Dragon Quest VIII is wonderful. It is without a doubt one of the best adventure and RPG games out there, and it was a true evolution for the DQ series by presenting a world with open areas in full 3D, small improvements in gameplay, a sublime soundtrack with orchestration and a cast of characters and story on a slightly more concentrated scale, but allowing it to shine more, and end up making it one of the best titles for PS2.
As opposed to other popular PS2 RPGs like Final Fantasy X, or even the previous game in the series, Dragon Quest VII, which had a very linear structure focused entirely on presenting strong narrative arcs, Dragon Quest VIII on the other hand has a more classic take on the genre. This game presents us with a large world, and we can cross into it as we want and when we want as in the JRPGs of the SNES era, the structure is open, although there will be some places inaccessible for plot reasons or because we will need a special vehicle to access them. There is no minimap or markers, but only an extremely minimalist interface that will only show us a compass with which to orient ourselves, and this lack of an explicit path to follow elevates the sense of adventure, because discovering places is something we have to do on our own, all this while an eminent and relaxing melody sounds that result in exploring and being in the world of this game is a joy.
This time we take the role of an adventurer who is traveling with an ex-bandit, a mare and a minitroll, however, the latter two are actually a princess and a king (as the title of the game says). So they find themselves traveling the world to find Dhoulmagus, the one responsible for the terrible curse. The story and premise are pretty simple as usual in the series, but it shines by having a charismatic cast of characters, a lot of small plot arcs with fun and interesting characters with some touching moments, and many magical moments and locations that make it a memorable journey.
Dragon Quest VIII has beautiful cel-shaded graphics based heavily on Akira Toryama's art style, but at the same time also being reminiscent of Dark Cloud 2's graphics as both titles were developed by Level-5. The world is in full 3D and the camera is not fixed but fully rotational, allowing us to appreciate the beauty of the landscapes in all their splendor. There are many places that are breathtaking and really worth admiring. This game really does a good job in giving more personality to the Dragon Quest world thanks to its graphics, the NPCs and also the monsters. I'm sure many people came to this game because they recognized Akira Toriyama's drawings. It's a game that looks good not only for the time, but it still looks good today.
One thing I do have to point out is that the pacing of this game is a bit slow. Normally getting from one place to another usually takes time due to the size of the map, and also because the battles are random and this time they take a little longer, this is because for the first time in the series we will be able to see our party in combat, so the game was given special attention to make the combat more spectacular, with a lot of animations for each attack and action that occurs in the battles, which certainly gives a little more excitement and life to this aspect of the game. Other additions that were made to the gameplay is that you can now select which specific monster you want to attack when monsters are grouped together, which is a very welcome change. Speaking of my favorite, the "tension" system is the newest addition to the series in terms of gameplay and it's pretty simple to understand; through the "psyche up" command we can accumulate these tension points to make our attacks or spells more powerful, for example, the heal spell can restore more than 30HP if we psyche up in the previous turn, and this is a great mechanic, as it opens a range of possibilities to create new tactics in battles, and the best thing about this is that we can use the command several times until we reach a limit of 100 tension points, which will allow us to unleash a very powerful attack, sometimes even being possible to defeat enemies with just two hits in this way, although be careful, because if you neglect too much your overall strategy you may end up being defeated.
This game leaves aside the class system that the series has been using since DQVI, and instead presents a simpler approach. In this game there will only be 4 members in your party for the whole game, the hero, who knows a bit about everything, Yangus, who is the tank of the party, but has no magic, Jessica who is the mage of the party and is especially good with whips, and Angelo, who is a priest and has a decent physical attack. It might sound a bit boring, however this game introduces skill points, which we gain every time we level up and we can invest in some talent, for example, the hero can equip swords and spears, and if we invest skill points in these talents we can unlock special abilities that are quite useful. It is a simple customization system, but it is effective and can be an incentive to experiment if you replay this game in the future.
There is also an alchemy system, which is very cool, as it allows you to combine items to get new and better ones. The only downside is that this has a waiting time, and that sometimes figuring out the recipes can be very difficult, so on the latter it is sometimes not a bad idea to consult a guide.
This game also has a side quest of monster tournaments in the purest style of Dragon Quest Monsters, although a little more simplified. Basically, we can recruit some monsters that we find scattered around the map (they are the only ones that are not random battles), and they can join us to fight in the arena. It is quite entertaining to do this side-quest and also gives some pretty good rewards, as well as the ability to use your team of monsters outside the arena in normal battles.
The soundtracks that the series has featured have always been splendid, but this time, Koichi Sugiyama delights us with what is probably one of his best soundtracks ever made. Since the second game I was always a big fan of the music in this franchise, it was always in MIDI, so I didn't really think the orchestrated music was a big deal, but it is. Not only does it make the game more atmospheric, but many of the scenes hit harder thanks to this, although with this I don't mean to say that the MIDI soundtrack of this game is bad, because I listened to it and I thought it was just as good, only that the symphonic version really makes it stand out more.
And lastly, speaking in general terms of the story, I loved it. It's great to have a Dragon Quest that revolves more around our party rather than saving the world, and each of the characters is very charismatic and likable. I also like that, although simplified, the party chat from DQVII is back, you just press start and your companions will have some dialogue about what is happening at that instant in the story. It really feels like you are traveling with people who feel close to you and by the end of the adventure you will have a great attachment to them. At the end I was so moved that I will not deny it, I even let out a few tears, maybe of happiness, or maybe of sadness to know that this wonderful adventure had already come to an end.
