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

Vocations
There are six vocations: Warrior, Mage, Priest, Martial Artist, Thief, and Minstrel. Initially, your starting vocation is Minstrel, but that can be freely changed later in the game.

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.