I mean, I respect the hell out of it for basically inventing JRPGs, having great music and art, and some of my favourite series are parodys of it (Earthbound/Mother).
But lord help me, I just cannot get into this series. It’s stories and world building suck. It’s so very, very chuddy in its values and characters. All about birthright and bloodlines (Something that’s putting me off the Zelda and Fire Emblem series too as I get older). It’s also got that Square Enix sexism stink that I find myself being less tolerant of the older I get.
Please feel free to roast me for this opinion, it’s just my personal preference after all.
If you like the Dragon Quest series I would love to hear why, because I want to like it. Maybe I just haven’t played the right one. I’ve only played 8 to completion on the PS2 back when I was a kid, and I tried the Demo of 11 but wasn’t really gelling with them changing the iconic presentation of their battles, if that makes sense (a nitpick, I know)
I like Dregonquest (despite the problematic aspects) and I felt ripped off by 11. A game that looks that good deserves more than the most boilerplate storyline since the NES entries.
I still stand by DQ7, though. The plot centers around time travel and sees the heroes save world not because it’s their destiny but because they decide it’s the right thing to do. Also at the end you kill god with the power of friendship, as a proper JRPG should end.