u/ChocoPuddingCup

I'm actually impressed. I didn't care much for the original, but somehow I found this version much more endearing, so much that I bumped it up a few slots in my personal ranking list of the franchise. It felt just a tad better in pretty much every measurable capacity.

I do think it does still drag on a bit, though, in the slow burn you expect. The Wilted Heart region was especially tedious because it was just a bunch of running back and forth talking to people nonstop for an hour.

And so my ranking of every DQ game I've played becomes thus:

1. XI (PC)
2. II (HD Remake)
3. VIII (PS2 version)
4. III (HD Remake)
5. IX (3DS version)
6. VII Reimagined
7. I (HD Remake)
8. IV (DS version)
9. V (DS version)
10. VI (DS version)

Awesome game! I did the true ending as well. Maybe got a tiny bit of post-game depression.

Man, it really did drag on a bit, didn't it? You think it ends, but no, there's another chapter. And another, and another. Took me 104 hours. Plot-twist central, though, which was pretty fun. Overall, I think 2 is still my favorite, but I like 0 better than 1.

I just started chapter 5 of the Bestower of All arc. Thus far, this party has been very effective.

MC (scholar) / Stia

Laurana / Saoirse

H'aanit / Cyrus

Reime / Heidne

MC - high damage with magic exploiting weaknesses. He's got maxed out elemental attack and is my second highest damage behind Reime. With embershroom food, he basically handles 99% of random battles.

Stia - mostly just stands behind the MC providing ailment immunity, and had the exp/jp mastery for the party through most of the game. I gave her sniper for axe/dagger coverage from the back when JP was no longer an issue, and she occasionally steps up front of the front row has major issues with multiple characters down, so I made sure she has high defenses to survive until the front row is ready again.

Laurana - Primary healer and support. She keeps her ethereal healing on all the time (backed up with invigorate for both HP/SP regen), which keeps the front row at full HP 90% of the time. After that she uses eerie smile to reduce enemy defenses, arcane healing to deal with status ailments, and either stalwart or guardian aura to buff defenses. She's built pretty tanky and already got her 999 elem defense.

Saoirse - stays in the back row 90% of the time providing ultimate gauge bonuses. She comes up front right before the enemy is broken and uses peacock strut on the MC or lion dance on Reime. I gave her sniper to help with fan/dagger breaking.

H'aanit - really good bow and axe damage for breaking, especially if AoE. That's really all she does and all she needs to do. I also gave her inhibit offense to use if a boss is being too aggressive.

Cyrus - magic damage for breaking and dealing with groups. I bring him up front when H'aanit is severely hurt/debuffed or when axes/bows are of no use. He does damage equal to my MC's scholar.

Reime - she's the primary dps with absurd damage. That's all that needs be said. She has goad when it's necessary to utilize her counterattack capabilities if the situation merits it. I miss Viator, but he's totally outclassed by her damage.

Heidne - I gave her sniper to help with sword/dagger breaking. She stays in the back, then I bring her forward when I want to steal something or when I swords/spears are of no use from Reime and I really need the boss to be broken as quickly as possible.

I played both games when they were first released, so I didn't play the DLC nor did I have the option for turn-based mode from either game. There was an uber sale early this year so I bought all the DLC for both games at a dirt cheap price, and PoE was getting a turn-based mode so I was excited (RTWP isn't really my thing most of the time). PoE took me almost 120 hours, while PoE2 took about 98ish. In both games I was a Moon Godlike Cipher.

• Wonderful story. I think I prefer the story of 1 over 2, but both are great. The stakes aren't as high, so it feels more down-to-eora. Plus, I don't usually enjoy pirate/seafaring games, so PoE2 was an exception. The dialogue is good, but both games do get a little verbose at times. Tekehu's romance was adorable, love my handsome fish. And I think I stand with the majority of people in that the ending of PoE2 felt rushed and very abrupt.
• They did a really good job on PoE's new TBM, minus the few very minor bugs I encountered. TBM in PoE2 definitely felt rougher around the edges. I was going to wait and see if they were going to update it to match PoE1, but I wanted to play both games while 1 was fresh in my mind to get the full experience.
• Graphics still hold up after over a decade. Colorful without being garish, but with just the right amount of grit.
• Music: most tracks are pretty decent, although I disliked that they reused a lot of tracks between both games.
• DLC: I think I preferred the main campaigns to most of the DLC. White March was great, but I preferred 1 over 2. Forgotten Sanctum was probably my favorite of all the DLC. Wael is just weird like that. Seeker, Slayer, Survivor was alright, nothing spectacular. Beast of Winter was my least favorite DLC of both games: it felt like a drawn-out slog and I was glad when it finally ended. I think both games would have greatly benefited from a roguelike DLC (similar to the Pathfinder games).

Glad I finally got to fully play both games! Although, as much as I enjoyed both games, I do feel like two playthroughs was enough for me. Both games tend to get drawn-out a bit in terms of content. But here's hoping we'll get a PoE3 some day.