Games PlayStation2 Dragon Quest VIII

Dragon Quest VIII

Written by Toma-kun December 22, 2008 Hits: 969 Favorites

Game Info:

Platform:

PlayStation2

Developer:

Square-Enix

Publisher:

Square-Enix

Players:

Format:

1 DVD5

Gallery:

PlayStation2 » Dragon Quest VIII (9)

Editor review

Sharpen your skills because the biggest RPG of 2005 is here

Despite the fact that the Dragon Quest/Warrior series has been around longer than its better known rival Final Fantasy, it never quite reached the same level of popularity. Though highly lauded and respected in its native Japan, the games only received sporadic interest in the West unlike its rival. But times have changed, the two RPG giants of the rising sun have become united and have worked together to bring hungry American RPGers a new Dragon Quest game after nearly five years of absence. Dragon Quest VIII is a step above the previous game in so many levels; from the stunning cel-shaded graphics to the orchestral soundtrack, this truly is one of the most impressive RPGs released this year.

The story is simple and straightforward; you play as a young royal soldier mysteriously spared from the curse laid down by the evil wizard Dhoulmagus after stealing a precious artifact from the Kingdom of Trodain. Unfortunately, the royal family wasn't so lucky; King Trode is transformed into a hideous troll and his daughter Medea into a lowly, albeit beautiful horse. Remembering your oath to protect both king and country, you set out with your cursed companions to hunt down Dhoulmagus and lift his terrible curse. Of course, you'll need more than just your trusty sword to defeat a cunning wizard so along your travels you'll meet up with more allies like the lovable oaf Yangus who affectionately refers to you as the 'guv', the well-endowed Jessica, and the flirtatious holy man Angelo. You'll soon find that your journey will take all you all over the world and even in other dimensions in your pursuit of Dhoulmagus.

Probably the biggest draw of this game is the fact that all of the original character and monster designs were done by none other than "Mr. Dragonball" himself, Akira Toriyama! Now I'm not a big fan of Dragonball or his art, but it gives the game its personality and life. The animations are fluid as well as varied; it's great to see the characters' motions during cutscenes because it looks so much like the anime we love to watch. The art is quirky, colorful, and more importantly, it looks amazing. Cel-shading is not a next-generation technology by any stretch of the imagination, but Level 5 has made some strides with this game; it can easily hold its own against other graphical heavyweights available on the PS2. The world itself is very diverse, filled with every kind of texture you can think of, from snow to lava. You'll also experience day and night cycles which change the type of monsters you can encounter as well as their ferocity. There's no shortage of places to explore either, especially after you gain other forms of transportation which is a welcome change from the linearity of recent RPGs.

Dragon Quest afficionados will no doubt find this iteration's gameplay to be very... loyal to the RPGs of years past. Newbies, on the other hand, will realize that they may have bitten off more than they can chew. This game is by far the most difficult RPG I've played and I don't consider myself a rookie to this genre either. Monster attacks are very frequent and they often outnumber the party. Save points are incredibly scarce, forcing the player to scramble to the not-so-nearby church if they want to save or if they want to find out how much experience is needed to level up. For the most part, the answer to that question is lots, you need lots of experience. At the upper levels, you'll find that even a hundred battles with the most powerful monsters won't level you up and you have to hunt for the incredibly easy-to-kill-yet-so-hard-to-hit metal slimes for much needed experience. Fortunately, the game allows your party to be wiped out time and time again with only a penalty of half of the gold in your possession.

The game offers over 50 hours of gameplay with just the main quest and possibly another 50 with the hidden dungeon, which I hear is quite difficult. There's really no shortage of things to do in this world; you can conquer the monster arena, hit the roulettes, hunt for mini-medals, dabble in alchemy, or just power level. Believe me, you'll get tired of leveling up and earning money before the game gets too easy for you. The sound design in Dragon Quest VIII is very unique; it has a mix of retro sound effects such as beeps and bloops and the more modern sounds like metal clashing and the orchestral soundtrack. Koichi Sugiyama and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra provide all of the in-game music and while it sounds great, it can get repetitive. The battle music is probably the biggest offender, since you're forced to hear it thousands of times during the course of the game. The voice acting is probably one of the most unusual I've heard used in a Japanese RPG; almost everybody has an English accent which is a odd because many of the words you'll hear will might sound unfamiliar, like "cor blimey" and "bollocks". As strange as it may seem, the accents actually fit the setting really well; maybe it's because the English medieval time period is one that we're most accustomed to. Of course along with the British voices we also get British humor which may not come off as funny to some people, but I felt the writing was well done.

Other than the steep difficulty curve and the repetitive music, Dragon Quest VIII is a near perfect game. It brings back the oldest and truest form of the roleplaying genre and builds a game around it instead of assimilating it. Hardcore RPG lovers will no doubt spend a lot of time with this game while newbies may want to try out a more mainstream game, but if you give it a chance it will grow on you. It is the last RPG to be released in 2005 and we can say with certainty that it is the best. You might as well ignore the FF12 demo included with this game!

Highs:	Wonderful visuals, solid gameplay, loveable characters, HDLoader compatible
Lows:	Difficult, music could have used more variety
Bottom Line:	I think after this incredible release, the Dragon Quest series has finally garnered a decent fanbase in the United States