DQXI Octagonia: Masked Martial Arts

Welcome to the next Town Story, and it is a lengthy one.

Welcome to Octagonia! A town focused on martial arts.

Or, well, Sylvando can say what I was planning on. Ish. This isn't my scene.

I'm not entirely sure Hendrik would be fond of how this town has been set up. Whether he does or not, this statue is also a warning sign that the Octagonians might get in contact with Hendrik- which would be bad.

...The what now?

So we're not going to escape participating in a testosterone tournament after all.

Veronica... a dance? It's a bunny girl in a martial arts town- it was either wrestling or "wrestling".

Well, we should have a look at that in good time.

Erik: So this is Octagonia, huh? I'd heard it had some kind of fighting arena. I guess that explains all these burly looking guys... The Masked Martial Arts tournament sounds kind of cool, though, right? We should check it out while we're in town.
Veronica: This place is incredible, Erdward! An entire city inside one big building! It's like some kind of fort or something! That roof means people here never have to worry about getting caught in the rain!
Serena: Oh dear... This place smells rather odd. It's a mix of stale sweat... and steel. It's making me feel rather dizzy...
Sylvando: Riddle me this, darling- why in the world have they put a huge statue of Hendrik right in the middle of town? I suppose he must have saved them from being overrun by monsters or something. That's the kind of thing he does, after all. What a guy!

Sylvando's unfamiliarity with our plight strikes again. He's a lot friendlier with Hendrik than the rest of us. He has his reasons.

(Also, funnily for Veronica's observation, the Octagonian half of Dundrasil is the only land in this port's area that can't rain.)

...They really like their fighting, huh?

It's a little tricky to do, but you can jump around this corner to get on this ledge and pick up this green eye.

...Well, that sounds like something we're going to have to try and acquire.

There's a church statue here, for, uh... some reason. There's an actual church in this town, although this is a lot more convenient for using the services.

The mayor pops up here. I think he moves around a little, and since he's kind of a generic character, I don't always recognise him.

I love how even the women in this universe were badasses in their youth.

This is a nice little mental map of Octagonia: Up for the "entertainment district", down for the residential district- and all the important town stuff like the shops are downstairs. Upstairs is actually its own map.

There's a ledge back here we can climb for goodies.

Unfortunately for the kid, this woman seems to be occupied with admiring the statue of Hendrik for... child-unfriendly reasons.

There's cash back here, though.

And also an Octagonian fighter. Not that he seems to be enjoying any sort of fame here.

These bars seem to be open to the public, at least. It feels like it should be more exclusive than it is. That's just a tone thing.

We can also bump into some of the Octagonian fighters here.

This is not an Octagonian fighter. This is a monk from Pang Lai. Presumably he can't get home because of the Heliodorian blockade, which doesn't seem to bother him much. He seems to be under the impression his master is teaching him abstinence.

Something's telling me his master is not of the same mind.

This is quite possibly the most insane situation that could have come about, and I have no idea how this is going to end.

Ah, it seems we've bumped into our "first" of the Octagonian fighter characters. And apparently, perhaps we shouldn't have.

Poor guy is not the most popular of fighters, and he doesn't appreciate being reminded of that fact.

The vendor does bring up a good point- his merch isn't going to sell if he scares away all the buyers.

"Fighting Juice" seems to be the equivalent of a hearty beer here in Octagonia. I'd claim this was some kind of way to write around real beer, but a) this is 2019, Nintendo's not scared of that, b) this game has way worse problems and c) I think this ominous "don't ask what's in it" makes it significantly less censor-y.

Janice is a named character, but pretty generic as one. She's apparently a dancer as well as a bartender, but I don't wind up dropping by at night to check her out.

And over here is another of Octagonia's fighters. Her name is Sinderella, and she's a pretty decent mage.

And here's her friend, Whambelina. Whambelina's actually not much of a flirt, and she's a very compelling half of this relationship.

