Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies/Gameplay

The title screen gives you the option to create a new adventure log and configure you Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection settings. If an adventure log already exists, then you have the option to continue or delete it. Only one adventure log can exist at a time.

Character Creation
After starting a new adventure log, the first step is to create your character. It is an eight step process involving:
 * 1) Gender - male or female
 * 2) Body Type - 5 types
 * 3) Hairstyle - 10 styles
 * 4) Hair Colour - 10 colours
 * 5) Face - 10 types
 * 6) Skin Colour - 8 colours
 * 7) Eye Colour - 8 colours
 * 8) Name - up to 8 characters

Conversation and Investigation
When moving around you may see an action icon appear above your character. A white face means you can talk to a person while a blue face means you can receive a quest from a person. A blue exclamation means you can examine pots, bookshelves, chests, etc. for items. Red chests can only be open once. Blue chests reset after a set amount of time. A pink exclamation means you can pick up an item. Press the button to perform one of the above actions.

Towns
Each town may have the following establishments:
 * Church
 * Inn
 * Weapon Shop
 * Armor Shop
 * Item Shop

Churches provide the following services:
 * Confession : saves game
 * Divination : displays experience points needed for next level
 * Resurrection : brings party member back to life
 * Purification : treats poison
 * Benediction : lifts a curse

For a small fee, you can stay overnight or rest until the evening at an inn. In both cases your are fully healed. The time of day changes when you awake, which may be needed to trigger certain events.

Equipment
Each character can equip up to eight items which include a weapon, six pieces of armor, and an accessory. The six types of armor are shield, head, torso, arms, legs, and feet. There are twelve types of weapons: Swords, Spears, Knives, Wands, Whips, Staves, Claws, Fans, Axes, Hammers, Boomerangs, and Bows.

Quests
There are a large number of side quests that can be completed. NPCs that have a quest can be identified by the blue talk symbol. Up to eight quests can be accepted at one time. The battle records has a quest list displaying all quests accepted and completed.