DQXI Hotto: Lost and Found

At least the Door of Departure sent us somewhere. Hopefully Heliodor doesn't know where.

Erik is "worldly wise", but he hasn't actually gone out and explored the world. Where he has been other than Heliodor and one other location in particular goes unmentioned.

Yay!

Erik: I think it’s safe to say we’re not being followed any more. For now, at least…  Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t say that I’ve ever been here before. How about we go chat to some of the locals?

The Broad Sword is the first purchase I might actually recommend making for Erdward- it's not stronger than the Cobblestone Greatsword now, but a +3 copy is stronger (by only 3 points, but still) and it also comes with a +1% crit rate. If you're not fussed about crit, though, definitely skip this one.

These bright and beautiful little orange blobs are proud as punch of their appearance. They may seem almost identical to their blue brethren, but they're a good deal stronger, and also slightly warmer to the touch.

She-slimes are (usually) one of the first recoloured enemies you'll find. They first appeared in DQ1 along with the original Slime, and they wasted no time- you could find them in the same areas as normal Slimes. Many DQs since at least wait a while before throwing these guys at you. For some reason, they're also not in DQs 2 or 5.

Some DQ games other than this one reference their gender in the beastiary description. As far as anyone who's ever (in-universe) written a beastiary entry is concerned, they're not actually female slimes, but the name stuck. Their Japanese name スライムベス (Slimes are known as スライム) is apparently a reference to the Hebrew letter Bet (signifying these slimes are "Slime B"), so I suspect the original translation interpreted it as "Slime Beth"- and feminine.

That might pose an issue- those enemies are flying around. They'll swoop down at you eventually (if there was no way to get them, they wouldn't be much of an enemy), but we'll get better ways of attracting their attention later. For now, make sure you're watching the skies as well as the ground.

Farmers often tell tales of these terrifying birds swooping down to snatch full-grown cows in their claws, then flying off as fast as they come.

The garuda is a relative of that bird that attacked us on the Tor, although much weaker. He knows Sizz, but doesn't have much in his toolkit. Garudas come from DQ3 and also popped up in 8- in both games, this family of monsters was famous for knowing the annoying Bazoom spell. DQ11 doesn't really have much use for the Bazoom spell.

I had the Pep, so I tried Itemised Kill. Got lucky again- the poison moth knife is the garuda's rare drop.

The Poison Moth Knife is the next upgrade for a knife-using Erik, and a classic DQ weapon, too. In most games, it has around a 1/8 chance of paralysing an enemy on strike, but in this game, it's a much less respectable 8% (closer to 1/12). Regardless of your odds of success on this front, it is still a direct upgrade on the Divine Dagger and will be Erik's only knife option for a sizable chunk of the upcoming game. It will be available in shops soon, but hey, freebie.

While I'm in the menus, I also notice that, with his cloak dropped at the Door of Departure, we are now allowed to modify Erdward's outfit. This is what the DLC Trodain outfit looks like. I'm honestly not a fan of the DQ8 hero's design, so I'll pass on this.

Erik has levelled up enough to be able to perform the Rubblerouser spell himself! Erik is the only party member who can perform earth magic. Rubblerouser will do 10-36 damage for three turns, scaled to Erik's (low) MaMight, and targets groups. Not the most impressive of spells.

Now this is more like it. Scorched Earth is quietly one of the best Pep Powers in the game- Erdward and Erik combine the powers of Sizz and Rubblerouser to create a supersigil that decreases the enemy's resistance to Fire and Earth magic and damages them for around three turns for way more than 10-36 damage (although I can't seem to find numbers). And, most importantly of all, it just needs Erik to be Pepped (Erdward must be in the party, of course). So far, we've only seen Pep Powers that require all participants to be Pepped- this is the norm, but there are a set of exceptions. Scorched Earth is probably the best one.

Their thundering drums are decorated with funny faces, and draw monsters from miles around with their rousing rhythms.

Bongo drongos are new to DQ11, and they're certainly one tough customer. They're not much of an attacker on their own, at least at first.

They're a buffer. They can call for more drongos, increase everyone's Attack, and also Pep themselves up. You'll want to deal with these guys as a top priority.

This isn't technically on the way to our next destination (it requires walking some ways past), but it's helpful to grab a few lumps early.

Welcome to Hotto, a land that brings to mind the cultural traditions of Japan. There's a unique town theme being played only here that even brings the instrumentation. This town, and its music, is a reference to a similarly themed town in Dragon Quest III that I believe is named Jipang now (Dragon Quest III is a game whose official translations are hard to pin down). There are more parallels between Jipang and Hotto than just the theme and theming, but that's a discussion for much later.

We're not being followed, Erik, but we also don't really know where Hotto stands on its Luminary policy. Heliodor's rhetoric may not be agreed upon by all, but they certainly left at least a flyer.

Ah, hello. The people of Hotto speak (almost) exclusively in 5-7-5 haiku, and in doing so, they often adopt poetic turns of phrase. I'm informed that the most recent localisation of DQIII gave this same vocal tic to the people of Jipang, which makes me somewhat curious how the Japanese handled them- since the localisations before that didn't do anything close.

I'm also somewhat tempted to see if any haiku actually misses the 5-7-5 scheme, but somehow, I doubt the voiced ones have that issue. The easiest way to spot if your haiku fails 5-7-5 is to say it aloud, after all.

I'm not sure how much I'm interested in "savouring its steamy embrace".

...What is this happy day, and what kind of business is this? I believe the occasion is something we're not really going over in plot cutscenes, but I also don't think the bathhouse actually charges you later in the game.

Erik isn't entirely sure what he is being offered, and decides it's not something he's into.

This is hilarious to me. Although I wonder if the Hotto fellow intended it as an insult.

Erik won't be in the party for Party Chat, but he hasn't left us. I believe, if we leave Hotto for any reason, he'll come follow us, but we're clearly being invited to do the plot stuff involving this bathhouse first.

The Church of Hotto is not a traditional Japanese site of worship, but an evangelist for the Dragon Quest religion. It used to use the Christian Cross, but switched to this symbol surprisingly recently- although how recently is a little tricky to track down. Some Dragon Quest games include encounters with the god or gods of the religion in which we use the services of, but (I think) XI is not one of them.

A recipe! This is good for some Bronze Armour, an upgrade over Scale. Only Erdward can wear it.

This NPC will introduce us to why this village is in a festive mood- a dragon that had been terrorising them has been slain. There are more details to come up later, but the long and short of it is that it is not our problem right now.

This kid is very curious about the nature and purpose of a red-clad girl. This is our plot hook, but we'll bump into her on our own time. The stuff about the dragon is stilll important, but this is more so.

While we're talking about the dragon, though, the hero who went to go fight it was lost in the attempt. I appreciate how much detail you can get about this dragon encounter right now.

Part One: A Dream

My name is Tetsu.
I am forty-eight years old.
I am a blacksmith.

This morning I sat,
An amazing coin I spied-
Wondrous workmanship!

I made enquiries,
Spent all day and learned its name:
The mini medal.

I must leave Hotto
And find the coin’s creator,
Learn how it was made.

Do not fear, mother-
I shall return a hero!
A smith without peer!

To my understanding, there are two major multiple-part book narratives in this game, and one of them features Tetsu the Smith. The script dump for DQXI claims this story is told in three parts (although lists the third part twice). I am not convinced I found them all- I'm fairly sure I missed one of the other set. We'll see how things turn up.

Behind the house with this book holds, to minimal surprise, a mini medal! I feel bad for robbing this guy.