And of course they have stalkers.

There's another Puff Puff up here, too, because of course you'd see that around here.

...I feel like this is not what it claims to be, though I'm not sure what it is.

It's some kind of confidence boost, though.

Ah dear, there's some brawling going up up here. Or soon.

And over here is a familiar character- the Abominable Showman! He visited Gondolia earlier, and it looks like he's ready to come and join the tournament once more as an Octagonian fighter.

The Abominable Showman is a highly recognisable figure in Dragon Quest history, particularly for his fighting prowess. I'll go into more detail later, once we're fighting him, but he certainly comes by this reputation... well, I wouldn't say "honestly", but he's certainly one heck of a fellow.

...They have a song about him. Yeah, we're getting to deal with Hendrik eventually.

One thing worth noting, though, is that this isn't actually what Hendrik did to get a statue of himself made in Octagonia. Well, as far as I'm aware. Perhaps the thing he did to get the statue happened in the course of saving Dundrasil.

This guy is also someoneone of significance in Octagonia. Of sorts. This is Liu Za, and he's copying the DQ3 Martial Artist model. He's not as important as Underdigger, Showman, the girls, and one additional fighter we haven't met yet, but he is actually named and semi-relevant to the worldbuilding.

Or ever, as the case may be.

Some women just don't get the luck. Wonder who she's stuck babysitting.

Our fifth significant Octagonian Fighter is the Golden Boy down here. He's got some fangirls cooing over him.

The Golden Boy is... well, to be honest, he's not 100% on board with his popularity. Although it's certainly not something he can be expected to understand.

Mini Medal in the back alley.

Oh boy, that sounds fun. Tourism doesn't seem to be the greatest of industries for this town, though.

Welcome to the latest, and without a doubt the greatest, Masked Martial Arts tournament! Here’s a sneak peek at just a few of the teams that’ll be stepping into the ring this season for their shot at glory!
The Underdigger and the Abominable Showman: These muscle-bound heavyweights are ready to come down like a ton of king slimes on any opponent foolish enough to face them!
Liu Za, the Flying Dragon of Angri-La, and Golden Boy, the King of Charisma: They may look nothing alike, but these two brothers in justice make a killer combination!
The Beaty Queens, Sinderella and Whambelina: This delicious duo need no introduction- their looks alone are the stuff of legend, and their combat skills are just as sweet!
Who will emerge victorious? Who will lift the crown? There’s only one way to find out, folks- come on down!’

This book makes zero sense: Obviously, it's introducing the six Octagonians who are supposed to matter, but this is... not how the Octagonian tournament is claimed to work. It is how it works in practice, though, which just makes this book even more confusing.

You might remember some mentions of a character named "Vince", and, well, he's going to be really important to the Octagonia story. Much, much moreso than the other six.

There's a bunch of nifty stuff here, especially the Rod of Rapidity. Definitely worth stopping here even if you went to Puerto Valor, but nothing that I want.

Also Tough Guy Tattoos in the item shop. Because of course there is.

...There's how many bookshelves in here and not a word to read?

This house is cute, though.

You can climb on these houses easily- their roofs are actually level with the ground in some places- and the orphans have taken to playing on top of it.

They idolise Vince quite a bit.

This is not actually a door. Well, maybe it is, but I can't use it as one.

I've got plenty of time!

Oh dear, there's scalpers.

...Hang in there, young boy.

You'll need to jump on this barrel here if you want to climb on this roof.

Confusion protection. Decent, mostly.

...An autograph collection? Can't say I've ever thought of that before. That'd be pretty impressive, wouldn't it?

This boy here is a perfectly functioning church. Perhaps the game doesn't want you stick around here much except as character building for the orphans.

Your uncle is a smart man.

This recipe book is very helpful.

The first thing is a batterfly knife, an upgraded poison moth knife.

...Already getting perfects? Go me. Knives are easy ones.

