Dragon Quest VIII

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

So, after about a 3 month break of not playing it, I finally finished Dragon Quest VIII. Turns out I was only 5 hours from the end (with an ending time of 111 hours). And all I have to say is....I want to play its prequel right now.

I was in love with it every step of the way. Actually that's a lie. When specific cut scenes came on making me hear the voices and the slowdown of the game right after Doulmagus which nearly everyone experienced....that wasn't as good as the rest. But aside from that, I'd definitely agree with nearly all the magazines in giving this game 9.5 ot of 10s (or 4.5 out of 5, etc). This game really was a massive collection of nearly every RPG stereotype, but each one done to the best it could be that I felt such a positive wave of nostalgia and well, straight fun that I couldn't help bt love this game!

This game pretty much just had everything I liked in an RPG, then added the best use of Cel Shading I have seen yet along with a huge world they worked as hard as they could to have you interact with everywhere you go. Where in another game, walking into a room with 100 barrels might seem tedious and a chore, I loved it when it happened here. And because aside from the battle engine I'm all about items in RPGs, this game was a massive adventure in an adventure, with the ability to explore so much. Just the animations of pilfering hanging bags or checking peoples cabinets kept me entertained and exploring towns for hours.

And just the fact that the game took the best of what I remember of all the past Dragon Quest games I have played (I-V with V being the best I've played previously) and incorperated them into this game while still adding so much to the series. A difficult feat to be sure. But to see what they did on this Dragon Quest, it makes me want to see what they have working for Dragon Quest IX. And I hope so bad that Level 5 will be doing it. Heck I'd love a DQ IX with the same graphics engine and Cel Shading as VIII.

I have multiple other examples of why I think this is probably the best RPG I have played since Suikoden III. Including Suikoden V, which says a lot since I'm playing that as we speak, am 45 hours into it and a massive Suikoden Junkiee.

[greed]

I couldn't agree with you more Kenryoku, nothing new but everything done to close to perfection, I have to add the VAs were surprisingly good too, COR BLIMEY!

I haven't heard anything about a DQ9 yet but there is a DQ coming for the Wii I believe, sadly it doens't seem to cel-shaded. And then there's those Slime games.

Forget too add I LOVED how grabbing items from different places and reading books didn't just have animations but wholy separate animations based on what you were grabbing the item from and whether there was a book worth reading or not, that was just class.

[Magus]

I own it, and I'm enjoying it immensely thus far. Shows what a little bit of spin on an old formula can add to the standard RPG. Plus Dragon Quest is primarily about environment; the battle system and strategy are deep enough to not be boring but battles are more of a means to an end in Dragon Quest than the end itself.

Yes, the added voices are pretty terrible for most of the characters (yet another stupid appeal to U.S./UK audiences lack of depth: the voices were added. The original Japanese had no voice-overs) but turning them off prevents them MOST of the time. I was dismayed when I ran into one where it wasn't cut out, especially for Ishmahri. I didn't have his voice in my head down as a total badass, but the in-game voice is so wussy it made me hate him instantaneously. Everybody has a British accent, too, and the dialogue is all written with UK spelling because this is possibly the first game to EVER come out in the UK prior to the US release, by only a VERY small margin, as compared to when the US gets it and the UK gets it like six months later, but still, it was an EVENT. Two of the characters early in the game are even called Bangerz and Mash. I'm from the US but I feel for my UK brethren with their bad release dates.

Uhh, anyway, it's a fun game, although it can be pretty tough at times, like the monsters you encounter out in the field that are actually represented and hunt you when you get near that are much tougher than ordinary enemies, like little minibosses, they're tough, and even random enemy encounters are pretty tough sometimes, too. It's better than past Dragon Warriors for money, though, no more fighting for 10 hours just to upgrade your equipment, and I haven't yet really had to level, either, and the alchemy pot that lets you create items is fun, the ability to use a monster team in battle and compete against other monster teams in the monster arena is fun. Lots of extra stuff from past Dragon Quest games returns or new stuff is added. The story isn't quite as epic as the past ones, but since they were always a collection of random adventures there's no real lack, actually this game probably has a better plot than the older ones since the party is always one step behind the villain and he plays a much bigger role than past Dragon Warrior villains, who are usually a demon lord or archfiend you fight at the end who don't really take an active role in the story other than all the monsters you're fighting are their army. Therefore Dhoulmagus is probably a better villain than any prior.

I've only JUST got the boat and explored the islands available, ready to head for Baccarat, so I still have quite a bit of the game left.

