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Dragon Quest VIII

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Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Developer(s)Level-5
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
ReleaseJapan November 27 2004
United States of America November 15 2005
Genre(s)RPG
Mode(s)Single player

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (Japanese language: ドラゴンクエストVIII Doragon Kuesuto VIII) is the eighth installment of the popular Dragon Quest series of role playing games from Square Enix. It was developed by Level 5, who also worked on the Dark Cloud series for the Sony PlayStation 2. Its full Japanese title is Dragon Quest VIII: Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi (Japanese: 空と海と大地と呪われし姫君 - meaning 'Sky, Ocean, Earth and a Cursed Princess'). Yuji Horii oversaw the project, while Akira Toriyama designed the monsters and characters, and Koichi Sugiyama resumed his role as composer.

Dragon Quest VIII sports graphics similar to those of Dark Cloud 2 in that it has cel-shaded textures for the characters and scenery. Dragon Quest VIII's battles are not limited to a first person perspective like its predecessors. Instead, it contains some third person views as in the recent 3D Final Fantasy games but retains several key parts of the other Dragon Quest games. The first person views for attack planning, the classic attack and magic sounds, and the victory riff are all brought back from previous games.

Released for the PlayStation 2 on November 27, 2004 in Japan, Dragon Quest VIII went on to sell over three million copies within its first week, making it the fastest selling Japanese PlayStation 2 title ever.

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King was released in North America on November 15, 2005, and shipped with a playable Final Fantasy XII demo disc. Additions and changes to the North American version of Dragon Quest VIII include: voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, additional spells and attacks, and a new menu interface. It was also the first game in the Dragon Quest series to bear the Dragon Quest name (rather than Dragon Warrior) in North America. Dragon Quest VIII will also become the first Dragon Quest game to be released in Europe in April 2006.

A demo disc for Dragon Quest VIII was released in America during the fall of 2005 through certain venues, including Shonen Jump magazine.

As a nod to the game's high fantasy roots, the translation is done in British English and the voice actors for most major characters are also British. This is especially noticeable in the character of Yangus, who speaks with a Cockney accent and occasionally uses Cockney rhyming slang.

Story

Template:Spoiler

Dragon Quest VIII begins when the evil jester Dhoulmagus steals a magical scepter. With this powerful scepter, he transforms the inhabitants of Trodain into thorny plants and turns the king into a monster and the princess into a horse. The hero, a young Trodain guardsman, is the only resident to remain uncursed. With the help of the cursed king and princess, he hunts Dhoulmagus, in hopes of restoring his kingdom to its former glory.

The hero is eventually joined on his quest by three companions: a feisty, exhibitionistic mage named Jessica, a scarred, inarticulate bandit named Yangus, and Angelo, a rapier-wielding Templar knight with a markedly secular love for the ladies.

Dragon Quest VIII is a very long game, typical of the series; it can take upwards of sixty hours to complete the journey, even if the player chooses to disregard the myriad secrets the game has to offer. Players can collect 115 medals scattered across the planet, which are redeemable for prizes at a mysterious castle. They can also concoct new items via the 'alchemy pot', a device which takes two (or three) items and spits out a new, improved one after a certain period of time. As is increasingly commonplace in modern RPGs, certain monsters can be captured and made to battle in a Monster Arena. For the lonely and fashion-obsessed, Jessica and her ample bosom will appear in new outfits depending on her equipment.

And if players are willing to explore the extra dungeon after the game's initial closing, more surprises await...

Character attributes

File:Dragonquestscreen.jpg
Exploring the world
File:Dragon Quest VIII Japanese Box Art Fairuse.jpg
Japanese cover

Hero: Well-rounded character who can learn basic magic in addition to being one of the strongest physical fighters on the player's team. Mostly relies on Abilities and attacking, with a few basic Spells. His boomerangs hit all enemies.

Yangus: Incredible physical fighter. Has the highest HP and the lowest MP and is generally terrible at magic, though he can learn a few support spells like Share Magic. Mostly relies on physical attacking and defense.

Jessica: Low physical power and HP is more than made up for in high magical ability and MP. While Jessica doesn't learn many support or curative spells, she is the best practitioner of offensive magic on the party. Her whips hit multiple enemies in a group.

Angelo: Average fighter despite his low HP. While never as strong physically as the Hero or Yangus and never as strong magically as Jessica, he does have several Spells and Abilities that induce status and other debilitating effects on the enemy, in addition to providing average damage. In other words, he mostly relies on tactics rather than brute force to win. Despite his fighting ability, he is also a powerful practitioner of defensive (or healing) magic.

Character bios

Hero

The Hero (the player gets to choose his name at the beginning) was originally a house servant, but he managed to become a royal guard with some attention from Princess Medea. When Dhoulmagus attacked the castle and placed a curse on it, he was the only one (besides King Trode and Princess Medea) to escape the vine-covered castle, and the only one not cursed at all. He is very kind-hearted and is willing to go out the way for people he just met. King Trode once called the Hero "Always Lucky." Curse attacks and cursed equipment also have no effect on the Hero, indicating that he is for some reason immune to curses in general.

Yangus

A former bandit from Pickham, Yangus grew tired of living as a thief in his home town and decided to leave and start clean. However, due to his rough accent and appearance he was always considered a bandit or a thief wherever he went. He then decided to pillage people by extorting a toll from those trying to cross the Trodain-Faraway bridge; he did this until he meet the Hero and King Trode. The two refused to pay him and Yangus attacked them, but he hit the bridge and fell through the hole he created. When the bridge collapsed, leaving Yangus clinging on for dear life, King Trode decided to leave him there; but the Hero disagreed and pulled him up, saving Yangus' life. Yangus was so grateful that he swore to follow the hero and then nicknamed him the "Guvner" or just "Guv".