Up here, we have a Quest from this guy.

He invites us to collect some Iron Ore for his forges. But he doesn't seem to be saying much in the way of why he's unable to do it himself

...I'll be honest, sometimes I just instinctively skip the preamble screen. It's always disappointing.

We already had the ore, so we can turn it in immediately. Turns out it wasn't much of a need.

For being diligent in mining, this guy appreciates our spirit enough to reward us with a recipe book.

"Learned that sparkly spots can be useful for forging materials". We sure did learn that. Ah well, let's ignore that and focus on that really solid recipe book we just got. We learned a recipe for the Iron Broadsword and the Cast-Iron Claymore, the latter of which is a huge increase over the Cobblestone Greatsword in terms of power- +14 if you can get a +3 sword. This thing is what you want to go for to finally replace the starting weapon on Erdward. I don't get around to it for a surprising length of this update- I believe I need more Iron Ore than I already have.

The item shop near the forge sells Slime Earrings. These were introduced in DQ6 and normally pop up every game since as an early filler slot, although they used to give an Atk bonus instead of a Def bonus. They're also good for a little bit of Charm, if you really want to build for that.

There are two Item Shops in Hotto, and this one definitely seems by far the most interesting one. The reason there's a second one will come up much later.

There's some pearls over near this house at the top of the mountain.

And this woman has a name. Miko is... well, I think she's technically the leader of Hotto, although what services she provides are a little more vague. Obviously, she is going to be an important chracter eventually, but not now.

And that's a shame, because that's one heck of a pretty pattern she's managed to splay her dress in to take her kneeling position.

When you enter Hotto, there are two paths you can take, one on the left and one on the right. The one up the left leads to the forge and Miko, and right now it's only for treasure. The right leads to the tavern and bathhouse, and also today's plot.

We have someone wearing red being very self-assured about her predicament. The most interesting thing to take from this line is that she believes herself to be a "lady"- a title I'm sure we can challenge on her demeanour as well as her age.

This guy seems to have lost patience with her (fair) and ejected her from his tavern, which presumably serves alcohol (less fair, but still understandable). "A good child should be silent", though, is a very not-pleasant attitude to have, and is usually an expression of the adult being disinterested in the kid's development. I'm told Japanese values on such attitudes are more strict than Western ones, but as far as this conversation is concerned, I don't really think this tavern worker has much responsibility for this child. I just don't like the "good child should be silent" attitude.

The girl is looking for her little sister. Considering her age, that's quite the responsibility and also quite the youth on the sister.

This guy has no sympathy for her plight. It is a lost child we're worried about here...

Although I'm certain the attitude isn't helping her cause any.

And she bumps into us.

Her demeanour has actually somewhat changed. With that said, as sympathetic as I am to your plight, I don't think I should be sharing my name, considering I'm a wanted man and-

...OK, fine, it's Erdward. Note to self, check how many Erdwards there are.

"Where I'm from, I hear a lot about a guy called Erdwin. Trying too hard, clearly."

She has apparently recognised... well, something about us. She has her priorities firmly in order, though. Although I'm fairly sure perhaps the talk should probably come before the sister? She's probably banking on catching us before we leave.

...Moving on.

Well, I mean, it's not like she was asking for a pint of beer for herself.

...I'm starting to think your attitude is not the fault of that girl.

The tavern cleaner seems more interested in her success, at least. Not that she can offer much.

This guy here is interested in making a ring for his son. I think there is a honeymooning couple around here later, but they don't actually speak in haiku, so I wonder if they're actually related.

He asks for our help operating a Forge. That's a fairly reasonable request to make of a passing stranger, as far as Quests go, at any rate.

This quest will require us to be good at the Forging minigame. Not great, but just... actually working at it.

The guy gives us the recipe and has a chest with the necessary gold. We don't really have access to gold ore in enough numbers to make our own for a while, but Gold Rings are better than Gold Bracers, somehow. I think, by the time this is really an option, we'll have better uses for our accessory slots, though.

Hello, it's about time we learned our first Flourish!

Double-Edged Bash allows you to perform a Bash on two vertically adjacent squares in a single action, for 8 Focus (Bashing twice is worth 10). This is also good for keeping the temperature up, but this will eventually get outclassed. I still like using it when it seems right.

Unfortunately for demonstration's purposes, Rings do not have vertical parts. Despite the fact this is two squares, you can't have a Double-Edged Bash on its side.

This did not go particularly well, but we only needed +1.

We've made his day, at least.

What a lesson! So, the Crucerang?

The Crucerang is unremarkable, but it's firmly an upgrade on the Boomerang if you're using one and will be Erik's weapon of choice for... well, about as long as the Poison Moth Knife is his knife of choice.

They are not labelled as such, but I believe these two happen to be named NPCs. I also quite like the fact that the girl gets to play the hero, but the alternative is that she plays the dragon and that's just as badass.

...Also, the girl's haiku only works if you take "Ryu" as one syllable. Guess there is a haiku fail. Of all characters, the fact that this girl is the one to make it is perfectly fitting, and I wonder if it's intentional.

Brave Miko and Ryu,
Protectors of the village,
Scourge of the monsters.

Foul creatures attacked
In numbers beyond counting,
They drove them all back.

Yet there was one beast-
The dragon of the mountain-
They could not suppress.

But at last, success.
The dragon was defeated,
Though at what a cost…

Ryu was lost to us.
Slain by foul Tatsunaga.
Never forget him.

This is a nice, concise summary of the "Hotto and the dragon" subplot. Although the fact there's already a picture book about it makes me wonder how recently this encounter happened. I think the last major thing this book doesn't reveal is that Ryu is Miko's son, but whether we're supposed to know that yet is another matter. Obviously, though, Miko and Ryu being close is no secret.

Jipang is actually such an isolated locale that they have no shops- there's no trade to facilitate it. Hotto is not so isolationist, but thanks to our lucky go with the garuda and our visit to their forges, nothing in this shop is interesting to me.

The Armour shop holds some interesting stuff- a Bronze Shield for Erdward (the Bronze Shield is a different type of shield called a Greatshield, although all that means right now is that it has a different shape if you try reforging it), some Chain Mail for Erik if you're worried about him, and this item. Whenever you see equipment in a shop that no one can equip, you know you're about to change that fact before "leaving". The leather dress is a Dragon Quest staple, introduced in DQ4 and being the first piece of armour you find that can exclusively be worn by female characters in pretty much every game. This game is no exception.

Oh hey, it's the honeymooning couple! Although their relationship seems to have hit a rough patch. Erik is a definite heartthrob, and it's a bit of a running joke that female characters will comment on his very attractive appearance and demeanour. To my knowledge, Erik comments on this attention a grand total of one time.

I assure you he has no interest in stealing your girlfriend. I also have no further solutions for your problem and would like to leave this conversation now.

...I'm starting to wonder if perhaps this free bath is not related to the dragon after all.

Well, time to let ourselves bathe. This may be the only time we see Erdward don this costume- I tried going into the baths later in the story and while you can still get in, I didn't get the bath costume.

There is a men's bath and a women's bath. As you can see from the map, there's a turn from here into the facilities proper. Women have the longer walk. This woman will also force you to enter the men's baths- although of course, Erik will no doubt be there too, so it's not entirely propriety.

For those familiar with Japanese bathing, there is actually a room before this one for the actual washing thing, not that there's anything set up to let you, the player, properly observe the routine. When was the last time you went to a bath in a video game and it wasn't for fanservice?

