Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
- Strategy and role-playing combined - Each level you go up, you'll get new experience points to spend -- you'll also have to seletc 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!
Rating: 5 of 5
Super Game
I have played many rpg's but never played a Dragon Quest game in all these years. This game was excellent. Ive decided 2 hold off on next gen consoles 4 another year or more due 2 the fact that the ps2 still has so many quality titles that i havent experienced yet. This is one of those titles that is well worth your time, i recommend it very much!
Rating: 4 of 5
Beautifully rendered cell-shaded bliss.
This is the first Dragon Quest 2 make its appearance on the PS2 & quite a debute it is. You control a precocious young scamp named Hero who is in search of a way 2 reverse the spell that has plagued his world. You will recognize the characters as they were designed by the creator of the Dragon Ballz & are cell-shaded 2 produce that true anime feel. The game also includes a playable demo of Final Fantasy XII...though I bought mine used & never got it. Anyway, let's take a closer look at why this game is so popular.
Story:
The Kingdom of Trodain has been attacked by an evil jester named Dhoulmagus who breaks into the kingdom's treasure vault & takes a mysterious scepter....he then uses the magical scepter 2 inflict a plague across all the lands in an attempt 2 free Rapthorne, the prince of darkness. You control a precocious young scamp named Hero (you'll name him yourself, thus the generic name) who was unaffected by the plague & is asked - neigh - commanded by the king (now a monster) 2 retrieve the scepter & defeat Dhoulmagus so the plague will be reversed. Upon entering your first town you learn that an evil jester has been killing innocents who are mysteriously linked 2 each other, but how?
Gameplay:
As with previous Dragon Quest games, they don't really offer any revolutionary advancement in the RPG genre....just your basic turn based fighting system, but where the series shines is the amount of customization you're allowed 4 each of the playable characters. Each character also has a unique ability that when optimized will offer the party some intriguing abilities during battles. There are some tedious aspects 2 the game: leveling can take quite a few kills 2 advance just one level....and the gold distribution doesn't reflect the price of the weapons, armors, & items you'll need 2 progress the story. With many costing in the 1000s you will soon discover that the amount of enemies you'll need 2 fight just 2 acquire that amount is staggering. Another feature that is either hit-or-miss depending on your taste, is the church save system. If you want 2 save your game, learn about your characters, cure them, etc... you must confess your actions 2 a member of the clergy....but this is only a minor annoyance. The game is loaded with side quests like Monster Arena, alchemy, & collecting mini tokens that can be exchanged 4 some valuable prizes. While there are quite a lot of side quests, Monster Arena is by far the most fun. Monster Arena grants you the option 2 capture certain monsters 2 use in a 3-on-3 battle against other teams in the arena. This aspect of the game is highly addictive & more often than not you'll find yourself searching 4 monsters 2 capture rather than advancing the story.
Graphic & sound:
Being a cell-shaded game, Dragon Quest has some of the most stunning graphics around. The world, its characters & everything else that it encompasses is beautifully rendered & a joy 2 experience. The sound doesn't match the graphic's quality but is adequate 4 conveying the mood of the game.
Final thoughts:
Dragon Quest VIII is the very definition of RPG. It utilizes well-established aspects of the genre & introduces a few new ones. There is enough here 2 keep new & old fans of the series busy 4 weeks. However, once you do finish it, there isn't much in the terms of replay.
Story:
The Kingdom of Trodain has been attacked by an evil jester named Dhoulmagus who breaks into the kingdom's treasure vault & takes a mysterious scepter....he then uses the magical scepter 2 inflict a plague across all the lands in an attempt 2 free Rapthorne, the prince of darkness. You control a precocious young scamp named Hero (you'll name him yourself, thus the generic name) who was unaffected by the plague & is asked - neigh - commanded by the king (now a monster) 2 retrieve the scepter & defeat Dhoulmagus so the plague will be reversed. Upon entering your first town you learn that an evil jester has been killing innocents who are mysteriously linked 2 each other, but how?