[greed]

I didn't really have too much of a problem with the VAs, though Seymo...I mean Ishmari's was a problem, I'd just played FFX and so I was I totally on edge for him to betray us the whole time I was around him, the fact he didn't just made me more tense.

Also the monster/item list thing was handled better than anywhere else I've seen, its actually interesting to read the entries because of the occaisionally jokes and trivia in them.

One problem I had though was with the abysmal drop/steal rate.

You done the secret ending yet Kenryoku? It's worth it.

[The Wandering God]

I've been interested in this game, but held back for two reasons:

1. Is the combat very simple? IE: Most of the time it's attack, with elemental magic thrown in occasionally? I hate that.

2. I haven't heard much about the story. And what I have heard, it's pretty simple. What's your take on it?

The Wandering God

[Fifthfiend]

Everyone loves DQ8.

That fuckin' secret dungeon though, jeebus. Especially since they make it like five times harder to level cause by that point the world's packed with shadow-monsters or whatever the fuck so you can't find a metal slime for the life of you. I actually went back to a save from before I'd beat the boss the first time to level the hell out of my guys, but after a bit of that I was just like, nuts to this. At some point I'll probably revisit it. Just as soon as I run through KHII on Proud mode, finish off Castlevania Lament of Innocence, and finish the second half of Prince of Persia Warrior Within so I can finally fucking start on PoP: The Two Thrones.

Good lord, I swear I'm just gonna take a week off of work and steal someone's fucking Adderall prescription and settle in for a straight sleepless week of nothing but powering through videogames and, in all probability, hallucinating like a mother-fucker.

1. Is the combat very simple? IE: Most of the time it's attack, with elemental magic thrown in occasionally? I hate that.

2. I haven't heard much about the story. And what I have heard, it's pretty simple. What's your take on it?

To both questions - simple but relentlessly charming.

[greed]

It's pretty basic compared to most other RPGs but it's satisfying to say the least, largely because the characterisation is done well.

Yeah the secret dungeon is a bitch, but wait til you get to the secret bosses, all 7 of them, the first being twice as hard as the final boss and it just gets worse.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

I've been interested in this game, but held back for two reasons:

1. Is the combat very simple? IE: Most of the time it's attack, with elemental magic thrown in occasionally? I hate that.

2. I haven't heard much about the story. And what I have heard, it's pretty simple. What's your take on it?

The Wandering God

1. In Final Fantasy games, I find that they try to heavily focus on you using the Magic, but I end up trying to avoid it and mostly find ways to use physical attacks 90% of the time. In Dragon Quest, its not only more important to use magic just to do more damage, but moves like buff (defense up) and magic barrier are a requirement against bosses (and when you run into that occasional group of 7 enemies who all do group magic attacks). So I actually find Magic to be an important point of the games battle system. But eventhough magic is needed a lot, the battle system is fairly simple.

Mostly I find the game is not really about brute force, but about finesse. Its not a game about attacking indavidual units till they die, but teying to calculate 'if I do this group attack, attack with my boomerang and use this sword skill together, it will take less turns to kill these 5 enemies than doing it this way'. That's what I find fun about the Dragon Quest system, because its like a game inside a game of how quickly you can kill enemies by shortening the amount of attack rounds while lowering the amount of MP you have to use to do it.

2. The story is basically a mixture of a million different things you've all seen before in other RPGs. But because the characters are so good and just a few additions of new things, both graphical and character-wise, it makes it feel really broad and well thought out. Basically, what a lot of magazines have been saying. Stuff you've seen before, but in a way you've never seen it done.

Also, I think the new Dragon Quest: Swords game is cel shaded and using the same graphics engine as Dragon Quest VIII. I'm stoaked.

Everyone loves DQ8.

Sadly, I wish this were true, but a lot of people don't like it. Not that it matters as its one of the best selling RPGs this year still and still on the top 10 for PS2 games on GameFAQs here 6 months later (was on the top 10 overall for like 4 months). But still, a lot of people don't like it because its so similar to older games or because they get to the end of doulmagus and they end up stopping (for some reason most people get there and have to take a break or just end up stopping.

[NorthDragoon]

Cor. Blimey.

VAs are great in DQ8, especially since its the first one with voice. Although why almost everyone is from the British Empire is beyond me...

Like all DW/DQ games, the battles are insane later on (curse you leveling curve) and using magic, skills, and items is quite crucial. If you don't think about what you're going to do, sometimes you end up leading a train of coffins... or swearing like a sailor whilst you reload your game... Okay well, maybe you won't do that... maybe.

