Playing along a straight line

As it turns out, one can simply walk out of the Gortress.

After experiencing a day's labour (or so the title card told me), your guide and neighbour in the cells, Sterling, asks if you're interested in an escape plan. I chose "No" to see what would happen, but have a sneaking suspicion that it made little difference.

When the next day arrives, there's an attempted hanging and that is the rupture point among the prisoners. With all the guards distracted you're free to go - Sterling even tells you to leave the Gortress and "Zoom" out to where you can meet up with the rest of your party. And because this is a prison break you can just come back whenever, I guess.

Seriously. You just walk out of the Gortress, have complete control and then Zoom away to Stornway (or anywhere). I probably could've re-gathered my party and run some sidequests and rested at a few inns before heading back to find the prison break still in progress. Whatever happened to maintaining a sense of urgency?

Since being forced to go it alone to see Greygnarl, I've been wondering why this solo portion of the game just didn't work. I think it's because there are no stakes.

It's been years since I played through it, but Earthbound's Magicant section (where Ness is alone) is what I would call a successful solo section in an RPG. Your character develops, picks up a new technique, and no doubt gains a few levels in the process. Plus, there are actual stakes.

It's possible to die while in Earthbound's Magicant, just as you could anywhere else. But, unless you force your way forward without the rest of your party, there's no time during Dragon Quest IX's solo section where you're really at risk of being wiped out. Although you would probably pop your clogs if you tried to fight the monsters around the Gortress alone.

All in all, it seems like Dragon Quest IX can be represented by a straight line. There haven't been battles that are difficult outside of those that pit me against bosses just at the edge of my party's own power, there haven't been major changes in gameplay (outside of sidequests), and the job system is prohibitive of smoothly changing them mid-game.

But, I did just discover that pressing the shoulder buttons rotates the camera. That's sort of cool.