Although, saying that, this conversation is very plot-focused and the fact that it's in a bathhouse (while still clearly an excuse to put Erdward and Erik in flattering clothing) is pretty incidental to the whole thing. Dragon Quest can get perverted, but it had some restraint here. To be fair, we haven't gotten our female party members yet.

Erik, considering he has spent a considerable amount of time inside a dungeon cell and even longer trying to avoid that fate, is the most concerned about the matter of pursuit. For now, though, we definitely have the upper hand.

This is a "Yes/No" question, incidentally. There are a number of things I might call "interesting", but the plot knows exactly which one it wants to talk about.

Erik is also familiar with the red-clad girl and her missing sister.

This is the first moment when we really get an insight into Erik's past. Although he doesn't confirm it outright, he does seem to know something about having to deal with a little sister- saying that, it doesn't necessarily have to be his. It's presumable the sister he's dealt with hasn't gone missing, but what it is she did do could be literally anything else Erik would rather didn't happen.

This line is not uttered by either of us.

Although Erik apparently hasn't heard enough of Erdward's speech to be sure. Since this line is voice-acted, the player knows is fairly sure the speaker is a little girl, and while I would buy Erdward sharing her voice... no, no it really isn't.

So yeah, something about the restless spirit in the bathhouse?

...Something's telling me either it's not her or the bathhouse has bigger problems.

This question is answered in the general sense "why are you at the bathhouses", but there is an equally good question Erik could be asking here- "why are you in the mens' baths?" Obviously, she has been crying so badly that she doesn't necessarily know where she is.

Whoever is responsible for this child came here and... didn't come back. There's a lot of possible reasons for that, and pretty much all of them require intervention.

Erik: Master of observation.

...What a leap of logic! Ignoring the matter of "we haven't asked who this girl wants"... why would a girl looking for her sister so vigourously just leave her? Plus, uh, she checked here.

Good suggestion, at least. Let's at least get her out of the bathhouse.

A good question, but it doesn't ultimately progress our goal of helping her out.

And this is where Erik completely flunks. "We're going to find your lost one, and we're not going to ask who they even are."

And the poor girl doesn't realise how badly this is about to go down.

Connie: Thank you so much! I was all on my own! Promise you won't leave me! I don't want to be left alone again!
Erik: So we're looking after lost kids now, huh? Well, let's help Connie out and then split. We're wanted men, after all. Connie's sister's got to be that girl in the red hat you saw hanging round the bar, right?

There's some holy water in the corner.

...So you're telling me the women's side isn't blocked off on this side? ...Moving on.

Speaking of things we can do in this bathroom that seem like things we shouldn't, we can take a peek at a long tradition of Dragon Quest... the puff puff!

You can find women scattered all across the Dragon Quest series offering puff puffs in "the corners", and while the series is not particularly specific about how a puff puff works, but we have a good grasp based on the body language and visual metaphors.

They also like subverting puff puffs with other things (that's where the visual metaphors come in), but this one sounds like it's what it says it is.

There's eight puff puffs in the world, and you get an accolade for participating in them all. Of course, this counts the puff puffs that aren't what they're advertising.

...You guys really need to talk seriously. I'm sorry, but this does not sound like it's going to get better on its own.

Well, we got to get our Bronze Armour, at least. Turns out we're way behind.

On the way out of town, you are set up to find our red-clothed big sister arguing with some bodybuilder.

Well, if that isn't a loaded opinion if I ever heard one.

And it's time we got ourselves introduced to this girl, since odds are in her favour of being important.

Erik, with all the confidence in the world, has this to say. There are no words for how proud he is of his deduction.

And if you didn't realise Erik made an erroneous assumption by now, this line should almost definitely prepare you to see the rug pulled out from under his feet.

Connie is feeling embarassed enough for us all.

The only thing this scene is missing is a sarcastic clap.

A nice little hint to this fact is that Connie went to the men's baths- and if Erik had realised this, he might've saved himself a lot of embarassment.

Erik is "street smart", but his social skills, bless his heart, are way behind. Growing up in the thieving world of "every man for himself" didn't help him out any.

Erik. Just admit you screwed up. Cause you did.

Well, that's an establishing conversation if I ever heard one.

We've proven Connie isn't the little sister we're tasked with finding, but that leaves us with two missing person problems.

...A reasonable method of accomplishing your objective... I guess? It's also not even necessarily a helpful objective.

I guess we can at least try.

You have no idea how annoying it was to write these scenes without mentioning her name. Probably means I shouldn't have bothered, honestly.

I disavow any and all culpability in Erik's dunderheadedness.

But I do think putting you in charge of Connie is a good idea.

Sorry, Erik, but it's never going to be less your fault.

Veronica: I still can't work out how you thought a girl whose dad was missing was looking for her sister. I mean, how stupid can you be!? Anyway, if I'm going to get any useful information out of this bar owner, it looks like I'm going to have to talk to him myself. Come on, let's get going!
Erik: Gah, how did we end up running a childminding service? Connie was one thing, but this Veronica kid? She's something else. Let's drop them at the bar and split this joint. We're wanted men, remember?
Connie: My daddy's always going off and leaving me on my own. I don't want to be all alone! Where am I going to stay!?

Well, this guy has made himself more open to our visit since the last time we talked to him.

Look, yeah, she was kinda rude to you, but by this point, this is disproportionate.

Erik, you haven't even seen the arguments Veronica has gotten into with this man, that is an entirely unnecessary amount of smug.

Well, that's this one guy dealt with.

Veronica, that is an unnecessary amount of smug, but for an entirely dfferent reason.

And despite the fact we are obstensibly her chaperone, Veronica just walks up and does the talking anyway.

And the bartender is perfectly willing to serve her (non-alcoholic) beverages anyway. This needless antagonism helped neither the worker nor Veronica.

Veronica's fine without. Although maybe making a purchase would help? Depends on what kind of man the bartender is. He's probably more helpful than his employee.

Veronica gets right to the point here. This is also the first point we actually learn a little bit about Veronica's sister.

Fortunately for Veronica, the bartender does know where to look!

Serena was worried about Veronica, and decided to go investigate where she went. Unfortunately for her, this was an unnecessary measure. When we meet Serena later, there's good reason perhaps she shouldn't have done this, but what's done is done.

This whole kidnapping plot with the bathhouse is relatively brushed aside, but it does come up from time to time. They've been kidnapping quite a lot of people from the bathhouse. And the staff (and citizens) seem relatively unaware- to be fair, the whole "Tatsunaga has been slain" thing is an effective distraction.

Serena has gone on a rescue mission. By herself.

At least we're not going to be stuck with the Connie thing forever.

Well, I mean... do you seriously expect me to say "no, I won't help you find your sister"?

...That's just asking for trouble.

Veronica tells Connie, rather reasonably, that perhaps we shouldn't bring her along to the dangerous dungeon we're about to explore. Although she doesn't mention a plan for where we're keeping her until then.

Erik is confused why we're keeping Connie out of trouble but not Veronica. As far as he's concerned, both girls are equally helpful in a fight.

Veronica assures us she has the credentials to fight alongside us. I will put a huge asterisk on that.

Veronica is certainly confident in those abilities, at least.

A side effect of this whole confusing affair is that Veronica knows exactly where to look to find Serena.

Whatever it is Veronica's deal is, it involves knowing the Luminary's deal. Why she's so weirdly threatening about this line is another matter.