I was disappointed by the monster party members. It wasn't nearly as customizable as older games. The monsters pretty much stay the same strength throughout the game, you can't level them or change their classes to teach them more magic or anything like that (all of which are available in previous games, DQ5 and 6 stick out in my mind particularly).

Also your characters are pretty much in pre-defined roles: hero, warrior, priest, mage. There's a limited amount of customizing available through weapon proficiency, but defining what a character can do, what spells and skills they know, and generally how effective they are by just by what weapon you decide to equip them with, is just no fun at all. The characters make the weapons, not the other way around!

Other than that DQ8 is a good addition to the series, despite being "Crono-fied" by Square (if you have seen any of the art for Chrono Trigger, you know what I mean).

[greed]

Other than that DQ8 is a good addition to the series, despite being "Crono-fied" by Square (if you have seen any of the art for Chrono Trigger, you know what I mean).
Umm, actually it's Akira Toriyama, he's done all the DQs, and Chronotrigger later, CT was DQed not the other way round, both are done in the Dragon Ball style cause that's how he draws.

Glad to know I'm not alone in liking the VAs though.

[Arlia Janet]

I liked DQ8 in that it gave you a whole wide world to explore and it doesn't hold your hand through it (like Grandia III's "follow the line" world). It treated you with a little bit of respect in that it expected you to be able to figure out where to go.

The leveling curve, like all DQ games, is horrendous. The reason the game slows down after Dhoulmagus is that you can't go anywhere without leveling a bit more. Before, where it took half an hour to level, it now takes an hour or more. It's almost enough to make me want to buy a gameshark.

Then there are the pauses. 5 second lag going into a battle. 7 second lag going out of a battle. 10 second lag getting on and off the boat. 3 second lag before Angelo casts a spell. It adds up! Then that fat fucker King Trode asks if I've been leaving the power on while I've been sleeping. "No. I've been waiting for your god-damned game to let me do stuff. You short, ugly whore!" When a monster does something like cast Sweet Breath. I just witnessed two of my characters jump back and the other two are catching Z's. Why does the game have to scroll through each character? "The Hero dodged the sweet breath.... .... Yangus is asleep... .... ..... ..... Angelo is asleep..." I'll never replay DQ8, but I'm glad I beat it.

[Fifthfiend]

Sadly, I wish this were true, but a lot of people don't like it.

Well okay, but the important thing to remember about those people is, fuck those people.

Then there are the pauses. 5 second lag going into a battle. 7 second lag going out of a battle. 10 second lag getting on and off the boat. 3 second lag before Angelo casts a spell. It adds up! Then that fat fucker King Trode asks if I've been leaving the power on while I've been sleeping. "No. I've been waiting for your god-damned game to let me do stuff. You short, ugly whore!"

I have to be honest, the game got a lot more tolerable after I got ahold of a slimline PS2. I'm not sure if stuff actually loads any faster on that thing, or if I just want to believe it does, but, well, there you go.

Also King Trode is such a short, ugly whore.

But that's why we love him!

DQ8 is a good addition to the series, despite being "Crono-fied"

Die.

Die in fire.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

Other than that DQ8 is a good addition to the series, despite being "Crono-fied" by Square (if you have seen any of the art for Chrono Trigger, you know what I mean).

Sorry, ut that was oneof the major draws forme when I playedthegame. Not because all the characters were done by Akira, but because the whole world felt like a 3D version of Chrono Trigger. From the first cave you enter, seeingthe waterfalls falling down and the winding spiral pathways and amazing light effects on hand drawn walls....it really just felt like I was seeing what Square had cancelled, the 3D remake of Chrono Trigger.

In a graphical sense of course.

[The Wandering God]

Sorry, ut that was oneof the major draws forme when I playedthegame. Not because all the characters were done by Akira, but because the whole world felt like a 3D version of Chrono Trigger. From the first cave you enter, seeingthe waterfalls falling down and the winding spiral pathways and amazing light effects on hand drawn walls....it really just felt like I was seeing what Square had cancelled, the 3D remake of Chrono Trigger.

In a graphical sense of course.
I know you are just talking about graphics, but that, that right there, has pretty much made me want to go buy the game.

Any comparison to Chrono Trigger is good one. (I, of course mean this in the sense of, "This is good just like it was in CT.")

Why didn't you just say that Fifth?

The Wandering God

[NorthDragoon]

DQ8 is a good addition to the series, despite being "Crono-fied"

Well its good to see someone is awake out there, sending flak my way for that and all.

