Dragon Quest VI (SNES, 1995)

There is something eclectic about Dragon Quest VI. It did not really introduce anything new, it took all the best elements from the previous games of the series, sometimes improving them, and combined this with the best graphics and the largest game world the series had seen so far.

The class system from Dragon Quest III is back, complete with the Dhama Shrine, but there are more classes, there are hybrid classes that require you to master two or three of the basic classes first, there's even one super class, and the hero himself can change classes too.

The monster arena that the casinos of Dragon Quest IV and V had featured has now become a seperate minigame, the Slime Arena, where slimes levelled up in your party combat monsters for prizes. For just like in Dragon Quest V you can recruit monsters from random encounters, there is a special class to achieve this, the Beastmaster. The other popular minigames, the casinos and the Medal King, are found as well.

Characters

The Best Equipment
The Hero	Sword of Ramias	Armor of Orgo	Shield of Sufida	Helm of Cevas
Hassan	Iron Ball of Destruction	Metal King Armor	Metal King Shield	Metal King Helm; Helm of Ende; Great Helm
Amos	Iron Ball of Destruction	Metal King Armor	Metal King Shield
Terry	Iron Ball of Destruction	Metal King Armor	Metal King Shield
Muriel	Metal King Sword	Dragon Robe; Princess Robe	Metal King Shield	Golden Tiara; Hat of Wind
Barbara	Gringham Whip	Dragon Robe; Princess Robe	Shield of Reflection	Golden Tiara; Hat of Wind
Chamoro	Metal King Sword	Metal King Armor	Metal King Shield	Helm of Ende
Slalin	Metal King Sword	Metal King Armor	Metal King Shield	Metal King Helm
Drago	Iron Ball of Destruction	Metal King Armor	Shield of Ende	Metal King Helm

The hero's outfit is not, strictly speaking, the best equipment he can wear, but since no other character can use these items, it would be pointless to put him in anything else. Of the monsters, I have only included Slalin and Drago, since they are the most important.

Minigames

The Slime Arena

Success in the Slime Arena requires some planning ahead. As soon as the Darma Shrine becomes available, you should set one character in your active party to Beastmaster. Walk around in areas with slimes, right around Darma Shrine in the Real World for example. In other words, try to recruit a slime as soon as possible, and always keep it in your wagon. Once you can access the Slime Arena, it should have levelled up nicely.

There are eight contests that can be fought in any order. A slime can participate twice in the same contest, the second time it will start off with half its HP and MP. You have to pay an entrance fee that gets higher for the tougher contests:

Hat of Wind (Invite Class, 200): A very good helmet.
Bladed Boomerang (Student Class, 300): You probably already have Flame Boomerangs. Sell it at a nice profit.
Poison Needle (Family Class, 500): A low-damage weapon that can cause instant death, similar to Hit Weakness.
Slime Armor (Amateur Class, 700): Nice, but there's one in the back area of the Arena.
Ice Blade (Business Class, 1000): A sword only Hassan, Barbara, and Slalin can equip, and it has less attack power than the Flame Boomerang.
Killer Earring (Survival Class, 2000): The only weapon for Muriel that attacks groups of enemies and is stronger than the Thorn Whip, but by the time you get it, she's probably better off with a sword or staff.
Metal King Shield (Expert Class, 3000): The best shield in the game.
Book of Dragons (Master Class, 5000): Needed to learn the Dragon class.

Unfortunately, only two of the classes are worthwhile. One is the Invite Class. At the time, the Hat of Wind is the best headwear you can get. Until you get a Helm of Wisdom, it remains the best headwear for Chamoro. Until you find the Golden Tiara (very late in the game), it remains the best headwear for the female characters. Even then it remains the best second choice, if you want both of them in your party. That you can use it to cast Return is a nice, but mostly irrelevant add-on.

The other one is the Expert Class. The Metal King Shield is the best shield in the game, slightly better than the hero's Shield of Sufida, significantly better than all the others, and it can be wielded by everyone except Barbara. Getting it will not be easy. At level 36 Slalin, currently a Battlemaster after having mastered Soldier, Fighter, Priest and Wizard, equipped with Metal King Armor, Metal King Helmet and a Bladed Boomerang went through Business and Survival Class (5 and 6) like a warm knife goes through butter, yet he was killed in the third round of the first fight of Expert Class. At level 38, meanwhile with the Metal King Sword, he was strong enough, but only just so. It turned out that the first fight was the most difficult one. At level 39, he could beat the second Expert Class contest (with a handicap) easily.

The Poison Needle might be useful in connection with Sword Line. A Sword Line usually does four attacks. If the chance for an instant death were only 25% each time, that would make it 68% for the round, which isn't bad. I do think however that most if not all boss type enemies are immune to instant death attacks.

You cannot control your slime in the contests. It will fight according to a predefined pattern dependend on its current active class. The latter is therefore of utmost importance. Slalin, for example, has very low MP, so never enter him in the contest as a Wizard.

