This game just proves you do not need to have computer generated film sequences in a game to make it good, instead why not just make the entire game a wonderful visual experience. That is what they did here as the game is just stunning to look at, it is like watching a very well done cartoon. In fact, the characters were designed by the guy who did DragonBall Z and it most certainly shows. The story has a king and his beautiful daughter cursed...he is now turned into a troll like creature and she, while still beautiful, is now a horse. They are traveling to find a way to end the curse of themselves and their home, as the castle is now overrun with thorns. They are accompanied by a young man who was a guard at the castle and somehow escaped everyone else's fate of being turned to thorns and a thief they meet along the way named Yangus. Who could have brought about such terror you ask, a strange magician clown that goes by the name Dhoulmagus. Most of the game you are tracking him in an attempt to break the curse, and along the way you meet two more allies in the form of the very lovely Jessica and Angelo a man who has a special place in his heart for the ladies. During your adventures you will run across many fiends and many lovely locales. And some not so lovely as you will find out in the thieve's paradise of Pickham. You even get to see a lovely winter land and a strange land with virtually no color. You sail the seas and soar through the skies, though not in the old standby airship. The fighting is turned based, nothing to complicated to pick up, you do have your special attacks and you can psyche yourself and make your attacks that much more effective. The only complaints I have for the game is that getting money and upgrading your equipment can be a pain as is using the alchemy pot (though that has its pluses too). Then there is the music, which is not bad, but it is not varied enough for my tastes. However, the game is overall very enjoyable and it has a very sweet ending that I thought was one of the better endings I have seen in a role playing game.
7 Reviews
Beautiful Game
Chibichasechan19 June 2007
Dragon Quest 8, a story about a traveling company to find the evil jest Dhoulmages, who stole the Scepter from the Kingdom of Trodain. With the scepter's power, he turned the King of Trodain into a small, green creature, and his only daughter, Medea, into a beautiful horse. Along with those powers, came thorns that covered the castle with it's tight grasp, turning everyone to stone, except for the King, Medea, and another person, whose name is chosen by the gamer, I will refer to him as HERO, as the guide mentions him.
I have not finished this game yet, for it is very long, and you must take breath-taking hours looking for all the treasure chests in this huge world, so vast it will take you many hours to explore all of it, while the first 3/4 of the game is on foot, or by sea. The rest you fly on a bird, and certain locations come to your disposal. I love the graphics in this game also. Not many people like these graphics, but I happen to love these cartoon graphics, which I believe it to make the gamer more involved with it, and there is a little bit of humor in it. Which leads me to my favorite character, Angelo. Strong with the sword, and strong with the heart. Very smart I believe, and very nice.
But the thing I love the most out of this amazing game, is the music. I have not heard such beautiful music in my life in any game, not even Shadow of the Colossus fulfills this goal. Especially the World Map. That song just gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to it, and sometimes I find myself just staring into space, looking at my wall, listening to it and doing nothing. Another song that really gives me goosebumps is the song when you are on the ship. That is my favorite song in the game, and i could listen to it all day long and easily fall asleep to it. Since I haven't finished the game yet, I will eventually like another song.
Definant 9/10.
I have not finished this game yet, for it is very long, and you must take breath-taking hours looking for all the treasure chests in this huge world, so vast it will take you many hours to explore all of it, while the first 3/4 of the game is on foot, or by sea. The rest you fly on a bird, and certain locations come to your disposal. I love the graphics in this game also. Not many people like these graphics, but I happen to love these cartoon graphics, which I believe it to make the gamer more involved with it, and there is a little bit of humor in it. Which leads me to my favorite character, Angelo. Strong with the sword, and strong with the heart. Very smart I believe, and very nice.
But the thing I love the most out of this amazing game, is the music. I have not heard such beautiful music in my life in any game, not even Shadow of the Colossus fulfills this goal. Especially the World Map. That song just gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to it, and sometimes I find myself just staring into space, looking at my wall, listening to it and doing nothing. Another song that really gives me goosebumps is the song when you are on the ship. That is my favorite song in the game, and i could listen to it all day long and easily fall asleep to it. Since I haven't finished the game yet, I will eventually like another song.
Definant 9/10.
