Dragon Quest™ VIII: Journey of the Cursed King™ is the latest installment of the immenselypopular Dragon Quest series and the first to be released for the PlayStation®2 computerentertainment system. For the first time ever the colorful characters exotic environments anddaunting dungeons of the Dragon Quest universe have made the transition to glorious 3D.In their continent-spanning adventure players will be immersed in a unique world of seeminglylimitless possibilities.Format: PS2 Genre: RPG (VG)/ Rating: T – Teen UPC: 662248905013 Manufacturer No: 90501
- Strategy and role-playing combined.
- Each level you go up, you’ll get new experience points to spend.
- Select the right weapons and magic combos for maximum combat effect.
- Tension system enhances the action – forgo attacking for a few rounds, then build up your power to unleash a multi-hit combo that destroys opponents.
- Special Bonus Disc with playable demo of Final Fantasy XII included!
List Price: $ 19.99
Price: $ 8.98
One of the Greatest Reborn in the Same Shell,
Dragon Quest (previously known as Dragon Warrior in the US) has always been one of those games that I had to have. When I was a kid, I got the first through a subscription to a magazine, and I was in love ever since. Though as basic as a game can get, there was something addicting about the monotonous walking, fighting, and leveling up. In two, three, and four (four in particular), they attempted to bring more detail to the story lines, and succeeded just enough not to ruin the normal, DW game play that RPG lovers have come to love. Then, we missed five and six, and had to wait for the ugliest PlayStation game ever released in Dragon Quest VII. It was fun, but it seemed dated from the release; the graphics were only barely better than the old Super Nintendo.
Then, Enix, the long-time publisher of Dragon Warrior, merged with Square, and thus Dragon Quest VIII was born. I worried, at first. Was Square going to dilute it with all those Final Fantasy cut-scenes, or were they going to take away the simple battle system that’s in every DW game?
The answer: NO. Everything is there that was in every other Dragon Quest game; dungeons, constant fighting and leveling up, struggling to buy all the new items, seeking out all those rare items, getting lost more often than not, a simple, point-a-to-point-b story, and that same battle system. It’s all here, but with one major edition: extraordinary graphics. Akira Toriyama (Dragon Ball creator, and long time designer for Dragon Quest) was able to fully show his skill in this game.
This game is excellent to play, as well. Not only for its nostalgia, but for the actual game play. It’s still addictive, but even more so since the world itself is now rendered in 3D and huge, making it a lot to explore, and exploring it is worth it as it has numerous things for you to find all over the land-map. Finding these things are important, because they’ve added a new feature called the Alchemy Pot which requires you to use two or three items to make one are item. Also, its fun meeting some of the new characters, and hearing the interesting ways they are voiced.
For anyone old enough to remember the first Dragon Warrior, and for anyone who actually understood it, I recommend this game. I also recommend this for anyone who loves RPGs but hasn’t yet experienced one of the genre’s roots. Dragon Quest VIII is a great edition to the Dragon Quest library, and an instant classic.
ADDED NOTE: I’ve just recently finished this game, and I must now say that my impressions were vastly ignorant. This game, from start to finish, is pure excitement, never diluted by long, dramatic cut-scenes, with an emphasis on the game play. The ending, without spoiling, was surprisingly interactive and incomplete, though I have had a chance to complete it. It also isn’t nearly as serious as those other RPG endings. It allows you to laugh at the characters despite enduring the nearly seventy hours of game play and storytelling involving the end of a world. And the replay-ability is decent, with an entire extra quest and area to explore after saving your game following the credits. Now, I’d recommend this game because it is clearly the top choice in its genre (RPG). It’s a great prologue to the up-coming Final Fantasy XII or Kingdom Hearts 2.
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|I’m impressed!,
Many of the RPG’s I know have suffered immensely in their transition from 2-D to 3-D (the “Suikoden” series immediately comes to mind, as well as “Breath of Fire”). The colors become washed out, the gameplay becomes much more boring, and in many ways, they just plain svck…
Enter “Dragon Quest VIII” from Enix, the 6th game of the series to be released over here. I have only played for a couple of days, but I must confess that I am quite pleased at the result of adding a new dimension to the gameplay.
For starters, the environment (including the “overworld” is now fully interactive. There are set roads the player may travel, but one may also branch off of these roads to find new caves, treasure chests and secrets galore. Hence, it trumps FFX in this regard (although the playable demo of FFXII included in the game already has me salivating!). Furthermore, some walls contain secret passages, etc., and in general the game offers full movement in the world and secrets which are only made possible in the 3-D setting.
As for the gameplay (and here may be a bit of fanboy-itis, I’ll admit), the game is much more fun than its predecessor. Gone is the cumbersome class system of DWVII (which I personally liked, but many hated), and in its place is a very easy to learn skill system. Each party member has five skills which they can raise any way they like. Skill points are awarded at level ups, and as skills gain more points (and the point distribution is entirely up to the player), the party member will gain battle spells and “traits”, which are essentially bonuses to attack, defense, etc. The game is quite linear at the front, but I know of a few sidequests later in the game which will give the player more freedom to choose his path.
As for the graphics, well, they don’t stand up next to the might of the FFXII demo packaged alongside, but the cel-shading seems perfect to bring out the charm of Akira Toriyama’s character and monster designs. However, I am surprised that the female character can manage to keep her incredibly-revealing top on!
In any case, this is a worthy addition to the “Dragon Warrior” legacy, and a fine game in its own right. And I particularly like the translators’ decision to use British persons for the voices of the characters – it just comes off better, it seems to me…
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