I never meant that the graphics style was a bad thing, or that Chrono Trigger sucks, on the contrary i like Chrono Trigger, its one of the main reasons I have 2 SNES and an emulator, er I mean I DON'T have an emulator, yeah. What I meant was Dragon Quest is its own series and before DQ8 I never associated it with overpowered, crazy-haired guys like those in Dragon Ball Z. Still, that's the way it is, and it works well. At first I found it funny and a clever marketing scheme by Square-Enix, but as I got into the game, its still fun and it actually lends itself to many of the characters. I admit I don't like it as much as the art from some games, but DQ8 and Chrono Trigger both benefit from the art-style of Akira.

Fifthfiend, does that at least get me out of the fire and back into the pot?:D

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

I can't believe I forgot to mention probably the third thing that makes this game 100 degrees of awesome. Its one of the the best OSTs for a game I have heard in a long time. AND its orchestrated by the orchestra that the music composer of the series (Koichi Sugiyama) always gets to do the orchestrated versions of his OSTs (Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra). Just this time, they actually put the orchestrated version in the game (another thing they did for us an not for Japan). Note, this is also the guy who conducted and orginized the 'Orchestrated Video Game Music Collections 1-5' that came out from 1992-1995 in Japan.

All I can say is the music is stunning and although I can't say it yet, it may be my favorite Dragon Quest OST yet. I still need to get it to compare, but I own the orchestrations of all the DQ OSTs I-VII. And I can tell you that the music REALLY does influence the game in a very good way.

[anphorus]

i have to agree on the music front there. I love the really dramatic music that plays, especially when it goes mostly quiet except what sounds like (can't remember the name of the instrument) someone hitting hollow wooden tubes.

Just one thing though, I've never played any of the Dragon Warrior games, but is the plot of this one a remake of a previous game? It's just that I'm sure I remember seeing the Hero in some art for another Dragon Warrior game and this one seems to be his first adventure. I may be totally wrong though.

[Krylo]

It's 'cause the Hero is drawn by Akira Toriyama. He can draw like ten people. Seriously. Watch DBZ sometime and see how many times the extras repeat. The guy has to default to drawing animals just to keep up with his 'named NPCs'.

This is also why the hero looks exactly like Goku, Angelo looks like Trunks, etc.

Also, why you recognize him.

He's going to look the same as most of the other heros, cause they were all drawn by Toriyama.

[Kenryoku_Maxis]

It's 'cause the Hero is drawn by Akira Toriyama. He can draw like ten people. Seriously. Watch DBZ sometime and see how many times the extras repeat. The guy has to default to drawing animals just to keep up with his 'named NPCs'.

False. This game not only has more original looking characters han any previous Akira work I have seen (game or Anime), but more than a lot of RPGs, who will seriously use the same 3-4 sprites or 3D models to represent all the NPCs in the game. This game had an original character design for every major character and about 20-25 different 'NPC' designs, not including monsters.

This is also why the hero looks exactly like Goku, Angelo looks like Trunks, etc.

They don't look exactly like those people. Angelo actually looks like a cross of Trunks and the guy who looks like a more 'hansome' Goku in DBZ. And the hero looks more like the hero of Dragon Quest III than anyone from DBZ.

He's going to look the same as most of the other heros, cause they were all drawn by Toriyama.

This is correct though. And yes, a lot of stuff Akira does looks similar...on the surface. But ESPECIALLY with Chrono Trigger and this game, he really branched out and, I think with the help of the gaming staff, made it a lot more varied in style than his normal works. In DBZ, I couldn't tell half the characters apart most of the time. In this game, everyone has a distinct look and you can tell instantly who is who.

[Fifthfiend]

Fifthfiend, does that at least get me out of the fire and back into the pot?:D

It still sort-of sounds like you might be implying that there is something less than utterly perfect about Chrono Trigger.

So no, you still have to burn.

... I KID, I KID!

... mostly.



MOVING ON!



Any comparison to Chrono Trigger is good one. (I, of course mean this in the sense of, "This is good just like it was in CT.")

Why didn't you just say that Fifth?

You know I don't think I ever quite consciously realized the likeness to Chrono Trigger until it was pointed out in this here thread.

I think to the extent that any given game is like Chrono Trigger, I don't register it as 'being like Chrono Trigger', I just register it as 'totally fantastic in exactly the way a videogame is supposed to be fantastic'.

Let me put it to you like this - If I ever tell you "this game is totally great," you can take for granted that I am saying "this game, on some level, is kind of like Chrono Trigger."