Jessica

A magical girl coming from a noble family in a small town, Jessica's line has been known to wield magic. Her older brother, Alistair was famous for being a skilled swordsman and talented magic user, but died while investigating the open door to the usually locked tower nearby, killed by Dhoulmagus upon his arrival. When news came of Alistair's death, her family tradition was to mourn in silence and not to leave the mansion, but Jessica ignored her mother's wishes and went to the tower to find the killer. When she learned that he was killed by Dhoulmagus, she again argued with her mother when she wanted to hunt him down. Her mother refused for her to leave, but Jessica said she was going to leave anyway. Upon hearing this, her mother excommunicated her from her family, and told her to leave immediately. She packed her things and then left for the docks hoping to catch up with Dhoulmagus and kill him. After finally crossing over on the ferry she asks the Hero and his group if she could join them, since their goals were the same.

Angelo

Angelo is a templar in Maella Abbey's templar knights. His duties are to hold the order of the goddess, live a sin free life, and protect the Abbot; but he is actually a playboy, a cheat, and a womanizer all rolled into one. He is mocked by other templars as a disgrace for his sinful life, and is especially berated by the commander of the templars, Marcello. His family was actually an aristocratic family, but his father was a womanizer and a horrible gambler, and when he died, his mansion and possessions were taken to pay off the debt. Angelo had no place to go but to the Abbey, where they take in children with no other place to go. During his latest stir over a brawl in Simpleton, Marcello (who is also his half brother) put him on suspension of his duties and could not leave the Abbey under any circumstances. However, when Dhoulmagus came requesting an audience with Abbot, Angelo sensed a dark presence, and asked for The Hero's group to rescue the Abbot. Despite their assistance, the Abbot was killed. He was then ordered to search for Dhoulmagus by joining the Hero's party.

King Trode

King Trode is the King of Trodain. His family has been guarding the magical scepter for centuries. When Dhoulmagus managed to steal it he and his daughter were cursed by a spell, transforming them from their human forms. His form was that of a troll and because of this, he is unable to enter to any normal town. Although he is stripped of his power as king, he still orders, acts, and behaves like any other king.

Princess Medea

When Dhoulmagus stole the scepter kept in Trodain castle, he cursed the princess by turning her into a horse. Being one of only three survivors, she left with her father and the Hero to try and break the curse, but because of her current state, Medea was reduced to pulling the cart with their supplies. Since the others know of her condition, no one burdens her by riding in the cart, save for Trode who drives the cart. Eventually a mystical spring is discovered which breaks curses, and by drinking from it she is able to return briefly to human form. She also developes the ability to communicate telepathically with the Hero, but only when both of them are sleeping.

The Ancients

The "Ancients" are a select few NPCs and mystical objects in the vast world of Dragon Quest VIII. They include Ishmahri (a mysterious man who lives in another dimension known as Moonshadow), the Moonshadow Harp, the Ancient Ocean, the ship acquired by the heroes, the Godbird Sceptre, Dhoulmagus' mysterious stolen sceptre, and the Goddess (worshipped by most of the world's population). Little is known about them, other than that their kind was sealed away because of their immense power... Template:Endspoiler

Soundtrack

As with every Dragon Quest, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed all the associated spinoffs. Here is the tracklisting for the symphonic suite:

Disc One

  1. Overture (1:58)
  2. Travelling with Wagon (1:58)
  3. Peaceful Town ~ Quiet Village ~ Alchemy Pot (5:38)
  4. Strange World ~ Marching Through the Fields (4:24)
  5. Chatting (2:45)
  6. Cold and Gloomy ~ In the Dungeon Depths (3:22)
  7. Healing Power of the Psalms ~ Friar’s Determination (4:07)
  8. Over the Sorrow ~ Hurry! We Are in Danger (5:17)
  9. Mysterious Tower (4:29)
  10. Reminiscence ~ Go Topo Go!! (3:05)
  11. War Cry ~ Defeat the Enemy (3:45)

Disc Two

  1. Remembrances... (5:53)
  2. Majestic Castle ~ Gavotte de Château ~ Majestic Castle (3:12)
  3. Poet’s World (2:02)
  4. Memories of an Ancient Ocean (4:17)
  5. Stalked by Fear (1:27)
  6. Ruins of Darkness (1:55)
  7. Sanctuary (3:05)
  8. Heavenly Flight (2:51)
  9. Nearing Our Destiny (3:40)
  10. Dhoulmagus ~ Great Battle in the Vast Sky (7:11)
  11. Sky, Ocean and Earth (6:18)


Trivia

  • Several characters from previous Dragon Quest games make a guest appearance, among which are Ragnar and Torneko from Dragon Quest IV and the legendary bird Ramia/Lamia from Dragon Quest III.
  • The character Red's wardrobe is almost identical to the wardrobe of Aira from Dragon Quest VII.

Reviews

The US release of Dragon Quest VIII has received generally positive critical reviews.

The Japanese release received a 39 out of 40 from Weekly Famitsu, known for its incredibly harsh and biting reviews.

Cast

English

Note: There is no voice acting in the Japanese version of Dragon Quest VIII.

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