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Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King
Cover art
North American cover art
Developer(s)Level-5
Publisher(s)Square Enix
Director(s)Akihiro Hino
Producer(s)Ryutaro Ichimura
Designer(s)Yuji Horii
Artist(s)Akira Toriyama
Takayuki Sameshima
Kazunari Matsuo
Writer(s)Yuji Horii
Composer(s)Koichi Sugiyama
SeriesDragon Quest
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Genre(s)Role-playing video game
Mode(s)Single-player

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, known in Japan as Dragon Quest VIII Sora to Umi to Daichi to Norowareshi Himegimi (ドラゴンクエストVIII 空と海と大地と呪われし姫君, lit. "Dragon Quest VIII: The Sky, the Ocean, the Earth, and the Cursed Princess") and in PAL regions as Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King, is a role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was first released in Japan in 2004, and was later released in North America in 2005 and PAL regions in 2006, making it the first main series installment released in the PAL region.[2] It is the eighth installment of the popular Dragon Quest series and it is the first English version of a Dragon Quest game to drop the Dragon Warrior title.[3]

Dragon Quest VIII uses cel-shading textures for the characters and scenery and is the first game in the series to have fully three dimensional environments.[4] This game retains most of the series' role-playing game elements, such as turn-based combat and the experience level system. Dragon Quest VIII follows the silent Hero, the main character, and his party of allies as they journey towards their goal of defeating the wicked Dhoulmagus. The kingdom of Trodain has been cursed by Dhoulmagus and the King, Trode, and his daughter, Medea, have both been transformed and it is up to the Hero to return them to their original form and save the kingdom.

Dragon Quest VIII has enjoyed much success since its release, both in Japan and in the US. It is a Square Enix Ultimate Hits and a Sony Greatest Hits title. A survey conducted in 2006 by the magazine Famitsu earned the game the #4 spot as the best video game of all time after Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy VII and Dragon Quest III.[5]

Gameplay

File:Dragon quest viii battle.jpg
Dragon Quest VIII retains the menu based battle system that is a staple for the series.

In Dragon Quest VIII, the player controls the Hero in a fully three-dimensional environment, utilizing the left analog stick or D-pad on the PlayStation controller to move him. Using the right analog stick, players can pan the camera a full 360 degrees around the character or in a first-person perspective.[6] The visual controls allow players to examine people and objects more closely than the top-down perspective of the game's predecessors. With a new fully integrated world, towns and dungeons are no longer identified by two-dimensional icons found on the world maps. Players can guide the Hero across vast landscapes to reach full-size towns and buildings.[3]

Battles are randomly occurring and turn-based. When encountering an enemy, the game switches to a battle scene with the enemies facing the party where characters from both sides take turns attacking each other. These battle scenes have visually changed dramatically from earlier games in the series.[7] In the earlier games, battles were shown from a first person perspective. For this installment, the battles are shown in a first person perspective while choosing what to do, shows the battle in a third person perspective with all of the members of the Hero's party being shown on the screen along with the enemies.[6] During battle, each character in the party has the ability to attack, use items, or use magic and skills. New to Dragon Quest VIII is the tension system, which allows the player to choose the "Psyche Up" command for a character during battle.[8] This command allows the player to skip a character's turn in order to build "tension", making that character's next attack stronger. By using it multiple times in succession, the character's attack will do more damage. Another new feature, the Alchemy Pot allows players to mix items in order to create new, stronger items. This can be done while walking on the world map. There is also a monster capturing feature, but it is not as fundamental to the gameplay as it was in Dragon Quest V.[6] The player may find enemies visible on the world map and can be recruited if defeated and used during the Monster Arena mini-game and during battle.

Through the traditional experience point system, characters advance through experience levels and develop their abilities, similar to previous games in the series. Defeating enemies grants experience points and gold to the party, which allows the player to purchase items and weapons at in-game shops. In addition to this, Level-5 incorporated a secondary skill development system to allow players a chance to customize each character to their liking.[3] After characters gain an experience level past level four, they accrue skill points distributed as the player chooses among five different skills—three different weapons, "fisticuffs", and a special attribute. Gaining enough points in a skill can allow the character to gain strength in weapons and learn new abilities and magic spells.[9]

Synopsis

Plot

File:Dq8landscape.jpg
The Hero stands on the fully three-dimensional world map.