Gameplay:
As with previous Dragon Quest games, they don't really offer any revolutionary advancement in the RPG genre....just your basic turn based fighting system, but where the series shines is the amount of customization you're allowed 4 each of the playable characters. Each character also has a unique ability that when optimized will offer the party some intriguing abilities during battles. There are some tedious aspects 2 the game: leveling can take quite a few kills 2 advance just one level....and the gold distribution doesn't reflect the price of the weapons, armors, & items you'll need 2 progress the story. With many costing in the 1000s you will soon discover that the amount of enemies you'll need 2 fight just 2 acquire that amount is staggering. Another feature that is either hit-or-miss depending on your taste, is the church save system. If you want 2 save your game, learn about your characters, cure them, etc... you must confess your actions 2 a member of the clergy....but this is only a minor annoyance. The game is loaded with side quests like Monster Arena, alchemy, & collecting mini tokens that can be exchanged 4 some valuable prizes. While there are quite a lot of side quests, Monster Arena is by far the most fun. Monster Arena grants you the option 2 capture certain monsters 2 use in a 3-on-3 battle against other teams in the arena. This aspect of the game is highly addictive & more often than not you'll find yourself searching 4 monsters 2 capture rather than advancing the story.
Graphic & sound:
Being a cell-shaded game, Dragon Quest has some of the most stunning graphics around. The world, its characters & everything else that it encompasses is beautifully rendered & a joy 2 experience. The sound doesn't match the graphic's quality but is adequate 4 conveying the mood of the game.
Final thoughts:
Dragon Quest VIII is the very definition of RPG. It utilizes well-established aspects of the genre & introduces a few new ones. There is enough here 2 keep new & old fans of the series busy 4 weeks. However, once you do finish it, there isn't much in the terms of replay.
Rating: 5 of 5
Great old-school RPG
I haven't been able 2 stop playing Dragon Quest VIII.
I'm a big RPG fan, but over the last years, all japanese RPGs have been invaded by whiny androgynous spike-haired prettyboys with amnesia & a knack 4 giant swords, roaming around a techno-magical world, & never seeming 2 get a grip about the feelings of the lovely but klutzy female party member who was also a childhood friend.... Mind you, I loved Final Fantasy VII, but I'm getting tired of playin the same story with the same stereotypes over & over again.
DQ VIII is a throwback 2 the good sword & sorcery RPG games of the NES/SNES era, with colorful & likable characters, & decidely evil antagonists. It makes 4 a prety straightforward plot sometimes, but is a refreshing change among hundreds of games filled with convoluted plots & non-sequitur filled conversations. Plus, the dialogue with the NPCs & specially the interacions among the party members (a feature often overlooked & sorely missed since the Grandia series) is often funny & even hilarious, but is also very endearing & touching when it needs to.
Graphically, the game is totally gorgeous, & the expressive & cartoon-like graphics will likely age very well overtime, unlike many other games (RPG or not) that tried 2 be realistic in their time, but look like total crap nowadays. I was never a big fan of DragonBall, so it's not a fanboy statement when I say that the character designs from Toriyama fit the game atmosphere so well, & while the enemies are sometimes too cute 2 look truly menancing, it gives the game a distinct look & feel among the gritty gray-and-brown-only palette of so many current-gen games.
It certainly has some flaws, some of them related 2 the retro-feel of the game, such as the savegame spots being scarce (although you can teleport with a spell you learn pretty early in the game, solving this issue), & the inventory system feeling pretty clunky & unfriendly sometimes... but most of those problems don't ruin the overall experience, & may even feel like a reminder of how things were in the old days of gaming, so count them as a plus if you are a retrogamer.
I'm liking it pretty much. I almost never play my RPGs from start 2 finish, usually leaving them 2 play something else 4 some time before jumping back & finishing them. But this may be one of the few games that I'll play throughly without distractions, because it just keeps pulling me in.
I'm a big RPG fan, but over the last years, all japanese RPGs have been invaded by whiny androgynous spike-haired prettyboys with amnesia & a knack 4 giant swords, roaming around a techno-magical world, & never seeming 2 get a grip about the feelings of the lovely but klutzy female party member who was also a childhood friend.... Mind you, I loved Final Fantasy VII, but I'm getting tired of playin the same story with the same stereotypes over & over again.
DQ VIII is a throwback 2 the good sword & sorcery RPG games of the NES/SNES era, with colorful & likable characters, & decidely evil antagonists. It makes 4 a prety straightforward plot sometimes, but is a refreshing change among hundreds of games filled with convoluted plots & non-sequitur filled conversations. Plus, the dialogue with the NPCs & specially the interacions among the party members (a feature often overlooked & sorely missed since the Grandia series) is often funny & even hilarious, but is also very endearing & touching when it needs to.