Malleable Masks are pretty good masks all around, and provide about 20% resistance to paralysis. Not bad by any means.

Already I'm building a rapport with the orphans! Soon, I'll be able to establish myself as someone worthy of respect, and maybe then I'll stop being called "Darkspawn!" AHAHAHAHA- this isn't helping me.

Kids know how to run around. That's kinda what they're best at!

...Ew. No. Veronica, Frizz.

...Well, it seems she's been distracted by another prize.

Ever since Hotto... we've been trying to get our hands... on that. Looks so small from here.

For enough money to buy a vacation home in Puerto Valor. Why is this thing so valuable? Surely something so one-of-a-kind and legendary would be priceless, or at least not traded openly?

I think that puts the question of "are we joining the tournament ourselves" to rest.

She's so gung-ho about this, but she doesn't actually volunteer to do it herself. I can't decide whether she made the right call or not. She squishy.

Erik: First all that stuff went down in Gondolia, and now we're thinking of entering a fighting tournament? We're meant to be on the run! We're not doing a very good job of keeping a low profile, you know!
Veronica: We have to win this MMA tournament, otherwise some other idiot's going to walk away with the Rainbough! Now come on. Let's stop dilly-dallying and start making preparations!
Serena: I know the Rainbough is what we're after, but I was rather taken with the second prize, too. Did you see it? It was a beautiful golden ball. Actually, it's funny but it really reminded me of something I saw in one of my old textbooks back in Arboria...
Sylvando: Look at all these burly brawlers! They must all be here for the tournament! Colour me excited, honey!

...Oh great, Serena, don't tell me we have to win first and second!

So I can claim it unopposed, then?

We are not selling these things again. We've gone quite far enough.

All right, so what do I have to do to register?

This part, right here, is the most confusing part about that book we spotted earlier- Octagonia's Masked Martial Arts tournament is a random draw. The teaming up of certain Octagonians shouldn't be a thing- and yet it is. By the rule of plot, of course all of this year's teams are going to make sense, but it's kind of implied through the rest of the story that there are teams that persist, like the Beaty Queens.

...Where did he get the money, and why do I suddenly feel like I don't want to have asked?

There is actually no consequence whatsoever for signing up. Of course there isn't, but does this impact how the tournament organisers get just the right amount of participants?

Erdward enters the MMA tournament under number 11, because of course he gets 11, it's DQ11! The game kinda brushes over it, but Erik and Sylvando also sign up with their own numbers, to fatten our chances of getting that all-important Rainbough. Veronica and Serena don't appear to have done so. I'm just imagining the poor fighter that would've got stuck dealing with Veronica's... Veronica.

Apparently we're the last few heads the tournament organisers needed, so we can start right away.

There's no Party Chat, but the tournament battle arc is an fanservicey reference to DQ4- in that game, Alena participated in a martial arts tournament, and it's such an iconic part of her character and the game as a whole that it's one of the first things you think of when you think of DQ4. There's a lot of references to DQ4's tournament as we progress, and it's certainly a popular part of this game, too. This is not why Alena participated in her tournament, though.

...Now you tell me...

Time to say hello to the unnamed barker of the tournament- we're going to be hearing a lot from him.

Now listen, because I get this a lot- it's Erdward, not Edward.

I'm not sure I'm on board with that turn of phrase.

The power of teamwork combined with random teams? I can see where they're coming from, but I hope they've thought this through.

Fortunately for the game's pacing, we get drawn first.

Our first pick is number 8, and... well, this part's kinda just here as a tease.

Say hello to Fighter Number 8, and she looks a) familiar, b) important and c) attractive. In other words, definitely someone most players would be interested in getting to know.

And then this happens.

His second line does a fantastic job of being completely hilarious.

It's also completely out of proportion. Why he should be above the rules is... well, among other things, just rude.

He seems to believe he has good reason, though.

The barker goes off to verify whatever it is he got told. I have absolutely no idea what was offered here. Which just makes this plot point even stranger to me, I guess.