The game begins with the court jester of the kingdom of Trodain, Dhoulmagus, stealing an ancient scepter and casting a spell on Trodain castle. The spell turns the king, King Trode, into a troll; the princess, Medea, into a horse; and the rest of the castle’s inhabitants into plants. The only one left unaffected is the unnamed protagonist, a Trodain guard. The guard, King Trode, and Princess Medea set out on a quest to track down Dhoulmagus and break the spell.[6] They are joined by Yangus, a bandit whose life the hero saves from a collapsing bridge; Jessica, a mage seeking to avenge her brother; and Angelo, a Templar Knight with a penchant for flirting and gambling. Tracking Dhoulmagus' murderous path, the party journeys west, across the ocean. Eventually, the group hunts down Dhoulmagus and kills him, but Dhoulmagus' death fails to break the spell. Jessica claims Dhoulmagus' scepter, and soon after disappears.

Jessica later returns, possessed by the staff and battles the remaining party members in an attempt to murder a young man. After the party releases Jessica from her possession, Jessica tells them that the scepter contains the spirit of Rhapthorne, the Lord of Darkness, who was imprisoned in the scepter long ago by seven sages. He seeks to escape from his prison by killing the descendants of the sages. When Jessica explains this, the scepter takes control of a magician’s dog, Sir Leopold, and kills the magician’s assistant, who was one of the descendants of the sages. The party attempts to seek out and defend the remaining descendants, but Leopold manages to murder most of them, until the scepter comes into the possession of Marcello, Angelo's power hungry half-brother. Marcello kills the last remaining descendant of the sages, but manages to contain Rhapthorne for a time. Eventually, the party engages Marcello for murdering a High priest, expending Marcello's energy and releasing Rhapthorne. The party, aided by the godbird Empryea, faces Rhapthorne and defeats him. With Rhapthorne dead, King Trode, Princess Medea, and the people of Trodain are returned to normal. Months later, the protagonist escorts Medea to Savella Cathedral for her arranged marriage to the spoiled Prince Charmles of Argonia, but before the ceremony can take place, the protagonist and Medea escape from Savella Cathedral and live happily together. In an alternate ending, it is discovered that the protagonist is the lost prince of Argonia. Because he is a prince, the King of Argonia decides to allow the protagonist to marry Medea.

Characters

Dragon Quest VIII focuses on four main characters, each joining the battle party early in the game. The main protagonist of the game, an eighteen-year-old royal guard of Trodain and the only person present in the castle to escape Dhoulmagus' wrath unscathed, is a silent hero, and named by the player. The Hero is the most balanced party member, able to equip swords, spears, boomerangs and use magic. His special attribute is courage. [6] He is accompanied by Yangus, a former thief and friend of the Hero's who owes the Hero a life debt after the Hero rescues him from the side of a cliff. Yangus is a physically strong character and speaks with a Cockney accent in the English versions, and wields axes, clubs, and scythes. His special attribute is humanity. Jessica, the only female to join the party, is a sorceress from the town of Alexandria who seeks to avenge her murdered brother, Alistair. She uses magic but can also equip whips and knives and she can stun enemies with her special attribute Sex Appeal skills. She is also the only character who can change her appearance in battle through various costumes, with the exception of one costume for the Hero.[6] Angelo is a womanizing noble who was raised in a monastery following both his parents' deaths by a plague.[7] He is a member of the Knights Templar and decides to battle against Dhoulmagus when the villain sets fire to his abbey and kills the abbot. In battle, he can use both magic and physical attacks effectively and has the most healing spells. He can wield swords, bows, or staffs. his special attribute is charisma. [6]

Two non-player characters journey with the protagonists: Trode, the titular cursed king who rules over Trodain but was transformed into a toad-like creature by Dhoulmagus; and Medea, Trode's daughter, who is the same age as the Hero.[9] Medea was transformed into a horse by Dhoulmagus and has a romantic interest in the Hero. Munchie, the Hero's pet mouse, becomes temporarily playable under certain circumstances. Other non-player characters among others include Empyrea, a powerful god-like bird; and Red, a female bandit and former colleague of Yangus' with whom she shares a rivalry. The antagonist of Dragon Quest VIII is Dhoulmagus, a jester who steals an ancient scepter from Trodain Castle and uses its power to curse the inhabitants of the castle, setting the game's events in motion.[6] He proceeds to embark on a murder spree as the protagonists chase him. Dhoulmagus is eventually revealed to be a pawn of Rhapthorne, a demonic lord and the game's true antagonist, who is manipulating the jester in an attempt to free himself from the scepter in which he has been locked inside.

Development and release

File:Dragonquestmenu1.jpg
Dragon Quest VIII features a sub-menu that allows players to access items and equip their party.