Veronica: Serena and I just happened to come across Hotto on our travels. I thought a trip to the bathhouse would be a nice way to relax... But as soon as I went through the door, a bunch of monsters attacked me. Honestly, what is the world coming to!? Anyway, they kidnapped me and took me back to their lair. It's this giant underground labyrinth out to the west. We have to go there and find Serena. Once you're all set, let's get going!
Erik: Veronica may be a pain in the you-know-what, but we've still got to help her out. I mean, her sister's just a little girl, right? We can't let these monsters get their claws on her.

I don't believe this for a second.

Probably for the best, since we're apparently leaving you in a bar.

Your job presumably is to not be an asshole, and you have not been succeeding at doing that.

At least this is a true statement.

The other employee is much nicer to Connie. I feel a lot better about leaving her here.

Their skin is so soft and stretchy that if you just kept pulling it, there'd be more than enough to completely carpet a cosy cottage.

...I'm not sure I want to do that, game. Lump wizards come from DQ3 and showed up in 8 and 10, and their specialty is applying and resisting status effects. These ones only have Woosh and Fizzle (Fizzle being the "prevents from casting spells" status effect), and they have the usual mage deal of not being particularly sturdy against weapons.

Although speaking of which, Veronica proves her powerful magic prowess by... hitting the enemy with her stick.

Erik is prevented from casting spells. Whoop de do. This cripples my strategy badly.

There's a campsite on the way to our destination, and I now have the resources and memory to forge that Cast-Iron Claymore for Erdward.

A single Bash can get you pretty close to success on the Greatsword, which can actually be pretty scary (it's hard to get in your second bash on all eight spaces without overshooting). A +2 will do as far as I'm concerned.

...Although we somehow lost a point in Parry chance. I'm not sure where that went.

Erik: I don't like this place one little bit. I get the feeling folks come in here and don't leave... I'm telling you, I'm a thief- I know when something's not right. Let's find this Serena kid and then scram.
Veronica: Keep your wits about you, Erdward. This place is full of tricks and traps. We'll end up stuck in here forever if we're not careful. To be honest, it was a miracle I managed to escape. The main thing I learnt was to always watch my step...

The Cryptic Crypt is all the way over to the west of the Hotto Steppe.

It's... mostly a straightforward dungeon. There's some tricks to it- namely, there's a basement level- but there's a degree of organisation to the place.

Enigmatic drackies whose origins are mired in even more mystery than their bat-like brethren. It's not even clear if they're called by their right name.

Drackmages are magical drackies that first appeared in DQ2, and continues on to be in DQ8 and further (and the DQ7 remake). The original dracky appears in DQ1 and 5 on top of that.

Oh, their only magic spell is Kasap. Which... yeah, kinda worrying,

Though some like to see them more as members of the animal kingdom, their enthusiastic attacking of humans has made sure they continue to be classified as monsters.

Drohl drones first appeared in DQ1, but failed to reappear in the main series until now. And I think I have a decent understanding on why. Who wants these to be animals instead of monsters, as opposed to... several other kinds of cuter monsters like sabrecats?

...I'm told the spells these guys know are Decelerate and Snooze. They also have an Ability called "Spooky Mist"- maybe the Fizzle effect is that? I wish I had better resources on what DQ enemies could do.

Humanoid masses of muck made magically mobile. Their disturbing dances apparently play some role in ensuring that they don't fall to pieces.

Mud mannequins first appeared in DQ2, and lay claim to DQs 6, 7, 8, and 10. They are a common first enemy to introduce the "Weird Dance" ability, which drains some MP from you and adds it to their own reserves. Not that they know any spells. I'm told Mud Mannequins can Pep up and even have a Pep Power that drains lots of MP, but I haven't even seen them Pep before.

Now then, the gimmick of the crypt. We have two paths here, and on the right, there's a treasure chest in the middle of the path.

Sometimes the floor just gives way underneath you. These spots are in fixed positions from run to run- there's always a hole here.

This is the basement. The holes will always lead you down here, and the geography of the holes above and below matches up rather well.

Down this hole is one of these. Yggdrasil leaves were introduced in DQ2 and have appeared in every game since as the ultimate healing item- they may instantly resurrect a dead party member at full HP- although that might be nerfed in this game, I haven't used them as much here. Many games include an Yggdrasil whose only purpose is to supply these leaves, although a lot of them only allow you to collect one and force you to use it before you can replace it. There are alternative means of collecting Yggdrasil Leaves in significant numbers in later games (and you can even trick the older Yggdrasils by hiding the Leaves you have), but for now, this is the ultimate emergency button.

Also, the lore of each life being a leaf on Yggdrasil's branches and their falling being a symbol of their death is new to XI. The game doesn't seem to really contemplate what using Yggdrasil Leaves as revives means in service to that symbolism.

This is where you come up if you fall down in the south end. There's two halves of the basement, and you can't get to the north half from the south.

There's a bunch of Yggdrasil roots in here. It kinda sets the impression that Yggdrasil's Guidance is going to be a common system, but honestly, we're not going to see it again for a good long while.

A shadow, an enemy we'll see more of later, is floating around in the next room.

This is a nice warning about the traps up ahead, although considering this particular type of enemy can fly... is he even worried about the traps? Well, he's also a pretty forgetful fellow, perhaps he's forgotten that detail.

This path is the one that won't result in you getting the ground pulled out under you. It's oriented the same way you'll enter the room.

There's a precise path you have to take to get here, involving avoiding two pitfalls on the first two turns you might expect to take.

...Say, why is there even an Yggdrasil root on the top floor here? There's clearly an "underneath" the room this root is in.

There's one of these in the north side of the basement.

They may ride the skeletons of departed demons into battle, but that doesn't mean that they're any good at it. In fact, they often take spectacular spills, sending the bones of their steeds flying far and wide.

Despite the implications of this beastiary entry, skullriders are surprisingly dangerous for being enemies that can be ridden. Well, for this stage of the game. They can do some relatively scary moves like Fire Breath and Leg Sweep (this'll stun you for a turn), but you can handle it if you're careful. Incidentally, these guys appeared before now in 6 and 8- DQ6's enemy roster is usually pretty stuck in DQ6, and this is one of the few exceptions.

..."You can handle it if you're careful", I say.

Dead party members gain no EXP, incidentally. And I didn't pack the Yggdrasil Leaf- it's an emergency option, but only one of these two is ever going to be able to use it anyway.

Incidentally, Erdward (and only Erdward) is revived with 1 HP if he's dead at the end of a battle. I suspect this is to facilitate his whole "being the character you run around controlling" thing.

More Gold Ore! Not that I really want a Gold Ring right now.

Bodies brought back from the beyond to shuffle around aimlessly about the place. They're dumb enough that most don't even realise they're dead.

The walking corpse first appeared in DQ2 and appeared in every game subsequently except DQ4. In this game, they can poison and curse you, but their capacities on this frunt are rather variable from game to game.

One interesting thing about the walking corpse is that recurring enemies also have recurring poses- the idle pose an enemy possesses today is relatively identical to the pose that enemy possessed back on the NES, SNES, PSX or DS, whatever. The Walking Corpse is one of the few enemies that got a new pose: In DQ6 only, they stood like this. Not entirely sure why myself. One of the wikis speculates this is because DQ6 and its brand-new animation system required the devs to experiment with a pose that made attacking look easier.

Veronica, like Gemma, has an infinite supply of Single Phials she will use at her discretion. Just Phials, though.

While we're down here, this is the door that separates the north and south basements. Now we can get here from the basement! If that is something that helps us.

