A fun game, I am glad I got it, initially got it for the FFXII demo but play the game more than anything now
One should not, however, assume that the characters are going to be shallow as well, for they aren't. They are who they are and they act naturally. They are well developed and have actual pasts. It is possible to really connect with the characters and develop a favorite. For anyone here who has read James Joyces "Dubliners" these characters are developed as nicely as them. In the afforementioned book the characters developed by Joyce are natural. They act "naturally". Meaning, they say what they would say if one met them on the street. Their words are not forced nor are they unnatural to the character. The characters know their station and they act that way. The characters are actually alive in this game, making a deep connection with these characters really simple. They behave and move just like a normal person would, albeit they defy physics a bit, but this is a fantasy world.
Common ideology may be to soupe up one character to be a hard-core, monster slaughtering mad man, this, however, is not a wise choice as, unlike other RPG's, revival of characters in the offset is incredibly hard. This means that if that heavy hitter is killed the player is in trouble. A balanced party is almost a must within this game.
There a great number of features within the game as well as stunning in game graphics. Since they don't focus on making breathtaking cutscenes that take forever they are effectively able to utilize the constant high quality graphics as well as all the features and minigames.
Only having four different characters may seem, at first, to be a turnoff, but one quickly grows to appreciate only having to balance outfour people who are always in the party. Besides that the characters have such a diverse range of skills and abilities.
No character specializes in any one thing right off the get-go. Nor can any character be a master with everything. Each character is only proficient with three weapons, four if one includes the fists (or fisticuffs). At the get-go the characters have no points in any of these weapons. This does not go to state that they cannot use the weapons, just that they lack skill. The skill points allow the characters to use abilities as well as increase their attack power with that weapon. Think of the skill points as like Titles, which is what the game actually uses. Developing skill points in a weapon can be analogous to training at a dojo with a weapon or in martial arts. One learns more and becomes more skilled as they practice, so too do the characters in Dragon Quest VIII. As skill develops characters gain more of an attack bonus with weapons or learn more moves.
The weapons are well thought out as well. A personal favourite, the Boomerang. It hits all enemies and is pretty powerful. However, unlike one might assume at first, the damage is not the same against all enemies, even if they are the same. When it hits the damage decreases each enemy it hits in the string. For example, say the boomerang was chucked at a group of 5 enemies. The first would recieve full damage, being the first hit. The next would recieve slightly less damage, and so on and so forth. This provides a certain level of satisfaction as it is natural. Characters can also equip weapons in the heat of battle without losing a turn. At first this seems odd but it is quite logical since the character is carrying it. The weapons are also quite artistic, and maybe a pet peeve of mine, but when a new weapon is equipped it is different in appearance. And since the characters carry their equipped weapon on their person they have it when wandering the map/town/dungeon. This means that when you are wandering you can see the sword/spear/shield/weapon...etc. on the character. Well not the shield, the shield appears whilst in battle.
Items are not shared whilst in battle. A character must be carrying an item before the battle begins, otherwise they are unable to use it. If one forgets to give characters items before a boss fight they are going to be in for a difficult battle.
Although right off the start the player is to be expected to be running. That is to say that the battles don't start off easy. The battles are fairly difficult and they yield a small amount of experience. One will have to battle a lot at easier areas to gain experience to be able to battle the tougher monsters. Especially since the growth curve of the monsters is extremely steep. They get hard real fast. For players who assume they are as "God" they will realize they are mistaken. In most RPG's it is possible to rush into a new area and battle monsters and pull of a victory against a much stronger creature and gain mass levels. In this game, however, that is not so. The experience given by creatures is not incredibly high, unless one finds one of the fabled creatures. No I am not referring to the ones that wander the world map, however they too are interesting, but I will discuss them in a second. The creatures of which I Refer are the Metal Creatures. The Metal Slime for example. A metal version of a fairly weak enemy. However, it has a high defense (each attack landing about 1-2 damage) and also tends to run. But this is because they yield insane amounts of experience, as any Dragon Warrior/Quest vet would surely know. Metal slimes yield 1375 experience, more than most bosses!! The trick, however, is defeating them before they run. I will leave that to the player to figure out.
The large size of the world adds to the appeal as does the traditional style of wandering from town to town on an actual world map. Unlike new age RPG's where one is presented a map, they choose the destination and then the characters end up there, the player wanders the world of Dragon Quest VIII. This is an element that is present in older RPG's but not the the degree of Dragon Quest VIII. The world is whole. The world has the same high quality of graphics as the game and towns. Forests, towns, they are all proportional to the character as well, ie the character is not huge in relation to the towns. Also, one can see into the towns showing a slight link between the world and the towns, this allows for a more natural transition between world and towns.
When defeated, instead of resuming where last saved, the player is revived at the last church they "confessed" (saved) at with half their gold gone. This may seem steep but all the items the user got, all the experience and levels remain. Also, if one is defeated against a boss, when they return to fight it the boss will acknowledge that it has beaten you and say something different to you. There is a way, however, to protect large amounts of gold. That is BANKS.
Banks are scattered throughout and with the ability to warp, not using banks is highly not recommended. They take gold in sets of 1000 and when you are wiped out your bank account is unaffected, an effective way to protect hard earned amounts of gold, especially if engaging in difficult fights or if you possess a habit of getting wiped out in dungeons.
This is a great game and a solid recommendation for all who enjoy RPG's as well as those that don't. A word of caution to those who play, this is not a typical RPG, give it the respect it deserves. Do not assume that you can go through and slaughter creatures, that will get you killed, unless of course you just fight slimes! I highly recommend this game to all gameres out there, it is more than worth the money. This is a truly great game that will provide the challenge that many gamers seek while still having the great graphics that people love.