Simply said, this is one of the best traditional RPG games made.
Dragon Quest VIII is a complete throwback to older RPG games. It really reminded me of Super Nintendo RPG games because back then it was more focuses on dungeon crawling than complex stories that you might find in a Final Fantasy game. That being said, Dragon Quest VIII does have a pretty good storyline with a cast of likable and memorable characters with a good sense of humor. So even if the storyline doesn’t rank up with games like Final Fantasy, it is still a great storyline.
The game starts off as you, a nameless guard whom you get to choose the name for, a cursed king named King Trode, and a former bandit named Yangus. You start off in a field close to a town called Farebury. You are searching for the whereabouts of an evil jester named Dhoulmagus. Dhoulmagus stole a sacred scepter from Trode’s castle, Trodain, and used it to turn King Trode into a troll like creature and his daughter, Princess Medea into a horse. As you progress through the game you’ll meet plenty new faces and two more characters will join your party. The story really expands because you find out there is more evil to meet the eye then just Dhoulmagus. However, I am not going to get into that because I don’t want to spoil this game for you.
Like I was saying earlier of how this game is a throwback to the good ‘ol Super Nintendo RPG game days, one thing that really shows that besides the story is the battle system. The battle system is pretty basic limiting you to basic attacks, magic, psyching up and abilities. But there are plenty of spells and abilities to learn as you progress through the game so the battles get a lot deeper. There are a great number of enemies throughout the game and some really tough boss battles thrown in too. Battles can be really tough in this game so don’t take it lightly. These battles sometimes have the tendency to drag on but the battles aren’t as frequent as other RPG games so in a way it pays off a little. Plus, the boss battles sometimes require incredible strategy to defeat so you’ll really have to figure out what to do and learn from your mistakes.
Dragon Quest VIII is turn-based and has random battles. If you’ve gotten sick and tired of both of those then you may not entirely like the battle system but I was getting tired of that too and I thought it was great. The battles, even though are turn-based, are actually pretty fast paced which is unusual for games like that.
The characters level up when you get a certain amount of experience which is nothing new but each time you level up, you’ll get a handful of skill points to use at your will. Each character has certain skills they can use. For example, a character like Yangus uses weapons like Scythes and Axes so you can improve his skills in that area. Plus, there is a non-combat skill. Yangus has Humanity which is based around his kindness and if you get it high enough you can get help. It’s pretty funny because the character Jessica has “Sex Appeal” so you can do attacks like “Sexy Beam” and sometimes enemies won’t attack because there staring at her in admiration. Also with leveling up, your HP and MP rising a bit and so does your other attributes like strength, defense, agility, etc.
The game is also very customizable. There are a lot of new weapons to get which a lot are earned by beating side quests. But most can be bought or found in treasure chests throughout the game. Early in the game King Trode introduces you to an Alchemy Pot which is your to use free at will and free at charge. With the alchemy pot you can read certain books or talk to certain characters to obtain recipes and then you can make stronger weapons, defense items, items and more. It’s all very helpful but you can also beat the game without it. It’s only really necessary once throughout the entire game.
The game realizes how hard it can be so it added some elements to help you out in certain tough spots. Certain hotels are free of charge and they’ll refill your HP and MP. Churches where you go to save your game, cure poison, cure a curse or see how close you are to leveling up are in just about every town if not all of them. And when you’re in need you can press the start button to get in a small conversation with your party. They will give out helpful hints sometimes and tell you where to go sometimes too. Also, it’s fun to get in these conversations for a laugh occasionally.
There is just so much cool stuff to do in Dragon Quest VIII. You have this huge world that is all your to explore on foot, on Sabercat, on boat or by flight. You learn some new ways to get where you want to later in the game but it really pays off because there is some backtracking in the game and being able to get where you want by flight totally rules. Too bad you get it near the end of the game. I may have told you too much but it’s not really much spoilers. I won’t tell you how to get any of this stuff or what the benefits are. You’ll just have to see that part for yourself!
One problem I have with many RPG games these days is that you don’t really have a free roaming camera. That is not the case in Dragon Quest VIII. You can use the right analog stick to use the camera freely which is extremely helpful and just a nice all around addition. You can also control the camera with L1 and R1 but the Right analog stick works a lot nicer. And if you ever get lost on the world you just hit Square to see a very well detailed and helpful world map. You can get maps in just about every dungeon and that is even more helpful.
If you’re new to RPG’s you can choose to have your party except for your main character to fight on their own. Sometimes they don’t choose the best but it can be helpful if you’re a terrible chooser plus it’s more specific because you can choose things like “fight wisely” or “no magic.” I wouldn’t suggest that for boss battles though. If you’re that bad than just read an FAQ.
If you’ve seen screenshots and videos for this game you’ve probably noticed one thing: “Say, this kind of looks like Dragon Ball Z.” Well the art was done by Akira Toriyama, who in fact, also did the art for DBZ. Except once you’re really into the game, you’ll notice that it’s not quite as similar as you first thought. In fact, it looks better. The graphics are breathtaking. They look phenomenal. Honestly, these are some of the best anime graphics I’ve ever seen in a video game. The detail is just amazing and the whole design of every thing from the over world to the characters is incomparable. If I had one gripe it is that the dungeon design can get a little bit on the repetitive side but that didn’t really bother me because you could tell where you’re going and that was only with certain dungeons. Plus you get maps to help you out.
As for the sound in Dragon Quest VIII, I can’t say it was perfect. When you first hear the music it will sound amazing. Almost unlike anything you’ve heard because it sounds so rich and extremely well composed. However, the problem is that the music gets really recycles. The over world music is always the same and can get repetitive. This just kind of killed it for me. The village music is pretty decent. There is some different music for the towns. Nothing that different but it still sounds really good. But what really saved the sound category for this game is the voice acting. Some of it may be cheesy and why the British accents if this was made in Japan? But it all comes together very nicely. The characters all sound great and their voices really give them personality. Take Yangus for instance, imagine him without a voice. It would just not be the same. So the voice acting is wonderful and quite a bit of the game is voice acted. Mainly the cut scenes and important people but it is just great.
Dragon Quest VIII will easily take you about 50-60 hours to beat. Even rushing through the game will take you as little as 45-50 hours. Like I said, it’s very challenging and long so it’s certainly not a weekend rental game. This game will take up to two weeks to beat and the good thing is that it’s all worth it. Plus, there are extras! Side quests, etc. That’ll easily add more hours to your play time. Besides that, there are things like Casino’s to go to and optional dungeons. So If you really milk this game of all that it’s worth then you’ll get 65+ hours of it and if you ask me, that’s a long time.
Overall, my final impression of Dragon Quest VIII is that it’s one of the richest RPG experiences on the Playstation 2 and it really kept me occupied with it for a while. If you’re a fan of RPG games go buy this game now. It just price dropped down to a mere 20 bucks. That’s 20 bucks for 50+ hours of gameplay and an included Final Fantasy XII demo. What more could you ask for? So if you’re a fan of SNES RPG games, you will love this game. If not, it’s definitely worth a try or buy anyway.