Graphically, the game is totally gorgeous, & the expressive & cartoon-like graphics will likely age very well overtime, unlike many other games (RPG or not) that tried 2 be realistic in their time, but look like total crap nowadays. I was never a big fan of DragonBall, so it's not a fanboy statement when I say that the character designs from Toriyama fit the game atmosphere so well, & while the enemies are sometimes too cute 2 look truly menancing, it gives the game a distinct look & feel among the gritty gray-and-brown-only palette of so many current-gen games.
It certainly has some flaws, some of them related 2 the retro-feel of the game, such as the savegame spots being scarce (although you can teleport with a spell you learn pretty early in the game, solving this issue), & the inventory system feeling pretty clunky & unfriendly sometimes... but most of those problems don't ruin the overall experience, & may even feel like a reminder of how things were in the old days of gaming, so count them as a plus if you are a retrogamer.
I'm liking it pretty much. I almost never play my RPGs from start 2 finish, usually leaving them 2 play something else 4 some time before jumping back & finishing them. But this may be one of the few games that I'll play throughly without distractions, because it just keeps pulling me in.
Rating: 5 of 5
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
This is a riviting, fun game. Challenging & hard 2 put down once you starts. Time just slips by. Thoroughly enjoy it. I wish they would make more of this type of games 4 the older systems.
Rating: 2 of 5
I guess I should read product info instead of just box cover
Nathan A. Webster "Musical anti-snob" has a great critical review, so I won't say anything more on the actual game set-up, especially since I played the game through about, well let's say just the first couple of battles one must go through in the instructional introduction. I changed the game disc at that point, & this now sits up in the stack of my things that I will probably never do anything with ever again, except 2 put them in a box when I move them 2 my next home.
I totally bought this game because of Amazon's delightful way of making recommendations 4 you based on what you purchase. Since I read a lot of Fantasy books with Dragon in the title, plus I have PS2, this was a sparkling jewel that has no real value, now that I have seen it 4 myself. I guess, this could all be due because I have already played through twice Final Fantasy X & both the Kingdom Hearts, plus I'm currently playing FFXII & Fantasy Star Universe. So you can imagine that seeing little tamagotchi characters showing you how 2 defeat your enemy, made me feel almost insulted (I realize that Kingdom Hearts & Fantasy Star U are RPG-just not turned based, but take a look at FFXII which was being developed & already was included as demo in one of the US releases of Dragon Quest & you see huge differences)
So, I guess I should have looked at the original release date (which is actually October 2004 in Japan, the 2006 date refers 2 US only) & the TEEN rating, but 2 tell you the truth, it should at most be 'tweener' since apparently battling with brightly colored fun little pokemon animations has no real basis of what defeat in real life would be. Also, this is now the second Square Enix game I've bought that, 2 me, doesn't live up 2 it's reputation. I guess my Quest 2 find a captivating game these days is like a Journey of the Cursed
I totally bought this game because of Amazon's delightful way of making recommendations 4 you based on what you purchase. Since I read a lot of Fantasy books with Dragon in the title, plus I have PS2, this was a sparkling jewel that has no real value, now that I have seen it 4 myself. I guess, this could all be due because I have already played through twice Final Fantasy X & both the Kingdom Hearts, plus I'm currently playing FFXII & Fantasy Star Universe. So you can imagine that seeing little tamagotchi characters showing you how 2 defeat your enemy, made me feel almost insulted (I realize that Kingdom Hearts & Fantasy Star U are RPG-just not turned based, but take a look at FFXII which was being developed & already was included as demo in one of the US releases of Dragon Quest & you see huge differences)
So, I guess I should have looked at the original release date (which is actually October 2004 in Japan, the 2006 date refers 2 US only) & the TEEN rating, but 2 tell you the truth, it should at most be 'tweener' since apparently battling with brightly colored fun little pokemon animations has no real basis of what defeat in real life would be. Also, this is now the second Square Enix game I've bought that, 2 me, doesn't live up 2 it's reputation. I guess my Quest 2 find a captivating game these days is like a Journey of the Cursed
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King continues the mega-hit turn-based role-playing strategy of Dragon Quest - the worldwide hit, now available 4 Americans 2 enjoy. You're the last survivor of King Torode's army, & the king & his daughter have both been transformed. As his final warrior, you must track down the evil jester who stole his powerful scepter & caused this tragedy. The full-orchestral soundtrack, completely renovated GUI menu system, new battle abilities, & improved animations will take your breath away, while the living, breathing anime world offers a wealth of new places 2 explore. An epic tale of friendship, bravery, & adventure awaits you on the grassy fields, snow-capped mountains, & restless seas of Dragon Quest VIII.
($39.99)
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