Like the other games in the series, Dragon Quest VIII's Yuji Horii was staffed as the scenario director.[10] Critics praised the colorful designs done by art designer Akira Toriyama of Dragon Ball fame.[11][12] Koichi Sugiyama composed the music for the game.[13][13] Dragon Quest VIII was released in Japan on the morning of November 27, 2004 with a celebration at Shibuya Tsutaya starting at 6:30 am. Horii and Square Enix President Yoichi Wada both made appearances to the event, and several of the first buyers in line received a toy Slime.[10]

August through October before the game's US release, the Simon DTour Live Mall Tour featured playable demos at participating malls across the US. These free events gave away Dragon Quest merchandise and also had live entertainment.[14] Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King was released in North America on November 15, 2005 and shipped with a playable Final Fantasy XII demo disc.[4] Additions and changes to the North American version of Dragon Quest VIII included voice acting, new animations, enhanced music and sound effects, additional spells and attacks, and a new menu interface.[11] A demo disc for Dragon Quest VIII was released in America during the fall of 2005 through Shonen Jump magazine.[15]

Dragon Quest VIII was the first game in the series to bear the Dragon Quest name (rather than Dragon Warrior) in North America.[11] Dragon Quest's North American name was changed due to a trademark conflict with the role-playing game DragonQuest, published by wargame publisher Simulations Publications in the 1980s until the company's bankruptcy in 1982 and purchase by TSR, Inc., which then published it as an alternate line to Dungeons & Dragons until 1987.[16] In 2003, Square Enix registered the Dragon Quest trademark in the US, making the Dragon Warrior name obsolete. Thus, this installment of the series was the first after 2003 to be released outside of Japan and to receive the Quest in its title.[17]

Unlike the original Japanese version, the North American and European localizations of the game mark a departure from previous Dragon Quest titles due to the inclusion of voice acting in certain parts of the adventure pertaining to the advancement of the storyline.[3] The game retains the series' tradition of allowing the player to name the lead character, reconciling the two by having the voice acting script skip incidences of the Hero's name, (e.g. the line "Okay, Hero, my boy..." appears on-screen, while the voice acting says, "Okay, my boy...") and occasionally replacing the name with Yangus' nickname for him, "'guv" (as in "governor", pronounced with a Cockney accent).[8] Unlike some earlier games in the series, which were censored during localization for North America, Dragon Quest VIII had no such censorship.[18] The English translation is credited to Plus Alpha Translations and AltJapan. Richard Honeywood, of Square Enix's localization office and famous for his work with Final Fantasy VIII and Chocobo Racing, was the main force behind the game's English localization.[19]

Dragon Quest VIII was released in PAL regions in April 2006 under the title Dragon Quest: The Journey of the Cursed King, dropping the roman numeral. This marked the first time a main game in the series had been released in the PAL region.[2] In an interview with Horii in London, he mentioned that the Square Enix merger allowed the company to release more games in more areas, with producer Ryutaro Ichimura adding that "European tastes have changed because of the influence of anime and cartoons, so Europeans are more willing to receive this type of artwork".[20]

Soundtrack

As with every Dragon Quest, Koichi Sugiyama composed the music and directed each associated spinoffs. The music was performed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra with Sugiyama as the conductor. An OST for Dragon Quest VIII was released in December 2005, published by Aniplex.[13] In the Japanese release of the game, the game features sequenced music whereas the US version contains orchestral recordings from Symphonic Suite. The track listing for the symphonic suite is as follows:

Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Symphonic Suite Disc 1
No.TitleLength
1."Overture"1:58
2."Travelling With Wagon"1:58
3."Peaceful Town ~ Quiet Village ~ Alchemy Pot"5:38
4."Strange World ~ Marching Through the Fields"4:24
5."Chatting"2:45
6."Cold and Gloomy ~ In the Dungeon Depths"3:22
7."Healing Power of the Psalms ~ Friar’s Determination"4:07
8."Over the Sorrow ~ Hurry! We Are in Danger"5:17
9."Mysterious Tower - [Eastern Tower, Heavenly Dais, Rydon's Tower, etc.]"4:29
10."Reminiscence ~ Go Topo Go!! - [Controlling Munchie]"3:05
11."War Cry ~ Defeat the Enemy"3:45
Total length:40:48
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King Symphonic Suite Disc 2
No.TitleLength
1."Remembrances..."5:53
2."Majestic Castle ~ Gavotte de Château ~ Majestic Castle"3:12
3."Poet’s World - [Moonshadow World]"2:02
4."Memories of an Ancient Ocean - [Travelling by Ship]"4:17
5."Stalked by Fear"1:27
6."Ruins of Darkness - [Dark Ruins, World of Darkness]"1:55
7."Sanctuary"3:05
8."Heavenly Flight - [Travelling by the Godbird Soulstone]"2:51
9."Nearing Our Destiny - [Black Citadel]"3:40
10."Dhoulmagus ~ Great Battle in the Vast Sky"7:11
11."Sky, Ocean and Earth - [Ending Credits]"6:18
Total length:41:51