You can climb up the north side of the basement with this wall. Climbing such walls is the main benefit of riding a skullrider. They also move pretty fast and just feel nice to control- not necessarily better than the vanilla horse, but the turning is neat.

This is the room the shadow showed us. Of course, it's the arch on the right of the image we want (top path going right on the mini-map.)

Erik picked up some Dodge chance. Going this way is honestly putting a cap on what he can do, but what he is is pretty cool as is.

The chest on the other side of that pitfall at the start of the dungeon contains... well, this is a pretty interesting prize.

Well, that is a very nice prize for an Erik that wants to use Half-Inch. It'll actually be some time before we're expected to Forge our own, so it'll be pretty trick to manage a rework (and also costly in pearls), but the bonuses you get at +0 are worthwhile enough.

Yay!

This is a shield, if you'll believe it. It first appeared in DQ6, as most armours that are more for aesthetic than function do. In games where bonuses for assembling a full costume mean something, this combines with the bunnygirl set. In this game, it's just for armour- and isn't terrible as such, honestly.

This nice fountain is basically the ending of the dungeon before the boss. There's no further enemy encounters other than the boss.

And we found the reason we came here, no need for a boss. Hopefully.

They've been pretty consistent about Veronica looking for a little sister. The idea that her sister looks like an adult is something Erik is quite reasonable in not even having considered.

Veronica demonstrates about the appropriate reaction to finding your little sister non-conscious deep in a dank dungeon.

And Serena was just sleeping. Actually sleeping. I love Serena and basically any moment they show off this side of her. She's not a badass, she's just that oblivious- and honestly, those might just be synonymous.

Serena: "I have to apologise for falling asleep, not explain how I fell asleep in such a dangerous place."

Serena is one of the first characters we've met who knows Veronica, and makes something that's kind of a reveal- Veronica does not normally look like she does.

Veronica is amazed Serena could see through her cursed form.

I wonder if this is actually magic, twin magic or Serena using visual cues. Veronica doesn't normally look like this, but her normal design does have traits she kept.

Veronica is a very pouty character, but she does have very human reactions to situations where people get hurt. This turns out to be a recurring trait of hers.

Not "kid sister", "younger sister". Although considering Erik's experience and Veronica's appearance, those are synonymous ideas...

Veronica's first response is to dispute the claim that there's an age gap at all. As any pair of twins will tell you, they care a great deal about which of them crawled out of the womb first. With that said, I'm remember something about these two being adopted, so I wonder how they know who's the oldest one. Veronica definitely plays the part of the elder.

Complicated? Well, I mean, not so much so we can't undo it, can it?

...That is a really strange plan. How much magic is the average person supposed to have, anyway? There's only one playable character in this game that never learns magic spells, so perhaps Erik being able to use Rubblerouser is supposed to say something about other normal people, but if these guys didn't get Veronica, they'd be doing the equivalent of squeezing out that last drop of syrup from the bottle.

This is also a weird way to phrase the situation- Veronica's magic powers have been drained. She hasn't performed a single spell as a guest and explicitly gets her magic powers back later.

I feel like what we learn about adult Veronica is much more mature than this. I wonder if "draining her age" also did have an impact on her maturity. Or maybe the devs just forgot she's supposed to be the same age as Serena writing some of her lines.

We clearly need someone else to play "dumb guy in the room", because Erik is embarassing himself with these questions.

And this is the story of we're still going to be fighting the boss at the end of the dungeon despite possessing what we entered the dungeon to get.

And with this line, Serena continues the implication that this entire mixup was intentional on the twins' part. I don't buy this, but I will have a lot more respect than I already have for them both if it really was.

Veronica: Serena and I were always the same height growing up... Imagine how strange it is for me to be smaller than her!? Still, if those stupid monsters hadn't shrunk me, I'd never have been able to escape, so I guess every cloud has its silver lining. Now let's get going, Erdward! I'll bet the creeps who stole my magic powers are going to be skulking somewhere inside the labyrinth.
Serena: I confess, I'd almost given up hope. It's such a relief to find my sister safe and well! I'm sure she'll be back to her old self in no time once her magical powers are restored! Come on, Erdward! Let's push on!
Erik: You know, I was pretty nervous about meeting Serena. I mean, the last thing we needed was another Veronica. Still, I'm happy to admit when I'm wrong. It turns out Serena is mature, sensible, calm... everything her sister isn't, basically.

Erik, I don't trust your judgment on Serena's sensibility. Anyway, I don't show it, but while looking at the full Party Chat text dump, I found some good quotes from both twins if you decide to lose interest in Veronica getting her magic and age back. And possibly if you lose interest in later plot directions, but there are no spoilers for what happens in those:

Serena: We need to get back to the labyrinth. If we don't, I dread to think how those monsters might misuse my sister's magical powers... We simply must recover Veronica's magic and get her back to her old self! Even if she is rather adorable as she is...
Serena: Um, Erdward...? I believe my sister wants you to help her with something. It's not really my place to insist, of course, but I know what happens when Veronica gets angry...
Serena: Are we going for a little walk, Erdward? I think that's a simply wonderful idea- but I'm worried Veronica will disagree. She's always getting annoyed at me for wandering off when I'm supposed to be doing something else. I wouldn't want her to get annoyed at you too! Hee hee!
Veronica: I don't mean to be rude, Erdward, but has anyone ever mentioned that you seem to have trouble staying focused? You're just like my sister. You're supposed to be doing one thing, but you somehow manage to forget what it was. I have a feeling you and her are going to get on just fine...

This statue also heals you, which is nice, considering there's a boss coming up ahead. Sometimes the game does this instead of giving you MP-healing consumables.

It's also an actual church.

We get another one of these, too. Erdward doesn't really play animations while riding something. The fact we're not actually touching it is irrelevant to its function.

There's a password here, and we'll need to find out what it is.

An advanced stage of this enemy type is called "Umbra", which is where the pun comes from.

You do need to watch this Yggdrasil Guidance to learn the password and get through the door.

Although we're smart enough to not just burst through immediately.

You guys are still talking about losing Veronica? Wow, her arrival in Hotto must be pretty recent.

Pray, I believe. Or look outside into the holy room just outside your door, where Serena was just taking a nap.

Oh boo hoo. At least he probably would get that respect.

...Wait, "Lord of Shadows coming back?" I'm confused on this point, but it'll take a long time for the explanation to become relevant.

"The Lord of Shadows" is a new name to us as it is. Definitely sounds like the kind of fellow likely to be fought as a final boss.

The shadows or the jargon? I imagine it's supposed to be the shadows, since the jargon is just too ridiculous.

As hilarious as his plan is, the fact that it's been successful is honestly pretty scary. Draining magic in general is pretty scary, but put that power in a minion that clearly isn't trained for this kind of thing?

Erik is preparing himself for an epic heist movie.

Unfortunately for him...

That option is removed from our hands.

I love the fact that this shadow is screaming too. It's probably the same one that's responsible for the Yggdrasil Guidances.

By the way, I've left it unmentioned, but Jarvis continues to make assorted puns related to the concept of pottery. I don't think he has a single line without some kind of jar pun.

You see, the idea of "MacGuffin Delivery Service" only works if you can actually rob us of the MacGuffin.

...Also, uh, genuine question: What more does Veronica have that you want?

Apparently there's still some magic left in the bottom of the jar. Which... OK, they clearly demonstrate a commitment to diminishing returns elsewhere in their plot. They could also be talking about the sensible suggestion of draining everyone else's magic (Erdward and Serena alone would probably make him powerful enough to overthrow the Lord of Shadows outright), but I'm not really willing to give him the benefit of the doubt considering how this plan seems to be working so far.

