Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation should not have been released after Dragon Quest IX. While it's somewhat unfair to compare the two just because the DS releases came out within a year of one another, the proximity of the subtly modernized, streamlined Dragon Quest IX makes it impossible not to notice just how much a product of its time Dragon Quest VI is.

It's not a bad game, but it's certainly not a friendly game -- something that you'd notice even if you weren't coming off of Dragon Quest IX, and something that is only exacerbated for those who are.