This is definitely the best game in the series compared to the games that came before it. It has the most story (and a pretty good one too) and best general gameplay. The party changes throughout the game, which is cool. You can recruit monsters eventually, which helps pad out the lack of proper party members during some parts of the game, but it never feels overbearing or all that difficult to get decent Monsters to use. If you want specific ones it might take a while, but some of the best ones are very easy to get. This is the first in the series I played pretty much entirely without using a walkthrough, and it was nice being able to either know where to go or be able to figure it out reasonably quickly. The soundtrack was good, combat feels similar to DQ4, and the world is pretty fun to explore. Party chat was really cool in some spots. The story itself was surprisingly unique compared to most other rpgs I've played, which was nice to see. It was still somewhat simple in nature, but there are multiple memorable scenes that will stick with me for a while. Probably one of the least grind-heavy games I've played so far in the series. Sometimes the game could feel a bit too easy, but it was generally just an enjoyable experience throughout. I could easily recommend this to anyone who has yet to play it.

My favorite Dragon Quest (and "classic" RPG) is V, but VIII is also really great.
I love Angelo, best character I've seen in a DQ game. The story is overall pretty solid, but I honestly think it's a bit forgettable.
I love how they adapted for the first time the art style in 3D (even though that was in the PS2 version). They did a good job with the soundtrack too, even though I think they removed some orchestral tracks from the original, which is a shame.
Had to grind a bit in order to beat the final boss, which kind of annoyed me but I might just suck at the game.

It's just an overall really important game for the (J)RPG genre, and if you want to get into that type of games, this alongside with V and XI are some of the best entries in the series you can start with.

One of the best JRPGs of the modern era. An almost perfect mix of modern and ‘retro’ elements, even gives you the choice between 2d and 3d graphics.

Every character has a unique personality and playstyle, and most have a variety of customization options to match.

Most character and monster designs are charming, and have a nostalgic feel to them. Though I’m probably just biased towards Akira Toriyama’s older art style.

The story is more simple and logical than most JRPGs. The only real problem I have is that the ‘post-game’ story is just you replaying a different version of the third act, and going through the plot twists while the game acts like you’ve never seen these twists before.

The post game bosses can be insanely difficult, depending on your playstyle and difficulty settings, but it feels really good when you finally beat them.

One of the most satisfying JRPGs I’ve Platinumed. Recommended for JRPG lovers.

Well, I'm converted! This was my first Dragon Quest game, and I can safely say that I regret not giving these games more attention sooner! Dragon Quest's strongest and most enduring quality is that it doesn't try to be anything other than the most quintessential JRPG, and it is only striving to refine and perfect that tried and true formula.

While i can totally see people writing this off as overly vanilla, it's anything but. Everything about this game is so endearing, it's almost intoxicating. Rab and Sylvando are absolute MVPs.

Clocking in at 81 hours upon defeating the Act 3 boss and obtaining the true ending, at no point did I ever feel the game was dragging along, which says a lot about a JRPG as this genre is packed with games that end up bring glorified endurance tests. With additional playthroughs, I will most likely be bumping this up to 5 stars.