Going off from Dragon Quest XI, this feels a lot like the prototype version for what would later be changed or perfected in that game. For the most part, Dragon Quest VIII certainly sticks the landing in being the first main line entry to the franchise for transitioning it into the fully graphically realized realm of 3D. The character models and environments are very well designed for the PS2 era, perfectly capturing Toriyama’s visual style into CG models. It has a semi-open-world map that feels inviting and grand in how effectively it captures the natural sense of adventure. However, given this was trying to lay the groundwork for Dragon Quest in three dimensions, along with games since then having a tighter grasp on designing open environments, it has its pitfalls in feeling too empty because of how spacious it is. I much prefer how DQXI tried to fix this problem by sorta taking away random encounters and making them visually appear in the overworld who can interact with you to fight. The game can also be a bit too unclear on what/where you are supposed to go/do in order to progress the main story at certain points. Often the actual hints provided just seemed too vague to really piece together and pushed exploration to find out which never felt too inviting. It’s weird because the game is fairly linear only to stop at certain moments to become non-linear and open-ended in a way which doesn’t feel quite as smooth in how it's played out.

But the journey being taken by the Hero and his odd band of party members definitely makes up for these grievances I had for how charming and full of heart it was. It was a bit tough to adjust to having strictly four party members to manage and carry you throughout the entire game but this not just made me prioritize their unique capabilities in combat but also them as endearingly simple characters (Yangus is a lovable chad and literally carried the team in so many battles). If there was one gripe I had it’s just that I wish there were more scenes or points in the main story where they become more personally involved than the few occasional times they take the spotlight. The writing takes some wholesome yet surprisingly serious turns in many points that really makes this journey feel like an epic with gravitas and weight.

The gameplay is pretty good. It has a less refined version of DQXI’s overall combat but it still gets the job done well enough to be fun. It’s still balanced just enough to never feel too excruciatingly difficult aside from reasonable points in the game but never too easy either. It still treats currency as a valuable resource worth grinding for beyond just buying goods and weapons, since you lose half of it whenever you die and need it to resurrect fallen party members. Which encourages you to know when to pick your battles and clean up your wounds. I’m not super sold on the way crafting is handled here so I never really bothered much with the Alchemy Pot for how much busywork it became.

Besides that, Dragon Quest VIII is an excellent JRPG that could potentially benefit from many of the QoL changes that made Dragon Quest XI top dog kino as it already is. Maybe they could just combine the PS2 and 3DS Remaster of the game into one definitive experience to be ported onto the Switch coughs give me a way to play the actual game Square Enix coughs.