It's the best of the PS2 RPGs
robotbling25 November 2012
(www.plasticpals.com) Dragon Quest VIII: The Journey of the Cursed King follows the trail of an evil jester named Dhoulmagus who has cursed the inhabitants of the kingdom of Trodain. The hero is the only person in the castle who manages to resist the evil magic, so the king (who has been transformed into an imp) enlists his help. Together they'll make many friends and some enemies on a grand old quest for king and country. It closely follows series' tradition, but also pushes the series forward with its more modern presentation.
As usual you'll explore towns, talk to characters to learn what to do next, and fight enemies along the way in random encounters. It's all fairly typical role-playing stuff, following a linear story progression without too many opportunities to get lost. While some of the scenarios aren't particularly interesting, there are quite a few memorable ones. One minor gripe is that, because of the size of the world map (which has been built to scale), it can take quite a while to get from point A to B until you get the Zoom spell (and other forms of transportation).
A couple of notable new ideas were introduced that would carry over in Dragon Quest 9. The first is tension, which can be built up during battles to boost a character's abilities. It adds a bit of strategy to the battle system, since it's often a gamble to build up tension over several rounds if an enemy has the ability to neutralize it.
The second is the alchemy pot, which can be used to create new items, but the implementation here is a little janky. Unlike in Dragon Quest 9, alchemy recipes don't always tell you what ingredients are required, or even what the resulting item will be. Even more annoying is the time required to actually alchemize anything, which ranges from 5 to 10 minutes.
When the series moved to the PlayStation with the 7th installment, it kept most of the trappings of the series' traditional appearance and sound. Dragon Quest 8 brings things more into line with modern expectations. For the first time story scenes feature voice acting for every major character, and the score is fully orchestrated. The titular cursed king Trode is particularly well acted, as is your main pal Yangus, who both provide much comic relief throughout the adventure. Most of the characters have English accents which fit the setting and really add to the overall tone of the game.
Additionally, all of the characters are modeled in 3D which allows them to better express themselves during the story scenes. It's a huge departure from the small 2D sprites of the previous games which hardly captured the look of Akira Toriyama's character designs. The game's cinematic moments are done using the capable in-game graphics, which have a hand-drawn anime appearance with ink outlines.
The settings are slightly disappointing, since they can't quite reflect Toriyama's style and are often a bit bland. It is somewhat excusable, given the hardware limitations as well as the sheer number of towns and castles that had to be made. That said, the draw distance is pretty impressive, allowing you to see to the horizon.
Dragon Quest games are never too challenging, but a few of the bosses and optional side quests certainly can be. Finding all 110 mini medals, for instance, requires that you explore the world with a fine-toothed comb. The monster arena can get pretty tough, and the Dragovian Trials are especially difficult. You can easily spend an hour or two just in the game's casino.
It's possible to complete the main story in around 50 hours but it's likely to keep your interest well beyond that. My personal play time was around 75 hours with very little time spent level-grinding. Completing some of the post-game content will even unlock an enhanced ending.
Fans of traditional role-playing games will find it hard to put the controller down, and when it's all said and done the experience leaves you totally satisfied. The PlayStation 2 was certainly no stranger to RPGs, but Dragon Quest 8 manages to rise above them all with its great cast of characters and memorable storyline. This is hands-down the one RPG you simply must play on the PlayStation 2.
As usual you'll explore towns, talk to characters to learn what to do next, and fight enemies along the way in random encounters. It's all fairly typical role-playing stuff, following a linear story progression without too many opportunities to get lost. While some of the scenarios aren't particularly interesting, there are quite a few memorable ones. One minor gripe is that, because of the size of the world map (which has been built to scale), it can take quite a while to get from point A to B until you get the Zoom spell (and other forms of transportation).
A couple of notable new ideas were introduced that would carry over in Dragon Quest 9. The first is tension, which can be built up during battles to boost a character's abilities. It adds a bit of strategy to the battle system, since it's often a gamble to build up tension over several rounds if an enemy has the ability to neutralize it.
The second is the alchemy pot, which can be used to create new items, but the implementation here is a little janky. Unlike in Dragon Quest 9, alchemy recipes don't always tell you what ingredients are required, or even what the resulting item will be. Even more annoying is the time required to actually alchemize anything, which ranges from 5 to 10 minutes.
