With a great game and a Final Fantasy 12 demo, how can you go wrong?
To start, the graphics are really great in this game. Every single town and character has been extensively detailed and makes you feel like you are in a totally different world, actually experiencing these events as they unfold.
The game has been made by Akira Toriyama, creator of the Dragon Ball Z series. So it's no wonder why these graphics are so amazing.
Learning to play is as easy as learning to ride a bike. Read through the first few pages of the manual and you'll be playing in 2 minutes. So the learning curve is definitely under 30 minutes. However, it will take a while for you to fully understand how everything works in the game.
The soundtrack is great and will have you memorizing them for years. From the happy town jingle to the creepy dungeon theme, every song is unique in its own way.
The voice acting is good, but needs serious improvement. Along the course of the game, you'll notice Jessica lisping several times. That really ruined it and made me think my TV was busted.
The battles in the game are turn-based. And monsters appear randomly. You'll walk, and encounter a battle, walk a few more minutes, another battle. When fighting, you select everything that your characters will do for this one turn. That can be a problem because you will instruct your character to do something, but then some other character will get harmed and you try to heal, but then you get harmed. It basically causes this huge mess were you have injured allies all over. It would have been simpler to copy Final Fantasy 7's battle formula by having them all attack at your command when the ATB Gauge came up. Although the battles are fun, they do get frustrating a lot.
Each time a party member gains a level, they are also rewarded with Attribute Points. Those points are used for building weapon attributes. Such as sword, axe, bow, and whip. There is even a sex appeal one which seems weird. When you reach a certain point with those attributes, you will eventually gain better spells and abilities to use against stronger opponents.
There are tons of fun side quests to do when you are either taking a break from the storyline or just simply want the whole experience of Dragon Quest 8. This game will have you playing for over 80 hours. Overall, Dragon Quest 8 is an incredible game with so much to do, and so much time to do it all in. The game is great for those "Hardcore" RPG fans or even newcomers to the RPG genre. This game will simply amaze you in every way. The great features of this game simply overshadow everything that is bad about it. Which is only a few things. Not to mention, you also get a free Final Fantasy 12 demo along with the game!