Conslusion
Dragon Quest VIII easily became one of my favorites. Although at the beginning it seemed to me that it was a little far from what a Dragon Quest is for me, looking back, it is a game that not only modernizes and evolves the formula in some aspects, but at the same time remains totally faithful to the original essence.
It has truly been an unforgettable adventure.
As opposed to other popular PS2 RPGs like Final Fantasy X, or even the previous game in the series, Dragon Quest VII, which had a very linear structure focused entirely on presenting strong narrative arcs, Dragon Quest VIII on the other hand has a more classic take on the genre. This game presents us with a large world, and we can cross into it as we want and when we want as in the JRPGs of the SNES era, the structure is open, although there will be some places inaccessible for plot reasons or because we will need a special vehicle to access them. There is no minimap or markers, but only an extremely minimalist interface that will only show us a compass with which to orient ourselves, and this lack of an explicit path to follow elevates the sense of adventure, because discovering places is something we have to do on our own, all this while an eminent and relaxing melody sounds that result in exploring and being in the world of this game is a joy.
This time we take the role of an adventurer who is traveling with an ex-bandit, a mare and a minitroll, however, the latter two are actually a princess and a king (as the title of the game says). So they find themselves traveling the world to find Dhoulmagus, the one responsible for the terrible curse. The story and premise are pretty simple as usual in the series, but it shines by having a charismatic cast of characters, a lot of small plot arcs with fun and interesting characters with some touching moments, and many magical moments and locations that make it a memorable journey.
Dragon Quest VIII has beautiful cel-shaded graphics based heavily on Akira Toryama's art style, but at the same time also being reminiscent of Dark Cloud 2's graphics as both titles were developed by Level-5. The world is in full 3D and the camera is not fixed but fully rotational, allowing us to appreciate the beauty of the landscapes in all their splendor. There are many places that are breathtaking and really worth admiring. This game really does a good job in giving more personality to the Dragon Quest world thanks to its graphics, the NPCs and also the monsters. I'm sure many people came to this game because they recognized Akira Toriyama's drawings. It's a game that looks good not only for the time, but it still looks good today.
One thing I do have to point out is that the pacing of this game is a bit slow. Normally getting from one place to another usually takes time due to the size of the map, and also because the battles are random and this time they take a little longer, this is because for the first time in the series we will be able to see our party in combat, so the game was given special attention to make the combat more spectacular, with a lot of animations for each attack and action that occurs in the battles, which certainly gives a little more excitement and life to this aspect of the game. Other additions that were made to the gameplay is that you can now select which specific monster you want to attack when monsters are grouped together, which is a very welcome change. Speaking of my favorite, the "tension" system is the newest addition to the series in terms of gameplay and it's pretty simple to understand; through the "psyche up" command we can accumulate these tension points to make our attacks or spells more powerful, for example, the heal spell can restore more than 30HP if we psyche up in the previous turn, and this is a great mechanic, as it opens a range of possibilities to create new tactics in battles, and the best thing about this is that we can use the command several times until we reach a limit of 100 tension points, which will allow us to unleash a very powerful attack, sometimes even being possible to defeat enemies with just two hits in this way, although be careful, because if you neglect too much your overall strategy you may end up being defeated.
This game leaves aside the class system that the series has been using since DQVI, and instead presents a simpler approach. In this game there will only be 4 members in your party for the whole game, the hero, who knows a bit about everything, Yangus, who is the tank of the party, but has no magic, Jessica who is the mage of the party and is especially good with whips, and Angelo, who is a priest and has a decent physical attack. It might sound a bit boring, however this game introduces skill points, which we gain every time we level up and we can invest in some talent, for example, the hero can equip swords and spears, and if we invest skill points in these talents we can unlock special abilities that are quite useful. It is a simple customization system, but it is effective and can be an incentive to experiment if you replay this game in the future.
There is also an alchemy system, which is very cool, as it allows you to combine items to get new and better ones. The only downside is that this has a waiting time, and that sometimes figuring out the recipes can be very difficult, so on the latter it is sometimes not a bad idea to consult a guide.
This game also has a side quest of monster tournaments in the purest style of Dragon Quest Monsters, although a little more simplified. Basically, we can recruit some monsters that we find scattered around the map (they are the only ones that are not random battles), and they can join us to fight in the arena. It is quite entertaining to do this side-quest and also gives some pretty good rewards, as well as the ability to use your team of monsters outside the arena in normal battles.
The soundtracks that the series has featured have always been splendid, but this time, Koichi Sugiyama delights us with what is probably one of his best soundtracks ever made. Since the second game I was always a big fan of the music in this franchise, it was always in MIDI, so I didn't really think the orchestrated music was a big deal, but it is. Not only does it make the game more atmospheric, but many of the scenes hit harder thanks to this, although with this I don't mean to say that the MIDI soundtrack of this game is bad, because I listened to it and I thought it was just as good, only that the symphonic version really makes it stand out more.
And lastly, speaking in general terms of the story, I loved it. It's great to have a Dragon Quest that revolves more around our party rather than saving the world, and each of the characters is very charismatic and likable. I also like that, although simplified, the party chat from DQVII is back, you just press start and your companions will have some dialogue about what is happening at that instant in the story. It really feels like you are traveling with people who feel close to you and by the end of the adventure you will have a great attachment to them. At the end I was so moved that I will not deny it, I even let out a few tears, maybe of happiness, or maybe of sadness to know that this wonderful adventure had already come to an end.
Conslusion
Dragon Quest VIII easily became one of my favorites. Although at the beginning it seemed to me that it was a little far from what a Dragon Quest is for me, looking back, it is a game that not only modernizes and evolves the formula in some aspects, but at the same time remains totally faithful to the original essence.
It has truly been an unforgettable adventure.