One of Dragon Quest IX's innovations is the party tricks system. This system lets you map various actions learned throughout the game (from NPCs, books, signs, etc.) to the four directions of the D-Pad. Then, when in a town or dungeon you can press "B" and choose a trick to pull off.
Performing actions that aren't necessarily combat-oriented within main areas of a game is nothing really new, but the sheer variety of tricks and possibilities borne from that variety really set Dragon Quest IX apart.
However, the game never really uses them.
So far, about halfway through the game (or so I'd like to think), there's really only been two instances when I needed to use a party trick to progress. To open the door to Tower of Trades you need to bow to it. And to bring Draak, Queen Voluptua's pet lizard, out of the shadows you need to clap.
Aside from those instances the game's party tricks have remained just that - party tricks. They're things that you can do to people and maybe cheer them up or change their dialogue, but they've not really done much else. As far as I can tell.
Maybe I'm just not willing to experiment as much as I would have were I playing this game as a kid or a teen, someone with no obligations aside from school and homework. But how much depth can a game truly be said to have when it hides that depth in a jungle of variety?
It would be mildly annoying if NPCs went out of their way to state directly that praying before an angel statue will net you some reward, but NPC dialogue is already more often than not veiled hints.
So why not throw party tricks into the mix?
A hint or two about pirouetting behind a queen to celebrate her giving you a fygg and to entice an onlooker to give you a cool accessory wouldn't go awry, certainly.
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