#it's funny because this game really isn't That deep it's very philosophical but idk why i'm so emotionally invested

[gaiussaidno]

well, i finally finished dragon’s dogma: dark arisen today. a bittersweet goodbye to dolores and danny, my pawn named after danny devito (i will never forget this LOL, nor him). the game record says it took 91 hours to finish, but steam says more like 127 hours because i kept reloading when i died. xDD

at the end of may 2018 (gosh wow, almost 4 years ago exactly), i started playing dragon’s dogma without the expansion on xbox 360 because i saw the game in the used section of gamestop and gave it a chance. the game was fun, frustrating, unintentionally hilarious, and surprisingly meaningful to me when i first finished it years ago. and i’m happy to say i feel the same way again as i’ve finished it once more, this time with the expansion and dlc. (which btw, i really loved Bitterblack Isle despite all the grief it caused me lmao).

dolores’ nickname was Dragon because i thought of her as a strong, fierce spirit (and also bc she’s Arisen lmao). and danny’s was Dog because that’s the kinda vibe I imagined him as, like a lil puppy. i made up this whole story in my head of how dolores was just an angry, tired old grandma sorcerer and lil danny devito came into her life like a naive, chihuahua of a grandson. (i thought it would be funny to make him a two-handed warrior even though he’s shorter than dolores). though, ngl, it’s honestly kinda sad to see what his most said quote is (”I’ve had quite enough of battle”) because i imagine following the path of the Arisen, getting to know her and love her as his own grandmother, and then seeing how the end played out? yeah, lil danny devito sure would be tired of battle. 

part of me wants to immediately replay the game again because i missed quests the second time around that i somehow managed to do during the first time i played years ago, when i had no idea what i was doing?? like i missed 3 npcs questlines and that irks me, but there’s always new game plus, so i’m just making my peace with it for this playthrough. i think i wanna just let dolores and danny linger in my mind a little, maybe draw or write some stuff about them that the game didn’t give me. i love dragon’s dogma’s universe/plot and it has a strong theme, but you don’t really get to see your character and the pawn bond. and i get that it’s because the pawn is a blank slate canonically, but i still would’ve liked to see social quests where you forge a bond with your pawn and they get more of a distinct personality. the first time i played this game, i was not nearly so attached to my characters and i think it’s ‘cause the first time i played it like “oh i’m just gonna make a fantasy version of myself as an archer and then make a pawn mage to support me”. i wasn’t thinking about story, so much as efficiency for combat and gameplay. so yeah, dolores and danny devito started off as “hehehe” kinda jokes at first, but now they’ve grown on me and i already miss them. T_T