And those two get to team up because of special arrangements, rather than pure chance! All in all, the main narrative purpose of this moment seems to be making the old man come off as more mysterious. What did he do to get special arrangements here?

It also doesn't seem to have made a lot of friends. Whether this is our problem or theirs is another matter. Hopefully, it's not us.

I dunno, they seem pretty reasonable to me. I'm actually tempted to be angry with them.

So, instead, who is Fighter Number 7?

Told ya he'd be important. Funny you can't bump into Vince before now, though.

As for whether Vince and Eight have meaning in referencing DQs 7 and 8... I don't think Vince as 7 means anything (and if it does, it's spoilery to explain why), but Eight's number is most likely a reference to DQ8's popularity (like Eight herself was likely to gain in the community- thanks to some similarities in appeal), and also Jessica, a party member from DQ8 who forms half the basis of Eight's characterisation.

I feel weird calling that character Eight.

Vince seems like a nice man.

And we just yadda yadda yadda over all the other pairings. The only pairings we need to be concerned about are the characters we fight.

So I'm told! I don't know what he thought of me, though. Or even if he got a good look.

At least we don't have to worry about sustain.

Erik: You sure got lucky back there, getting paired with last year's champion... Well, you know what this means, right? Now you have to win this thing! Let's make that Rainbough ours!
Sylvando: Honey, I just- CANNOT- wait for this tournament to get started. As soon as I saw how everyone got paired up, I knew it was going to be a good one. Oh, by the way, I've got a little surprise in store for you... No! I'm not saying any more. You'll just have to wait and find out what it is. It's going to be fun, though, I promise!

Is... Is Sylvando supposed to be pretending he's not in the tournament? We... we were all at the same opening ceremony, right?

Honestly, if this becomes a problem, you don't have much chance to fix it. You can at least go out into the world after the first round.

This is not a mechanic in any way. I will say it will be impressive if you can manage to get carried by Vince mechanically.

Veronica and Serena were off doing something else, and Serena's come back to say hi. You know what that means, don't you?

Please no, Vince is better than nothing!

...Serena, how do you not keep an eye on Veronica?

...Seriously? I think that might be news to me. Sounds like a problem.

No matter what, though, it seems her ability to get in trouble has not wavered.

If Veronica was dragged all this way against her will, she has every reason to be annoyed here.

Well, that's how she spots people! She's tiny!

This is... going to just keep going, isn't it?

Oh, hey, Vince.

The Underdigger takes that seriously.

To make the book even more confusing, apparently the Underdigger resents being paired with the Abominable Showman.

Yeah, best excuse yourself now.

"Did either of you commit murder?"

Vince is happy to be helpful to us in particular, but doesn't mind doing it or not doing it.

He's gotta head home. He's got his own responsibilities.

But he is happy to keep a (closed) eye on the new guy.

Erik: What is it with Veronica, man? I mean, I'm happy she's okay and all, but I wish she wouldn't keep getting herself into these situations...
Veronica: Can you believe that idiot!? The Underdigger or whatever his ridiculous name was? There he is, acting all tough, then as soon as Vince turns up he starts simpering like some pathetic schoolboy! If there's one thing I hate, it's big bullies who pick on kids but are scared of anyone their own size!
Serena: Isn't it nice that everyone around here calls Vince ‘Champ’? He really is an impressive fellow. He's tough, but you can tell he has a kind heart. You can see it in his eyes.
Sylvando: I think that's enough excitement for one day, darling. Veronica's safe, and you've got a fight to prepare for tomorrow. It's time to get some rest! Speaking of which, I've heard a juicy little rumour that fighters get to stay for free at the local inn. We'd be crazy not to take up an offer like that! I'll make sure Vince knows that's where you'll be.

Apparently, Number Eight is so attractive that this guy is distracted from his usual loves. A lot of the fanbase agrees, admittedly.

