Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King

The Good
Stunning visuals. Great replay ability.

The Bad
Music at times does not seem to fit right.

The Bottom Line
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-

The Good
This is my first experience with Dragon Quest...and if a game managed to reach its 8th series, it's probably good. Usually anyways.

Well, the first thing I noticed about the game was its graphics. A rather odd blend I say, 3D anime graphics but still in cartoon version. I thought it quite odd, but I received it quite well actually. It's nice to see something new once in a while and this kind of new was very nice indeed.

The only other thing worth noting in this game is probably the story and the dialogs. Though our hero doesn't say much, the other characters do. Most of the dialogs were written very well and usually funny as hell. The story was quite entertaining, could of been better but still way better than other standard RPGs I've played.

The Final Fantasy RPG series usually has tougher issues and a more serious approach in its story (yes, we're talking about world politics...doh), while Dragon Quest VIII takes a lighter and comedy style approach. I must admit, there isn't much comedy in RPGs I've noticed, I hope there will be more laughter in RPGs in the future. (I miss Wakka from FF X)

The Bad
I still can't seem to shrug off this image that this game seems to be a "mediocre" version of Final Fantasy in the perspective of gameplay.

In fact, you'll notice a lot of similarities with this game and Final Fantasy. More noticeable are the various little mini-quests and mini-games while adventuring.

Unfortunately, this game has something in common with Final Fantasy: terrible turned based combat. I must admit, both this game and Final Fantasy has failed miserably when it comes to coming up with an entertaining type of turned based combat. Console RPG turned-based combat has never intrigued me very much, since it usually takes too long and most of the strategy only consists of pressing X (attack).

Unfortunately for this game, Final Fantasy made some arrangements so that the turn-based combat is a little more interesting or at least, forces you to fight for a reason (upgrading skills, obtaining objects from monsters, etc. The "reason" to fight is almost eliminated in this game. Again, another RPG where you don't have a reason to fight monsters.

Combat is the "soul" of an RPG while character development is the "spirit" of an RPG (or is it the other way around?). The game did a little well in the character development but failed totally in the combat department.

What's more irritating is (again) like Final Fantasy, monsters keep attacking you every 2-3 seconds when you travel. I don't know what idiot developer keeps coming up with these stupid programming ideas, but it really get irritating when you just want to change your direction, you get attacked by monsters. Really, is it that necessary to have monsters attack you every single second?

The Bottom Line
Not bad, but it wasn't good enough to make me want to finish it though. Unfortunately. I did have some good times with this here game though.

The Good
The definition of an RPG has varied a lot over the years from number-crunching (like AD and D type “Balder’s Gate”) to mouse-clicking (a la “Diablo”) to introspective self-moralizing (as in the light or dark “Knights of the Old Republic” or the fashion-victim shades of gray “The Witcher”). For me originally playing an RPG was the concept that within a game you would adopt a role and as such do things in the game your character would do but you wouldn’t in reality (like not run away from evil monsters wishing you harm or illicit sex from prostitutes… well, so far…). Yup, I’m talking about the real meaning of the acronym RPG that does not have to do with rocket propelled grenades.

However, today’s RPG can be better described as such: it’s a virtual representation of yourself you nurture with your time. No, not skill or reflexes or intelligence, but time. RPG’s don’t measure how far you are into the story, but how advanced you have progressed with your characters. A video game RPG make you care for it because of the characters you have made strong with time. Games have many conceits to them, and the biggest traditional video game RPG conceit is that if you do anything enough times you will succeed, just the opposite of real life. Therefore, ten thousand random battle victories=success against the final boss, whereas nothing you can do or plan will trick your sexy co-worker into sleeping with you (except the tried and true method of being married and becoming her boss—so I guess it’s a boss battle where to win you must become one!)

Dragon Quest VIII takes everything and does it perfectly. This game knows how to milk all your time from you that would be better served curing cancer or hanging out meditating with the Dalai Lama. In a perfect show of game balance, Dragon Quest VIII frustrates you at just the perfect amount, enough to keep you going, a definition you can apply to old-skool gaming in general. The game itself and its game play isn’t really at all complicated, what frustrates you is the illusion that it is beatable and as such convinces you to keep pouring time into it. It’s that carnie laughing as you try to win that stuffed animal for your pouting girlfriend and keep throwing down money.

If you pour in enough time you will “beat” the game, but there’s a lot to do in the first place. They range from climbing various skill trees, the usual collecting-mania, and a new kind of inventory that is not focused on currency but instead on gathering recipes and experimenting with an alchemy pot. Another cool addition to the traditional RPG is the Monster Arena where you can organize monsters that were once your enemies to fight for you against other monster teams or against other enemies. A lot of new additions, but nothing too complicated that would sway a casual gamer to not play.

