I have to preface by stating that my expectations for this game were quite mixed. Being a lifelong Dragon Quest/Dragon Warrior fan, the previous game in the series, Dragon Warrior VII, was a quick punch to the gut. Its overly convoluted job system, slow pacing and focus of running from town to town talking to people simply made it uninteresting and boring. Dragon Quest VIII gives the series a much-needed rebirth!
The graphics use an excellent cel-shaded style that really brings Akira Toriyama’s art to life like never before. The world, villages and dungeons are rendered on a grand scale being the first game in this series that is truly 3D. The look is pleasing. It’s easily the second best looking cel-shaded game I’ve seen next to Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
The sound effects are mostly serviceable with some shining moments in the little effects that correspond with monster animations. I’m a little ticked that they removed some of the classic sound effects. It doesn’t make sense to me, but as it doesn’t alter the gameplay, it’s tolerable. The music however, is beautiful. The American version of the game uses the orchestrated arrangements of the songs composed for the Symphonic Suite CD in Japan. What that means is that about half the game is in your typical video game synthesized-style and half is orchestrated. The transition between the two styles is sometimes a bit jarring but you can’t deny the immensely epic feeling the symphonic music adds to the game, especially when you’re running around a dungeon or the world. It’s puzzling why Sugiyama didn’t compose the entire game in this style from the get-go since the DVD media of the PS2 certainly allows for it.
The characters and story may be less appealing to current generation RPG fans. There are no government conspiracies, no poorly-written teen angst, no "troubled pasts", no double and triple agents, and no shameless plot-twists. There’s just an evil guy hell-bent on becoming more powerful. The four characters in the game each have their background stories and grow a bit during the journey, but the bottom line is they’re simply four people banded together to save the world. The non-interactive cinematic scenes are generally of an enjoyable length and spread out rather evenly to keep the story going yet not stop the game flow to dispense thirty minutes of needless exposition. My favorite aspect is the flashback sequences. The game begins with your small group and an objective and you’re off into the world rather quickly. Bit by bit the introduction of the game is played out by sequences colored entirely in sepia-tones and artistically choreographed. It’s very well done.
The gameplay is the real meat of the game. The key to Dragon Quest VIII’s victory is beautifully polished simplicity. The skill system is simple yet customizable enough that your character could be totally different the next time you play and by keeping the cast to four characters each one is finely tuned to perfection. The battles are insanely entertaining and generally require more attention to strategy than other current-gen RPGs. The battle system excellently allows planning out how to handle each battle, whether it be figuring out the best method to keep the party alive to finding how you can take out a group of eight monsters in a single turn. The world in this game is absolutely HUGE. It’s so big, in fact, that it’s a bit intimidating. With hidden treasures spread across the world to special monsters (some only appearing at night or day) it becomes a huge task wondering how you’re going to cover all that ground! The dungeons are well-designed, yet don’t offer much in puzzle-solving elements. There are casinos to gamble for rare items and a monster arena where you can send monsters you’ve battled into a tournament. There’s an alchemy pot that, without a guide, you could probably spend hours trying to concoct new items and weapons. I’m personally building a fabulous cheese collection at the moment. I’m sure I haven’t discovered all the extra stuff the game has to offer. It’s amazingly deep.
Dragon Quest VIII is the best turn-based RPG in the last generation (or two). If you’re looking for a game with a massive metaphorical and psycho-analytical plot, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for something light-hearted and adventurous, this is the game for you. If you miss the days of SNES-era RPGs go directly to the store and buy this game now. The game excels beyond anything I’ve seen in years in the gameplay department, from the exploration of the world and dungeons to its finely tuned battle engine.
