche). Rubiss mentions She tried to find someone that still had the knowledge of creation(the Builder of Legend), and She found the player character, but as a corpse (possibly killed by the monsters). The reason the Builder can speak to monsters, and see spirits that others cannot, is because.. the Builder is a reanimated corpse.
Now that the Builder’s destiny is completed, She cannot keep them alive any longer. This is the reason why She was against the Builder being a hero, as she knew the Builder (being in this zombified manner) can’t get stronger (as you have to be..alive). Which easily explains why she can bring the Builder back to life.
However, the Builder proved her wrong by defeating the Dragonlord.
And after the credits roll.. a surprise twist of seeing someone who looks like the Builder, now being named as “Boss” instead of the name the player gave them; or the leader of re-teaching the populace of Alefgard the power of creation. So uh, if the Builder has passed away(again), who is this guy who looks just like them?
It’s been 5 months since the launch of the game, and I have yet to find anything to explain it. Perhaps, this is hinting at Dragon Quest Builders II?
One of the NPCs mentions there would eventually be a new Dragonlord to be defeated (why does this feel like it’s copying off of Dragon Age 1?).
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To end this spoiler section off, since the Dragonlord is an obvious dragon (the Dragon of Darkness), does this mean Rubiss could be the Dragon of Light (even though humans see her as a human, or as a ball of glowing energy)? She mentions after the Dragonlord’s defeat, that the two have fought for a very long time between human and monster.
So now the Builder has completed their destiny, what’s the player to do? The answer to that is a world called ‘Terra Incognita’. This world is far outside Alefgard, and free of the Dragonlord’s darkness (which means no monsters). There’s also freemode building, allowing the player to express their full creativity with nearly everything from the story, unlocked in this. Though the only way to unlock everything is to complete all challenges (including “complete chapter in ## days”).
Now, I was going to go as far as saying this is ‘sandbox mode’, but it’s clearly not. Also, it doesn’t look like something I would be interested in. That’s mainly for the fact (as I said in my ‘real review’), the story (and having to max out a base level) gives me a purpose to build. Sometimes, gating things behind other things is actually a good thing.
Mainly, it’s for people who absolutely love to build. And from what I’ve seen, you’re not restricted to a box (as there’s no base level, any builds will work all over the island). Plus, you can download builds other players have made (and have them directly in your world). That is pretty cool.
Though, I just feel it’s not my thing. My creativity is dead.
Another reason, is I’ve already used up my $5 off Gamefly coupon (and I have to wait three months for the next one). Will definitely keep this game on watch.
But until I get another coupon, I had to send it back to Gamefly and await the next game they send me. It was fun.