Reception

Released for the PlayStation 2 on November 27, 2004 in Japan, Dragon Quest VIII went on to ship over three million copies within its first week, making it the fastest selling Japanese PlayStation 2 title upon release.[29][30] By September, 2008, total worldwide shipments of Dragon Quest VIII surpassed 6.88 million copies,[31] of which over 430,000 were from the North American release.[32] Dragon Quest VIII is the biggest selling game ever for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.[33] Dragon Quest VIII was the first Dragon Quest game to receive a score of 39 out of 40 from Famitsu.[34] Dragon Quest VIII won both 1UP.com's and GameSpy's "Best RPG of E3 2005" award, ahead of runner-up Kingdom Hearts 2.[35][36]

The US release of Dragon Quest VIII has received generally positive critical reviews, receiving a score of 89 out of 100 on Metacritic[37] Critics were quick to praise the 3D cel shaded visuals, noting that it was the first game in the series to be fully three-dimensional.[7][11] A staple to the Dragon Quest series is its simplicity, which is often called into question.[38] However, several critics pointed out that the simple gameplay works for Dragon Quest VIII. Simon Parkin of Eurogamer called the game "refreshing", comparing it to modern Final Fantasy series and games from developer Nippon Ichi in which he finds to be too complicated.[22] Bethany Massimilla of GameSpot wrote that the lack of "dozens of characters of all types" allows the game to remain simple, letting the player become very familiar with the main characters.[7] Edge magazine commented that the game's substance seems out of place for 2005.[21]

A majority of reviewers cited the English localization of the game as one of its best qualities.[7][11][12] Nich Maragos of 1UP.com praised the game's British tinted localization, saying how the humor is often successful except for "a few puns that will, on occasion, make you want to die".[12] Parkin described the voice acting as "a mash up of Monty Python and The Princess Bride: fantasy farce driving the cute narrative in the ideal aural vehicle".[22] The game's world map has also been a major topic of praise for critics. The 1UP.com staff suggested that the player stop playing "to just look around and absorb the scenery" and said that it rivals Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' map of San Andreas in size and detail.[39] IGN writer Jeremy Dunham wrote that the "only exception in the game's mass list of progression is the plotline", explaining that it has one of the more basic Dragon Quest stories; but he also mentions that the game still manages to take a dull plot and make it entertaining.[11]

Legacy

Characters from the game have made appearances in other Square Enix properties. Dragon Quest Yangus, a roguelike Mysterious Dungeons game developed by Cavia for the PlayStation 2, follows the storyline of a young Yangus.[40] It was released in Japan in 2006.[41] Jessica, Angelo, and Yangus also appear opposite other Dragon Quest characters, as well as Final Fantasy and Mario characters in titles of the Itadaki Street franchise, a cross-over board game spanning multiple platforms.[42] These characters have appeared in Dragon Quest & Final Fantasy in Itadaki Street Portable for the PlayStation Portable (PSP) and Itadaki Street DS for the Nintendo DS;[43] these characters will also appear in Itadaki Street Wii/Fortune Street, an enhanced remake of Itadaki Street DS for the Nintendo Wii.[44] Dragon Quest VIII characters also make appearances in Dragon Quest IX: Jessica, Angelo, and King Trode appear as special WI FI guests in the Quester's Rest inn in Stornway,[45] Dhoulmagus and Rhapthorne appear as optional legacy bosses, and the player can acquire a "Trodain Royal Guard" costume to dress as VIII's Hero. [46]

