Do I play it on an emulator or wait for the 3DS port next year?

Do I play it on an emulator or wait for the 3DS port next year?

...

I want to play this shit, but please tell me I am not required to grind mindlessly to advance

It's Dragon Quest. The grind is the game.

emulator: good textures/graphics, only four playable characters and one ending
3ds: terrible textures/graphics, six playable characters, original ending plus Jessica-waifu ending

so it depends on whether you prefer graphics or content

You're not. It's not easy though.

>PS2:
+Can play it right now
+Looks as good as it'll get.
+No CERO censorship.
+-Random encounters
-No skill point reallocation

>3DS
+Portable
+Extra content (new playable characters, new side stories)
+-Encounters on map
-Missing foliage present in PS2 version
-Censored outfits and cutscenes
-NoA
-Next year

I'd say play both.

Not really. You need to get Heal before the first boss, so that'll drag a bit (I think if you head to boss then evac before fighting it to go save you'll be alright, even if you head straight there), but after that you should be ok as long as you don't rush to your next objective.

Both.
It's a really enjoyable game. Looks great and sounds great.
You can try a different build next time you play, or do a challenge run. The 3DS version is gonna have a little extra content, so that also helps.

3DS version will have more content, plus more support for dragon quest in the west the better.

You can speed up the emulation during encounters making it less of a grind, oh and savestates.

That being said, portable DQ are about as good as they get (think about it, grindy games are best played in transit to work / school), personally i would wait for the 3ds version (you have 7 coming out next week anyway)

>NoA
?

They're publishing it, aren't they?

I only really needed to grind 2 times before fighting Dhoulmagus, before fighting Empyrea and for the final boss, I struggled at first, but then I went back to get the timbrel of tension and the fight became ez mode

You don't have to grind if you are smart about how you play, or if you properly explore when doing dungeons or sidequests. If you rush past a bunch of stuff to get it over with, then yes you'll be underleveled.

It also helps to keep in mind what you want your characters to do AT THE START, before you throw points into random skills you'll never use again (like 20 points into axes, but then switching to fists with Yangus).

Tossing points around willy nilly ends up gimping you unless you grind a little to make up for it in levels.

Even if you don't grind the fights are doable with a little luck on your side. It makes for a more exciting battle, in any case.

jesus CHRIST do not play this on a retarded handheld like the 3DS unless you like looking at shit

play the PS2 version

do you guys call a father wanting his daughter to wear less revealing clothes censorship?

Yes?

I remember a friend warned me about the Dhoulmagus fight, and although it was pretty hard, the Empyrea fight is hell. You can't get two buffs on your character without her spamming that buff removing aura.And then every physical damage does shit to her.

Sorry sonybrony, I'll be enjoying the premium 3DS version with all new content.

No, I call that oppression.

Revealing clothes have been altered in this to lower the CERO rating due to changes in CERO's rating system since DQ8's release. How is it not censorship?

Some people aren't autistic about graphics like you are. Portables are nice because the primary audience doesn't care as much about graphics and can put resources towards more important things,like gameplay.
Handhelds are comfier anyway (in a literal sense, not a meme sense), and the handheld experience is much more enjoyable for some than the nice graphics experience.

He is keeping Jessica pure! You would do it too for your daughter!

The reason the graphics look worse is mostly because of the garbage screens on the 3DS, and the on map encounters. On map encounters are usually worse for gameplay in JRPGs, see Dragon Quest IX and it's useless whistle.