It's kind of implied here that the tournament is Single Elimination. You have to win every single match, but we don't see much of the bracket other than we only fight people once.

Oh, how adorable. I'd pat your head, but you are wearing a horned helmet.

Sinderella casually acknowledging her luck getting paired with her usual partner.

I think the idea is, if they beat us, they have an easier time against the stronger Vince.

Vince is actually big over here in the orphanage, and the orphans are in our corner as a result. Hooray!

We can now find Vince down here. He suggests we focus on good health practices. A good suggestion.

No we're not, although he sounds like this is an option.

We might as well pretend that's the case, though, since that's an impression you can get here. Time to get ready.

Erik: It's nearly time for the first round! Start as you mean to go on, you hear? We need to win this thing!
Veronica: Look, I know there are some pretty mean-looking people out there, but you can't think about that! I mean, you're the Luminary, for goodness' sake! This gaggle of thugs and brawlers are no match for you! Now, go out there and smash them all to smithereens! If you don't win this thing, I'll never talk to you again!
Serena: W-Well, Erdward... (gulp) It's f-f-finally time for the f-f-first round... I'm s-s-sorry... (gulp) I'm t-t-terribly nervous... You c-c-can't tell, can you?
Sylvando: It's showtime, baby! The first round is finally upon us, and your partner is raring to go. He's in the waiting room, I believe... Now, don't start getting nervous, will you? You'll be just fine, I promise. After all, you've got me in your corner! Go on, break a leg! Or two!

...Two of their legs, right, Sylvando? This instance of Party Chat is also one of the instances of Serena using her "shy" Party Chat pose in the Party Chat menu. She looks just like a bashful schoolgirl.

...If you two understand your strategy. To be fair, "Zap", "Woosh" and "Biff" are attacks in this world.

This poor guy doesn't seem to be entirely clear. You can do it!

If you need the Church services, you can use them here. I'm not sure why- mainly Confession and Recerts, but I feel you've had plenty of time to prepare on both those fronts.

We're just getting started.

Apparently we're opening the tournament? A sensible decision, honestly.

We're tasked with fighting the Underdigger immediately! Well, that's nice and convenient.

Vince is just as amused as I am.

Just in case his luck wasn't bad enough already, apparently.

...People die in this tournament? I highly doubt that.

In this town, that wouldn't be a half-bad means of getting some attention.

The music tracks associated with the tournament are all the same ones from the DQ4 tournament, including the battle theme: Battle for Glory, the regular battle theme from that game. DQIV's battle theme has somehow become so iconic to the series that many spinoffs use it as a theme for something intense- like "you've almost won!" in Fortune Street or when you're magically enhanced in Dragon Quest Heroes.

Not going to lie, it even deserves it. Fortunately, the DQ4 Hero is in Smash, so because of the choices made in that game, it even made it into Smash.

A monstrously muscled marital artist who prides himself on his metal-slime-hard buns and his king-slime-class weight.

??? family
292 HP
10 MP

The Underdigger is probably the simplest enemy in the entire tournament. All he's got to his name is crits. This is terrifying, of course, since this means he regularly "selects the crit", but you know exactly what to expect. As near as I can tell, there is no reference to the DQ4 tournament with the Underdigger- he might be a reference to Atilla the Hunk, Alena's first opponent (who is also shirtless with pants), but Atilla also looks kinda like a DQ3 martial artist, so maybe Liu Za is the Atilla reference? I'm willing to give it to Underdigger, though.

People often say he looks a lot like a certain monster. He's never quite sure what they're on about, so he just smiles and nods until they shut up.

??? family
251 HP
50 MP

The Abominable Showman is the clearest reference to the DQ4 tournament of the bunch: He's just outright Alena's fifth opponent, down to the name. Granted, the DQ4 opponent was a recolour of the Powie Yowie, but that design conceit is carried over in the way the Showman is designed. The Showman is famous for a very special gimmick, and DQ11's Showman has inherited it.