References

  1. ^ "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for PlayStation 2". GameSpot. Retrieved July 10, 2008.
  2. ^ a b Jenkins, David (April 23, 2009). "Square Enix Releases Tomb Raider, Dragon Quest Sales Data". Gamasutra. Retrieved April 23, 2009.
  3. ^ a b c d Onyett, Charles (May 19, 2005). "E3 2005: Interview with Yuji Horii". IGN. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
  4. ^ a b "Dragon Quest VIII at GameRankings.com". 2007. Retrieved October 13, 2007.
  5. ^ Campbell, Colin (March 3, 2006). "Japan Votes on All-Time Top 100". Edge. Retrieved March 3, 2006.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Kalata, Kurt (April 4, 2008). "The History of Dragon Quest". Gamasutra. Retrieved October 5, 2009.
  7. ^ a b c d e f Massamilla, Bethany (2005). "Dragon Quest VIII". Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  8. ^ a b Erikson, Brendon (December 13, 2006). "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King". Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  9. ^ a b Hartman, Ryan (April 20, 2006). "Dragon Quest VIII Review at psxextreme.com". Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  10. ^ a b 1up.com staff (November 29, 2004). "Dragon Quest VIII Launch Report". 1up.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ a b c d e f g Dunham, Jeremy (November 16, 2005). "Dragon Quest VIII at IGN". IGN. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  12. ^ a b c d Maragos, Nich (November 14, 2005). "Dragon Quest VIII Review". IUP.com. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  13. ^ a b c Wilson, Mike (2005). "Dragon Quest VIII OST". RPGfan.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  14. ^ Square Enix (2005). "Dragon Quest VIII Official Website". DragonQuest8.com. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  15. ^ Shonen Jump volume 3, issue 8, pg. 3. Viz Media. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
  16. ^ Cassidy, William (February 1, 2002). "The GameSpy Hall of Fame: Dragon Warrior". GameSpy. Retrieved May 29, 2005.
  17. ^ Kennedy, Sam (2005-12-02). "Dragon Quest vs. America". 1up. Retrieved 2011-06-16.
  18. ^ Healey, Rick (November 15, 2005). "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King review". Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved October 16, 2007.
  19. ^ Parish, Jeremy (March 11, 2007). "GDC 2007: The Square-Enix Approach to Localization". 1UP.com. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
  20. ^ Garrat, Patrick (January 16, 2006). "Mr Dragon Quest: The Cursed King". Eurogamer.com. Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  21. ^ a b Edge staff. Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King review. January 2005, p.78.
  22. ^ a b c Parkin, Simon (December 22, 2005). "Dragon Quest VIII Review". Eurogamer. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  23. ^ Famitsu (2005). "Famitsu scores". Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  24. ^ "Dragon Quest VIII". 2005. Archived from the original on February 26, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  25. ^ "Dragon Quest VIII". 2006. Archived from the original on January 15, 2008. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  26. ^ Vassar, Darryl (Jan 10, 2006). "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the Playstation 2 Review". Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  27. ^ "Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King for the Playstation 2". Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  28. ^ Metacritic staff. "Dragon Quest VIII". Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  29. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (November 15, 2005). "Dragon Quest Ships Triple Platinum". IGN. Retrieved November 16, 2005.
  30. ^ Sahdev, Ishaan (September 25, 2009). "Notable Japanese Game Developer Level-5". Gameguru.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  31. ^ "Dragon Quest IX: About the Developers". Level-5. 2008-12-10. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
  32. ^ Niizumi, Hirohiko (January 30, 2006). "Four million Dragon Quest VIIIs shipped". GameSpot. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
  33. ^ Kohler, Chris (December 12, 2006). "Dragon Quest on DS: What It Means". Wired. Retrieved March 17, 2011.
  34. ^ Edge staff (November 30, 2005). "Inside Famitsu: Rogue Galaxy and More". Edge-Online.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  35. ^ 1up.com staff (2005). "Best of E3 2005". 1UP.com. Retrieved October 9, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  36. ^ Gamespy.com staff (2005). "Best of E3 2005". GameSpy. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  37. ^ "Dragon Quest 8 at MetaCritic". MetaCritic. 2007. Retrieved October 23, 2007.
  38. ^ Metacritic staff. "Dragon Warrior VII". Retrieved October 6, 2009.
  39. ^ 1up staff (November 15, 2005). "journey of the Cursed King". 1up.com. Retrieved October 7, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  40. ^ Gantayat, Anoop (April 24, 2006). "Dragon Quest Yangus: Import Playtest". IGN.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  41. ^ Alfonso, Andrew (May 1, 2006). "Dragon Quest Yangus". GameSpy.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
  42. ^ Jenni (April 30, 2008). "How to get to Itadaki Street Portable". Siliconera.com. Retrieved May 28, 2009.
  43. ^ "Itadaki Street at Square-Enix.com". Square-enix.com. Retrieved December 11, 2009.
  44. ^ "Itadaki Street Coming to Wii in 2011". Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  45. ^ "Dragon Quest IX full guest list revealed". Retrieved June 12, 2011.
  46. ^ Lummis, Michael; Owen, Michael. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (Brady Games Signature Series Guide). Brady Games. ISBN 0-7440-1238-4.

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