When the series moved to the PlayStation with the 7th installment, it kept most of the trappings of the series' traditional appearance and sound. Dragon Quest 8 brings things more into line with modern expectations. For the first time story scenes feature voice acting for every major character, and the score is fully orchestrated. The titular cursed king Trode is particularly well acted, as is your main pal Yangus, who both provide much comic relief throughout the adventure. Most of the characters have English accents which fit the setting and really add to the overall tone of the game.
Additionally, all of the characters are modeled in 3D which allows them to better express themselves during the story scenes. It's a huge departure from the small 2D sprites of the previous games which hardly captured the look of Akira Toriyama's character designs. The game's cinematic moments are done using the capable in-game graphics, which have a hand-drawn anime appearance with ink outlines.
The settings are slightly disappointing, since they can't quite reflect Toriyama's style and are often a bit bland. It is somewhat excusable, given the hardware limitations as well as the sheer number of towns and castles that had to be made. That said, the draw distance is pretty impressive, allowing you to see to the horizon.
Dragon Quest games are never too challenging, but a few of the bosses and optional side quests certainly can be. Finding all 110 mini medals, for instance, requires that you explore the world with a fine-toothed comb. The monster arena can get pretty tough, and the Dragovian Trials are especially difficult. You can easily spend an hour or two just in the game's casino.
It's possible to complete the main story in around 50 hours but it's likely to keep your interest well beyond that. My personal play time was around 75 hours with very little time spent level-grinding. Completing some of the post-game content will even unlock an enhanced ending.
Fans of traditional role-playing games will find it hard to put the controller down, and when it's all said and done the experience leaves you totally satisfied. The PlayStation 2 was certainly no stranger to RPGs, but Dragon Quest 8 manages to rise above them all with its great cast of characters and memorable storyline. This is hands-down the one RPG you simply must play on the PlayStation 2.
The greatness that is Dragon Quest comes to the PS2!
BlackJack_B16 March 2006
Warning: Spoilers
The Dragon Quest series was where I got my first taste of Japanese RPGs. The original Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior for the NES) was where it all began for me. Sadly, I moved on to next-gen consoles and never played 2-4. DQ 5-6 were for the SNES but never came to North America. DQ 7 did come out on the PSX but was considered primitive compared to Square's games. However, 16 years after the first game came to North America Squenix, with help from Level 5, have produced the definitive old-school Dragon Quest VIII: Journey Of The Cursed King. This is the best RPG I've played in years and was deserving of all the accolades it received from the press.
The story starts with the jester Dhoulmagus attacking Trodain Castle, stealing the scepter hidden inside and turning the King and the Princess into a troll and a horse, respectfully. The game starts with the silent hero, a former bandit, and King Trode and Princess Medea visiting a town where someone named Master Rylus can reverse the curse. However, they learn he is dead. As they continue roaming the countryside they witness and hear about more deaths and they eventually learn these deaths are connected to a sinister plot. Along the way, they are joined by Jessica Albert and Angelo. Jessica is young firebrand of a woman who wants to avenge her brother's death and Angelo is a member of the Templars who is out to avenge the death of the Abbot.
The game is old-school all the way. You run around waiting for a random battle and then you go at it with weapons, magic, and the like. There are no long-winded FF-style aeons; the battles are quick and easy. When you gain experience, you can place the points to strengthen your chosen weapons, your magic, or your courage. At first, you walk through the land but later you'll get a firecat, a ship, and wings.
The graphics are outstanding. Level 5, who designed the underrated Dark Cloud games, deliver a beautiful landscape with their patented cel shading. The enemies all have their little intricacies which makes the battles fun. Despite being old-school you have plenty of access to spells and items that will allow you to return to a town and heal up or save your game. All this makes level upping more fun and less risky.
The voice acting is a mix of European accents instead of American ones. It's very well done and most of the voices fit the characters well. The hero doesn't speak but like Gromit the dog his mannerisms make him a very likable hero.
The game is extremely long. It took me 65 hours to beat it. There are some who have played it twice as long because they are addicted to the level upping and the side quests like the Monster Team and the Casino. There's an extra dungeon that opens up after beating the game, too. Despite the length the game never gets boring as the story gets more vast and entertaining.