...Apparently, the Showman also showed up in DQ10. I'm not sure how, but...

Despite resenting being paired with the Showman, the Underdigger has a Pep Power prepared. We don't. Vince might've considered preparing one, but on the other hand, getting some proper rest is also pretty helpful.

Calling his attacks. This isn't actually a called attack, this is just funny.

Funnily enough, despite "licking" being an attack in the world of DQ, the Showman does not actually have a licking attack. Anyway, we have no Pep powers whatsoever, so Pep is just for Strength, Defence and crit chance. The first two are the most important parts, especially if you're using Greatswords.

If you're using Greatswords, use Greatsword Guard. There is no alternative.

Vince is a Claw user, for the most part, and has a bunch of Claw arts he can choose to use. He can also throw out some Strong Medicine if he sees you're in danger. Do keep in mind that his eyes are shut, so you can't depend on him, but he'll... usually work.

You want to go for the Showman. You need to get his health down as fast as possible.

...Because he can do this. This is the Showman's iconic gimmick. Alena, the pure martial artist that she is, is helpless against it- she just has to hope that the Abominable Showman she chooses to attack is the correct one. Erdward has better options.

In DQ4, the Showman can only attack once. In this game, all the Showman clones have their own attack.

You see, the thing is, since this game added the HP colour, the real Showman will have a differently coloured name in the list. I think the Showman also usually appears at the top of the list, too- the gimmick serves different mechanical purposes, so they didn't really want to add that gimmick too.

Erdward, unlike Alena, has multi-targeting attacks!

Not a real Showman.

...Ah great, now the colours are ridiculous.

Let's just go for the Cutting Edge and hope for the best.

And this is not promising news.

At least we get some parries. Unfortunately, I don't think we have the "Counter while Parrying" attacked.

PEP POWER ALERT!

BUMS AWAY!

This Pep Power is animated. For, uh... some reason. Does the Underdigger really resent the Showman?

This just keeps getting hard to keep track of.

At least the Underdigger can choose to crit Vince.

Thanks, I guess. Honestly not sure how I want you dealing with the Showman.

Just Bang some more? This fight really felt like it went out of control as soon as I stopped using Cutting Edge for not having the HP indicator.

At least he's gone.

Your turn now.

Yes, this is worth EXP (and less interestingly, money). Erdward has the most need of it, I guess.

He even levelled up this time!

And we have won. Hey, I helped!

Although he's certainly the only one acting like it.

Everyone tells me that.

That's the only fight we're dealing with for now, but it's not the only fight we'll see.

Time to have a peek at our mysterious Number 8.

She's been matched against Erik and Liu Za.

And she's doing really well at it.

Erik's... not doing great.

And Eight's been holding back! She's taking Erik and Za on two on one!

And she's kicking their asses.

...

Not looking forward to that dealing with her.

Just casually dropping the names of our mysterious newcomers here, of all places. It's nice that I can finally stop calling Jade "Number Eight", but... isn't this a Masked Martial Arts tournament? What's the point of the masks if they're just using their names? At least some of these characters are using stage names.

I wonder if anyone asked for a bye after seeing that.

Vince's voice acting is not impressed.

If this is a Single Elimination, everyone in the tournament has already fought somebody.

And now it's time to see the final bracket.

A lot of familiar faces and recognisable generics in there.

To "pip at the post" means to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Considering the barker is already hyping up this as the final match, I think the idea that this is a Single Elimination tournament has more water, and Jade has been seeded on the opposite side of the bracket to us- ie we can't fight each other at all unless it's the final.

And the next rounds will occur tomorrow.

And as we zoom out, we get a nice shot of all the fighters and... wait, do I only count fifteen fighters? There are three more matches, gameplay-wise, which means that the bracket is now down to eight participants... or sixteen Masked Fighters. Who sat this out?

...I have to cut this in three, don't I?