Seems there will be a boss fight, at least.

The reprehensible reptile responsible for plundering Veroncia's powers. He worries that his eyes make him look too kind, so he makes up for it by being as rude as possible.

Dragon family
260 HP
99 MP

Jarvis is our first real boss fight, depending on how much of a joke you count Tricky Devil as. He's also a boss worth getting a little bit cautious of. His main trick is to take a Deep Breath (a recurring ability in DQ Monsters, apparently making its main series debut in this game) and follow up with a much more powerful Cold Breath. And here I am without a parka.

I think it is possible for either Erdward or Erik to know Dragon Slash if you put them on Swords. Good idea to use on this guy if that's your style.

Jarvis is always berating his bumbling umbral underlings, but all of them are utterly unwavering in their loyalty to him.

Elemental family
70 HP
9 MP

These guys can cast Crack, Snooze and... apparently only really have one shot at it. Everyone involved has a normal attack, though, and considering we still only have two HP bars, the less of them we have to deal with, the better.

As alluded to earlier, though, Serena has now joined our party as a guest. She has not had her magic drained, and is able to cast the spells Heal and Buff, primarily. She has infinite MP to complement her infinite HP.

I won't be making a habit of it, but I had Erik Pepped up coming into this fight, so might as well show off how coming in with a Pep Power can make a boss fight turn excellent. Scorched Earth's excellence in boss fights, in part, owes to the fact it's really easy to Pep Up Erik, fire this off, and get free damage.

This power does not have a special animation. I think the majority of Pep Powers are like this.

I really don't know what the calculation for the damage is, but this is a nice number that we'll have trouble matching, especially not "for free" like this.

Serena also has a normal attack. I'm impressed she managed 4 damage on a boss.

This isn't Buff, but taking 2/3s of the hits is basically taking half damage?

At least Serena is helping with Buff.

Uh oh. At least that's a telegraphed attack.

Sizz is a nice way to get some damage on the shadows. The sooner you can get to one enemy, the better you are.

Erik makes sure to heal Erdward for that attack Jarvis is about to throw out.

Because this hurts.

Serena realises she should probably start healing up the people with HP bars.

That's the Shadows gone. Scorched Earth is huge.

Which is good, because this might take a while.

It would be nice if we could've made use of that, but at least we're not disappointed to see it go.

Erdward Pepped up, boosting his output, but really, from here, we're just bashing and hoping for the best.

I can't wait to actually get some stronger moves.

Buff doesn't actually help with breath attacks, but her heart was in the right place.

At least he does eventually go down.

In your next life, I highly recommend thinking your plans through better. Sure, this plan would work, but nowhere near fast enough for you to accomplish anything resembling success.

Erik decides this might be a good time to try interrogating his enemy.

No sell. Jarvis had no incentive to share any information and decided not to.

Erik is very concerned about the information we did get. The Lord of Shadows has something sinister in the pot, and ideally, something actually gets done about that.

Good plan. Thankfully the jar is still here. I thought the jar was part of the jargon, but I guess not.

Veronica's plan is to open the jar and hope magic happens.

As plans go... I mean, I guess it's working?

...Damn.

As far as Veronica's concerned, though, everything worked out just fine: She's once more the great sorceress of Arboria, and ready to become a pyromaniac.

Serena points out that this is... not how this was supposed to happen.

Veronica shrugs it off as "we don't understand this magic and whatever rules we get, we're stuck with." Why Veronica is unable to reclaim her age goes completely unmentioned, although I suspect that since this was a side effect of Veronica's struggles against Jarvis and not an intended feature, Jarvis didn't actually acquire Veronica's age when Veronica lost it.

Veronica decides there are worse fates than looking like a child. Depending on what de-aging has done to her biological functions, she's got a point.

Serena decides that, if Veronica's going to take it in stride, so is she.

The twins, now that there are no pressing concerns that they need to address, decide that their next priority should be making their positions clear to Erdward.

I understand it's because of Veronica's suddenly changed height, but I feel like Serena shouldn't be kneeling here. They'd be better served saving this for Hotto, where they can stand Veronica on a stool or something.

(By the way, they're both saying this in union.)

Them being wrong wasn't what I was worried about, honestly. Them being powerful enough to hunt me down no matter where I am kinda feels like the more pressing issue.

I don't have the Japanese script handy, but I think the idea of the "Luminary" taps into the traditional idea of the "Yuusha"- the "Hero"- of Dragon Quest tradition. Erdward is the Hero of Erdrea, and unlike many stories of this type, this premise will never be questioned. That's not Dragon Quest's domain.

Veronica and Serena have a crucial role in serving "the Luminary". And Veronica is very good at her job..

Erik comments on how... interesting this moment is.

We have something we need to do first, though- finish up in here. We can talk about such business in somewhere that isn't a dank, disused crypt.

...I feel achieved.

Veronica: Well, I've got my magic powers back, but our work here's not done just yet! The monsters have someone else locked up right behind the place where we fought Jarvis. We have to help!
Serena: It's a shame that Veronica couldn't go back to how she was, but I suppose I'll just have to get used to having a twin sister half my size! And don't worry, Erdward- no matter how big or small we are, you can rely on us to protect you!
Erik: You know, I don't think it was just a coincidence we ran into these girls. All this stuff about Arborian legends, the Luminary, the Dark One... it sounds like destiny at work to me. And maybe it's all true- maybe you really are going to save the world, Erdward!

There's a door right ahead to get to this room.

All these cells, but only two one is occupied.

It's nice of Veronica to remember this fellow. I think she did bump into him during her captivity.

Well, they have been draining you of your magic... say, did we ever return that? I presume there's not enough of that for Veronica to notice her magic powers are greater than they should be- or perhaps Jarvis's plan is just so bone-headed they didn't tap anything.

And Veronica immediately throws blame at his feet. And assumes that this man is indeed Connie's father in the first place. You know, like she called Erik out for doing.

I think the idea is that he should've been worried about leaving Connie alone, but I think that's included in the whole "worrying you're about to die."

I think Veronica has a non-zero reason to be so aggrieved by this, but there's only so much this man could've done.

And he promises to lend us a hand, if there's anything he can do.

Erik recognises the name. What exactly Noah can do for us isn't obvious, but perhaps Erik might be able to give us a suggestion.

Noah decides the best thing he can do is get out of Veronica's hair.

Serena, of course, hasn't noticed anything unusual about what just happened.

Veronica decides it's fishy. That's... well, I suppose if Erik recognises him, Noah's probably at least slightly fishy.

We don't have to worry about walking all the way back to Hotto, at least.

There is actually gameplay between sleeping and this scene. Erdward walks down the stairs and can't Party Chat because everyone's already here. I'm not sure why it's there. There's a few bits like this. I imagine it's a bit of a remnant from 2D, when there was less distinction between cuscene and dialogue.

Veronica and Serena are obviously planning on joining the party, although they will drag their feet on the matter mechanically.

They're also here to give us an actual... direction. We haven't actually known what we're supposed to be doing yet- we know we have to redeem ourselves to Heliodor, but how exactly we're supposed to go about that is a giant question mark.

Veronica seems to find us unimpressive. Well, I mean, we are level 10, I guess.

Good question. Obviously, the Dark One is coming back. It'd be nice if we knew where Erdwin failed to try and avoid that.

Veronica is well aware we're working on partial information, and decides we'd better get more reveals before we make any guesses on that level.