Add in the demo disc of Final Fantasy XII and you've got one of the best packages to come in months. An awesome RPG that was worth the wait! ***** out of *****.
The story starts with the jester Dhoulmagus attacking Trodain Castle, stealing the scepter hidden inside and turning the King and the Princess into a troll and a horse, respectfully. The game starts with the silent hero, a former bandit, and King Trode and Princess Medea visiting a town where someone named Master Rylus can reverse the curse. However, they learn he is dead. As they continue roaming the countryside they witness and hear about more deaths and they eventually learn these deaths are connected to a sinister plot. Along the way, they are joined by Jessica Albert and Angelo. Jessica is young firebrand of a woman who wants to avenge her brother's death and Angelo is a member of the Templars who is out to avenge the death of the Abbot.
The game is old-school all the way. You run around waiting for a random battle and then you go at it with weapons, magic, and the like. There are no long-winded FF-style aeons; the battles are quick and easy. When you gain experience, you can place the points to strengthen your chosen weapons, your magic, or your courage. At first, you walk through the land but later you'll get a firecat, a ship, and wings.
The graphics are outstanding. Level 5, who designed the underrated Dark Cloud games, deliver a beautiful landscape with their patented cel shading. The enemies all have their little intricacies which makes the battles fun. Despite being old-school you have plenty of access to spells and items that will allow you to return to a town and heal up or save your game. All this makes level upping more fun and less risky.
The voice acting is a mix of European accents instead of American ones. It's very well done and most of the voices fit the characters well. The hero doesn't speak but like Gromit the dog his mannerisms make him a very likable hero.
The game is extremely long. It took me 65 hours to beat it. There are some who have played it twice as long because they are addicted to the level upping and the side quests like the Monster Team and the Casino. There's an extra dungeon that opens up after beating the game, too. Despite the length the game never gets boring as the story gets more vast and entertaining.
Add in the demo disc of Final Fantasy XII and you've got one of the best packages to come in months. An awesome RPG that was worth the wait! ***** out of *****.
A near perfect RPG
StormBaron11 April 2018
This game shows a perfect mix of turn based strategy and Japanese anime. However what makes it better than the other Dragon Quest games is its full English voice actors, which makes it much more enjoyable than reading subtitles. The humour, whilst at times can be a bit silly, is very well done in my opinion and actually made me laugh at loud a couple of times, the graphics are not the best but for the time are absolutely amazing and very nicely stylized.
All in all with over 200 hours of playtime to complete the game and never a moment of boredom I give it the highest possible rating 10/10.
All in all with over 200 hours of playtime to complete the game and never a moment of boredom I give it the highest possible rating 10/10.
Dragon Quest is back in full force!
rpggamer7926 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Well first let me say, "Wow!". This game this is shaping up to be one of the most thrilling games I have played in a while. Where does one begin when reviewing a game of this magnitude? Let's start of with the controls! Also let me warn you that I am in no way a pro with writing reviews and I am just a hardcore RPG player and want to share my thoughts on the game with everyone! Having played DW games since the NES days I had a fair idea as to how the controls would handle. Being the game is the first fully 3-D game and with the addition of the Cel-shading I was wondering how this game would handle. The character movement is sharp and the response time for the commands is just right. I found that the controls have a fluid feel and the menu and such is well laid out. The Menu has been redefined and it takes some getting used to but after a half hour it was like second nature to me. Controls Rating = B+ Next up Visuals. The game looks beautiful. This is some of the best cel-shading I have ever seen in a game. The look and feel of the world is breathtaking. One of the neat features is the ability to go into first person viewing and take a look at your surroundings. I highly recommend running around the lush environment and taking peeks at all there is to see. Visual Rating = A+ Voice Acting. Superb from what I have seen so far. This is also the First Dragon Quest game to have voice acting and it is spot on. Pleasant voices seem to capture the emotion of the characters speaking. Voice Acting = A Interest value. This game has set the stage for a mystery or two. The opening intro leaves a lot of question to be answered and during the first mission to the waterfall cavern still much is left out in the open. After a couple hours the game still has not really explained the relationship to the other members in your party. I believe these relationships will be slowly introduced as time goes on though. Interest Value = B- Overall rating. So far this game is an exceptional addition to the Dragon Quest series. With the beautiful visuals, brilliant voice acting, and the growing interest value I think we have a game for the ages here. I am willing to bet this will be trumpeted as one of the best games in the series. Square-Enix has put together a exceptional game and it should attract fans young and old. I highly recommend picking this game up! Bravo Square-Enix! Overall Rating for Dragon Quest 8 = A-
Ambitious yet underwhelming
rex_venkman7 January 2007
Warning: Spoilers
After 150 hours playing Dragon Quest VIII, I can say that I am quite disappointed. No one is a more sincere fan of the series than I am, but this game never really challenged me or grabbed my imagination. Most of it was a yawn, a lot of running around with no real purpose. This is especially disappointing after reading a review like the one in Play magazine, which praised it so highly. There are a lot of good things about DQ8, but it is far from a 10/10!