You know, it’s not for the story that you would play this game. In fact, I would argue you never play any game for its story, you play it for the way it tells the story. (I’m looking at you, Unicorn B. Jazzin’) For example, Half-Life: a generic story that can be summed up in a haiku concocted by sixth graders on a rainy day when murder ball is out of the question, but a innovative use of FPS and triggered story events to “perform” a story on a video game platform that inspires a boner every time. In this case, Dragon Quest VIII: a generic story of good versus evil （blah blah） that has been done for the eighth time on this franchise and countless times elsewhere, but an terribly effective time-sink that compels you onward to tell you the same story yet again but in an engaging manner.

It doesn’t make any sense, even for a video game. Why do you stand around waiting for someone to hit you before you can hit them back in a battle? Even though it’s a wide open world, why is it the path you take always has progressively tougher monsters and more expensive items? Why is it you have eyes in your head but still can’t see an oncoming random battle before it happens? Why don’t NPC’s mind when you walk into their homes and pillage their personal belongings (like that Sword of Vorpal +10 they have in their dresser) and then ask them for advice? And from the ‘corn, why is it the final boss just waits for you to come to him when you are leveled up instead of coming to find and kill you earlier on when you are substantially weaker?

Dragon Quest VIII isn’t self-aware and going to declare war on humanity like Skynet from the Terminator movies (because that would be a GREAT game), but it over comes its shortcomings by smartly incorporating them as part of the whole game experience. Those frustrating random battles you will come to accept as part of leveling up. You need to talk to every NPC and smash every barrel to complete the collection-ism and find all the alchemy pot recipes. The game is balanced perfectly to the gamer’s progress so as to not be too hard or too easy (even with over-leveling). This game is completely traditional in the best sense of the word, and I don’t mean one father, one mother, and moral values from 50 years ago.

The Bad
Dragon Quest VIII is humorous; “The funny” can be witnessed everywhere from monster designs (think baby Nazis) to monster names (for example, a wolf monster with the moniker “Jackal Ripper”) to regular dialogue (I need to know how to say “Cor Blimey!” in Japanese because I need a pick-up line for my next journey over). This “give me the funny!” is equally matched by its “cute” presentation of cel shaded graphics done in manga form.

That said, I don’t think it’s a funny game. Dragon Quest VIII tackles real-world issues (eg. that’s non-game related) so earnestly that it contradicts its easy-going presentation. True, there’s no reason why a cartoon character with eyes past her forehead can’t tell a serious story, but a game that straddles the fence this way ends up being neither. Why should I take the story seriously when I’ve been battling cute baby imps, and by that I mean ones that look like cute babies (I think this game has the record for most drooling tongues)?

This game is more suitable for telling kids what life is going to be like rather than telling adults a compelling tale that they can identify with. All the adult themes are introduced subtly but not thoroughly explored; not a criticism, really, especially for light-hearted fare like this, I suppose it’s rather mature to think highly of your target audience.

However, when I say “think highly”, I also mean cram in as many sexual innuendoes as you can. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for me, but that can be a bad thing for those burgeoning young minds. Playing games is a guilty pleasure in itself, but if I can play a game where the female hero gets knocked off her feet in battle and gives me an ample viewing of her personality up her skirt without me craning my neck, THAT’S a guilty pleasure. Dragon Quest VIII has the most subtle boob physics you’ll see on cel-shaded graphics to ensure you’ll put the Irish redhead at the front of your party and have her turn around, and around, and around. (no jumping, this isn’t a platformer) And if that wasn’t enough (and where do you draw the line when it comes to sex in Japan?), you can dress up the red-haired Jessica in a variety of costumes, such as a bunny outfit or the overly-protective Magic Bikini.

So sexist: Put this on. Go fight that monster. Then make me a sandwich, bitch.

If I had to name one thing, I think the worst thing about Dragon Quest VIII is the fact that it’s an outdoor running simulator. You’ll get tired watching this one guy running around a park in Canada that is just about as clean as one too. When you finally retire and move to Canada (national health care, hello) you’ll be disappointed at all the dog doo anywhere there’s grass. Nature is so perfect when rendered electronically that no one will ever go outside again.

Also, I don’t understand why people need a good game to be long. Therefore, folks, just do what I do: fall asleep with the game on and you soon will have 100+ hours logged in on your memory card. The words “world map music” has significant meaning to me now, through the power of my subconscious…

The Bottom Line
This is old school gaming at its finest, a generation later when the kids don’t get you and don’t even know who Han Solo is; don’t you know how fast he did the Kessel run? (sorry Drunken Irishman, no more pop culture references)

Another cryptic way to put it is everything wrong is right again.