I think Dragon Quest is maybe the least changing game series I've ever played. I've played plenty of sequels and re-imaginings and fan sequels and everything in between, but I've beaten 4 DQ games, and am halfway through another, which is halfwayish through the series, which I think is a pretty good point to reflect on my experiences thus far. And I will say it again: this shit does not change.

The core combat in each game is the same: you got spells, abilities (in some games, but they are functionally just spells), basic attacks, and items. Nothing super fancy. The abilities from game to game are nearly entirely the same. Wanna electrocute them? Hero's got Zap. Wanna heal everyone? Use Multiheal. Etc etc. The only differences are how different characters earn different abilities. DQ4 and 5 have many characters with fancy abilities, and 5 has an insane number of them due to the monster wrangling aspect. 3 and 6 have classes, but in 3 the Hero can't change classes, which is really weird honestly. 8 gives every character several branches of skill progression, which strikes a nice middle ground between a full job system and the linear progression of other games. There's enough variation between them that as long as you don't jump directly from like, 3 to 6 (to 7, but I have yet to experience its job system) you will never be bored. However, they all feel so samey in a way that's hard to explain. Even in the ATB era of FF, which is the closest comparison point I can think of, there is more material difference between FF4 through 9 than DQ3 through 8. I have rocked the same strategy in every single game thusfar with the exception of 8. 8 really shook it up by making my physical attackers spend 3 turns using psyche up to do a big attack instead of just attacking every turn. I fucking hate psyche up man. I think it overcentralizes physical attackers in a way that limits their applicability.

The story is also, by the nature of the games being, ya know, their own experiences, different in every game. However, the core components of the story are often similar. You are a noble, but sometimes you don't know you are. You are on a great journey to defeat an evil thing. You will encounter many villages suffering under a small plight and you must solve the small plight to get a fancy key, a ship, or something similar. Your characters will rarely develop. In the case of your Hero, they are functionally not a character, but DQ8 finally added some spice there. It's salt, but that counts. You are heading up a childhood fantasy story, and you do not get to diverge from that from game to game. That is fine, but its more of the same.

Really, what makes a DQ game a DQ game is the setting. Each village has a theme: bandits, fake mexicans, fake indians, angels, or some such thing. You solve their problem, but what is interesting is you never advance anything. The core of the town stays the same. You help a king get over his dead wife? Well he's still the king. He just likes you now. You get a different king some pepper? He gives you a ship. These stories end here, not providing extra development in the little side tales. Every once in a while you'll find a character who gets a modicum of extra plot, such as your eventual father-in-law in 5. But worry not, because that's just 1 character of 150, and the others will get no extra plot. You will ignore the potential for true lasting change. You are just the fantasy equivalent of a janitor. Kill that Dragon; get the Orb; rinse; repeat.

I wrote all of the above as a justification for this paragraph: the way DQ handles women is maybe my least favorite thing I've ever seen. I like jacking off as much as the next guy, but I like my characters to be characters because I like people and seeing those people grow into something. Jessica in 8 is fascinating, because she has easily the most growth out of anyone in the party by a very wide margin. She joins the party for revenge, gets her initial revenge, is mind controlled, and then after you beat her ass, she returns the party with a stalwart resolution taking over some of her passionate revenge. That's great! The 3DS remake even can tie a different bow on it by letting you marry her. That's neat, maybe great, I haven't thought enough about it yet. But why oh why is she the only character who is so overtly sexualized on a regular basis. You equip "Plate armor" on the Hero: his model remains the same. You equip "Dancer's Costume" on Jessica, and she is nearly tits out flinging those thangs into battle. She's no Bayonetta where the sexual nature is a core part of her characterization. She is just a somewhat angry, driven woman! Why are her tits flying about! And yet, this is a fundamental aspect of the DQ series! In every game you can get a "Puff puff" from your friendly neighborhood bunny stripper. Every game has bunny outfits and belly dancing costumes for your girl party members to wear. Dude! What the fuck! This is a game for kids! I can jack off with porn! I don't need to see my little fantasy folks in sexualized outfits. It's fundamentally gross and weird and makes me think less of it each time I encounter it.

Like imma be real. Boobs? Wonderful. But don't make my fantasy sexualization one sided. Make the men slutty too and I'll be happy. Or just keep them both not slutty. It's not even hard! Just don't do it!