Let's start with that works. First and foremost, DQ8 should be known as the game that brought Akira Toriyama's character designs to life. The game serves the graphics. The player's characters, the NPC's, and the monsters are all beautifully cel-shaded, with fabulous attention to detail. Some of the effects are jaw-dropping. Not only the moment-to-moment appearance of the characters is striking but also their movement, which is well-timed and expressive. This is some of the best work of its kind that you will find in a video game. You can tell that it was all about doing justice to Toriyama's designs. In that respect, the game is a masterpiece, and they couldn't have found a better artist to build it around.
DQ8 is also the first truly 3-D game in the series, and in that sense, it is also well-executed, giving the player a true sense of exploration. The towns, dungeons, and overworld all look great. The terrain sometimes looks chunky, especially where the layers of rock and greenery are stacked like pancakes, but overall, it is well done.
Now, for the story. In a game with such great characters, it's natural to expect a good story, but in this regard, DQ8 is a big disappointment. The story is wayward and clumsy, relying on general situations rather than specific relationships to carry interest. Moment to moment, it seems like it could build some momentum, but it never does. The main storyline gets interrupted all the time with weird detours. Plus, in order to explore all of the side quests and such, you just have to ignore what you're told and do your own thing anyway. Play magazine described the game as "non-linear", but I disagree. There are a lot of wild goose chases to go on, but the main plot is as linear as it gets, and there isn't much choice in how to proceed. And as for the emotional involvement: I can hardly stifle the yawn as I type. The hero is literally voiceless. The villain never truly takes shape. The love interest shows up late, and she is the least interesting character I've ever seen in a video game. (Most players will fall for another character in the meantime, anyway.) A shining example of how bad the story is comes at the end, when Angelo returns and talks about seeing "the old gang" again. Yeah, right... good times... do I know you? Or when Empyrea talks about how much of a pleasure it was to meet the party, as if they all hung out together behind the scenes. Most of the characters act like strangers to each other. Akira Toriyama clearly had little or nothing to do with the continuity, because the difference between DQ8 and Dragon Ball Z, for example, is like night and day.
Now, on to battles. The mark of a good RPG is difficulty. DQ8 is tedious but never really difficult. You may get killed once or twice, but it's not as challenging as - you guessed it - Dragon Warrior 1, where the prospect of crossing a bridge was truly terrifying. Multiple monsters do not make the game more fun, and none of the battles require any real strategy. The enemies all seem to use random attacks, even the bosses! Levelling up and getting new equipment comes far too easily, so you never encounter enemies that outclass you. Customizing the characters can be fun, but you still don't really need to strategize. The names for the spells are lame, and the ability to "psyche up" feels like more of a cheat than a feature. The best part of the battles is watching the animation. You can tell where the focus was in this game by the effort they put into the costumes for Jessica, the voluptuous, whip-wielding woman in your party. Make no mistake: equipping her outfits is a serious feature here (and just to convey the depth of my disappointment in DQ8, not even that was very exciting). Jessica may be cute, but no challenge = no fun! This must be what happens when the testers take over development of a game, because all of the emphasis is on the "look and feel" instead of the challenge level.
The voice acting is hit or miss, but the problem there is the bad writing. The cartoony characters come off well (e.g. Yangus, King Trode, Morrie), but the rest are pretty weak, e.g. Medea, Empyrea, Rhapthorne, and many of the minor characters.
Oh, and I found the alchemy pot an exercise in frustration. Push comes to shove, it was just a lot of running around to find ingredients. Between this and the search for mini medals, I felt like a decapitated chicken. This game could not exist without the "Zoom" spell, and that's not a good sign for the overall experience.
