If you enjoy the Dragon Quest/Warrior series, or even JRPGs in general, this is a must have addition to your collection.

User Rating: 9.5 | Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi PS2
The Dragon Quest/Warrior Series has not be renown for innovation over the years, recycling combat systems, artsyle, bestiary, and even hefty amounts of story from one title to the next. While some have claimed this lack of progression has held back the series compared to the current RPGs on the market, Dragon Quest 8 shows that the series is capable of evolving in smart ways by embracing new technology and tweaking established series mechanics to deliver the most expansive, beautiful, polished, and for my money the most enjoyable DQ game yet.

The game centers around you - our hero, his cockney accented companion Yangus, and a couple companions you'll pick up along the way. The team's goal? Locate the sinister wizard Dhoulmagus, thwart his evil plans, and restore your King back to human form. The story is decidedly lighter than many of the RPGs I've played, though it has serious themes laced throughout, and is engrossing, entertaining, and thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. The world is open, beautifully rendered, and filled with optional quests to complete, and rare monsters to fight. There's even a couple casinos to spend your time in when you want a break from saving the world. There's enough extras in the game to double the roughly 50 hours of game play in the main quest without completing it all in one pass. Which isn't a bad thing because if you are like me you'll be happy to return to the world of Dragon Quest 8 again.