Dragon Quest 8

The visual prowess of DQVIII doesn’t lie in its over-the-top cinemas, though; it doesn’t use those. It does, however, have absolutely massive locales, sweeping vistas that capture the sheer size of your quest in a way no RPG in a long, long time has managed. Beyond that? Well, the art of Akira Toriyama has long been a series selling point, and with the help of cel-shading, DQVIIIreally drives home his unique style. Sure, the faces are a touch stiff, but on the whole the game does a fair job of avoiding the sort of straight face shots that would make this minor issue stand out.

The sound is like a face shot in a totally different sense, one that says, “this is too good, someone give me a slap to make sure I’m not dreaming!” Yes, it’s just that damned good. As though inspired by the sweeping vistas of their world, the songs of DQVIII are high symphonic fare, almost certainly straight from Dragon Quest VIII Symphonic Suit, or the arranged soundtrack. The adapted music excellently captures the awe and wonder of so much in the game, and while they don’t necessarily stand out on their own, the effect in context is amazing.

Which isn’t to say the game isn’t likable enough without him. In short, Dragon Quest VIII follows the journey of Trode, King of Trodain, and more specifically one of his retainers (that’d be our hero, the ‘guv’ as Yangus would say) as they try to track down a treacherous magician who cursed Trodain and everyone in it, excepting you of course. Things snowball from there, ultimately leading to much world traveling, demon-king slaying, and land saving. While DQVIII, as you might guess, is a bit light on plot, and what is there is rather firmly on the cliché side, it still manages to be entertaining enough–the clearly defined cast and a great willingness to be either silly or serious as the situation needed helping immensely. Coupled with the positively oozing polish, it’s really more effective than it has a right to be. For example, when your journey brings you full circle to the castle of Trodain again, and you see for the first time the full force of the curse on it, it’s very powerful, and moments like these are really what define the game.

Although, really, like the games of yore that Dragon Quest VIII most resembles beneath its modern surface, it depends foremost on battles and exploration to complete the game. That said, battles are actually incredibly basic; an old-fashioned turn-based affair with none of the complicated turn meters or action elements or what have you. While you have a fair degree of control over the make-up of your four characters, and innumerable ways to increase your strength via sidequesting, forging new items in your Alchemy Pot, exploring the vast world around you, battle itself remains the same throughout. While the handful or so of bosses provide tense, lengthy battles, and even common enemies can prove lethal given half a chance, combat in DQVIII is, well, fundamentally boring.

In all, Dragon Quest VIII is a fun, charming game whose biggest problem is probably what makes it stand out in the first place; it’s a huge, old-fashioned monster of a game, which both makes the game work and provides a fair bit of frustration. However, none of that can really deny how much fun the game can be when it’s really on top of things. Not the best choice for a casual player, but definitely recommended for a serious RPG fan.