In conclusion: I hope they aim higher in future versions. Surely, they can tweak the game play in more innovative and satisfying ways. At 150 hours playing DQ8, I feel like 100 of them were a waste of time. This is an above-average RPG but a disappointing entry in the DQ series.
Let's start with that works. First and foremost, DQ8 should be known as the game that brought Akira Toriyama's character designs to life. The game serves the graphics. The player's characters, the NPC's, and the monsters are all beautifully cel-shaded, with fabulous attention to detail. Some of the effects are jaw-dropping. Not only the moment-to-moment appearance of the characters is striking but also their movement, which is well-timed and expressive. This is some of the best work of its kind that you will find in a video game. You can tell that it was all about doing justice to Toriyama's designs. In that respect, the game is a masterpiece, and they couldn't have found a better artist to build it around.
DQ8 is also the first truly 3-D game in the series, and in that sense, it is also well-executed, giving the player a true sense of exploration. The towns, dungeons, and overworld all look great. The terrain sometimes looks chunky, especially where the layers of rock and greenery are stacked like pancakes, but overall, it is well done.
Now, for the story. In a game with such great characters, it's natural to expect a good story, but in this regard, DQ8 is a big disappointment. The story is wayward and clumsy, relying on general situations rather than specific relationships to carry interest. Moment to moment, it seems like it could build some momentum, but it never does. The main storyline gets interrupted all the time with weird detours. Plus, in order to explore all of the side quests and such, you just have to ignore what you're told and do your own thing anyway. Play magazine described the game as "non-linear", but I disagree. There are a lot of wild goose chases to go on, but the main plot is as linear as it gets, and there isn't much choice in how to proceed. And as for the emotional involvement: I can hardly stifle the yawn as I type. The hero is literally voiceless. The villain never truly takes shape. The love interest shows up late, and she is the least interesting character I've ever seen in a video game. (Most players will fall for another character in the meantime, anyway.) A shining example of how bad the story is comes at the end, when Angelo returns and talks about seeing "the old gang" again. Yeah, right... good times... do I know you? Or when Empyrea talks about how much of a pleasure it was to meet the party, as if they all hung out together behind the scenes. Most of the characters act like strangers to each other. Akira Toriyama clearly had little or nothing to do with the continuity, because the difference between DQ8 and Dragon Ball Z, for example, is like night and day.
Now, on to battles. The mark of a good RPG is difficulty. DQ8 is tedious but never really difficult. You may get killed once or twice, but it's not as challenging as - you guessed it - Dragon Warrior 1, where the prospect of crossing a bridge was truly terrifying. Multiple monsters do not make the game more fun, and none of the battles require any real strategy. The enemies all seem to use random attacks, even the bosses! Levelling up and getting new equipment comes far too easily, so you never encounter enemies that outclass you. Customizing the characters can be fun, but you still don't really need to strategize. The names for the spells are lame, and the ability to "psyche up" feels like more of a cheat than a feature. The best part of the battles is watching the animation. You can tell where the focus was in this game by the effort they put into the costumes for Jessica, the voluptuous, whip-wielding woman in your party. Make no mistake: equipping her outfits is a serious feature here (and just to convey the depth of my disappointment in DQ8, not even that was very exciting). Jessica may be cute, but no challenge = no fun! This must be what happens when the testers take over development of a game, because all of the emphasis is on the "look and feel" instead of the challenge level.
The voice acting is hit or miss, but the problem there is the bad writing. The cartoony characters come off well (e.g. Yangus, King Trode, Morrie), but the rest are pretty weak, e.g. Medea, Empyrea, Rhapthorne, and many of the minor characters.
Oh, and I found the alchemy pot an exercise in frustration. Push comes to shove, it was just a lot of running around to find ingredients. Between this and the search for mini medals, I felt like a decapitated chicken. This game could not exist without the "Zoom" spell, and that's not a good sign for the overall experience.
In conclusion: I hope they aim higher in future versions. Surely, they can tweak the game play in more innovative and satisfying ways. At 150 hours playing DQ8, I feel like 100 of them were a waste of time. This is an above-average RPG but a disappointing entry in the DQ series.
See also
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