Dragon Quest V Part #4 - The allegory of the little kid in a cave

Part 4: The allegory of the little kid in a cave

Let's start things off with something I forgot to do last time, taking a look at Simon's stats!

The "character classes" in DQV are a lot more personal than in a lot of other games. Instead of being a fighter or wizard or even a boy adventurer, Simon is just known as the son of Papas. His stats are nothing too special, except for a solid strength stat and attack power. Which is nice, since Simon will be doing the heavy lifting for a lot of the game. Also, he doesn't know any spells yet. Cut him some slack, he's just a little kid!

: Can I go now? I want to see what's in that cave!

Oh, right. Sure, kid. Let me put my narrator voice back on.

Simon walks right on by the guard who is presumably supposed to keep little kids like him out of the dangerous cave.

: Have a good time!

Yep, this sure is a cave. Despite being right in the middle of town, the place is of course crawling with monsters. Like these guys:

: Eep! Help! ... ... ... Oh, right, Dad's not here. Well, I bet I can take care of them by myself!

: Yes! I knew I could do it!

For swinging his lucky stick like a champ, Simon finds himself getting stronger. He'll be steamrolling monsters like his old man yet!

: OW OW OW OW

Well, maybe not right away. Whackamoles tend to miss a lot, but when they do hit they hit HARD. Simon manages to pull through, though, and does some proper exploring.

: What is drawer salad doing down here? Gross.

: What's a boat doing here? I wish I could swim, I want to go check it out!

Since there's no way to get around the water to the boat on this floor, Simon decides to head down a level and see if there's maybe another way to get there.

: Yay, money! Adventuring is awesome!

The other enemies in the cave. Nothing too special, but they are enough to get Simon to a special milestone in his life. _{Yes I know the rabbit picture is from later, that's just how it worked out}

: Hey, I think I figured out how Dad does that deedledeedledeet feel better trick! Now I don't have to eat drawer salad anymore!

Unfortunately, levelling up only increases your maximum MP, not your current MP, so Simon still can't actually cast that heal spell yet, which leads to this tragedy:

: Nooo! DADDY!! *thump*

A brief interlude of darkness, and Simon finds he has been rescued by... not his dad. Aw. I guess that soldier isn't completely irresponsible.

: I've tended to your wounds a bit, but you'll still need plenty of rest to get better.

No kidding!

: I've had enough adventure today I want to go lie down.

: Well then, young master, good night... and sleep tight...

The next morning...

: Your mother, the Lady Martha... she was such a kind and wonderful person...

: Oh, hey, Dad's back! Hey, Dad, Bianca's mom says there's someone trapped in the cave, and it's full of monsters, and I tried to go in there but they beat me up and took half my money! Let's go save that guy together, OK Dad?

: What? Where are you going! Dad, hey, come back!

: *huff* *puff* Wait up!

: Hey, that's the boat I saw yesterday! Dad must be going to save that guy! I guess I have to train and get stronger so he'll take me with him next time.

Determined to prove that he can take care of himself, Simon explores some more of the cave.

: Neat, armor really does occur naturally in caves, just like that guy said!

: Huh, this new kind of monster looks like it's stuck under a rock. I'd better poke it with my stick!

: Huh? What? Where? Ha ha, lying here for so long must have made me sleepy... guess I dozed off for a while! When I was walking along, this giant rock came out of nowhere and fell on top of me... Little boy, do me a favor... help me push this rock off? The fall injured my shoulder... I was really not looking forward to cutting my own leg off to escape...

: Phew! Thank the lord! And thank you, little boy! Now I can go deliver this medicine to Duncan's wife! Oops! I can't dilly dally! I've got to get back and prepare the medicine.

: You're welcome! Boy, won't Dad be proud when I tell him I saved the guy all by myself?

Of course, Simon doesn't leave quite yet. His hero instincts are strong even at this young age, and he investigates every nook and cranny before leaving a dungeon.

: Yaa! Prepare to be poked, monster!

: I know! I'll tell you something helpful!

: Ooh, like a nifty new spell?

: ... That wasn't very helpful at all! Take this!

: That was helpful.

His curiousity and his bloodlust sated, Simon goes to make sure that dwarf is all right.

: Now we can go about preparing them. At this rate, the medicine will be ready tomorrow.

:Guess I'll go take a nap, then. I've earned it!

The next morning, Sancho, Papas, Bianca, and Bianca's mother are sitting around the table in a scene I totally forgot to screenshot.