Erik's happy to head that way, but as Veronica points out, "going to Yggdrasil" isn't a short-term goal. We need to figure out how to get there, and that'll be a job in itself.

The annoying part of the legends is they only tell us the interesting bits. "Erdwin learns to fly" sounds very interesting, but apparently the legend-writers felt differently.

Fortunately, Erik seems to have an idea! Of all people in this room.

Noah is an information peddler, and Erik wonders if he happens to know how to peddle information about a magical flying tree. Better than what we have now.

Erik: I knew I'd seen that Noah guy before. He sells juicy information to... err... people in my line of work. I bet he knows a way to get to Yggdrasil. Let's head to the bar and see what we can get out of him.
Veronica: I still can't work it out. If the Dark One was really defeated, why have you been reborn now? Well, all I know is that we have a sacred duty to fulfil. With any luck, once we get you safely to Yggdrasil, all will be revealed.
Serena: We know we have to get to Yggdrasil, but I'm afraid we just don't know how. I suppose the best hope we have is to do as Erik suggests and speak to Noah...

...Oh.

Connie has had her dad back for how long and she's already getting irritated? He is presumably financially responsible for her, but if this is how he spends his time, "financially responsible" seems to be a bit of misnomer.

Yeah, at this point, I don't think he's providing any gossip, just wondering when you're going to fall over. Or when you're going to pay your tab.

It's literally what he gets paid to do, it's forgivable. He shouldn't be getting so hammered he forgets what he learns, though.

Fortunately, we have a solution for that "right price" thing.

You mean they don't say it anymore? I guess he has been captured. I didn't think it was that long.

Noah defends his access to secrets. I think that is probably the least shady part of your operation.

Noah was actually kidnapped at the same time as Veronica. I imagine Veronica feels responsible for his capture, and I guess that's why she's so annoyed with him about it. Too much so for my tastes, but it's in character for Veronica.

Noah doesn't realise that the girl he tried to rescue is this Veronica, of course.

All right, random crook, please tell us how to get to Yggdrasil.

Noah's just impressed we're setting our sights on the source of all life. Although he's happy to actually provide some information.

They actually explain how this (competent) crook knows how to get to Yggdrasil. Or at least has an idea.

Very lucky. The Sultan of Gallopolis is not the kind of guy to stand on ceremony, although this seems like a bit of an exaggeration.

Noah's advice is also not a promise of success, but he knows something about Yggdrasil. He thinks. He doesn't actually know.

Veronica and Serena seem satisfied with this guess.

...Yes, yes he does, Veronica.

Serena knows how to get to Gallopolis- we got here through a magic teleportal, but if most people want to go to Hotto, they usually have to pass through Gallopolis. Veronica and Serena have done so. Although, ultimately, I'm not sure why they did so- Hotto is a bit of a geographical dead end if you can't use the Door of Departure.

Yeah, they didn't actually legitimately join us until now. After Jarvis, this is a technicality, but now we can actually make use of their abilities. These two are awesome characters.

Also, coming to think of them mechanically, I think these two might actually, on the barest technicality, be a reference to Maya and Meena Mahabala from DQIV. They are also magical twins- one specialising in fire, the other specialising in healing- who are compelled to join the Hero by magical prophecy. I say "technically" because this is where the differences end- well, that, and the offensive one is more outgoing. Veronica and Serena are otherwise nothing like Maya and Meena, in personality, history or narrative role, but they're not the only DQIV reference in the final party.

Mechanically, the reason we have to help the twins is because there's a border guard between Hotto and Gallopolis, and he won't let you pass unless you possess this.

So how would we acquire this without Veronica and Serena having nabbed it for us?

Erik: So old Noah thinks he saw a branch from the World Tree, does he? I'm not sure I buy it, but I guess we've got no choice but to check it out. We need to head south-west, huh? Gallopolis, here we come!
Veronica: When I first met Erik, I thought he was a real no-hoper, but it turns out he is capable of having ideas that aren't completely stupid. Well, we know what we're looking for- someone who managed to break off a branch of the World Tree. Who would do a thing like that, though? Still, let's see what they've got to say. If we're lucky, they'll be able to tell us how they managed to reach Yggdrasil.
Serena: I know you probably didn't expect to be joining forces with a pair of rather mismatched twins, but destiny can bring together curious companions. All who journey alongside the Luminary are surely chosen by Yggdrasil. Hee hee! I'm ever so excited!

Hm, interesting point about "we can ask the guy who took the branch of Yggdrasil".

Veronica and Serena come at fixed levels, and they're ahead of us again. Also worth noting (although it isn't obvious right now), but Veronica has 0 MaMend and Serena has 0 MaMight. This is by design- they are very definitely specialised in these directions.

Veronica is the bearer of this costume from the DLC. It's... it's a choice as practical armour.

It looks like it was the option I went with, though. I do give her accessories, but I seem to have not bothered to show which.

Also, Veronica's only weapons are two-handed. She can never equip a shield and a weapon at the same time, and the game just doesn't let her hold a shield even if she chooses to go unarmed. The defensive benefits of going unarmed are sadly not an option, but I'd rather the offensive benefits of Heavy Wands anyway.

Serena also rekits. This time I do show the accessories, although we have this note: she equips the Fishnet Stockings. Despite being a Costume Accessory, the Fishnets can be equipped by all the women in the party. Yes, even Veronica.

Veronica starts us off with the two new Skill Trees we have to look at.

Heavy Wands:

• Magical Might with Wands +10 (1 panel)
  
• MP with Wands +10 (1 panel)
• MP Absorption +2% (1 panel)
• Minor MP recovery after battle
  
• Beezlefreeze: Does some damage to demons and may paralyse them. If it's not a demon, you don't get the paralysis.
• Antimagic: Attempts to prevent the enemy from casting spells. It's pretty good at it, but it sounds a lot more useful than it is.
  
• Staff of Salvation: Heals for a relatively small amount. Veronica doesn't learn any healing spells, so if you want her healing, this is the way to do it. It's not terrible, but...
  
• Ring of Ruin: All allies get a +20% spell crit chance. It's good for one party member in particular, but usually you don't want your other party members using offensive spells- helaing spells can crit, but Ring of Ruin to buff healing seems a risky venture. Veronica has other ways of making her offence better.

Whips:

• Attack +45 (3 panels)
• Hypnowhip: Slightly stronger, can inflict Confuse.
  
• Hit the Hay: Slightly stronger, can inflict Sleep.
  
• Trammel Lash: Slightly stronger, can inflict Paralysis.
  
• Lashings of Love: Extra damage against Humanoid family enemies.
  
• Twin Dragon Lash: Two double-damage hits on a single target. Unless you're into Persecutter and Victimiser, this is the only Whip skill really worth using, and... I feel like you're still going to rather using magic? Twin Dragon Lash was beloved on Jessica in DQ8, but I feel like this might also have possibly been the case? I never played the PS2 version and I'm told it was better there.
  

Vim:

• Magical Might +10
• MP +10
• Fire + Earth Resistance +10%
• Ice + Wind Resistance +10%
• Wizard Ward: Raises Veronica's spell resistance by 50% for 4-6 turns.
• Spooky Aura: Attempts to weaken the enemy's resistance to magic.
  
• Sage's Breath: Restores Veronica's MP for 5 turns. This is something good to have when you really need to pass the time- like trying to snag an elusive Half-Inch.
  
• Channel Anger: Increases Veronica's MaMight by 50% for 4-6 turns. This is what you want to be using to preparing Veronica for offensive magic.

