Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, And The Transcendence Of “懐かしいモード”
I’ve been playing Japanese role playing games my whole life.
I gained sapience when I got a copy of Pokemon Red for Christmas in 1998. It was simple enough, and after I was done with it I moved on to greener pastures. Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest on my rinky dink PC emulator, Sword Of Mana for the Gameboy Advance, Tales of Symphonia for the Gamecube…I had a taste and that taste was one of divine flavor.
Days turn to months, years, and decades, and I’m still going at it. The genre is still just as varied as ever. Xenoblade has proven time and time again that it can hang with the pantheon of RPG franchises, Shin Megami Tensei has become a household name among hardcore enthusiasts, and the Atelier series of RPGs has their thighs around the skulls of fans the world over.
It’s never been a better time to live in the now, and yet… I can’t help but feel…
Nostalgic.
I haven’t had a whole lot of time to play Dragon Quest III’s HD2D re-release, but I’ve been living vicariously through my friend’s playthrough. He just finished it a few days ago. He loved it. I could feel it in his voice that the game is something special to him, and to all of us. I wanted to take a straight shot of that holy ichor, but in a more condensed form factor. I figured I’d dedicate a weekend not to Dragon Quest, but to it’s rival-turned-sibling Final Fantasy. I picked up a copy of Final Fantasy IV’s pixel remaster and gave it a whirl. It’s a fairly short affair at about 20 hours, but thanks to the new version’s speed and progression options I’m on a bullet train to the end credits at only 6 hours in.
I talked about FFIV a fairly long time ago and my sentiments still stand. It’s one of the best in the franchise. I couldn’t think of a better example of RPG comfort food. The pixel remasters give you the option to turn off encounters, quadruple EXP and Gil, and increase your character’s walk speed. I’ve been using every option given to me to achieve nirvana. That perfect blend of grindy transcendence and story-driven comfort. Each beat of the game’s plot brings me back to my first time playing the game back in 2008. Final Fantasy IV’s Pixel Remaster puts me into the flowery trance of what I like to call “懐かしいモード” or “Nostalgia Mode.”
Nostalgia Mode is perfect for the adult on the go who doesn’t have time to spend hours grinding at the tower of babel. You can play a bit on the subway and really feel like you put a chunk into the game. Only have a little time before you crash after work? Make some dinner, take a nice bath and spend an hour in Nostalgia Mode. You’ll hit credits in no time.
Now with Dragon Quest III HD2D I had to take some matters into my own hands.
I installed some mods.
Nothing too drastic though! I just gave my guys a little boost is all. I played DQIII on the NES, I’ve been around the block a few times. I deserve a little treat now and then. If you think outside influences is pushing the boundary a bit then be my guest and don’t install the mods. Nostalgia Mode isn’t for everyone after all. There’s some real freaks out there who enjoy grinding out levels while they chain smoke cigarettes. Not everyone wants to speed through a classic JRPG. They wanna take sips, I get that. I’m not in it for the long haul though. I just wanna feel something in the moment.
-PA
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