The Style Contest

This is the only minigame that is partly compulsory. The prize in the third contest is a carpet that is really your second-to-last vehicle and required to finish the game. Therefore you have to win at least the first three contests. The other five are optional but recommended, since the items you can win are really useful and most of them cannot be gained anywhere else. Here is the complete list, with the style values you need to win:

Silver Tray (180): Very useful, at the time the only shield that Muriel can equip, good style bonus and part of the bunny girl set.
Stylish Bandana (200, male participants only): Useless.
Beautiful Carpet (220): Absolutely necessary.
Glass Shoes (250, female participants only): Pointless, and you probably have them already.
Platinum Mask (280, male participants only): A good helmet, and completes the platinum outfit that gives 50 style points bonus. This is one of only two of these items in the game.
Dress of Radiance (310): Better defense value than the Magic Armor, and it can reflect magic. Not bad, but the Mystical Armor from the Medal King is the better item.
Recovery Stone (260, monster participants only): Heals your party without using up MP, but so does the Super Star's Hustle Dance.
Hat of Happiness (360): A fairly good helmet that lets the wearer recover MP while walking.

One of the annoyances of the style contest is that it's rather a nuisance to get there. You cannot Return to it, you cannot even Return to Torukka, the nearest place you can Return to is Amoru, so going there always involves a lengthy underwater voyage. You might therefore want to beat as many contests in a row as possible. I would suggest to head there only if you meet at least the following conditions:

You have collected at least 60 Small Medals and therefore have the Platinum Sword, the Sword of Miracles, and the Mystic Armor.
You have the Final Key and thus the Platinum Shield from the jail in Reidock Castle.
You have a Platinum Mail from the Casino.
You have the Longadeseo Pass. It is advisable that you have actually been there and given the hero the Puff-Puff makeover.
You still have the Silver Tiara from very early in the game. If you have sold it, that's tough luck. If you somehow missed it, it's in Castle Reidock (Dream World) in the dresser in the royal couple's bedroom.

The first three contests are rather easy. Best let the main hero participate, dress him in anything platinum you've got. You should have the Platinum Sword from the Medal King, a Platinum Mail from the casino, and the Platinum Shield from the jail in Reidock castle. The best helmet at the point is either a Helm of Wisdom (which, however, I would not recommend buying) or an Iron Helm. Equip the Slime Earrings you can find in the dressing room and there should be no problems with the first three contest.

The fourth contest is more or less only an obstacle. You win a pair of Glass Shoes, which you should already have, and you must use a female participant, which rules out the platinum gear. Take Muriel, she has the higher basic style. By now she should have mastered Superstar, which gives a permanent style bonus of 15. If necessary, change her back to that class for the contest. Unless you want to start using up Beauty Plants already, you will need the hidden set bonusses to get you through this. The best choice, if you have them already, is probably the Mystical Armor and Sword of Miracles. Together, they give 40 style points bonus and should get you across nicely.

With the fifth contest, it gets really tricky. You need a male participant, so it's the hero's call again. Most likely you will have to have gained the Helm of Cevas, and have it improved in the Style Shop. An alternative would be that the hero has already mastered his first hybrid class (preferrably, in this context, Superstar), and has now Hero as active class.

Shopping Guide

Unlike in most other RPGs, money remains scarce all through the game. You should therefore spend it wisely, and try to buy as little as possible. This is a work-in-progress guide to what you really need.

Boomerangs. Boomerangs are, until very late in the game, the only weapon that does damage to all enemies. You should buy one for the main hero as soon as it becomes available (in Reidock). There is no need to buy a Bladed Boomerang since you will find one soon after you get the chance to buy it; on the other hand, you will probably want a second one for Amos later, so you might just as well buy it now.
Thorn Whip for Muriel. It is not absolutely necessary, but the investment is rather low (350 gold) and it will make her a lot more useful when you get her.
If you like to have either Barbara or Chamoro in your party, you should consider buying a Magic Shield. It is the best shield either of them can wield for a long time.
As soon as you get an item of the legendary equipment for the hero, immediately have it upgraded at the Style Shop. Unlike with other armor and weapons, this will improve the combat stats too and is one of the main reasons you want to save your money. The complete upgrade (the sword can be improved twice) will cost 60000.

Once you have arrived in Greed Town in the Dark World, you can spend your money freely. You won't get better equipment than here. Be aware however that none of the armors you can buy are a match for the Metal King Armor you can get in the Casino. Here is what you should get in any case:

An Ogre Shield for Drago.
A Shield of Reflection for Barbara.
A Sun Folding Fan for Muriel, back in Despair Town. It is her best weapon after the Metal King Sword.

Ende

While it does not involve spending money, choosing which piece of equipment you have Ende made is an irrevocable decision, one of the very few in the game.

The helmet is probably the best choice. It is the best helmet that Chamoro can wear. It is very a good helmet for the other male characters, too; the only one that surpasses it is the Metal King Helm, and most likely you will get only one of these.
The shield is good, but not overly exciting. It is the best shield Drago can wield, but only 12 defense points better than her next choice, the Ogre Shield, and given her high basic defense it won't make all that much difference. Until you get the Metal King Shield, it is also the best shield for Chamoro, and it has no less than 40 defense points more than his next choice, the Magic Shield. Still I think the helmet is the better choice in the long run. Amos cannot use the Shield of Ende.
The armor is in any case a bad choice. It is by far not the best armor in the game (every single piece you can get in Greed Town has a better defense value), and it can be worn only by the male characters except Chamoro, that is, those that have the best equipment anyway.

Curiosities

If you look closer at the NPC sprites, you will notice lots of old acquaintances from Dragon Quest IV. Most obvious are the many, many Torneko-lookalikes that populate most of the maps. But Bakor is there, too (most notably as a member of the style contest jury), Ryan will be encountered very late as an officer in Prison Town.

Dragon Quest VI