Random encounters have been replaced with (many) visible enemies on the map, a speed feature has been added to quicken battle animations, item creation now completes immediately, the mobile version’s quick save feature has been retained, and the bottom 3DS screen contains a map and a quick access menu for frequently used functions. On the positive side, the 3DS version includes some great quality of life improvements. The voice acting is still of a high caliber, though, including the new voice actress for Jessica. It’s still a good looking game, although the differences are quite noticeable.Īlthough the soundtrack remains strong, the overall sound fidelity has been degraded because the fully orchestrated soundtrack was removed from the Western release of the 3DS version. Inexplicably, even the text is a bit blurry. Fine details and entire objects have been removed from many of the environments, draw distances are worse, the colors are way too saturated, and there are some frame rate issues, to name a few. It’s unfortunate to see a remake released with poorer visuals than the original, but this version is graphically inferior to the PlayStation 2 version in almost every conceivable way. However, that’s not to say that Dragon Quest VIII isn’t without it’s flaws, particularly with the 3DS release. The solid, epic-scale story in combination with the sheer size of the game world make for what legitimately feels like a grand adventure. I frequently had to force myself back on course, because I always wanted to check if there was a treasure chest on the other side of that hill in the distance, or to see if there was an infamous monster on that one mountain. You’re encouraged from the outset of the game to veer off course and explore the expansive overworld even before it opens up completely with various modes of transportation. The solid core structure of the game is supplemented by the details mentioned above, and a range of side quests-like hunting infamous monsters or experimenting with new ingredients in the Alchemy Pot-touch up the edges to round it into an overall experience that is just plain fun. Yet, while there’s nothing groundbreaking here, it nails the execution. Make no mistake, Dragon Quest VIII is a treasure trove of JRPG tropes and follows the genre formula to a T. So what makes Dragon Quest VIII so good, if not a fantastic story or spectacular gameplay? Forgive the cliché, but this is truly a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. There’s even a monster that walks around with puppets on its hands that it uses to perform plays during combat, which may send your party into fits of uncontrollable laughter. One group of enemies, if given the chance, forms up like Voltron to try to take down your party. Some enemies do funky dance moves in battle that may cause your characters to start dancing and render them useless for a few turns. What keeps the battles interesting is Dragon Quest’s many unique enemy designs and their amusing sets of skills. Even then, boss strategies tend to boil down to effectively healing, buffing, and debuffing with a sprinkling of RNG rather than playing off of enemy weaknesses. It’s standard JRPG fare, but it’s well-paced and buoyed by a large and interesting world populated by memorable characters that add depth to the overall setting.Ĭombat takes place within a basic turn-based system that doesn’t really require much strategy outside of some boss fights. Along the way you’ll travel to distant kingdoms, recruit new allies, help a struggling monarch or two, and vanquish dark forces. The Hero’s quest to get his man serves as the main thrust for most of Dragon Quest VIII’s main narrative. That’s certainly a lot to unpack, but more importantly an excellent way to pull you into already-unfolding events. He and his crew, comprised of a king-turned-monster, a princess-turned-horse, and a loudmouth bandit (fantastically voiced by Ricky Grover) that acts more like a needy boyfriend than a sidekick, are in dogged pursuit of a murderous jester. Who is the man in black? Why is the gunslinger chasing him? What will happen when he does catch him? World building and backstory are revealed in dribs and drabs as the reader joins the protagonist mid-quest and has to play catch-up.ĭragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King similarly opens with our Hero chasing a mysterious ne’er-do-well. Stephen King’s The Dark Tower series, which opens with the above quote, is a perfect example of how this tactic can immediately grab the reader’s attention by simply provoking questions they’ll undoubtedly want answered. I’ve always been a sucker for a story that starts in medias res, a literary device where the author starts the narrative in the middle of events rather than at the beginning. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”
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