If you're only raising tension by one level, you're wasting a turn. Just keep in mind that your power grows exponentially. First it increases by 5. Then it increases by 20 (BY 20, not TO 20). Then by 50 (by, not to). And finally, by 100 (when you turn all pink and stuff). By that point you've way more than quadrupled the power of your hit.

And if you have Oomph on top of that, some bastard's going down hard with that hit.

I beat the game last night! The ending was quite nice! I didn't really have any trouble beating the last boss, he wasn't easy but any means but using a bit of strategy helped a long way.

I also couldnt stop playing so I beat the bonus boss and you were right Pixy, it is totally worth playing through! My jaw dropped . I heard there is a secret ending or something. Do you get it just by beating the or do you have to beat all the trials too? And is it different enough to beat the last boss over again?

I'm only just beginning this game compared to some of you(headed to Pickham after doing Ascantha) and so far its the perfect old school RPG in new school clothing.

Totally in love with the game.

Got the second ending, love the final boss fight, great music remix. It was actually easier the second time around. I thought the original ending was pretty good but the real ending is sweet satisfaction lol. One thing I really enjoyed was that it wasn't a tacked on ending, it really is an integral part of the story and characters. The game was fantastic, my only complaint is the alchemy pot, which is good and bad in itself. Making super weapons for cheap prices was great but having to walk around and wait for it to be done was tedious. The only other complaint is a very minor one, though the music was incredible, there wasn't enough of it, they reused a lot of the tracks for other areas and towns. But other than that it was a great game.

I'm just about to fight the final boss for the first time. My team is all around level 40. The previous battles I just finished were pretty easy. I think I may level up a few more before I actually go into the battle.

Okay, check. Your going to level up even more so you can say last boss was total breeze and stunk then? Gotcha

I really don't think I'm over leveled for where I am in the game. And I never said anywhere that any part of the game stunk. If I didnt' enjoy it I wouldn't take the time to level up and get everything like I have been. So no, you won't here me saying anything in this game "stunk."

I think I was at 43 for the last battle and found it decently challenging. There were worse fights, though.

I'm already in the mid 20s, and I haven't even gone into Swordman's Labyrinth yet, I'm definately overleveled. Just how I like it.

Ouch, I got my ass handed to me by Angelo died and Hero's Zing kept failing.

Guess I'll level up a bit more... Hero's at 39, Yangus and Angelo 38, and Jessica 36.

Kazing works wonders, My Hero didn't get it but Jessica will eventually learn it, and so did Angelo, also the sage's stone is a lifesaver for that boss too. Using that and Angelo's Multiheal .

Just got this game about a week ago, have to say I'm having a blast (about 10 hours into it). This is the first Dragon Warrior/Quest game I have an interest in playing through.

I was a tad worried with all the comments on how "simple" the storyline was, as that tends to be the big selling point for me, but DQ8 pretty much proved it's more the world than the storyline. Game world is totally immersive, characters are well thought out and enjoyable, music is well done, plot points unfold very well, no long dialogue or cut scenes, great simple/fun battle system, just a damn well done game. Plus, the enemies are enjoyable (borderline cute at times) in an amusing way, and the animation is excellent.

Best PS2 (possibly PSX as well) RPG to date.

I just got done with in . I think im at level 34 or so for hero. Great game so far. I love how you can talk to your party and figure out what in the world was going on if you don't play it for awhile. I hadn't played it in about 3 weeks and I knew right away what was going on. This has killed quite a few RPG's for me, and I can't think of a better system for giving hints. I hope I have a bit more to go in the game, I almost don't want it to end. Great game!

You still have a way to go before it's over. You're pretty good on levels. I just got the 2nd ending which everyone between 41-43. One of the best RPG's I've ever played.

Crap, I need to go check out the second ending still. I got side-tracked by Dragon Quest V and Mega Man X Collection. I had already beaten all of the Dragovian Trials so I guess the only thing left for me to do was beat the last boss again.. and maybe get to level 99. I supposed I could try to get some more skill seeds.. but man that was a pain in the ass of all sorts.

If you've seen the first ending and went through the Dragovian Sanctuary story you can probably figure out the differences between the two ending. Worth watching though. I'd say this game has one of the longest endings I've ever seen.

I'm on the Silver Dragon. That bastard...

I've been trying to decide if I want to go through the trials. I want to see how far I can get, but without any further ending to get I'm having a hard time justifying it considering how many games I have which I haven't played yet.

wasn't sure how the game was doing considering all the price drops it seems to be going through ($34.99 at Best Buy, $29.99 at some other places) but sure enough, it seems to be selling well, glad to hear it.

Good to hear and makes sense. That may backup a claim in the DS thread that a Nintendo rep mentioned Slime Mori Mori 2 being translated but has yet to be confirmed by major news outlets. I really, really, really hope they get the ball rolling on Dragon Quest V. I'm worried that by "more titles" they mean the upcoming Dragon Quest Yangus.. which being a Mysterious Dungeon game is probably headed for a critical crash-and-burn. I personally love the series, but it seems to be rather disliked in America. Not only is Dragon Quest V a traditional Dragon Quest game, it also has a great story and story progression that I haven't seen replicated yet and will probably be far more loved over here then the spin-off dungeon game.

Dragon Quest V w/ DQVIII visuals = heaven. Though I know the visual styling is completely different.

That said, I haven't seen much on the DQV remake, how is it?

Any quick tips/hints at the casino? IE. Best way to get tokens

Roullette is your best bet to start. With few tokens, make bets for larger groups. If you're starting with the 600 you get I'd put 300 on one of the nine number group bets and the other 300 on either even, odds, red, or blue that way you have a chance at hitting both bets with one number. Reload and repeat until you win. As you get more tokens you can make single number best along with the group bets.

Dragon Quest V on the PS2 is great. The graphics are a step down from VIII inasmuch that it uses the colder, blander shading then that of VIII's vibrant cel-shading and that it still retains the original game's 2D roots (creating a much less epic scale in the locations, etc.) but that's made up for by FAR superior animation.

If you've played the Super Famicom version it's mostly the same with the major changes being that you now have a four character party as opposed to the original's three character party. This is offset by monsters being stronger and coming in bigger groups. There are 25 new monsters that you can recruit over the original plus 3 bonus monsters, brining the total to 70 (I think). The board game mini-game from the remake of III comes back and you can enter your own slimes in the Slime Race at the casino. There's a "museum" where you can place a bunch of new items you collect throughout the game but is more of a useless side-quest than anything.

If you haven't played the original.. the basic premise is that the game is played throughout generations. You start as a child adventuring with your father. You continue your father's quest when you become an adult, get married and have kids. The last part of the game is finishing the quest with your children. Another big aspect is that you get to recruit monsters to your party, but this is mostly for the middle generation part of the game though you can still recruit new monsters and use your old ones after you get your children. It's my second favorite DQ game, close behind IV and it's a damn shame it hasn't been released here yet.. either version.

I still say the "reload and repeat" trick when gambling is cheating. :P