Dragon Quest VIII Review 
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Feb 04 |
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With its massive popularity, the Dragon Quest series is the Grand Theft Auto of Japan. Perhaps the only series to even come close to the fame and attention that the Dragon Quest series receives is fellow sister series Final Fantasy. Both of which are made by Square-Enix, the rpg extraordinaire. Without experiencing the previous games in the series, Dragon Quest was quite accessible to newcomers like me. Certainly the well scripted storyline, old school gameplay, and highly loveable characters helped cement its overwhelming experience. Rarely will you find an rpg with such a basic combat system, but at the same time, you will rarely see a game that does it so well and have such a remarkable quality about it.
A Magical Kingdom
Dragon Quest VIII takes the role of a hero whom the player will name, or as Yangus would call him, he is the Guv. King Trode and Princess Medea were living happily in their beautiful castle. One day however, a Jester came and stole the enchanted scepter. To make matters worse, his criminal act is deepened when he unleashes a curse throughout the kingdom. The King got turned into a freak of nature, and poor innocent Medea got turned into a horse. Only one person escaped this tragic fate and he is one of the guards. This is where our hero comes into place. In order to lift the curse, the hunt for the evil jester begins.
At its core, Dragon Quest VIII is fairly simplistic. It takes a more traditional root and offers an “old school” type battle system that is quite nostalgic. At the beginning of the adventure, the player will control a party of 2. At this point in time, your characters are relatively weak, so battles do tend to drag on a bit and it’s easy to get killed. But once more party members join; the game’s difficulty loosens up a notch. When in control of your characters, they will form a battle formation, where each character will take turns attacking one another. Hence, the term turn base. There are several options when in battle. The player can choose to attack, flee, etc. Upon choosing an attack, a subset of options will pop up. Like your basic role playing game, you can choose a normal attack, special attacks called abilities, use items, utilize magic, or psyche up your character in order to release a more devastating attack. Abilities and magic will be learned throughout the course of the adventure.
Another important issue about Dragon Quest VIII is its level up system. There will be several categories that the player can choose to level up. For example, Yangus has clubs and axes that are accessible to improvement. Depending on the way you want to go, you can issue points that are earned through leveling up at your discretion. The more points that accumulate, the more powerful you are in that area. At certain points in the distribution, you will learn new abilities or magic. Not to mention, that your character can gain a substantial amount of power if wielding a certain weapon of a category that has accumulated enough points.
Speaking of which, the leveling up system is more than just a way to learn flashy new moves, but also a necessity in progressing through the game. There are certain key points in the game were an underpowered character can meet hardship. Some areas have extremely powerful enemies who aren’t afraid to dish out a little pain. Bosses at times also make tough and formidable challenges. But for the most part, the game isn’t too difficult. Considering the limited amount of characters in the beginning, the game may have a steep learning curve that might take some time to get use to, but once you do the game is simply a blast. And not to mention, the third character joins as a relative weakling. It isn’t until your fourth member that you become a formidable team. Consequently, leveling up your characters will become a requirement. Despite its simplistic battle system, the system is so polished that consequently the fights were quite fun.
One of the important aspects of an rpg is its story and characters. And some would say that these two key areas take prominence over the combat system. I tend to agree with these people. While a solid combat system is a big plus, it isn’t necessarily as important as the story or having loveable characters. Safe to say, Dragon Quest VIII is solid in all categories. What is especially unique about this game is that it doesn’t necessarily excel at anything. The game’s entire experience just feels extremely polished. The story has been done to death, but its attention to detail and loveable characters were able to present the story in a very enjoyable manner. The story for the most part is predictable, but it does have its fair share of twists. Perhaps the greatest aspect about this game is its characters. These characters are filled with life, charm, and personality. Instead of having an abundance of characters that you may never use, the game only has 4. That made their experience, struggles, and happiness that much more enthralling.
The biggest issue concerning Dragon Quest VIII is the lack of save points. A church is the only place where you can save, and whenever you die or low on health, you have to return to a church in order to save or replenish your health without wasting magic or items. Consequently, the game required plenty of backtracking. For example, if you died during a boss battle, you would have to go through the dungeon all over again in order to face the boss again. At times like this, the backtracking becomes a bit repetitive, but for the most part it is tolerable to some extent. And it isn’t till a good portion of the game has gone by before you learn Zing, which is a technique that brings a fallen character back to life and even then it only has a fifty percent rate. With all things considered, this isn’t necessarily something that would ruin the game, but it has been marred to some extent.
Cor Blimey! The Guv and the granddad ar the best!
Filled with a thick accent (British I believe); the voice acting fit this unique fictitious world. The accent was a bit different, but it separated itself from other rpgs through its unique way of portraying the characters’ voice. More importantly, each line was carefully delivered, which consequently led to some well delivered lines. The voice acting was certainly topnotch. The tones of the characters voice were able to portray the situation at hand with great fluidity. While the voice acting is nothing less than superb, the musical soundtrack left a bit to be desired. For the most part, the music was quite soothing, the lack of variety made the music a bit repetitive. There were only a few variances in the music, but for the most part, the few are quite solid.
Dragon Quest VIII’s beautiful environments and lovely character designs made for an impressive graphical showcase. While it may not be the best looking game on the PS2, its appealing and lush colors offered a light hearted feeling. The character designs are certainly reminiscent to the work of Akira Toriyama. The characters had plenty of detail and charm. The game for the most part runs really smooth, but there are a few locations where a hiccup can be seen. Load times can also be problematic at times, but it doesn’t detract from the overall experience.
With an abundance of dungeons, many towns to explore, and numerous enemies to fight, this game certainly has plenty of activities to do. I clocked in at 65 hours, which is quite lengthy. The game started out a bit slow, but as the player progresses, the quality of the title is quite apparent. The game is filled with plenty of breathtaking moments, and plenty of sidequests to keep you occupied. Even more so the game has plenty of continents to explore. Being that there are numerous interesting characters to meet throughout the adventure, the game never seems to be dull. So honestly, ask yourself this question. What more can an rpg fan ask for?
Quality Filled
Dragon Quest VIII certainly has its issues. Heck, if I never played the game and read this review, I would probably wonder why it scored so high. Why? You want to know WHY? The game doesn’t really excel in any given area, but the game is just so polished, so well made, and just overall so solid in all areas that its overall quality just becomes infectious. The game simply does many things right, and thus it sent a domino effect that helped me come to my realization that this game is simply what every rpg strives to be. With 65+ hours worth of adventure, a loveable cast of characters, a solid script, and a nostalgic battle system, Dragon Quest VIII is simply a must have for rpg fans. And even if you’re not, you should still give it a go, whether it is through renting or waiting for a price drop because the game’s overall quality should not be missed by anyone.
- Galactus21
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