Both Vim and Heavy Wands are good for different reasons. Poor Whips.

Serena's Tree is completely opposite to Veronica's, and you bet it's intentional.

Wands:

• Magical Mending +40 (2 panels)
• MP Absorption +2% (1 panel)
• Minor MP recovery after battle
• Dual-Wielding: There are good reasons to have two Wands equipped, but you really want Shields in most cases.
  
• Devil's Delight: Higher damage multiplier than Beezlefreeze, beguiles them instead. I'm also told it ignores evasion.
  
• Alma Mater: Applies a four turn buff where, if the user has 50% HP or more, a lethal hit will leave them with 1 HP. This is good in all the situations you're not planning on using it.
  
• Snap, Crackle, Poof: Applies a four turn buff that blocks all status ailments. This is your top priority.
  

Spears:

• Attack + 25 (2 panels)
• Critical Chance +2% (1 panel)
• Parry Chance +4% (1 panel)
• Cattle Prod: Does 1.5x damage to Beast enemies.
• Deliverance: Does 1.5x damage to Undead enemies.
  
• Party Pooper: Does 0.8x damage to a group of enemies. Really good... but Serena is kinda worried about her damage output as is.
  
• Thunder Thrust: 50% chance of a crit, the other 50% chance is a miss. This is valuable against one target in particular.
  

 Harpistry:

• Magical Mending +10 (1 panel)
• MP +10 (1 panel)
• Hymm of Fire, Ice, Thunder, Earth, Air, Light: Applies a relevant party buff that decreases the relevant elemental damage by 20%.

Serena's Wands are just the best. Sorry, other two trees... it's just a fact. Harpistry is OK, but Wands.

Aw, how nice for her. Do you have the husband to start that? Maybe she can consider adoption.

We got a new option in the Church with the arrival of Veronica and Serena, which is quite possibly one of the most powerful options in the bunch. Recitificatioin is the process of paying Gold to turn learned Skills into Skill Points to invest elsewhere.

The rate is 20 gold per Skill Point. You must reset the entire Skill Tree in one go, no partial recitification. There are interesting uses for this, but none of these characters can really use it in those interesting ways right now.

Incidentally, Erdward and Erik have Sealed Skills that require learning Skills in multiple trees. If you Recert one of those Trees, you lose the Sealed Skill, no matter which Tree it belongs to. You do get refunded for the SP at no additional Gold cost. For what it's worth.

This is how Veronica and Serena will be building with their first Skills. The Minor MP recovery will let Veronica cast magic spells in regular encounters with sustainability, while Serena is beelining Snap, Crackle, Poof in the fastest path with little regard for what she's actually getting on the way. The other path costs only a few more SP, but in my experience, those SP will delay you at a critical juncture. This path is honestly better anyway- that MaMend +30 is excellent for bosses.

On the way out, we get a non-voiced moment from Veronica. This is also one of the most important things the twins do for us.

Veronica is going to teach Erdward a special spell. She doesn't actually know it herself, funnily enough.

...Do I want to know how?

Zoom! Zoom is the teleport spell of DQ tradition- with it, chimaera wings are a thing of the past! Erdward, for 0 MP cost (in older DQs, it did cost MP, although how much depends on game), can teleport to any location he has already visited. This counts cities and campsites- although I think the latter is only true in the Definitive Edition.

Important to note, but this starts counting now- we can't Zoom to Cobblestone or Heliodor right now.

...I'm also not entirely sure how to trigger the campsite Zoom points. I slept here to add it, but it later turns out I didn't get this as a Zoom point. It's not the worst thing in the world, since Hotto isn't that far of a walk, but it's mildly annoying.

There are some walking corpses up here now that it's night.

Remembering to switch Veronica and Serena off Fight Wisely!

Veronica starts with... a surprisingly full Spell list. Veronica learns lot of magic. The symbols also mean something: Red skills are offensive, blue skills are buffs, purple skills are debuffs, and green skills are healing. This applies to both magic and abilities.

• Frizz and Sizz are, of course, the magic fire spells Erdward has. Veronica will be using them much more than Erdward will.
• Crack is an ice spell. Crack is the "weird" magic in a DQ context- the Crack spell is single target, but higher level Crack spells hit more targets. All other families of magic stick to the same targeting at each stage.
• Magic Barrier applies a buff to the whole party that increases their resistance to magic spells by one stage. Good if you're fighting a magician.
• Sap decreases the enemy's Defence by two stages. Good for bosses.
• Decelerate decreases the enemy's Agility by one stage. ...Agility is too random to count on at best. I'm actually told Decelerate came from DQ Monsters.
  

Veronica's Sizz really does plenty.

Serena, of course, knows more Heal spells than Offense spells. Buffs and Debuffs seem pretty well distributed between the two.

• Serena's Heal is a lot more potent than Erdward's Heal, but we're still coming up on the point where we might not get much benefit out of Heal.
• Squelch cures poison. The Church effect that cures poison is now almost entirely pointless. Not that it wasn't before.
• Buff lets us increase our Defence by two stages. Only one party member at a time right now, though.
• Dazzle attempts to decrease the enemy accuracy to around 3/8. It's usually pretty successful, and as annoying as dropped accuracy is to you, do keep in mind that this is mainly for physical attacks. Magic, breaths and some special kinds of attacks are immune to Dazzle, so this isn't as powerful as, say, Pokemon's Double Team.
  

The normal attack of both girls with their respective Wand variants is pretty pathetic (although it seems to have killed this corpse), but if you land a hit, you can drain the MP from most enemies. In this game, the MP you drain is not related to the damage you deal. Monsters also have a fixed MP pool, so if you whack them too much, they will stop dropping MP.

Bunny blackguards who've gone from living off the land like the rest of their kind to pilfering produce from local farms. Though they may have made bad choices in life, they've also mastered a mean Drop Kick.

Robber rabbits come from DQ10, and they're tough customers. Not awful, but they will hit hard with that Drop Kick (just 1.1x damage) and take a beating in turn, although Veronica's Sizz will cook 'em up a little more now.

And one Mini Medal in the corner before we leave the Hotto Steppe. Incidentally, this is where the demo ends. Why now of all times, when the game has had plenty of natural opportunity to cut you off before now (jumping off the cliff in the dungeon escape, using the Door of Departure...) and not even leave the player feeling they haven't seen enough of the game to make a judgement. Can't argue with good value, though.

So how's the Hotto story? We get a wonderful story about our new party members, but rather notably, the characters who live in Hotto seem pretty sidelined. The nature of Dragon Quest stories following a chapter format from town to town means that party-centric stories and town-centric stories do kinda compete, but the format of DQXI means that each town gets more chances to show themselves off. It will be a long time before we return to Hotto, but I think the game has actually pulled something interesting with the lack of Hotto characters in the first go.

As for Veronica and Serena themselves... Veronica is a very interesting character, not only as she is now, but in her future role in the narrative. The story is very interested in making sure Veronica is very well established, and she has certainly made her mark. She's been... a little too abrasive, but not unlikably so, and there's plenty of time to give Veronica more time to show her responsible, softer side.

Meanwhile, when it comes to Serena... by design, she's not been physically involved in the plot, and her contribution has been largely establishing her character and then becoming "the other one" to Veronica's magical twin deal. This is something... that doesn't really shore up later. Again, party-centric stories and town-centric stories are engaged in a tousle, and Serena kinda loses out on that front. She's actually pretty cute in her Party Chats and the moments she does get, but as a character that does more than be Veronica's sister... she's not in the greatest shoes. Still a great healer, though.